Freedom of Information requests I submitted into how much extra police forces will have to pay as a result of Reeves’ budget – and how many police that could take off our streets – should give us all sleepless nights.

It seems “Rachel from Accounts” didn’t foresee the (totally predictable) effect increasing employers’ NI contributions would have. The result of which is police forces spending more on higher tax bills rather than bobbies on the beat.

Here are some of the breathtaking tax increases for different forces:

• West Yorkshire – £11.17m
• Greater Manchester – £11.9m
• Merseyside – £7m budgeted posts
• Devon & Cornwall – £6.313m
• My county of Cheshire – £3.7m

The average salary of a police officer is £35k. Add in employment costs and in West Yorkshire alone this rise would cost the equivalent of more than 220 officers.

In February last year, Labour bragged about its intention to provide 13,000 extra police officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) working in neighbourhoods in England and Wales, made up of 6,000 police officers, 4,000 PSCOs and 3,000 special constables. This commitment was restated during the general election campaign.

As of January 2025, no further detail has been provided on the distribution of new recruits, or on progress towards this or the overall 13,000 officer goal. Well, we can all now see why.

Just like Labour hadn’t taken into account that the removal of the Winter Fuel Payment would impact 10 million pensioners, they hadn’t taken into account the impact of this rise in employers’ NIC costs on our police service. The result is this: more tax, fewer police.

How can they make such basic mistakes? Not only is Labour damaging our economy, it is also putting our safety at risk. I know only too well that Government often works in silos, with each department focusing on their priorities.

Rishi Sunak appointed me as a Minister in the Cabinet Office “without portfolio” to ensure that someone kept an eye across all department portfolios and make sure that nothing untoward slipped through the cracks. I become known as the “Minister of Common Sense” – a position ridiculed by the left. But if Labour had kept a “Minister for Common Sense”, Rachel Reeves’ blunder-budget and its damaging unintended consequences might never have seen the light of day.

So desperate was the Chancellor to tax and spend money for ideological purposes such as Labour’s Net Zero obsession, overseas aid and for giving a dividend to their union paymasters, she completely failed in her duty to take stock and reflect on the pain it was about to cause throughout the country: not just for the wider economy, but also financially for businesses and public services alike.

This needless crisis for our police forces comes before we take into account the millionaires fleeing the country – currently running at one every 45 mins – which will only collapse tax revenues further. Those of us left behind are the ones who will suffer the consequences.

Sadiq Khan’s outburst this weekend suggesting that Trump is part of a “resurgent fascism haunting the West” was extraordinary. As Mayor of London his time would be much better spent if he focused his efforts on London.

Perhaps he could actually learn a thing or two from Donald Trump? We could certainly do with a mayor wanting to “Make London Great Again”.

Two weeks ago I wrote about ministers that I thought were on their way out. I named Tulip Siddiq, the anti-corruption Minister who is being investigated by the Bangladeshi regime… for corruption. Unsurprisingly she has now resigned.

The next minister who should go is Lord Richard Hermer, the new Attorney General. He is scrapping the law that prevents Gerry Adams, above, ever getting compensation, but questions now arise about payments he might have received for representing Adams, and whether he would benefit personally from any payouts to the former head of Sinn Fein.

This is the man who, at other times, represented Afghans in a war crimes inquiry into the SAS and backed an organisation campaigning to allow Shamima Begum back into the UK. Is this really the person we want as our Attorney General?

Maybe his donation to Keir Starmer’s leadership campaign will ensure he doesn’t get fired.

Bonnie Blue’s claim to fame of sleeping with 1,057 men in 12 hours, thus becoming the new world record holder, made me want to retch. Who would believe anyone was vying for such an acclaim?

But it seems some women are – the previous record holder is Lily Phillips, who last year slept with 100 men in 24 hours.

Afterwards, Bonnie, an online OnlyFans star, smiled for the cameras and seemed pleased with her accomplishment. I, on the other hand, felt she needed counselling after what I perceived as a brutal act of self-harm.

As far as I am concerned, the video footage of men lined up in underpants and socks waiting their turn, and a room full of used condoms and paper towels was depraved.

And don’t tell me the £750,000 a month she earns makes it worth it. All the money in the world wouldn’t be enough to do this.

My advice to Bonnie is take the money she has “earned” and get herself psychological help. She might not realise it yet, but she will need it.

My husband Phil and I had a date night on Saturday. I put my paperwork down and my lipstick on and out we went.

I was hoping to see the new film about Bob Dylan called A Complete Unknown but all Saturday showings at my local pictures, the Rex in Wilmslow, were sold out. So although I can’t review it for you, perhaps the fact there wasn’t a single seat left in the cinema speaks highly enough in itself. Instead, we watched Conclave, about the process of selecting a new Pope.

Trust me, those cardinals could teach politicians a few dirty tricks about seeing off your rival. Well worth a watch.

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Outgoing President Biden’s TikTok ban in the US might not last as long as a TikTok video. Will President Trump ride in and save the app’s day, even for a short while?

Perhaps he’ll use it as a negotiating tool with China, and get more followers at the same time, or maybe Elon Musk will buy it!