News Round-Up

• “GB News overtakes Sky for first time after farmers’ protests coverage” – According to the latest available BARB data, GB News beat Sky News in November, securing an average of 70,430 live views between the hours of 6am and 2am compared to Sky News’s 67,670.
• “‘NI rise will lead to ‘huge’ number of pub and restaurant closures’” – Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge, who signed a letter from business people supporting the Labour Party during the General Election, has warned that the Government’s National Insurance rise will have a “catastrophic effect” on the hospitality sector, reports the Sun.
• “These shocking migration figures are just the beginning” – Successive governments have failed grotesquely on immigration, says Annabel Denham in the Telegraph. There are limits to public tolerance.
• “British Steel faces nationalisation under Government plans” – Ministers are eyeing the nationalisation of British Steel as talks with its Chinese owners stall over U.K. investment demands, reports LBC.
• “Rayner’s workers’ rights reform ‘will permanently damage economy’” – Recruiters have sounded the alarm over the Deputy Prime Minister’s employment overhaul, according to the Telegraph.
• “Britain’s productivity crisis demands action” – Surely someone from outside the Civil Service would be a better choice for reorganising it, says the Telegraph in a leading article.
• “Keir Starmer could approve Elgin Marbles loan to Greece” – The Elgin Marbles could be returned to Athens when parts of the British Museum close for refurbishment works with the blessing of the PM, reports the Times.
• “Weak and there for the taking: Starmer is turning Britain into a global laughing stock” – From the Elgin Marbles to the Chagos Islands, our Prime Minister is making a habit of mislaying our national treasures, writes Sam Ashworth-Hayes in the Telegraph.
• “Pleasuring ourselves to death” – In the New Conservative, Stewart Slater blasts Parliament’s emotional pandering and philosophical drift.
• “Quasi-religious beliefs have ended 200 years of European growth, author argues” – In Fortune, Jon Moynihan argues that the decline of the West is fuelled by quasi-religious, Left-wing beliefs that have stunted growth.
• “The Oxford Union has disgraced itself” – In the Spectator, Jonathan Sacerdoti delivers a searing indictment of the Oxford Union’s descent into bigotry and mob rule.
• “‘Sinister’ Oxford Union debate on Israel broke law, dons tell Hague”– An open letter from 300 Oxford dons has condemned a “sinister” debate on Israel, accusing the Oxford Union of failing to protect Jewish students from antisemitism and breaking the law with inflammatory rhetoric and mob-like behaviour, reports the Telegraph.
• “Why did the state let Kneecap win?” – It’s a fine mess when a government can’t support its musicians without also bankrolling those who wish to use their art for the purposes of biting the hand that feeds them, says Andrew Tettenborn in the Spectator. 
• “Porridge adverts outlawed in junk food crackdown” – Porridge and crumpets are among the products included in a pre-watershed ban of junk food ads under new Labour legislation to tackle childhood obesity, reports the Scottish Express. Porridge? Really?
• “Whitehall reverts to working from home under Starmer” – The number of civil servants at their desks has fallen since Labour came to power, leaving the private sector to pick up the slack, reveals the Telegraph.
• “Arla Bovaer fears: full list of products customers are boycotting” – Furious Brits have vowed to boycott more than a dozen of the U.K.’s best known brands over fears that certain dairy products are allegedly “contaminated” with an additive linked to cancer, reports the Mail.
• “Why we should worry about Google’s stopping serving political advertising in EU” – In the euobserver, Eva Simon warns that Google’s withdrawal from political advertising in the EU could stifle public discourse and grant a dangerous monopoly to Meta’s platforms.
• “Amazon blocks online reviews of Angela Merkel’s memoir after readers submit a raft of harsh political critique and one-star ratings” – On Substack, Eugyppius slams Angela Merkel’s new memoir as a self-congratulatory, tone-deaf attempt to rewrite history.
• “Why South Korea declared martial law and what happens next” – In the Telegraph, Kieran Kelly offers an analysis of the current political chaos in South Korea.
• “South Korea’s President has shocked the world – and plunged a country into crisis” – In the Telegraph, Edward Howell examines the shockwaves of South Korea’s President declaring emergency martial law.
• “It’s Trump’s fault” – On Substack, Thomas Buckley slams Joe Biden for pardoning his son Hunter – for, well, everything.
• “Elon Musk’s $56 billion Tesla pay deal rebuffed again by U.S. judge” – A judge has ruled that Tesla boss Elon Musk is still not entitled to receive a $56 billion compensation package despite shareholders approving the pay deal six months ago, reports MoneyWeek.
• “BBC axes MasterChef Christmas specials after Gregg Wallace scandal” – The BBC is officially pulling the MasterChef Christmas specials following allegations of historical misconduct made against presenter Gregg Wallace, according to Metro.
• “Richard Osman apologises for previously defending Gregg Wallace” – Richard Osman has apologised for defending Gregg Wallace after he previously spoke to colleagues about the Masterchef star and they had nothing bad to say about him, reports the Express.
• “Gregg Wallace’s revolting behaviour is far from banter” – The MasterChef presenter is not being cancelled for having a laugh – his demeaning remarks would not be tolerated in any modern workplace, says Allison Pearson in the Telegraph.
• “The gap between what the party promised and what it delivered was so great it finally pushed me over the edge” – On Times Radio, Tim Montgomerie explains that it’s the failure of successive Conservative governments to keep their promises on reducing immigration that has led him to defect to Reform.

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