Politics

The former leader of the Liberal Democrats Charles Kennedy has died at the age of 55. He was the party’s most successful leader in 80 years, winning 62 seats in 2005 general election following the Iraq war. On the eve of the 2002 Lib Dem conference, The Spectator’s then political editor Peter Oborne interviewed Kennedy about his opposition to military action in Iraq and his chances of overtaking the Conservatives as the main party of opposition. No politician has the opportunity that Charles Kennedy has today: he just might reconfigure the political landscape. With the Conservative party in a weak and semimoribund state, uncertain of its own identity and still struggling to

The last time former French Justice Minister and MEP Rachida Dati had the attention of the British press she was embroiled in a combination of sex, politics and intrigue as only the French establishment could concoct. Now she’s back as an unlikely, but potentially vital, centrepiece to the Conservative leadership’s plan to keep Britain in Europe. ‘David Cameron has been brave in basically saying: we want the British people to feel comfortable in the EU, but we want them to have a “better deal”‘ Dati opines. We’re sat in the grandly gothic surroundings of London’s St Pancras station, and the last staging post en-route back to Brussels feels a suitable

David Cameron has to walk two tightropes on Europe, and at the same time too. The first is to negotiate a deal with other European leaders that satisfies the bulk of his Euro-sceptic party. If this was not difficult enough, simultaneously Cameron has to show voters that the European question isn’t consuming all of his government’s energies. For despite its importance, it still rankles relatively low on the public’s list of priorities. To address the latter point, I’m told that Cameron will make a major domestic policy announcement in the week of every EU summit in an effort to show that he is not taking his eyes off the home front.

I spotted the Liberal Democrat leadership candidate Tim Farron in a pub on Whitehall, enjoying half a pint of lager and nachos with fellow party activists after marching in defence of the Human Rights Act. He kindly agreed to speak to The Spectator and you can watch above what we discussed. As part of his leadership campaign, Farron, who remains the bookies’ favourite, has suggested the party must focus on particular campaigns and causes instead of acting like a traditional small political party. Human rights is one topic in particular he feels will motivate activists and believes that the party’s efforts so far helped to keep a British Bill of Rights out of the Queen’s Speech: ‘I think

The Home Office has today published a bill banning a number of ‘legal highs’ such as laughing gas, poppers, and so on. There is a big debate about whether this sort of legislation is worth it, and so on, but one particular substance may cause a rather different row. ‘Poppers’, which can apparently be bought at petrol stations, are alkyl nitrates which give users a head rush when inhaled. But poppers have another use, which is to enable or enhance sex, particularly for gay men. The political implications of banning this substance may not have been immediately realised by those working on the ban, but it may suggest to some gay voters that