News Round-Up

• “Yvette Cooper refuses to set target for cutting Channel crossings” – The Home Secretary has dodged setting a target for reducing Channel crossings, describing the issue as “complex”, reports the Mail.
• “Syrian asylum seekers in hotels to cost Britain £11 million a month” – Keir Starmer’s decision to leave thousands of Syrian asylum seekers in limbo is costing the British taxpayer up to £11 million a month in hotel bills, says the Telegraph.
• “Met to axe 370 specialist officers in schools despite record levels of teen knife crime” – Scotland Yard plans to remove 370 specialist officers from schools, despite soaring teenage knife crime, to bolster neighbourhood policing, reports the Telegraph.
• “The private police patrolling London” – The middle classes have lost faith in the Met, writes Fred Skulthorp in UnHerd.
• “Grooming gangs cover-up” – On The Winston Marshall Show, Winston is joined by Charlie Peters and Guy Dampier to discuss the untold story of the grooming gangs, as well as the failure of the media, police and politicians to tackle the issue.
• “‘You’ve stolen my happy retirement’: the letter shaming Rachel Reeves” – In the Telegraph, a pensioner who faces a £1 million tax bill on his modest savings urges the Chancellor to think again.
• “‘Labour has a horrible streak of class envy’ says revered party peer” – In an interview with Jane Fryer in the Mail, Labour peer and Countryside Alliance President Baroness Mallalieu slams Labour’s return to class envy, blasting Starmer’s inheritance tax plans that could devastate family farms.
• “Labour has made everything worse” – This Labour Government will start the new year by fighting rising inflation and presiding over a stagnant economy, predicts Roger Bootle in the Telegraph.
• “In the 18th Century, saying the wrong thing got you banned from Parliament. Those times are back” – Cancel culture is dismissed as a figment of the Right-wing imagination. Lady Meyer’s case shows that the phenomenon is all too real, says Daniel Hannan in the Telegraph.
• “The Trans-Pacific trade deal will make Britain richer – but Starmer may squander it” – “The treaties I negotiated give the U.K. access to the world’s largest and growing markets. But Labour shows no appetite for backing business,” writes Kemi Badenoch in the Telegraph.
• “‘U.K. should emulate Trump and Musk’s efficiency drive’” – Kemi Badenoch says that Britain should follow Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s push to make the state more efficient and cut waste, according to the Telegraph.
• “Farage is surging, Starmer is flailing. Can Kemi Badenoch survive?” – Badenoch must hold her nerve and choose her battles wisely, writes Kamal Ahmed in the Telegraph.
• “It’s time to be honest about who in Britain isn’t working” – If Labour want to tackle worklessness, they can’t be coy about who they’re talking about, says Len Shackleton in CapX.
• “Our town has become a dumping ground for new builds” – Residents in a quiet town are up in arms after a massive housing development for more than 400 homes was approved despite the council rejecting it, reports the Mail.
• “NHS staff who voice extremist views about Gaza could be struck off” – Wes Streeting has warned NHS staff not to use the Gaza conflict as an excuse for antisemitism, saying extremist views could lead to dismissal, says the Mail.
• “Welby’s ‘prayerful solidarity’ seems not to embrace beleaguered Jews” – In TCW, Rev. Julian Mann blasts Archbishop Welby’s tepid response to rising antisemitism in the U.K.
• “Stars at Gaza aid concert accuse Israel of genocide” – Paul Weller and Paloma Faith joined other Left-wing artists at Brixton’s Gig for Gaza, accusing Israel of “genocide”, reports the Telegraph.
• “Iran arrests female singer who refused to wear a hijab” – Iranian authorities have triggered widespread outrage after a female singer who refused to wear a hijab while singing in a virtual concert on YouTube was arrested, says the Mail.
• “Ed Miliband warned against giving £1.5 billion to retired miners” – Unearthed documents show that Ed Miliband has been cautioned that a £1.5 billion payout to retired miners could burden taxpayers with years of pension costs, according to the Telegraph.
• “‘Ed Miliband is our most consequential MP, I’m afraid’” – Ed Miliband’s terrible record as Labour leader and now Energy Secretary is at odds with his sense of manifest destiny, says Dominic Lawson in the Sunday Times.
• “Net Zero target at risk as households drop out of electricity rationing scheme” – Ed Miliband’s Net Zero power grid plan has faltered, as sign-ups for the key electricity-saving scheme have dropped by more than half, reports the Telegraph.
• “How suppliers deliver ‘green’ power when wind runs out of puff” – On his Eigen Values Substack, David Turver reveals how energy companies greenwash 100% renewable claims.
• “Funny money” – Can modern monetary theory pay for Net Zero? No, says Richard Lyon on his Substack; it’s inflationary rocket fuel.
• “William’s veiled dig at ‘eco-warriors’ Harry and Meghan?” – Prince William, in what appeared to be a veiled dig at Harry and Meghan, insists he does not want to “preach” about the environment, believing that people shouldn’t be told what they can’t do, according to the Mail.
• “RSV vaccines for children: still crazy after all these years” – On Substack, Dr. Robert W. Malone warns that pushing RSV vaccine trials for babies, despite no clear need and the risk of harm, shows an industry more focused on profit than ever.
• “Pfizer failed to disclose deaths of two women in Covid vaccine clinical trials” – According to Daily Clout researchers, Pfizer-BioNTech concealed the deaths of two vaccinated participants in its COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, reports Dr. Michael Nevradakis in the Defender.
• “On the bizarre case of Stephan Kramer – the spy chief and anti-AfD crusader who leaked secrets to journalists, hung out with a Russian biker gang and got caught plagiarising from an Antifa newsletter” – On Substack, Eugyppius uncovers the scandalous tale of Stephan Kramer, the spy chief whose bizarre antics have made him an unlikely poster child for the German establishment’s anti-AfD crusade.
• “ABC to pay Trump $15 million for defamation, issue apology” – ABC News and star anchor George Stephanopoulos have reached a settlement with Donald Trump for $15 million, after Stephanopoulos falsely said that Trump was found “liable for rape” in a civil case, reports Politico.
• “Trump insider claims drones are part of Government’s Project Blue Beam” – Social media has gone ablaze with conspiracy theorists insisting that the mysterious drone sightings all over America are connected to a chilling Government plot, says the Mail. 
• “Trump vows to end ‘very costly’ daylight saving time” – President-elect Donald Trump says he wants to end daylight saving time (DST), arguing it is “inconvenient” and “very costly” to Americans, according to the BBC.
• “DEIsappearing act” – DEI will not go quietly, but it is clear the tide has turned, says Thomas Buckley on his Substack.
• “Fans accuse BBC of ‘ruining’ Match of the Day” – A row has broken out as the BBC lines up Kelly Cates as one of the three presenters to replace Gary Lineker on Match of the Day – with fans accusing BBC bosses of “ruining” the popular sports programme, reports the Mail.
• “Guinness crisis comes to a head as pubs run dry” – Consumption of Guiness has risen by more than 20% over the past year — but the drink’s sudden popularity appears to have taken even its owner by surprise, say Daisy Eastlake and Andrew Ellson in the Times.
• “Free speech is not free in this country any more” – Andrew Doyle on Free Speech Nation reacts to the news that Ipso has sanctioned the Spectator for ‘misgendering’ a trans activist.

If you have any tips for inclusion in the round-up, email us here.