The new Prime Minister has rejected calls from assisted suicide lobbyists, stating that it’s not the right time for a debate on legalising the practice. He’s moving the numbers on the Bill Lauren Edwards brought back to parliament…
Kim Leadbeater’s Bill passed Third Reading last year by 23 votes. If 12 MPs switch sides, the new revived version could fail at its Second Reading on 11 September. Seven MPs who backed the previous Bill have already stated they do not support using the Parliament Acts to force it through, or reviving the Bill in this parliamentary session (A further MP who did not vote at Third Reading has now said that they would oppose the revived Bill). That’s before Burnham’s intervention is even factored in…
Labour MPs have privately cited Keir Starmer’s support as their reason for backing it last time, according to the BBC. Starmer is no longer PM. MPs who relied on Starmer’s judgment now face a new Prime Minister stating that the debate shouldn’t be happening. Only 7% of the public and 7% of Labour voters wanted legalising assisted suicide prioritised. Before MPs even vote, Lauren Edwards’ Bill seems unlikely to pass…
Speaking in Barrow this week, Andy Burnham hailed Labour’s record on immigration, despite the fact that far more small boat migrants arrived during his first week in office than Starmer’s. Guido has the stats…
Burnham is understood to be interested in doing more returns deals – to ship migrants back to their countries of origin – with third states. This path has been trodden by every recent PM to basically nil effect…
Guido examines one case in point: Algeria – one of only around 19 returns deals the UK has live currently. Earlier this year Algeria refused a French list of roughly 60 nationals marked for expulsion, and when France put a convicted criminal on a flight to Algiers, Algeria refused to let him off the plane and it flew straight back. The French interior minister later accused Algiers of “trying to humiliate France.” France and Algeria were colonial brother countries, their relationship is much deeper than Britain’s, our deal is routinely ignored by the local authorities…
In January this year, An al-Qaeda terrorist who killed a police officer was blocked from being deported to Algeria from Britain. Kamel Bourgass is serving two jail terms for stabbing a Special Branch detective to death and plotting a major ricin poison attack in the UK. He couldn’t be deported to Algeria due to human rights concerns…
And who makes these decisions locally? Step forward Boualem Boualem, President Tebboune’s chief of staff and Director of the Presidential Cabinet. He speaks in public so rarely that when he simply vanished from view for the best part of a month this spring the presidency said absolutely nothing, and the country was left to run on rumour. In many countries, this is the kind of desk Britain’s requests ultimately have to cross. Reassured?
Burnham will get nowhere with expanded returns and deportations deals. If he is going to turn the Labour ship around he needs a much bigger plan…
A Halloween horror…
Switzerland is the world’s most prosperous country, according to the 2026 Legatum Prosperity Index. The UK came 18th of 161 countries…
Here are the top ten:
| 1 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
| 2 | 🇳🇴 Norway |
| 3 | 🇮🇪 Ireland |
| 4 | 🇩🇰 Denmark |
| 5 | 🇫🇮 Finland |
| 6 | 🇮🇸 Iceland |
| 7 | 🇸🇪 Sweden |
| 8 | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| 9 | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| 10 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
The Index finds the UK held back by comparatively weak social cohesion. Its ranking on that metric alone has fallen by twelve places since 2015…
The 2026 edition is the first since 2023, with the Prosperity Institute pausing to revise the methodology. Indicators are now grouped into three domains: Development, Freedom and Society. New techniques limit how far countries can offset serious weaknesses in one area with strengths in another, which the Institute says has caused China and Russia to plunge in the rankings. Read the full Index here…
There are concerns in Downing Street over Louise Haigh, briefed as the ‘most powerful woman in government’ and Burnham’s right hand. Haigh was handed Deputy Prime Ministerial powers as first secretary as well as the running of the new Office of the PM and Cabinet…
Downing Street insiders stress that Haigh, who was forced out of Starmer’s government as Transport Secretary after details of her fraud conviction emerged, is “still full of rage about having been sacked.” She is held responsible, along with to some extent Angela Rayner, for the brutality of the “revenge reshuffle.” Which purged anyone connected to Morgan McSweeney and caused no small amount of bad blood…
Guido understands Burnham has a close working relationship with proactive Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo, who has led on machinery of government changes including splitting the Cabinet Office in two. A No10 source said: “That relationship appears to be annoying Lou as well – she wants to be the only person Andy reaches for.” A government source added: “It’s early days but jealousy can torpedo smooth decision-making.” Close-knit teams have their own set of problems…
Burnham and his close confidantes have prided themselves on being a tiny group in the playground with whom everyone now wants to be friends. To that effect they have also delighted in the Lobby’s humiliation over Shabana Mahmood’s Cabinet appointment. Downing Street sources tell Guido there are worries the first secretary is an “unexploded bomb” and will cause problems for Burnham further down the line. Make Haigh while the sun shines…
Burnham confirms he spoke to Trump last night about drilling in the North Sea:
“I indicated in the phone call that we had a week last Monday that I would take a pragmatic approach when it comes to the North Sea, and that is my intention as we go forward from here. There is a resource there. When people are struggling, we can’t ignore that. Hence, me indicating that to the president…”