Shiny new stats
Yesterday brought a rare piece of good news for the Prime Minister,
with new ONS figures showing that inflation has fallen to the 2%
target set by the Bank of England for the first time since 2021 - the
Bank is unlikely to rush to any judgement, however, and is expected to
hold interest rates at 5.25% today. While Sunak will be pleased with
the inflation figures, it's almost certainly too little too late with
polling still showing the Tories on track for an extinction level
event on 4 July.
Radio Rishi
Sunak’s good mood can’t
have lasted long thanks to the brutal grilling he endured from furious
callers on Nick Ferrari’s LBC radio show, in which he was accused of
“lying through his teeth” and dubbed a “pound-shop Nigel Farage” over
his record on LGBT rights. There is no doubt that he received a far
frostier reception than Starmer the day before, which is no surprise
given the damage he and his party have inflicted on this country over
the past 14 years.
Spikey Swinney
John Swinney doubled down on the SNP’s commitment to independence
and insisted his was the only party to oppose cuts as he launched the
SNP manifesto in Edinburgh, facing tough questions on his party’s
record after 17 years running the devolved government.
Stonehenge gets sprayed
Two Just Stop Oil activists sprayed Stonehenge in orange powder
paint ahead of today’s Summer Solstice celebrations. In a statement,
the group said it was time for “megalithic action” and called for the
next UK Government to agree to a plan to stop the extraction and
burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030. In a first for this election
campaign, Just Stop Oil’s actions have managed to unify all the major
parties, who all similarly condemned the stunt.
Planning ahead
Shadow Climate Change and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband confirmed
that Labour will include legislation to create its publicly-backed
energy company GB Energy in the first King’s Speech if the party wins
next month’s election. The King’s Speech is due to take place on July
17, almost two weeks after the General Election.
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