Newslinks for Christmas Eve 2023 | Conservative Home

Cameron vows to take a tough line with Iran

“Britain will not tolerate the escalation of Iran’s “malign” activities in the Middle East or on UK soil, Lord Cameron has warned. In his first newspaper interview since returning to government, the Foreign Secretary described Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah as “proxies” for Iran who were contributing to an “extremely high” level of “danger and insecurity” around the world. In a significant toughening of the UK’s approach, the former prime minister told The Telegraph that Iran must be sent “an incredibly clear message that this escalation will not be tolerated”. He pledged that Britain would work with allies to “develop a really strong set of deterrent measures” against Tehran.” – Sunday Telegraph

• Things have changed since ‘golden era’ of China relations, says Foreign Secretary – Sunday Telegraph
• Cameron will play “no role” in review of UAE-backed Telegraph takeover – Sunday Telegraph
• “When Rishi asked me to do this job, my instant reaction was to say yes” – Interview with David Cameron, Sunday Telegraph

Cleverly apologises for joke about spiking his wife’s drink

“Home Secretary James Cleverly has been criticised for making a comment about spiking his wife’s drink at a Downing Street reception. He reportedly said the ideal spouse is “someone who is always mildly sedated so she can never realise there are better men out there”. According to the Sunday Mirror, Mr Cleverly also mentioned Rohypnol – a so-called “date rape” drug. He has apologised for making an “ironic joke” in a private conversation.” – BBC

Reform UK “has already selected 440 candidates”

“The leader of Reform UK has privately given his senior team “cast-iron guarantees” that general election candidates will not be told to step aside for Tory opponents in a move that could split Rishi Sunak’s vote in key seats. Richard Tice has offered written assurances to key party figures that they will fight the Conservatives right up to polling day. Reform has already selected candidates for 440 seats and intends to stand in all constituencies bar those in Northern Ireland.” – Sunday Times

Poll shows Labour regarded as more united than the Conservatives

“Warring Tories must unite and cut taxes to have a shot at winning next year’s general election, an exclusive poll for The Sun on Sunday suggests. Many people also believe immigration — currently standing at a historic peak — is too high and should be slashed to the tens of thousands…Fifty-one per cent said the Tories are “more divided than united” on what they stand for, the Redfield & Wilton poll found. Just 29 per cent believe they are “more united”. The reverse is true for Labour, with 30 per cent believing the party to be “more divided” and 43 per cent calling it “more united.” – The Sun on Sunday

• Sneaky Sir Keir cannot be allowed to pull the wool over the eyes of voters – Leader, The Sun on Sunday
• Starmer to tour towns in bid to win back “Motorway Man” – Sunday Times

The King will use Christmas Day message “to champion green causes”

“The King will use his Christmas broadcast tomorrow to deliver a powerful message about the environment. Charles has long championed green causes and will use his platform to make a timely point about living more sustainably to the millions of viewers tuning in. While the precise contents of the address are a closely guarded secret, the eco-friendly theme is apparent in the way the message has been filmed. His Majesty recorded his speech in Buckingham Palace earlier this month in front of a living Christmas tree – potted with its roots intact rather than one which has been cut down. And all its decorations are environmentally friendly, too, crafted from plants or made from recyclable material.” – Mail on Sunday

• PM’s festive good wishes to those working in public services – Sunday Telegraph
• Hope and joy through the darkness – Leader, Sunday Telegraph
• How the wise men lifted my gloom at Christmas in bandit-ridden Baghdad – Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday
• 25 years after my release from prison, I will be back behind bars on Christmas Day – Jonathan Aitken, Mail on Sunday

Other political news

• Two former health secretaries join calls for new law on assisted dying – The Observer
• Teacher is banned for ‘misgendering’ pupil – Sunday Telegraph
• Call for more action on ‘pernicious’ romance fraud – BBC
• NHS trusts spending six-figures on ‘in-house woke advisors’ have little to show for it – Sunday Telegraph
• Rise in climate activists referred to Prevent – BBC
• Taxpayers forking out £20,000 a day to keep MPs warm in crumbling Houses of Parliament – The Sun on Sunday
• Sunak feared migrant curbs would hit tax cuts – Sunday Telegraph

Wallace: Send the “Chelsea tractors” to Ukraine at once

“Despite recent controversy over the proposed project to send ageing “Chelsea tractors” from Kensington to Kyiv, this enlightened idea must come to fruition. It can be done quickly – now, in fact – since the hold-up is over a simple bureaucratic issue that is easily overcome. It would require changes to regulations for the certificate of destruction, required for car scrappage, but this is not beyond the whim of the relevant secretaries of state. With immediate action from the Transport Secretary and logistical support from the Ministry of Defence, we can get this process moving and hand Ukraine a much-deserved Christmas present. Do it now.” – Ben Wallace and Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, Sunday Telegraph

• No price is too high to back Ukraine against Russia – Interview with Grant Shapps, Sunday Times
• In Ukraine I learnt that Sadiq Khan is scorned – Dominic Lawson, Sunday Times
• The West must snap out of its sleepwalk – Leader, Sunday Times
• How ex-model Nina Yevtushenko dodged floating Russian mines to rescue victims of the horrendous flooding that followed one of Putin’s most egregious war crimes – Lord Ashcroft, Mail on Sunday

Hunt: The economy has turned a corner

“I remember last Christmas when a number of commentators were confidently predicting turmoil for the economy and high inflation was here to stay. That has not happened. ..It’s no coincidence that experts now say our medium-term prospects are brighter than many of our neighbours on the continent, such as France and Germany…Our economy has turned a corner and the future of our finances is looking brighter – so don’t let the Scrooges get you down.” – Jeremy Hunt, Sunday Express

• Boost for Sunak as ‘Santa rally’ increases hopes of tax cuts in Spring Budget providing dose of optimism for struggling families – Mail on Sunday
• The green shoots that could herald a lifeline for the PM – Leader, Mail on Sunday
• Only active public investment will cure Britain’s ills – Leader, The Observer

Hannan: The law of economics forces politicians to face reality in the end

“People the world over vote for free stuff for as long as they believe it is there. It takes a cataclysmic shock to convince them that there really is nothing left in the kitty rather than the problem being with greedy politicians or rich tax avoiders. Argentina went through a century of decline, yet kept voting for conmen who claimed that there were painless solutions. Since 1980, inflation there is believed to have run at an average annual rate of 206 per cent. Only now, after trying everything else, have Argentine voters accepted the need for smaller government. Last week, their new libertarian president, Javier Milei, announced spending cuts equivalent to 2.9 per cent of GDP, reducing energy and transport subsidies and the state pension, and abolishing nine of Argentina’s 18 federal ministries.” – Daniel Hannan, Sunday Telegraph

Hodges: Sunak ends the year on the brink of a calamitous defeat

“If the next election is framed as a ‘change election’ Keir Starmer and Labour will win it. And they will win it by a landslide. The only prospect Sunak has of staving off a calamitous defeat is to make people fearful of change. To beseech them to think twice on gambling on Starmer and his untried and untested Shadow Cabinet. The line he should be using is as old as the hills. But it has that lineage because it works.” – Dan Hodges, Mail on Sunday

• Drakeford’s rotten legacy in Wales is the nightmare future under Labour – Simon Heffer, Sunday Telegraph

News in brief

• Our Godless era is dead – Paul Kingsnorth, Unherd
• Sunak’s rule will end with a whimper, not a bang – Patrick O’Flynn, The Spectator
• Policy inaction means many will be cold, hungry and lonely this Christmas –  The Archbishop of York, The House magazine
• The traditional US coalitions of left and right face battles they were not set up to fight – Julius Krein, New Statesman