Peter Rhodes on healthy eating, Mr Speaker's plaque and ructions over another plaque
You'd think the Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle would be wise enough not to unveil any plaque without first reading it.
Hoyle recently opened Betfred's new HQ. In statements issued later, both the gambling company and the Commons office insisted that Hoyle attended in his capacity as president of the Rugby Football League. But that's not what it says on the plaque which describes him simply as “The Speaker of the House of Commons,” and seems to lend parliamentary approval to an industry which some regard as a social evil. Bad call, Mr Speaker.
It is rumoured that the world's richest man, Elon Musk, may donate 100 million dollars to the Reform party. This would make it the richest party in the UK. It could make Nigel Farage the most influential politician in Britain. And eventually, who knows, it might also make the UK the 51st state of the USA. Big gifts usually come with strings attached.
