Politics

Read about the latest UK political news, views and analysis.

Thursday

John Armstrong

The baffling decision to defund a national academy for mathematics

The government has shocked the mathematics community by announcing that it is withdrawing £6 million in grant funding from a new Academy for Mathematical Sciences.  The impetus for creating this Academy came from a 2018 review chaired by professor Philip Bond. His review recommended how to maximize the benefits of mathematical sciences to the UK economy and to wider society. It drew on responses from a host of universities and all the learned societies in mathematics and was advised by a board of mathematical luminaries. Its number one recommendation was the creation of this new academy – which would improve links between academia, government and industry.  Investing in mathematics is one of the

Matthew Lynn

Andrew Bailey should be wary of helping Labour

Business confidence has plummeted back to the levels last seen in the wake of Liz Truss’s unfortunate mini-budget. Hiring has slowed down as employers worry about all the new rights Labour is about to award their staff. Consumer confidence has fallen, as people worry about the tax rises that will be imposed in the ‘Horror Budget’ set for the end of the month. And the economy, which was growing at a decent clip when the Conservatives left office, has now stalled, with zero growth in the latest quarter. The new Chancellor Rachel Reeves was facing a spluttering economy. But, hey, never mind. It turns out that the Bank of England

Steerpike Steerpike

Sir Keir pays back £6,000 worth of gifts

To the latest development in Labour’s freebie fiasco, as it transpires that Sir Keir Starmer has paid back over £6,000 of gifts he received from wealthy donors. No. 10 revealed the Prime Minister chose to cough up the funds for six Taylor Swift tickets, four Doncaster racing tickets and the clothing gifted to his wife. The news that Sir Keir would be paying back the cost of the freebies himself came last night as the donations were about to be uncovered in the latest list of MPs’ financial declarations. Starmer’s about turn poses some rather awkward questions for the rest of Starmer’s cabinet however – who haven’t quite found it

Steerpike Steerpike

BBC cancels Boris interview after Kuenssberg gaffe

Well that’s awkward. Former prime minister Boris Johnson was due to be interviewed by the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg today, ahead of the release next week of his memoir, titled Unleashed, which is currently being serialised by the Mail. Licence-fee payers would no doubt have been treated to Boris’s expositions on why he considered invading Holland to seize the country’s Covid jabs, and given the inside details of his ‘manly’ chat with Prince Harry to prevent the calamity that was Megxit.  Unfortunately though such delights will be denied to the nation, after an embarrassing BBC gaffe. Kuenssberg wrote on Twitter late last night that she had accidentally sent her briefing notes to Boris

Sean Rayment

These won’t be the last casualties Israel sustains in Lebanon

Israel has sustained its first casualties since the launch of its cross-border incursion into southern Lebanon. Eight soldiers have been killed in battles with Hezbollah and, tragically, they are unlikely to be the last casualties of this conflict.  Captain Eitan Itzhak Oster, 22, a squad commander in the ‘Egoz’, an elite commando unit specialising in guerrilla warfare, was killed in what was reported to be an ambush by Hezbollah fighters in a village in southern Lebanon. Other Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) personnel killed in clashes with Hezbollah on Wednesday include four members of a commando unit, two soldiers serving with a reconnaissance squad, and another who was part of the

Jonathan Sacerdoti

Could Iran target Jews outside Israel?

After the massive direct Iranian attack on Israel, many breathed a sigh of relief that Israel’s defences were mostly well prepared and highly effective. The one death reported was that of a Gazan Palestinian man killed by shrapnel near Jericho. So much for Iranian solidarity with the Palestinians. Yet tensions remain high as further Iranian aggression may follow. This time, it could the Jews of Europe, the UK or America who are the targets.  Iran has a history of responding to setbacks with global terrorism Israel’s impressive strategic operational activities in Lebanon and Syria have not only severely limited Hezbollah’s abilities, but also restored Israel’s intelligence and military deterrence in

Svitlana Morenets Svitlana Morenets

Don’t blame Ukraine for not giving up

Two years ago, Volodymyr Zelensky was hailed as a hero in America. He was the man who stood up to Putin, who saw off the pillar of Russian tanks advancing on Kyiv – the man who’d fight the revanchist autocracy so the West didn’t have to. How times have changed. To a great many in Washington he is now a liability, a hustler, someone trying to pour American money and his countrymen’s lives into an unwinnable war. An increasing number of Republicans are making him the scapegoat for a war that only the Kremlin can end. The outcome of next month’s US presidential election will be watched more closely in

David Shipley

What our prisons get wrong

‘Purposeful activity’ is a phrase often heard in discussions about our prisons. It describes work, training, therapeutic courses and other meaningful activities which improve prisoners’ mental health and make them less likely to behave antisocially in prison or offend after release. In theory our prisons should make sure that most prisoners are spending a significant amount of time out of their cells participating in this purposeful activity. Unfortunately, a report published last Friday by His Majesty’s Inspector of Prisons reveals that the reality falls far short of that. Of 32 closed prisons inspected in 2023-24, 30 of them were rated ‘poor or not sufficiently good’. In practice this means that

Matt Ridley

How Ed Miliband plans to conjure electricity out of nothing

Electricity is magical stuff. From a couple of tiny holes in a wall comes an apparently endless supply of invisible, weightless, silent ether that turns instantly into light, heat, motion or information at your command. It is a metaphor for the modern economy: we use pure energy to create useful outcomes in the real world. We found out last week that Britain has now for the first time achieved top spot, among 25 nations, in terms of the price we pay for this supernatural ichor, for both domestic and industrial use. This is a disaster. Electricity prices have doubled in Britain since 2019. They are 46 per cent above the

Charles Moore Charles Moore

The Tories’ Greek tragedy has reached its catharsis

I write this as I leave the Tory conference in Birmingham. I have covered most of these events (and many Labour ones too) since the beginning of the 1980s. They do not lift the heart, but it is always interesting to watch the activity of the tribe. I attended the 1997 conference at Blackpool after the Tories had been broken by Tony Blair. William Hague had just become leader. The tribe was in a state of tongue-tied mourning. The party faithful were perplexed that the Conservatives had bequeathed extremely favourable economic conditions and public finances and yet had been utterly rejected. The trappings of power still hung about the agenda

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Keir Starmer’s dysfunctional Downing Street 

By rights, the Conservative party conference in Birmingham ought to have been a funereal affair. It was the first time the party had gathered after its worst-ever election defeat and the number of former MPs rivalled the number of current ones. And yet the mood was surprisingly upbeat. ‘Opposition is so freeing,’ said one MP at the bar in the early hours. ‘It’s like being drunk at the wake after the funeral,’ remarked one Tory strategist. It’s not that the party conference revealed a breakout star in the leadership contest (‘We’ll be doing this again in two years,’ predicts one unimpressed MP). Instead, Tories are looking at Labour’s misfortunes. Three

Wednesday

Steerpike Steerpike

Lord Alli under investigation for donations

Dear oh dear. It now transpires that Lord Alli is under investigation by the Lords Commissioner – with the millionaire businessman being looked into over ‘alleged non-registration of interests’ with concerns the Labour donor may have breached the Lords code of conduct. How curious… The donor – who funded workwear for the Prime Minister and his wife, paid for expensive glasses for Sir Keir Starmer and even provided luxury accommodation worth over £20,000 to the Labour leader – is being investigated over ‘alleged non-registration of interests leading to potential breaches of paragraphs 14(a) and 17 of the thirteenth edition of the Code of Conduct for Members of the House of

Steerpike Steerpike

London’s failed night czar resigns

At long last, and not a day too soon, it transpires that London’s ‘night czar’ is standing down. Amy Lamé will leave her City Hall role at the end of the month after, er, eight years in the job on a six-figure annual salary – despite receiving a 40 per cent pay hike part way through. Sadiq Khan’s nightlife guru – who presided over the closure of almost half of the cities nightclubs – has said she felt it was the ‘right time’ to ‘move on’, but added it had been a ‘real privilege to serve Londoners’. Mr S can’t imagine the feeling is mutual… Lamé announced her resignation today,

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Is JD Vance the next Republican presidential nominee?

18 min listen

Last night the Vice Presidential nominees JD Vance and Tim Walz went head to head in a televised debate. It began with the war erupting in the Middle East, followed by a clash over abortion and immigration. Freddy Gray speaks to Sarah Eliot from Republicans Overseas about why Vance came out on top, and whether he could be in the running as the next Republican presidential nominee. 

Katy Balls Katy Balls

The winners (and losers) from Tory conference

Who was the winner from today’s Tory leadership speeches? The final day of the party conference saw all four candidates take to the stage in a bid to have a David Cameron moment. Back in 2005, Cameron managed to gain momentum at the party conference with an assured speech (no notes) and get one over on his main rival – the then frontrunner – David Davis. So, has anyone managed a similar feat in Birmingham? It was Tom Tugendhat who was up first to speak. The leadership hopeful – viewed to be on the left of the party – spoke about restoring trust and the path back to power. He

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Badenoch is the best the Tories have got

What an ordeal. If there is one thing more trying than watching a leader’s speech at a party conference, it is watching four of them in a row – four doses of platitudes, jokes that miss the mark, personal anecdotes about their childhood and parents which are supposed to build up a sense of character but instead make you groan because you have heard them a dozen times before. She speaks with words, not phrases Tom Tugendhat came across as a middle manager on a public speaking course. Never mind where he wanted to take the country – he didn’t seem sure how and in which direction he was supposed

James Heale James Heale

Who was the winner from today’s Tory leadership speeches?

17 min listen

The final day of the party conference saw all four candidates take to the stage in a bid to have a David Cameron moment. Back in 2005, Cameron managed to gain momentum at the party conference with an assured speech (no notes) and get one over on his main rival – the then frontrunner – David Davis. So, did anyone managed a similar feat in Birmingham? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Isabel Hardman.  Produced by Oscar Edmondson. 

Patrick O’Flynn Patrick O'Flynn

The demise of the Tory party has been greatly exaggerated

Something happened at the Conservative party conference today which suggested it is too soon to write off the democratic world’s most successful party: there were three brilliant speeches in a row. Given that this political era is not known for its great orators, this was a most unusual and very welcome occurrence. It is too soon to write off the democratic world’s most successful party Of the four Conservative leadership contenders, only Tom Tugendhat – perhaps hampered by being first on and having to warm-up the audience – failed to truly connect beyond his enthusiastic gaggle of camp followers. His workmanlike address was perfectly competent but lacked a transcendent moment. James

James Heale James Heale

Robert Jenrick promises a ‘new Conservative party’

The Tory front runner was third up in Birmingham. Throughout this race, Robert Jenrick has sought to position himself as someone with the polish of David Cameron and the politics of Nigel Farage. His speech today was very much in that vein: a staunchly right-wing message centred around delivering a ‘new Conservative party’. Like Cameron in 2005, he talks of change: but change, he would argue, of a very different nature to hug-a-hoodie modernisation.  Jenrick’s pitch was much more critical about the state of modern Britain Jenrick’s speech began with a neat bridging exercise: talking of his father’s work in a metal foundry as a way of referencing the Iron

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Badenoch pitches herself as the great disruptor

Kemi Badenoch’s opening video before her speech had a series of politicians and normal people talking at odd angles into their phones about the need for a new politician. She was pictured smiling, charming people in person, and vowing ‘let’s renew’, before she walked onto the stage for another no-notes speech.  It was, as you would expect, a speech that embraced the idea of tearing everything up and starting again, with Badenoch as the disruptor. She promised to ‘Rewire, reboot and reprogramme’, adding that: ‘Nothing is more exciting to me. I am an engineer, and engineers don’t hide from the truth.’ Her overhaul would involve the Conservatives rewriting ‘the rules