Can anyone or anything stop Andy Burnham becoming PM now, asks Mark Littlewood in his latest Political Betting column as he contemplates breaking his usual rule and taking the 2/5 odds-on bet.
The net zero economy is booming, so claims that prosperity depends on oil and gas are bunkum β unless youβre a Reform backer with fossil fuel interests, of course
Really? You want to destroy a million jobs? Vote Reform UK for mass unemployment: is that your pitch? Hammer these questions home whenever you meet a supporter of the party. Or, for that matter, a Conservative, as their party now takes an almost identical line.
The figures are stark. They were compiled not by Just Stop Oil or the Green party, but by that bastion of conservatism, the Confederation of British Industry. They show that the net zero economy now directly employs more than 300,000 full-time workers, while supporting the jobs of 1.1 million. The net zero sector is worth Β£100bn to the UK already, and is likely to grow by hundreds of billions more. The rest of the green economy directly employs a further 600,000.
In his recent resignation speech, Wes Streeting attempted to merge Reform, the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Fein into a mega-threat of "nationalism" to which he was the antidote. But it fell flat, says Dr Nicholas Tate.
Firefighters in Manchester have been warned over support for Reform UK β and Andy Burnham is the Fire Commissioner. The Free Speech Union has written to him, demanding an explanation.