Excellent read from my colleague Irina Anghel on the new generation of tradwife influencers who’ve found a way to make women’s invisible labour pay: bit.ly/46ZU9TM
13.03.2026 08:26
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Excellent read from my colleague Irina Anghel on the new generation of tradwife influencers who’ve found a way to make women’s invisible labour pay: bit.ly/46ZU9TM
SCOOP (from last night, bit late posting): on the eve of Shabana Mahmood’s big migration speech, over 100 Labour MPs sign a letter urging her to rethink new restrictions on the immigration system bit.ly/4cZQxEX
SCOOP: the Green Party is climbing in UK polls, and has been criticised for not “getting” the economy. Now a Green-linked think tank is launching to help them create policy that’s radical, but still makes sense to the mainstream. Story: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
- Truss tells me it’s prime time for such a project, given so many wealthy are leaving London but still want a space here
- she’s also coy about her relationship with Reform, as sources tell me she met Tchenguiz at a party event
- but doesn’t rule out a return to politics
Ever wonder what Liz Truss is up to these days? Well:
- she’s fronting a plan by Robert Tchenguiz to turn the ex MI5 HQ into a co-working space for the ultra-rich
- Truss is tasked with finding 700 founding members, each to lend half a mil
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
My (very talented) husband @joelotter.com has his latest (incredibly addictive) game coming out soon - watch this space! (And pls give it a play when you can to make his many late nights worth it)
After a few wonderful weeks of celebration with my husband (!) @joelotter.com, it’s back to the grind. If I missed your messages or calls in the chaos, my apologies - please chase!
Main points are that Greens will tax the wealthiest 1%, and use that money to invest in infrastructure and bring the cost of living down. Unlikely to hit the mark with many economists already warning that the flight of the rich will cause tax revenues to plummet…
At the first Green Party conference with Zack Polanski as leader. He’s getting rapturous applause from the packed main hall of Bournemouth’s conference centre. Speech is light on policy, but big on jibes at Nigel Farage and Labour - which he brands as full of “Reform-baiting policy-making”
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But in our exclusive interview, Starmer wasn’t quite so enthusiastic about the prospect of getting US tariffs on UK steel down to zero (as previously agreed) during Trump’s state visit next week: t.co/AQvy7mf6uo
PM Keir Starmer told me from Chequers today that signing the India trade deal - along with deals with the US & EU - has put the UK “back on the world stage”. So far, feedback from groups who were concerned abt the deal is relatively upbeat t.co/jl5UD8NYen
Outstanding reporting. I've seen the Zimbabwe side of this. The cognitive dissonance of the UK immigration system in a way is how much it relies on the exploitation of desperate, skilled people in many emerging markets.
This is great reporting... and honestly, every single time I try to work out how something confusing works in London (and probably therefore the UK) then to misquote Super Hans, "the secret ingredient is fraud".
Then there’s the fact that most victims aren’t in the UK. For police, I suspect (putting it bluntly) that their priority is to address cases where victims are in the country.
The victims are often low-income, in unstable work and aren’t the easiest to get hold of if police etc need to chase more facts. And in some cases victims are told by the scammer that they’ll be arrested too, which puts them off.
Her case in particular was horrific. Honestly I think there’s a few reasons. I don’t think they realise how bad a problem it is, because so many people still aren’t reporting. Then I think in some cases, the victims aren’t great at explaining what’s happened, so police don’t chase it up.
Such an interesting piece - and she's right, if the flipside of a 'tough on immigration' policy is being tough on fraudsters who exploit wouldbe migrants, then there should be HO/police resources behind it
Yup. And the CQC were the ones the government was relying on to oversee care firms’ recruitment practices - even though they’re not set up in any way to cope with that.
The white paper will stop new overseas recruitment so yes, the opportunity for fresh scams should be minimised. & it aims to help workers who are here, being exploited, to find a better employer, though not yet clear how. But it does nothing for those who’ve been scammed and never made it to the UK.
The way the skilled worker visa and sponsorship system was run by the Home Office immediately post-Brexit was absolutely appalling. The UK government enabled industrial-scale exploitation of migrants.
What would I like to see? An effort led by the Home Office/National Crime Agency to investigate these cases, trace the money involved and return it to victims. A recognition that the UK has let down thousands of would-be migrants who just wanted to work. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
To be clear: There are so many problems. A migration system which was badly thought-out, involved vulnerable people and was essentially unregulated. An underfunded social care sector which incentivises exploitation. Overworked police who don’t have time/resources to investigate.
Scammers, meanwhile, are driving Range Rovers, buying property, investing. They’ve made their money, and feel confident they won’t get caught. Mr Brown has vowed to keep tracking them down, but there’s only so much he can do. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
They have no idea how widespread it is. Starmer’s ban should help reduce future scams. But what of people who’ve already fallen victim? Who’s going after the criminals? Desperation is causing some to take matters into their own hands, with threats and violence. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
This week, Starmer banned recruitment of overseas care workers. The govt recognised the system used to bring them into the country was rife with abuse, as workers here who made it to the UK were exploited. But the scamming issue appears to have passed the govt by. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
That leaves vigilantes such as Mr Brown to pick up the pieces. But following the money is hard - in some cases we’ve found it flowing to opportunistic employers trying to fill their pockets. In others, it appears to be going to organised criminals. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Those businesses have flogged fake or non-existent work documents to migrants in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ghana & elsewhere, who sold all they owned to buy them. Families have been left in ruin. Some have attempted suicide. Police in the UK are doing little to catch the criminals.
If you have family or friends who use carers, I’d urge you to give it a read. Our story explains how UK businesses have been scamming the low-income migrant workers we’re relying on to care for our elderly, and who are desperate for a shot at improving their life in the UK.
For the last year, I’ve been working on an investigation that’s left me staggered. It’s a damning indictment of the UK’s care sector, & the migration system which has allowed millions of ££s to be plundered from communities in developing countries. Free link: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...