Calum Macdonald

Welcome along @seneddsources Subscribe on your podcast app and YouTube. Follow on X. Welcome inside politics and policy making in Wales ahead of one of the most consequential elections of devolution.

"This is the civil service's moment to rebuild trust." Former Institute for Government programme director Alex Thomas says relations between ministers and civil servants have deteriorated since Labour entered government, despite early hopes of a reset. @straighttie @CalumAM @nationjames

"I think they will be ready to go!" @NationJames suggests that the civil service will be up and ready to go once Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister. He looks back his time working for Rishi Sunak and the transition into power that his team experienced. @CalumAM | @StraightTie

The Labour Party is split over what kind of PM Andy Burnham will be, says The Sunday Times’s Jason Cowley. “There’s a kind of battle already for the soul of Andy Burnham.”

Grievance can be a powerful political tool. The question is whether Reform's constant outrage eventually turns voters away. #UKPolitics #ReformUK #NigelFarage @straighttie | @CalumAM | @nationjames

“This will define Burnham in his first few days” Na h-Eileanan an Iar MP @Torcuil explains how important the North Sea is to communities across Scotland and the rest of the UK. He suggests that the Burnham premiership will need to recognise that arguments surrounding the North Sea are a “question of identity”. @CalumAM | @geoffaberdein | @HarrietCross_MP

Morning from @TimesRadio Breakfast

“He hasn’t really ventured up into Scotland with any of that” @ITVOliver breaks down the potential hurdles that Andy Burnham could face as he attempts to bring in sweeping devolution across England. He suggests that Burnham has implied that devolution will ‘fix a number of problems across England’ and why, looking at Scotland, it might not be as simple as that. @CalumAM | @geoffaberdein

Arthur Fery is magic and I am cheering him on from the garden... But can we all agree the: "Let's go First Name, let's go *clap clap...*" ...is the worst of all chants ever?

Police investigations into a £500,000 donation made by the mother of George Cottrell is news to Reform UK's deputy leader Richard Tice. "I think this is a politically motivated smear campaign."

Richard Tice on Reform’s £500,000 donor:- “My family have known the Cottrell family and the broader Hesketh family for 50 years, a very successful aristocratic family.” “This is about the establishment trying to kill off a disruptive political party”

NEW: Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice on @TimesRadio: - He didn’t know about the investigation until The Times reported it. - He has known the Cottrell family for years. - Posh George is a permissible donor to UK political parties - Posh George’s mum, Fiona, is also a permissible donor and has no concerns about where the donated money came from, ultimately. - Repeats Reform’s attacks on the NCA and on Gabriel Pogrund.

EXCLUSIVE The Metropolitan Police is conducting a criminal investigation into at least £500,000 in donations from George Cottrell's mother to Reform UK before last election. Two people interviewed under caution about "disguising" source or making false statements about funds.

“The most inconvenient thing that ever happened to Nigel Farage was being elected an MP” @Torcuil pulls no punches when referring to Nigel Farage’s resignation as an MP, in order to run again. No major political party apart from the Greens are putting a candidate up against the Reform leader. Is this a gamble gone wrong for the veteran politician? @CalumAM | @geoffaberdein | @HarrietCross_MP

It's a Bin face kind of podcast today... Jo's outed herself as Bin Face voter in a London election a few years ago... Hear more on the Whitehall Sources podcast, dropping later today. @CalumAM | @StraightTie | @NationJames

@NormEisen Hi there Norm, hope this finds you well. Hoping you can follow back so I can DM an invitation. Thanks so much

@JeremyCliffe Hi Jeremy, hope you're well. Also hoped you might follow back so I can DM with an invitation. Thanks

“He knew he was in a hole and he needed a way to get out of it” @geoffaberdein responds to Nigel Farage’s resignation as an MP on Tuesday. He suggests that whilst Farage may feel as if he has bought himself some time if reelected that the investigations into him won’t go away. And does the fact that now most major parties are refusing to stand mean that the by-election itself will become a futile contest? @CalumAM

Exclusive: Police are investigating a political donation made to Robert Jenrick’s campaign to be Conservative leader, The i Paper can reveal. The Metropolitan Police has been examining claims that a £37,500 donation originated from a foreign donor, following a referral from the Electoral Commission. The force has now launched an investigation into the allegations. Jenrick has repeatedly denied breaking any electoral laws. A Met Police spokesperson confirmed: “We have launched an investigation following a referral from the Electoral Commission on Tuesday 6 January concerning donations connected to a political party’s leadership campaign. The investigation remains ongoing.” The allegations relate to a £100,000 donation Jenrick’s leadership campaign received from British entrepreneur Phillip Ullmann, via a company called Spott Fitness, during his 2024 campaign. However, it has been claimed that £37,500 of this amount originated from a US business associate of Ullmann, Gary Klopfenstein, who has subsequently been convicted of fraud. Ullmann and Klopfenstein are now in a legal dispute. Ullmann claims he repeatedly warned that some of the money was being supplied by Klopfenstein, according to legal correspondence seen by this newspaper.

🆕 EPISODE of Holyrood Sources STREAMING NOW on podcast apps and YouTube. "What Kind of PM Will Andy Burnham Be? | Live from Westminster:" Watch here: youtube.com/watch?v=7T64-p… Listen on Podcast Apps: holyroodsources.com/listen @CalumAM | @geoffaberdein | @akmaciver