Newsletter #18: The walls close in on Labour's third-world kleptocrat nepobaby

PLUS: Kemi Badenoch tells Tory MPs, ‘trust the plan’; and Is Keir Starmer cursed?

Good morning.

Insofar as anything has happened in British politics (i.e., not the gilts) last week, it has been as a consequence of the rage over grooming gangs that exploded following Elon Musk’s interventions. I suppose it’s the beginning of the year; people are still a bit tired after Christmas. Things will kick into gear soon, I imagine.

As a result, rather than having a few big-ticket items, this week we will instead have a look at many smaller items.

This newsletter’s agenda: The walls close in on Labour's third-world kleptocrat nepobaby (free); Kemi Badenoch tells Tory MPs, ‘trust the plan’ (free); Victoria Atkins: why isn’t she under more pressure? (paid); Gilts, or ‘Rachel from Accounts has the blues’ (paid); Is Keir Starmer cursed? Former Labour MP and vocal supporter Ivor Caplin arrested after ‘paedo-hunter’ sting (paid); More Reform UK shenanigans: an update in five bullet points (paid).

The two sections of this newsletter are free. Upgrade to a paid subscription — £8/month, or £80/year — to read the rest.

The walls close in on Labour's third-world kleptocrat nepobaby

We are talking, of course, about Tulip Siddiq, MP for Hampstead and Highgate, and Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister. Yes, that means that her remit includes anti-corruption and anti-money laundering. A bit awkward, given that Siddiq’s flyers were found in her kleptocrat aunt’s ransacked presidential palace in Dhaka, rather undermining her (deeply unconvincing) stance that she has little-to-nothing to do with what’s happening in Bangladesh. It is astonishing that such a person was appointed to this position in the first place, when she shouldn’t even be allowed to be an MP — but Starmer seems to have been taken in by not only her, but also her aunt’s political party (the Awami League), meeting with representatives on a number of occasions.

The Times and The Sunday Times have led the charge against Siddiq, and are now increasingly openly siding with calls for Siddiq to resign. In part, they cite the fact that she seems to be a stooge of Starmer’s, with no obvious expertise useful for the role. But additionally, very little credence is given to Siddiq’s obvious retort — that she is a victim of lawfare from a vengeful new regime that hates her family, who she hasn’t even been that closely involved with anyway. Instead, the current head of Government in Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, is cited as being a ‘Nobel Peace Prize winner’, and thus (presumably) almost unimpeachable in the ‘normie’ worldview. He tells The Times:

During an interview on Thursday at the Jamuna State Guest House, his official residence in the capital, Dhaka, [Muhammad] Yunus said it was an “irony” that Siddiq had been accused of corruption.

“She becomes the minister for anti-corruption and defends herself [over the London properties],” he said. “Maybe you didn’t realise it, but now you realise it. You say: ‘Sorry, I didn’t know it [at] that time, I seek forgiveness from the people that I did this and I resign.’ She’s not saying that. She’s defending herself.”

He acknowledged, however, that it was not for him to say she should step down.

Dhaka, as I predicted, are increasingly aggressively pursuing Siddiq, demanding to see her bank accounts and transactions history. This means that despite lack of teeth to the process she is facing in London (which is seemingly an investigation into whether she should be investigated), things might move beyond her — and the Government’s — control very fast.

Worse still, investigative journalists have now realised that some of Siddiq’s shady financial dealings were actually revealed by the Panama Papers. This helped us learn how Siddiq came to live in a £650,000 flat in Hampstead owned by her younger sister:

Siddiq denies any wrongdoing, stating that any questions about the property should be directed towards her younger sister, the actual (former) owner of the property (despite Siddiq living there, and her sister being only eighteen and not having a job when she came to own the property). Not a very convincing answer.

Rumours are that Starmer has already began shortlisting potential replacements for Siddiq. In fact, Science Secretary Peter Kyle has already seemed to say that Siddiq should resign if it is found that she broke the rules (which seems likely). Siddiq’s resignation would be embarrassing for Starmer, who has backed her more than she deserves on this issue, but not exactly catastrophic. It’s mostly interesting because it demonstrates the utter naivety of the Labour Party in having such a person as an MP in the first place — in the past, Labour activists told us that she’s a British citizen, so we have no right to question her relationship with Bangladesh — let alone appointing her to such a sensitive position.

Kemi Badenoch tells Tory MPs, ‘trust the plan’

Kemi Badenoch has told worried Tory MPs, ‘trust the plan’. Okay, not literally, but she has doubled-down on her view that she should not announce any new policies for at least two more years. Instead, 2025 will focus on ‘rebuilding trust’ with voters (as if this wouldn’t logically involve, well, policies). In 2026, she will focus on ‘establishing credibility’. Finally, towards the end of 2027, ‘at the earliest’, she will begin unveiling ‘plans for Government’. Even aside from the obvious lack of logic to such a plan in itself, MPs are also concerned due to rumours that Starmer might call an election much earlier than expected; perhaps even in 2027, if reporting from The Times is to be believed.

I do have to give Badenoch some credit here: despite the Conservatives flailing, with Reform threatening to overtake them in the polls, she has stuck to her guns; perhaps in some kind of ‘Iron Lady’ LARP. In a way, it’s quite admirable. It’s just unfortunate that it’s for something very, very silly. Because how can these three goals actually be separated? In reality, if the Conservatives return to power, all three will have been achieved, at least to some extent, simultaneously.

She continues to claim that Reform give ‘easy answers’, but as we have previously argued, on some issues, the answers are in fact easy. Immigration is not actually very complicated. If she was talking about, say, tax simplification, or some other such intractable matter, then I’d be more sympathetic. But no: we are meant to wait around until she decides on the precise number for her ‘numerical cap’ — something that could be done in an afternoon! Time is ticking for the Conservative Party — can they save themselves by picking a new leader, before it’s too late?

Victoria Atkins: why isn’t she under more pressure? And Keir Starmer: why did he abstain on grooming gangs inquiry vote?