Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted
6am: Healey tells BBC he will bring down benefits bill before election
8:20: Treasury dispute the story
1pm: No10 disown it saying they have never set a target
2pm: PM says cuts as soon as possible
4pm: Healey says Labour won't bring bill down this Parliament
Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted
BREAKING: The Treasury confirms Healey’s words here are accurate and that the government will NOT bring the welfare bill down during this Parliament
They say it will come down in 2030-31, in the next Parliament
NEW: John Healey tells @krishgm the government will NOT bring the welfare bill down during this Parliament
Chancellor says: “it's not correct to say that we're going to bring this welfare bill down in this Parliament”
But in the same interview he says the system is “broken”
Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted
The kind of "physical altercation" most Tube passengers have on a daily basis
Exclusive:
Nigel Farage's "physical altercation" during the State Opening of Parliament was with the Lib Dem MP Caroline Voaden - and has caused an major row between Reform and the Lib Dems.
Lib Dem sources say Voaden was left "shocked and shaken" after he "shoved" her to secure a place in the procession of MPs to the King's Speech.
Video from the Commons Chamber that day shows Farage and Voaden making their way down from their benches together.
Voaden reported the incident to the Serjeant at Arms and says Farage was asked to apologise - but hasn't.
A Reform spokesman denies any wrongdoing by Farage, saying "it was the Lib Dem MPs being aggressive towards Nigel". Lib Dems say that is "utter nonsense"
Farage said yesterday that the "physical altercation" was the reason he didn't put up a fight to be in the Chamber for the Budget after his prayer card to save a space was removed.
He said he thought that after the row with Voaden, it was "better to avoid conflict".
But in a further twist, a Commons spokesman says Farage's card was only removed because it didn't have a date stamp, which are required to reserve a spot.
Top work by @hope_sapphire here:
telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/10…
Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted
I’ve now been contacted by numerous people about the ‘Boob Man of Oxford’.
Those who work or study at Oxford have asked for anonymity, so I can’t share identifying details. But some common themes have emerged:
- Unsurprisingly, women describe feeling uncomfortable about a male lecturer wearing what appear to be oversized prosthetic breasts in their place of work or study
- Some question whether there is a sexual element or whether it is a ‘power play’. These are their concerns, rather than established explanations for his behaviour - but are legitimate concerns nonetheless
- They say they’re afraid to raise concerns because he is surrounded by ‘allies’, including staff, who defend his appearance as 'self-expression'
One source has even wondered whether this is an elaborate stunt to embarrass the university - along the lines of Josh Seiter, who pretended to be a trans woman as an 'experiment'. Another source says this has been going on for three years - which does seem a long time to keep up the act.
There is interest in covering this in the mainstream press. What would help now is more documentary evidence: complaint letters, responses or correspondence showing how concerns have been handled.
My inbox is open: [email protected]. Happy to have a confidential chat about any aspect of this. All messages treated in confidence.
Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted
🚨"It defies belief! It is untenable that you can stab a girl and then walk the streets!"
A judge allowed a 14-year-old boy who stabbed a girl 10 times to walk free from court after telling him prison was the "last place" for a "bright lad" like him.
@JuliaHB1
Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted
🚨"October 7th gave rocket fuel to antisemitism… but this has been a problem for 20 years."
The BBC is facing growing calls to have an independent inquiry into "antisemitism" at the corporation.
@JuliaHB1 | @antisemitism
Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted
🚨Julia Hartley-Brewer clashes with commentator James Matthewson over cutting welfare.
James: "Forgive me for not wanting to go back to a Dickensian time! There's been a campaign of hate and blame!"
@JuliaHB1: "I don't think someone should get a subsidised car for ADHD!"
Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted
🚨URGENT ACTION: Tell your MP to say NO to passports for the internet
On 2 November, MPs will debate the Government's plan to demand everyone's IDs to enforce a "social media ban"
This is a digital ID scheme by the backdoor - use our tool to stop it⤵️
bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/campa…
Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted
🌊 The English Waters Megathread v2 🌊
It's been 3 years since my original thread and the prevailing narrative is still one of decline. I went through the latest numbers and put together this explainer video and thread to see what the new data shows.
youtube.com/watch?v=mRGeOUsb…
Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted
BREAKING: after Healey’s Budget today, MoD spending will be £1bn per year lower than in the Defence Investment Plan he resigned over👇
Big row potentially brewing on defence…
Tories alleging that Healey - the man of principle who quit over DIP - might actually be *cutting* defence spending
In the next two financial years, the budget for the MOD will be £1bn a year less than Rachel Reeves planned when the DIP was published in June.
The total departmental spending can be calculated from the Budget Red Book pages 145-147. When compared to the DIP settlement, the Tories claim it shows that Labour are cutting £1bn a year from the MOD budget for the next two years.
Why? It appears that they are forecast to spend less than expected on pensions. Rather than the MOD being allowed to reuse this Resource Department Expenditure Limit, the Treasury has kept it
Cartlidge: “This is a complete dereliction of duty from the Chancellor”
Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted
Mindblowing chart from OBR. In 2029 real household disposable income per person expected to be just 1% higher than in 2019. What an unbelievably awful decade. It used to grow by 2%+ every year, not 1% in 10 years.
Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted
Big row potentially brewing on defence…
Tories alleging that Healey - the man of principle who quit over DIP - might actually be *cutting* defence spending
In the next two financial years, the budget for the MOD will be £1bn a year less than Rachel Reeves planned when the DIP was published in June.
The total departmental spending can be calculated from the Budget Red Book pages 145-147. When compared to the DIP settlement, the Tories claim it shows that Labour are cutting £1bn a year from the MOD budget for the next two years.
Why? It appears that they are forecast to spend less than expected on pensions. Rather than the MOD being allowed to reuse this Resource Department Expenditure Limit, the Treasury has kept it
Cartlidge: “This is a complete dereliction of duty from the Chancellor”
Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted
OBR forecasts that living standards will be just 2% above pre-pandemic level in 2030-31. Truly grim.
Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted
That felt to me like a small, defensive Budget, with the big decisions punted.
Political imperative appeared to be protecting the Burnham bounce by avoiding a third massive tax hike.
Tax only raised by £7bn, compared to £40bn and £26bn in Reeves’s two budgets. Chancellor made merit of no raise on workers. Popular targets hit: Banks, bookies, vape shops, landlords.
Focus from spending on taking the edge off cost of living in a targeted way. £100 quid off for council tax bands A-D. Zero biz rates for 70k more high street firms. But v limited: Just £6bn extra spending.
No path to 3% GDP defence spend by 2030 laid out (though ‘target’ now publicly adopted). No overhaul of welfare yet. No big change to departmental spending. All punted to 2027.
Meanwhile economic numbers are bleak. Growth down to 1% next year (down from 1.5%). Inflation heading to 4% early next year. Real living standards now falling rather than rising. And all fundamentally out of Downing Street’s control: Trump’s Iran conflict defining the weather here.
Treasury pointing to “radical” devolution, handing over tax receipts to mayors, and non-tax moves like encouraging AI growth and tax cut for entrepreneurs.
But in scale it felt small. The big qu: Can this government afford to be small given the scale of challenges faced?
(NB: George Osborne just called it “the least consequential budget that I can remember” on tax and spend).
Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted
The electorate aren’t goldfish. Our memories are long enough to recall June 2024, when you declared that trans-identified men with penises should be able to use women’s public bathrooms. It took a Supreme Court ruling to force you to uphold women’s rights, and now you pose as our bold champion? Please.
The time for talk has long passed. This government is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to supporting women and girls.
We'll back practical action to confine misogyny to the history books - in public services, workplaces, and online.
theguardian.com/society/2026…
Julia Hartley-Brewer retweeted
Now we can see the OBR and HMT Red book. The MOD faces a real term CUT to day to day spending of nearly 0.5% (RDEL) in 27/28. That’s money we spend on training, ammunition, maintenance and operations. So the Chancellors son in the Reserves will have even less training and ammo.