Just astonishing garbage from the government. Claiming they're spending £75bn on defence, while also claiming it will only cost £20bn, by using different baselines.

Alice Through the Looking Glass maths.

It's only a '£75 billion increase' over 6 years if you assume that spending would otherwise have been frozen in cash terms for 6 years - i.e. only if the government was, until today, planning to breach its NATO commitments. This is such an unhelpful way to present the figures.

Apparently a 0.5% GDP uplift in defence spending is “fully funded” even though there is precisely zero increase in overall spending plans (which already didn’t remotely add up). This is deeply, and depressingly, unserious stuff.

Doing my local elections preview this weekend. If anyone has any bit of useful local info on either council or mayoral elections, my DMs are open...

In a neck and neck race, it could make the difference.

⚖️ The Safety of Rwanda Bill will soon become law, but we believe it remains a defective, constitutionally improper piece of legislation. (1/4)

Good piece here on fixing the UK's incredibly wasteful VAT regime, which gives away huge amounts of money to the highest spenders in the name of progressivity.

economist.com/britain/2024/0…

Every single one of the remaining departments would have to be cut by as much as Osborne-era austerity again to make the numbers work.

Justice, Home, Local Government, Housing, Transport.

Never has a government gone into an election with such an implausible fiscal plan.

This is a lot easier to announce than deliver. This promise is for 2030 when the MOD doesn't currently have a budget for 2025/26... and announcing it outside of a fiscal event means trade-offs/how it's funding is completely ignored

Here is the latest statement from French authorities about the disaster in the Channel this morning, confirming that five people have died - 3 men, a woman and a 'little girl'

They are believed to have died after the boat hit a sandbank close to shore
premar-manche.gouv.fr/communiques-pr…

The whole absurdity of the Rwanda scheme, in 60 seconds, from Sky News' Tom Cheshire.

A performative, reputation-trashing drop in the ocean, at the cost of £660,000 per removee.

Please share! ~AA