Latest news with #Kwasi
Scottish Sun
06-07-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
I know why Rachel Reeves cried at PMQs – and it's a frightening scenario for our country
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) RACHEL REEVES was crying at PMQs last week. What was significant was that it was in full public view, on the floor of the House of Commons. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Rachel Reeves crying during PMQs is a frightening sign 4 The waterworks on display from her this week were more about the future than the past Credit: AP She seemed hot and bothered. The atmosphere in the house, particularly in the summer, can be oppressive and the chamber of the Commons is not a comfortable place, even at the best of times. To my mind, however, Reeves was under a different kind of pressure. The waterworks on display from her this week were more about the future than the past. Her plan to cut spending by reforming welfare has been sabotaged. She will have to find more money. This includes £1.5billion to pay for Labour's winter fuel U-turn. Sheer helplessness And a £4.5billion gap after Sir Keir Starmer ditched plans to cut disability benefits. Coupled with sluggish growth, we all know what is coming. In the words of Fagin's song from the musical Oliver!, she will 'have to pick a pocket or two', entirely legally of course, to make the sums add up. Kwasi speaks out after being sacked & reveals he 'fled' after being ousted The impact of high immigration, low growth and already high taxes means that we can barely afford to pay for our welfare state. Her crying, I am sure, was a sign of the frustration she feels in her job. I did the job for some short turbulent weeks and I know the feeling of helplessness that it often entails. There is the feeling of being besieged. In politics, you are never in control of events, but the sense of sheer helplessness often does occur when you are in a senior position. At times like that, you have to adopt the old English 'stiff upper lip', in my view. Senior figures have to hold things together, when things are getting sticky. Nobody was better at that than our late Queen. She never cried, never got teary or outwardly sentimental, even under the most extreme provocation. Yet, as I saw Reeves on the front bench on Wednesday, I totally understood her predicament. The left-wing backbenchers in her party despise her. 4 The Chancellor's plan to cut spending by reforming welfare has been sabotaged Credit: PA They haven't even bothered to conceal their contempt. They want her out. Left-wing outrage is now being expressed by the creation of a new party. Jeremy Corbyn has said 'there is a thirst for an alternative' and 'a grouping will come together'. Time will tell if any of Labour's left wing — the usual awkward squad — actually join Corbyn's 'grouping'. Now Zarah Sultana, another left-wing firebrand MP, is going to join. Reeves is entirely dependent on the goodwill and patience of the PM Kwasi For all these types, Reeves is the scapegoat for everything they think is wrong with Labour in power. For hard-left MPs, Reeves and Keir Starmer stand for nothing. There is no love lost between them and the Labour leadership. In addition to the trouble from the Left, we read that some of Reeves's Cabinet colleagues have been briefing against her. She had warned them on Tuesday that tax rises in the autumn budget will be needed to cover the costs of the welfare U-turn. While the Institute for Fiscal Studies says she could be facing a £30billion black hole. Clearly, the welfare climbdown has made Angela Rayner more powerful. Reeves's position is obviously weaker. It is obvious that Reeves is a totally isolated figure within the Labour Party. Reeves's weak position is made worse by the fact that the prospects for the economy and taxes remain grim Kwasi Her position is similar to the school swot shunned by her peers in the playground. She provokes their antagonism and distrust. She is entirely dependent on the goodwill and patience of the PM. I know how that feels. Based on my personal experience, I think Starmer would be mad to get rid of her. Such a move would merely shorten his shelf life. His critics within Labour would feel emboldened to come after him. Yet I can tell you Prime Ministers, under extreme pressure, can do crazy things. He may well yet kick her to the kerb. Reeves's weak position is made worse by the fact that the prospects for the economy and taxes remain grim. Failing to get the welfare bill through in its original form means the £5billion savings won't materialise. Taxes, she has hinted, will have to go up. Even Reeves knows in her bones that higher taxes will kill our prospects for economic growth, for greater prosperity Kwasi Nobody knows which taxes will go up, but increases are on the way. All this pressure, and the prospect of more challenging days ahead are clearly weighing on the mind of the Chancellor. I know what the pressure feels like. I never felt like crying but we all deal with pressure differently. I won't condemn her for her tears. 'Doom loop' It's the substance of what they are doing and the tax-and-spend policies which I object to. There doesn't seem to be an end in sight. More spending and higher taxes. When she was in Opposition, Reeves spoke about the 'doom loop' we faced as a country. Low growth accompanying high spending and even higher taxes. Rinse and Repeat. That's the doom loop. A world where Britain spirals downwards, economically, to reach a point where living standards decline. Even Reeves knows in her bones that higher taxes will kill our prospects for economic growth, for greater prosperity. It is this frightening scenario, I suspect, which caused the teary outburst from the Chancellor.
Daily Mail
01-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Devoted mother and father's act of love ends in horror and their five children orphaned
A Michigan mom and dad have been killed after they were mown down at a bus stop, leaving their five children orphaned. Kwasi Agbottah, 43, and Elizabeth Agbottah, 41, died after an SUV driven by Dejah Latre Berry plowed into them, Detroit Police Department said. The couple were on their way to get groceries on Friday when Berry allegedly lost control of her vehicle and slammed into the devoted parents. They were rushed to a nearby hospital but later succumbed to their injuries. Berry, 33, continued along the stretch 'at high speed' after ploughing through the bus stop before slamming into another vehicle at a gas station pump along the road, police said. She is now facing two counts of reckless driving causing death and driving with a suspended license causing death. The Agbottahs were beloved members of their community, where they were well known for their missionary work. They leave behind their five sons, who range in age from two to 15-years-old. 'Elizabeth and Kwasi lived a humble but rich life full of service, fellowship, and creativity,' a tribute on their GoFundMe states. 'Above all, Elizabeth and Kwasi were committed, intentional parents who fostered in their children a love of community, discipleship, and caring for God's creation. 'We know their legacy — of service, education, faith, and radical generosity — lives on through their sons, their writing and music, and in the countless lives they touched.' The couple met as youth counselors for Bay Shore Ministries Summer youth program in East Palo Alto, California. Their passion for education and service took them across the country and then finally back to Detroit where they had been living and working since 2019. Kwasi's best friend Michael Krauter paid tribute to the late father and his wife. 'Kwasi's humility is an example. Elizabeth's joy infectious,' he wrote. 'There was never a short story with either of them, always long with all the details - but we never cared because their stories were better than ours. 'And when they spoke to us, or spit, or rhymed, or sang, or read, or sat in quiet-you grew us closer to God by pouring into us the words of Christ and the Scriptures. The couple were at a Detroit bus stop on their way to get groceries when Berry plowed into them on Friday, prosecutors said 'Their pride in the privilege of getting to be parents and raising sons was overflowing. They loved you and were so proud of you boys. 'They honored and loved their parents, siblings, and family - it was always on their lips.' Berry was arraigned on Monday and had her bond set at $50,000. Her next court date is May 7. If convicted, she the offenses are punishable by 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
