Jon Craig
@joncraig
Chief Political Correspondent, Sky News. Reporting politics at Westminster since January 1982. Asian Voice Journalist of the Year 2019.
On Reform v Tories, Chris Philp says: “We’re developing serious & credible plans. Reform don’t have that. Reform have slogans. Yes they have a charismatic leader. Yes they have slogans. They don’t have a credible plan. We do.”
Spent the day in Balham, in London. We visited a park and walked the streets and had a great day. Don’t believe what the poisonous London haters, who don’t live in London, have to say about the place.
Polite applause for IPSA chief Richard Lloyd from Labour MPs at PLP. Not many in room now! Lucy Powell tells me as she leaves: “It’s all kicked off in there.” (She was joking!)
Labour MP tells me that at Durham Miners’ Gala on Saturday (day after Angela Rayner’s Unite “suspension”) gen sec Sharon Graham refused to be photographed with any Labour MPs, even left-wingers like Ian Lavery.
Wes Streeting finishes his speech & Q&A at PLP & room empties as Richard Lloyd & Lee Bridges of IPSA go in. “That’s a sure way to empty a room,” one MP tells me.
Lord Hermer, the attorney general the Tory-supporting newspapers love to hate, just arrived at PLP. No banging of desks for him.
Richard Lloyd & Lee Bridges of IPSA waiting in corridor to address PLP after Wes Streeting. Now about all those MPs’ expenses…
Wes Streeting greeted by very loud banging of desks as he’s introduced at PLP. Popular!
'British people sold a lie with Brexit,' French President Emmanuel Macron has said at a joint media conference with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Sky's @joncraig has more details ⬇️ trib.al/XbgHq5k 📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube
Chris Philp denies defectors to Reform David Jones & Jake Berry are “heavyweights”. “They are doing the wrong thing. They’ve made a mistake. It’s not going to change the political weather in any way. Reform UK seems to be running their own one in, one out policy.”
Shadow home sec Chris Philp tells political journalists Keir Starmer’s “one in, one out” migration policy is “17 in, one out”. “It’s not going to be any kind of deterrent at all.” Claims unless migration fixed there’s risk of “extreme right wing parties”.
