Zack Polanski has won the Green candidacy for the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, having defeated local councillor Hamza Chowdhury to the selection. It’s a showdown with Labour’s Camden Council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali for Starmer’s old seat on 8th October…
The UK economy grew by 0.4 in July according to the ONS. Partly the result of AI investment…
ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said:
“Within services, computer programming was the largest contributor, continuing the strong growth seen throughout the year, with evidence that businesses involved with AI and related technologies helped to boost this sector.
“Continuing recent trends, research and development and rental and leasing also helped drive growth, while wholesaling saw a notable fall.”
Don’t crack open the champagne…
Basem Naim, a senior official within Hamas’s political bureau, on Ed Miliband’s Israeli sanctions:
“The imposition of sanctions by Britain and other European countries and Canada on goods imported from the settlements of the occupied West Bank, and the London foreign minister’s use of the term ‘ethnic cleansing’ to describe the crimes of the settlers, are important steps in the right direction – but they are not enough.
“What is needed to achieve stability and peace in Palestine and beyond is the immediate implementation of the relevant international resolutions and the prosecution of war criminals in Israel in a manner similar to the Nazi trials at Nuremberg in Germany.”
There are also reports Iran is pleased with Miliband’s bright idea…
He has a habit of doing this. Was ist mit Rory los?
A 60-year old man and a 42-year old woman have been arrested under the National Security Act on suspicion of spying for Iran. They have been released on bail until late October…
The Met says the investigation was not linked to the upcoming Jewish holy days. Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London Helen Flanagan said:
“We know that news of these arrests will come as a concern to some members of the public, but I want to stress that we do not believe there to be any imminent threat to the wider public in connection with this matter.
“We’ve seen a marked increase in the tempo of our work linked to national security and state threats over the past year and this investigation is a continuation of that. As we’ve shown here, if we suspect any activity could threaten the safety of the UK or the public, then we will not hesitate to take action.”
Not the first time this has happened this year…
Lindy Cameron, Britain’s high commissioner to India, has been appointed the new Permanent Secretary of the FCDO. Filling the vacancy left by Olly Robbins in the wake of the Starmer-Mandelson debacle…
According to the FT, she beat two other shortlisted candidates: Dame Karen Pierce, Britain’s former UK ambassador to the US, and Dame Barbara Woodward, the deputy national security adviser. Ed Miliband is pleased:
“Lindy brings enormous experience across the fields of diplomacy, development and national security, and a reputation for dynamic leadership in postings across the world, most recently as high commissioner in India.”
She has previously been hawkish on China, warning of their “hostile activity in cyberspace” back in 2021. Will that last under a Labour government intent on a ‘reset’ with Beijing?
Former Treasury minister and adviser to Burnham in the Makerfield campaign Lord Jim O’Neill, who has turned down a role in his government, said Burnham’s first statement Commons was:
“The last thing investors wanted to hear… gilt yields have risen by a 0.25% in one day, which is a lot. We’ve not had that since Liz Truss days… If your country is under the focus of ‘can they come up with a sensible fiscal strategy’ on a day when the markets think ‘well no, you’re not showing any sign of it’ you’re going to have a tough day…if it stays like this your mortgage rate is going up.”