Government minister Johnny Mercer criticised for comparing Labour’s new MP in Selby and Ainsty to The Inbetweeners

Published

2 years ago

July 21, 2023

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Veterans minister Johnny Mercer has been accused of being “disrespectful” to new Labour MP Keir Mather, after comparing him to a character from The Inbetweeners.

Mr Mercer made the comments during Sky’s special overnight coverage of the by-elections.

Keir Mather, 25, won the previous Conservative stronghold of Selby and Ainsty for Labour by overturning a majority of 20,000.

At 25, he will become the so-called ‘Baby of the House’ – the youngest member of the House of Commons.

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Asked by deputy political editor Sam Coates whether he welcomed “an injection of youth into parliament”, Mr Mercer replied: “I think it’s always good to get new people in politics, but I think we mustn’t become a repeat of The Inbetweeners”.

The Inbetweeners is a TV comedy series that was also made into a number of films, which follows a group of awkward teenage friends as they enter adulthood.

Asked what he meant by the comparison, Mr Mercer said: “You’ve got to have people who have actually done stuff. This guy has been at Oxford University more than he’s been in a job.

“You put a chip in him there and he just relays Labour lines, and the problem is people have kind of had enough of that.

“They want people who are authentic. People who have worked in that constituency, who know what life is like, understand what life is like to live, work and raise a family in communities like theirs.

“I’m afraid I don’t agree with this style of politics.

“It’s exactly why people like me couldn’t vote in the 2015 election, because you’ve got people with nothing to do with the constituency just dropped in – put a chip in them and they’ll start parroting Labour Party politics.”

Later, the comments were put to Labour’s Baroness Chapman, who accused Mr Mercer of being “disrespectful” to the people of Selby and Ainsty, who yesterday elected Mr Mather as their representative.

“There is such a thing as being gracious in defeat, Johnny,” she said.

She added: “How rude are you today? You need to get some sleep.”

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said the Conservatives “need to read the room”, telling Sky News: “To name call newly elected members in parliament shows the contempt they have not only for the elected member but the votes too.”

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Tory party chairman Greg Hands stopped short of directly criticising his colleague, but said young people have an important role to play in politics.

Asked if Mr Mercer’s comment was inappropriate, Mr Hands said: “I think we should welcome young people in politics.

“We have a good range of MPs in the Conservative Party from young people in their twenties, all the way to older people also with amazing experience… But clearly there’s also a role for young people to go into politics.”

Politics

Top TRUMP whales hold $174M in tokens ahead of dinner with US president

Published

2 hours ago

May 12, 2025

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Top TRUMP whales hold 4M in tokens ahead of dinner with US president

The list of the top holders of US President Donald Trump’s memecoin has been finalized ahead of background checks to apply for a dinner and “VIP tour” with the president on May 22.

In a May 12 X post, the TRUMP memecoin project said it would stop considering additional purchases for a dinner with the president, adding that the top tokenholders had been notified to apply for background checks if they wanted to attend.

According to data provided on the project’s leaderboard, the top 220 wallets held more than 13.7 million tokens as of May 12, worth roughly $174 million at the time of publication.

White House, Donald Trump, Corruption, Memecoin — *Top 10 TRUMP memecoin holders as of May 12. Source: TRUMP memecoin project*

It’s unclear who, if any, of the wallet holders will choose to apply for and attend the dinner with Trump, or the “exclusive reception” expected to be in the White House for the top 25 holders, on May 22. A May 7 Bloomberg report suggested that the majority of tokenholders were based outside of the United States, leading to potential security concerns and conflicts of interest.

Many US lawmakers and figures in the crypto industry criticized the president for launching the memecoin just days before taking office on Jan. 20. In the wake of his dinner announcement on April 23, the calls for congressional oversight and allegations of corruption have intensified, with one senator calling for Trump’s impeachment and other representatives refusing to consider crypto-related legislation until their concerns were addressed.

Companies also apparently seeking influence over Trump’s policies have invested in the memecoin. In April, Freight Technologies said it would invest $20 million in the token, suggesting that it could affect the president’s trade war between the US and Mexico, where the firm conducts some of its business. As of May 12, the company had not announced whether it qualified to send a representative to the dinner.

Not Trump’s first appeal to crypto users

During his 2024 campaign, Trump hosted a dinner with supporters who purchased his “mugshot” non-fungible tokens, which featured a picture of the then-presidential candidate at his surrender to authorities on charges he attempted to overturn the 2020 election.

Many of the “mugshot” attendees publicly shared their identities on social media ahead of and during the event, but at the time of publication, no one appeared to be claiming they would apply for the memecoin dinner. Wallets with the usernames “Sun” and “elon” have led to speculation that Tron founder Justin Sun and Tesla CEO Elon Musk — both Trump supporters who have financial interests tied to Trump’s presidency — could be among the attendees.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Politics

NYC Mayor doubles down on crypto push ahead of city summit

Published

4 hours ago

May 12, 2025

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NYC Mayor doubles down on crypto push ahead of city summit

New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced partnerships between the city and financial firms as part of his crypto plans.

In a May 12 press conference at Gracie Mansion, the the city’s official mayoral residence, Adams said June Ou, founder of financial services company Figure, and Richie Hecker, CEO of private equity firm Traction and Scale, would be assisting the city in its crypto efforts. He spoke of Ou and Hecker acting as advisers for New York City’s next steps in “economic development and opportunities to serve the public using digital assets.”

“We are focused on the long-term values of these technologies for our city and its people, not chasing memes or trends,” said Adams, adding:

“If you’re in the crypto, blockchain, Web3 or the fintech space, New York City is open for business.”

Cryptocurrencies, Politics, New York, Donald Trump — *Eric Adams addressing reporters on May 12. Source: Yedda Araujo/Cointelegraph*

Adams made digital assets a large part of his policy platform after assuming office in January 2022, when he announced plans to accept his first three paychecks in Bitcoin (BTC). In a 2023 financial disclosure, the mayor reported holding between $5,000 and $54,999.99 worth of Bitcoin, but suggested it was worth more in a December 2024 press conference.

Trump DOJ dismissed the corruption case against Adams

Adams had been facing corruption charges over alleged illegal donations from the Turkish government, but Justice Department officials appointed by US President Donald Trump stepped in and directed local authorities to intervene. The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be reopened, in April, and Adams traveled to the White House on May 9 to reportedly thank Trump for his “words of support” during his 2024 campaign.

It’s unclear whether Adams’ May 12 announcement was related to his meeting with the president, who has also pushed significant policies related to digital assets since taking office. Cointelegraph reached out to the mayor’s office for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Adams announced in April that the city would be hosting its own crypto summit on May 20.

Magazine: Crypto City: Guide to New York

Politics

Minister does not rule out ‘supermax’ jails for most dangerous offenders following alleged Rudakubana attack on prison officer

Published

6 hours ago

May 12, 2025

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Minister does not rule out 'supermax' jails for most dangerous offenders following alleged Rudakubana attack on prison officer

“Supermax” jails could be built to house the most dangerous offenders following a spate of alleged attacks on staff, the prisons minister has said.

James Timpson told the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge that “we shouldn’t rule anything out” when asked if the most dangerous criminals should be placed in top security prisons.

It comes after Southport triple killer Axel Rudakubana allegedly threw boiling water from a kettle at an officer at HMP Belmarsh on Thursday. Police are now investigating.

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Before that, three prison officers were also allegedly attacked by 28-year-old Hashem Abedi – the brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi – with hot cooking oil and “improvised knives”, potentially made from a baking tray.

Speaking from HMP Preston for a special programme of the Politics Hub, Mr Timpson told Sophy Ridge: “We inherited a complete mess in the prison system.

“Violence is up, assaults on staff is up. But for me, we shouldn’t rule anything out.”

He added: “What we need to do is to speak to our staff. They’re the experts at dealing with these offenders day in, day out. “

Mr Timpson – who was the chief executive of Timpson Group before he was appointed prisons minister last year – said the violence in prisons was “too high”.

He continued: “The number of people when you have prisons are so full, and the people in there are not going to education or into purposeful activity.

“You get more violence and that is totally unacceptable. Our staff turn up to work to help turn people.

“They want to turn people’s lives around. They didn’t turn up to work to get assaulted. It’s totally unacceptable.”

Reflecting on the crisis facing the UK prison system ahead of the government’s sentencing review, Mr Timpson said a major problem was the high rate of reoffending, saying “80% of offending is reoffending”.

He said people were leaving places like HMP Preston “addicted to drugs, nowhere to live, mental health problems – and that’s why they keep coming back”.

Asked whether every prison had a drugs issue, he replied: “100%.”

“If we want to keep the public safe, we need to do a lot more of the work in here and in the community. But also we need to build more prisons.”

Put to him that making more use of community sentences – thought to be one of the recommendations in the government’s sentencing review – might be considered a “cushy option” compared to a custodial sentence, Mr Timpson said: “There are some people in this prison tonight who would prefer to be in prison than do a community sentence – but that’s not everybody.

“Community sentences need to be tough punishments outside of prison, not just to help them address their offending behaviour, but also the victims need to see punishments being done too and for me, technology has a big part to play in the future.”