David Lammy used undiplomatic language after predecessor David Cameron publicly revealed the Foreign Office under his tutelage had developed potential sanctions against two particularly extremist members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government: finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. My snout whispered the current Foreign Secretary accused the previous Conservative incumbent of scoring cheap political points. Foreign Office policy is to keep targets secret to prevent prey avoiding measures. Lord Dave may live to regret trying to embarrass Lammy. Cameron missed out on Nato, and securing a global role he covets, perhaps at the UN, would require David nice-till-crossed Lammy’s seal of approval.
Rishi Sunak’s last official act as Tory leader will be responding to Rachel Reeves’ tax-raising Budget – but Conservative whips increasingly expect his final move to be bidding goodbye to the Commons, taking former deputy PM Oliver Dowden with him. Both deny even contemplating early retirement, but jumpy whips are on by-election watch. Both seats survived the 4 July massacre, so Tory optimists ponder how a couple of holds could boost Sunak’s replacement, whether it’s Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick.
Muzzled Lib Dems straining at the leash are demanding Ed Davey free them to savage Labour after the Budget. He’s accused of giving Starmer an easy ride to date. One of the 72 growled retaining a constituency snatched from the Cons requires him to oppose Labour fiercely. Davey’s playing a long game, dreaming of holding the balance of power after the next election. The war game is Labour lose votes to the Greens while the Cons and Reform split the right to allow the Libs to occupy more of the centre ground. Only four years and eight months to discover whether the strategy works.
Eyebrows were raised that Ramsay MacDonald is the subject of the first episode of a new online Labour history series for party members. ’Tis the centenary of the illegitimate son of a farm labourer and housemaid becoming the first of seven Labour PMs. Yet a veteran snarled that “MacDonald is the party’s biggest traitor” for defecting in 1931 to head a Tory-dominated National Government. A disgruntled activist proposed future sessions on Roy Jenkins and the Gang of Four, followed by a Rosie Duffield New Year special.
The old expression “you might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb” is encouraging seemingly dozens of Labour bigwigs and fellow travellers to believe they are poised to be handed peerages by Starmer. Ermine for Sue Gray may not be the PM’s most controversial present.
[See also: Would Kemi Badenoch be worth the risk for Conservatives?]
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This article appears in the 23 Oct 2024 issue of the New Statesman, The crisis candidate