Public affairs for British Airways. Formerly government comms, political correspondent
London
Joined March 2009
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- Following1K
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Emily Roberts (Ashton) retweeted
📊🗳️NEW DATA: Older, Richer, Whiter: The Voters Deciding Next UK Leader @BloombergUK analysis show Keir Starmer must also win places with more homeowners & are more likely to be White to reach power @elashton
Full story NO PAYWALL & thread of key charts
bloomberg.com/graphics/2024-…
Emily Roberts (Ashton) retweeted
While the brilliant @EllenAMilligan is away in Brussels, I'll be in Westminster covering her beat for the next two months. Anyone who wants to talk trade, business or energy, give me a shout!
New: How a growing backlog of cases in UK crown courts is leaving victims waiting years for justice. In-depth look at the psychological toll on survivors of sexual assault and a court & prison system bursting at the seams. With @kathgemm @eamonfarhat
bloomberg.com/news/features/…
Rishi Sunak defends easing lockdown rules in summer 2020 despite 'alarm bells' from scientists. Also says implications of lockdown on economy/education etc should have been set out earlier. But markedly softer tone than Spectator interview summer 2022.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Update: Sunak says scientists weren't consulted in advance over Eat Out to Help Out because it was a 'micro policy' and normal Treasury practice ahead of 'fiscal events.'
Yet he also said it was designed to influence public behaviour.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
'We should let this rip a bit'
'They've had a good innings'
Johnson defends his comments in 2020, saying he was challenging consensus in meetings with scientists and acting as 'layperson.'
'My position was that you had to save human life at all ages'
"No, no, this is all rubbish"
Pressed about the early stages of the pandemic, former PM Boris Johnson denies that he was content to "let it rip," as he continues evidence at the UK's Covid Inquiry trib.al/gTKROur
Boris Johnson begins two-day evidence to Covid inquiry:
- apologises for 'pain and loss' of victims & families
- says government 'may have made mistakes' while trying to balance harms
- did government response lead to excess deaths? 'I'm not sure'
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
On the morning of the government's investment summit, Starmer and Reeves held their own breakfast event for senior business figures who were keen to meet them while in town. Story with @GriffithsKath_ @BloombergUK
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
New: Sadiq Khan on the impact of the Israel-Hamas war on London: "We’ve got to remind ourselves that once this conflict is over — and it will be over — we’ve got to go back to being friends, neighbours and colleagues"
bloomberg.com/news/features/…
with @EamonFarhat @BloombergUK
With a mayoral election looming in May, Khan also rules out any return to Parliament - "I'm where the action is" - and says he's "best mates" with Keir Starmer despite differing over ceasefire
bloomberg.com/news/features/…
Jeremy Hunt embraces tax cuts in an election-geared autumn statement, but is warned they will barely dent the economic strain felt by Britons as he stores up spending trouble for the next government. Our latest take here
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
with @Joe_Mayes & @BloombergUK team
Emily Roberts (Ashton) retweeted
NEW: @BloombergUK Saturday read
— Rishi Sunak suffered his worst week as PM and now faces the nightmare prospect of a Brexit-style split on the ECHR, his own supporters fear
— How his migration policy imploded after a year of internal disagreements >>>>
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Coming up on R4 Week in Westminster..
- Rwanda plans with @RobertBuckland
- Who is the real Rishi Sunak @margot_james_ @petercardwell
- Foreign policy dilemmas @sophgaston @StewartWood
- the role of GB News @LisHowell51 @christopherhope
11am Sat or podcast đź“»
Braverman out, Cameron in. And all before 10am on a Monday. All the latest here on Bloomberg bloomberg.com/news/articles/… @alexwickham @kitty_donaldson and team
Emily Roberts (Ashton) retweeted
NEW: Labour Leader Keir Starmer has a mountain to climb ahead of the next election, facing double the challenge that confronted Blair ahead of the '97 landslide & high polling may not be what it seems
Full story (no paywall) & CHART THREAD
@BloombergUK bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Emily Roberts (Ashton) retweeted
How Vladimir Putin pushed Keir Starmer to seek power as Labour leader.
For new readers, an introduction to the man who could be the next UK prime minister
via @alexwickham and me
bloomberg.com/news/features/…
Emily Roberts (Ashton) retweeted
Scoop: UK weighs slashing benefits in real terms to free up cash for tax cuts next year
Hunt considers lifting benefits in line with projected lower inflation figures for next year vs September CPI
+early talks on whether to tinker w/pensions triple lock bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Emily Roberts (Ashton) retweeted
Labour needs to claw back support in Scotland to secure a UK majority. The mood on the ground suggests the task is tougher than opinion polls show.
Our deep dive on Labour’s strategy to win back its former heartland w/@alastair_reed @maddielparkerr bloomberg.com/news/features/…
Emily Roberts (Ashton) retweeted
Grimsby, once Europe's biggest fishing port, voted 70% for Brexit. But now voters say Brexit was rhetoric and broken promises.
“The fishing industry in the UK is smaller than the lawnmower industry,” says Patrick Salmon. “Nobody gives a toss, really.”
bloomberg.com/features/2023-…
