News Round-Up

• “Factories to lay off staff ‘within months’ unless Starmer closes US trade deal” – MPs have been warned that factory owners will be forced to begin laying off staff “within months” unless Sir Keir can strike a trade deal with Trump, reports the Express.
• “Reeves rules out chlorinated chicken in US trade deal” – Rachel Reeves has ruled out any trade deal with the US that would put chlorinated chicken or hormone beef on British supermarket shelves, according to the Telegraph.
• “Britain’s borrowing is spiralling out of control” – Figures on the public finances show that we borrowed nearly £152 billion last year, says Michael Simmons in the Spectator. That’s £21 billion more than the previous year.
• “The UK is heading for a full-blown financial crash, and nothing can stop it now” – Rachel Reeves has utterly lost control of public spending and is putting the economy in peril, warns Matthew Lynn in the Telegraph.
• “Tax boss retires with £107,000-a-year pension despite record plunge in HMRC customer service” – The CEO of HMRC will retire with a six-figure pension despite presiding over the worst customer service levels on record, reports the Telegraph.
• “The facts are in: mass immigration has led to a rise in crime” – Coming to this country is a privilege, never a right, says Robert Jenrick in the Telegraph. It should not be afforded to anyone likely to endanger our citizens.
• “Jenrick vows to unite Tories and Reform in leaked audio” – According to a leaked recording obtained by Sky News, Robert Jenrick told a meeting of young Conservatives that the tories and Reform UK would no longer be fighting each other for votes by the time of the next election.
• “Tories set to lose half of council seats amid Reform surge” – The Tories are on course to lose around 500 seats in next week’s local elections as Reform makes huge gains across the country, according to the HuffPost.
• “‘I have 45% chance of becoming PM’: on the doorsteps with Nigel Farage” – The Telegraph joins Reform leader Nigel Farage for a busy day of campaigning in traditional Tory strongholds.
• “Keir Starmer can’t explain his changing views on gender” – In the Spectator, Isabel Hardman slams Sir Keir Starmer for struggling to defend his position on gender during a heated PMQs with Kemi Badenoch.
• “As Sir Keir spouted more porkies, Kemi made sausages out of him” – The PM wriggled like a greased-up piglet as Badenoch went for the jugular and exposed his gender hypocrisy with the contempt it deserved, writes Madeline Grant in the Telegraph.
• “NHS hospitals ‘trying to defy’ trans ruling” – Hospitals have been accused of seeking to defy a Supreme Court ruling that trans women are not legally women, reports the Telegraph.
• “Why the Supreme Court’s trans ruling is bound to be sabotaged” – In TCW, Sean Walsh argues that the Supreme Court’s affirmation of biological sex is a fleeting win for common sense, doomed to be undermined by progressive activism.
• “‘Labour’s class warriors destroyed my daughter’s primary school. I will never forgive them’” – This Government’s agenda is driven by envy, spite and nastiness, says Allister Heath in the Telegraph. It simply can’t be allowed to get away with it.
• “Children could face social media curfew under Labour” – Digital Secretary Peter Kyle has told the Telegraph that he is examining the online equivalent of a TV watershed for children, following concerns that the “addictive nature” of social media is disrupting their sleep, their family lives and other aspects of daily life. So, er, how will he stop children paying on their phones after 9pm?
• “Do conservatives think?” – On Substack, Dr David McGrogan explains why there is (almost) no conservative political theory.
• “Michael Gove takes title Lord Gove of Torry, in father’s honour” – Michael Gove has revealed that he will pay tribute to the working-class community where his late father ran a business when he enters the House of Lords, according to the National.
• “The anti-woke cardinal who conservative Catholics want as Pope” – The odds of Cardinal Robert Sarah succeeding Pope Francis have shortened significantly in recent days, writes Adrian Blomfield in the Telegraph.
• “Middle-class households with large gardens risk paying higher water bills” – Households with large gardens or swimming pools could be forced to pay higher water bills under new class warfare measures, reports the Telegraph.
• “BP under pressure from pro-oil hedge fund as MPs urge it to go green” – BP is facing fresh pressure from a pro-oil hedge fund just as MPs push the company to restore its green pledges, says the Telegraph.
• “Ed Miliband set to U-turn and ban solar panels made by slave labour” – Ed Miliband is set to perform a U-turn by issuing a legal guarantee that Britain’s state-owned energy company won’t use solar panels produced by Chinese slaves, reports the Mail.
• “Is Net Zero possible without slave labour?” – Ed Miliband’s green energy plans face a major setback as his attempt to remove slave labour from the solar panel supply chain risks delaying his 2030 clean energy target, writes Ross Clark in the Spectator.
• “Can Ed Miliband get any worse?” – The Energy Secretary’s latest possible scheme of ‘zonal pricing’ is as disastrous as all his others, says Stephen Pollard in the Telegraph.
• “BBC bans presenter from hosting heat pump podcast” – The BBC has banned Evan Davis from hosting a podcast about heat pumps over concerns that the appliances are too controversial, reports the Mail.
• “The climate crisis is being misreported – and there is no legal way to stop it (yet)” – UK press regulator IMPRESS is pushing for new legal powers to tackle climate misinformation in the media, according to journalism.co.uk.
• “Slovakia’s PM warns of ‘extremely high’ levels of DNA contamination in mRNA Covid shots” – Slovakia has become the first nation to take official action on mRNA vaccine DNA contamination, reports Rebekah Barnett on her Substack.
• “No wonder tourists don’t want to come to Britain” – Brexit didn’t have to mean making booking a holiday in Britain a pain, yet that is how the UK Government has chosen to use its freedoms, writes Ross Clark in the Spectator.
• “Parliament’s moral posturing on Israel is delusional” – In the Spectator, Jonathan Sacerdoti slams Parliament’s foreign affairs committee for turning its inquiry into Israel into a farce.
• “Israel deletes Pope Francis condolence tweet” – Israel has deleted a social media post expressing sorrow for the death of Pope Francis, reports the Jewish Chronicle.
• “Banning Alternative für Deutschland” – On Substack, Eugyppius expresses his fear that the German establishment will try to ban Alternative für Deutschland.
• “Is Klaus Schwab takedown misdirection from a bigger problem?” – On the Focal Points Substack, John Leake suggests that the recent allegations against Klaus Schwab over luxury spending may be a deliberate misdirection to distract from a much bigger, potentially existential threat to the World Economic Forum.
• “Could Trump cost Australia’s Liberals victory?” – It’s no coincidence things changed for Peter Dutton after Trump got elected President, writes Terry Barnes in the Spectator.
• “How the US lost patience with talks to end the war in Ukraine” – In the Telegraph, George Grylls reveals how a frustrated President Trump tried to strong-arm Ukraine into peace by offering Putin major concessions – only to reignite tensions with Zelensky.
• “Trump blames Zelensky for derailing London peace talks” – President Trump says that Ukraine ‘has no cards left to play’ and must accept that Crimea is lost, according to NBC News.
• “Trump considers climb down in trade war with China as tariffs hammer US” – President Trump could cut tariffs on Chinese imports to between 50% and 65%, amid fears of the damage being wrought on the world’s biggest economy by the border taxes, reports the Telegraph.
• “Trump drops threat to sack Fed chief after market chaos” – Donald Trump says he has “no intention” of sacking Fed chairman Jerome Powell after days of threats that sparked market turmoil, according to the Telegraph.
• “‘Vast majority of Americans don’t back Trump’” – Sir Richard Branson says he does not believe that most Americans support Donald Trump’s actions since returning to the White House, reports the Telegraph.
• “Elon Musk makes bombshell announcement about his future with DOGE” – Elon Musk says he’ll dedicate more time to Tesla and his role as “First Buddy” will “drop significantly” starting in May after the company reported a breathtaking downfall in first quarter profits, according to the Mail. 
• “Musk is returning to save Tesla. But can he undo the damage he has caused?” – Tesla’s shareholders will soon find out if Musk’s return and vision of the company is his latest stroke of genius – or the strategic blunder that finally gives succour to his enemies, writes Matt Oliver in the Telegraph.
• “US companies avoid hiring white men as part of diversity push” – Hundreds of companies are deliberately shunning white men for jobs amid pressure to make workplaces more diverse, reports the Telegraph.
• “Transgender runners can compete in London Marathon as women” – Trans women will still be allowed to run in the London Marathon as females – despite a Supreme Court ruling that they are not legally women, says the Mail.
• “JoJo Siwa admits ‘I am not a lesbian’ as she clarifies sexuality” – Dance Moms star JoJo Siwa has revealed she no longer identifies as a lesbian, according to the Mail.
• “The blind singer cancelled for being anti-abortion” – Blind Swiss Croatian singer Bernarda Brunovic has been declared persona non grata in Switzerland over her views on abortion, writes Swiss FSU CEO Andrea Seaman in Spiked.
• “Trigger warning for ‘historic language’ in Jane Austen brother’s memoir” – The memoir of Jane Austen’s brother has been published with a trigger warning for including “opinions of the era”, reports the Telegraph.
• “Gary Lineker’s arrogant BBC interview proves he still just doesn’t get it” – Gary Lineker’s refusal to acknowledge why he shouldn’t be entitled to express political views on a taxpayer-funded TV channel reflects his staggering arrogance, says Michael Deacon in the Telegraph.
• “Danish princess releases official portrait… holding her smartphone” – Denmark’s 18 year-old Princess Isabella has caused a stir online after posing for a strikingly modern photograph in which she is holding her mobile phone, reports LBC.
• “‘It was our fault this started!’” – On GB News, Jacob Rees-Mogg discusses non-crime hate incidents with Toby, who says the Tories were asleep at the wheel in allowing the NCHI regime to be established.

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