Circus chap mulls bid to be MP

 

Battle for key London seat erupts within hours of Keir Starmer quitting as Zack Polanski mulls bid to be MP

The looming contest in Sir Keir Starmer’s north London constituency will present a major test of Andy Burnham's leadership

Labour was preparing for a massive battle against Zack Polanski’s Green Party at a London by-election after Sir Keir Starmer announced he was quitting as an MP.

Green leader Mr Polanski is considering standing in Holborn and St Pancras to get into Parliament.

But Labour was defiant over holding onto the seat.

“They can fancy their chances all they like, but we will be fighting hard and we'll be making sure that we win,” said Cabinet Office minister Sally Jameson.

Pants

Prisons will still function under plans to turn laundries into cells – minister

Justice Secretary Alex Norris said hundreds of urgently-needed places would be created by converting storerooms and offices.

The Justice Secretary has insisted prisons will “still function properly” amid concerns over Government plans to turn laundries into cells in a bid to tackle overcrowding.

Alex Norris said “hundreds of places” would be created by converting existing spaces inside prisons into accommodation.


The Biggest Prison Building Programme Since the Victorians — But Will It Be Enough?

The government is building prisons at a pace not seen since the Victorian era. Ministers have described the ambition as delivering 14,000 additional prison places by 2031, with around 2,900 already completed. It is a significant and expensive commitment — an acknowledgment that the prison estate of England and Wales is so far below what the system requires that only a major capital investment programme can close the gap.

But the context in which this building programme sits is one of the most challenging in the recent history of English criminal justice. The previous government committed to 20,000 new prison places by the mid-2020s. By September 2024, approximately 6,500 had been delivered — less than a third of the target, years late, and 80 per cent over the original budget projection. The current programme is running against the backdrop of that failure, and the question of whether 14,000 places by 2031 is sufficient — let alone achievable — is one that penal reformers, academics, and parliamentary committees have pressed government to answer clearly.

And up pops the doublethink

'Poorer than we think!' Darren Jones warns Andy Burnham against public spending as path to wealth

Darren Jones has warned against increasing public spending as a path to making the country "great again".

The former Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister under Sir Keir Starmer said Britain is "poorer than we often think" as he said higher public spending alone would not lead to economic growth.

Mr Jones was sacked from Labour's frontbench when Andy Burnham entered No 10.

He had been talked up as a contender to lead the party, but declined to stand, saying a contest would not give the eventual winner enough time to prepare an autumn budget.

Writing for the Times, the MP for Bristol North West said: "Britain is poorer than we often think. We won’t get richer based on higher public spending alone, and we can’t tax billionaires who don’t live here.

"We shouldn't rely on public spending as a route to some romantic version of making Britain great again as we look in the rearview mirror for a great history that is no longer available to us.


And up pops the doublethink - just when it was going so well -

"We must face the future, and I know my colleagues are up to the challenge."

No doubt Darren Jones is keeping his powder dry in preparation for Burnham's defenestration before the next general election. Maybe he doesn't realise his powder is already damp and his colleagues have no balls for their muskets.