Esther McVey has voiced support for Nigel Farage's warning that Andy Burnham's newly announced National Centre for Information Defence could be used to curb free speech. The centre, unveiled by Burnham in a speech at the United Nations last week, is designed to 'stem the poisonous tide' of disinformation, with Russia identified as the biggest threat.
McVey, writing in an opinion piece, said she agrees with Farage that the government could use foreign bot accounts as a convenient excuse to clamp down on domestic political dissent and opinions they do not agree with.
Burnham's 'on the table' policies
McVey also criticised Burnham's repeated use of the phrase "on the table" when discussing policy options. She noted that the Chagos deal, a potential dementia tax for social care, rejoining the EU, and increasing the defence budget have all been described as "on the table" in recent remarks.
She joked that Burnham needed extra desk space in his new Number 10 in the North to accommodate all the policies still "on the table".
High street concerns
In a separate anecdote, McVey described a shop to let in Dudley, once a prosperous town in the 'Black Country'. The shop had been on the market for two years with no interest, despite the asking rent being reduced from £50,000 a year some years ago to £19,000 a year.
A prospective tenant has now offered the full asking price of £19,000 a year, intending to use the shop as an advisory centre for migrants to check their entitlements to benefits. The government is paying the rent and has apparently given the operator a trading subsidy. McVey questioned whether this is a sensible strategy for regenerating high streets.
Braverman's book claims
McVey also addressed claims in Suella Braverman's forthcoming book that Rishi Sunak "owed his coronation as party leader largely to me". McVey said she does not recognise this version of events, suggesting that Boris Johnson or Graham Brady could take credit instead. She noted that Johnson stood down from the leadership race and Brady, as chair of the 1922 committee, set the required number of MPs backing at 100 to enter the race.
McVey concluded with a remark attributed to the late Queen: "recollections may vary".
Royal friendship with Tom Cruise
Finally, McVey noted that Prince William and Kate were back on the red carpet with Tom Cruise last week for his new film Digger. Cruise's relationship with the royals dates back to 1992, when he first met Princess Diana and invited her, William and Harry to visit him on the set of Mission: Impossible. Cruise attended Diana's funeral in 1997. McVey said it is good that William has maintained this friendship with Hollywood royalty.
