Politics

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

Saturday

Mark Nayler

Can David Lammy solve the Gibraltar dispute?

The British government is preparing to lodge a formal complaint with Spain over Gibraltar. Spanish military aircraft have twice flown over the Rock in the past ten days: once on 27 September, reportedly while a commercial British Airways flight was taxiing on the local airport’s runway, and then again on 30 September. These flyovers (thought to have been by Spanish Air Force cargo aircraft) might seem harmless – but the British government disagrees. The timing of the flyovers couldn’t be worse. They come shortly after the latest round of talks in Brussels between Spain, Gibraltar, the UK and EU about the Rock’s post-Brexit status. Of central importance to these negotiations

Patrick O’Flynn Patrick O'Flynn

The case for – and against – James Cleverly

When is the best time to hit the front of a Tory leadership contest? In the final chain of the final furlong after coming up unseen on the rails, obviously. As charismatic front-runners from Michael Heseltine to Michael Portillo have found out, Conservative leadership battles are brutal for the established heir apparent. There is something about the Tory tribe, or perhaps the Tory disposition, which creates a mania for dragging them down. It’s far safer to do a John Major and be christened as the best ‘Stop X’ or least-unpalatable-option candidate at the last by the party establishment. So congratulations to James Cleverly for gaining momentum so deep into the current

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

Macron’s EU gloom is well placed

Michel Barnier was interviewed on prime time television on Thursday night and not once in his 45 minutes of conversation did he mention the name Emmanuel Macron. There was an indirect reference to the president of the Republic, when Barnier described himself as the ‘anti-Jupiter’ Prime Minister. ‘Jupiter’ was one of the nicknames bestowed on Macron when he came to power in 2017 – and the world, albeit briefly, was fooled into thinking this was a man of rare talent. The French media appear to be taking their lead from Barnier. There was scant coverage of the president’s visit to Berlin on Wednesday when he spoke at a Global Dialogue

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

What is Melania Trump up to?

For eight years, Melania Trump has done a brilliant job of keeping us all guessing. Is she, as gossips have long suggested, secretively estranged from her errant husband? Does she hate politics? Or is she, behind closed doors, the real force that drives the Trump family’s remorseless ambition?   Nobody seems to know and that has only added to her allure. The former and perhaps soon-to-be again First Lady has been a smoking-hot riddle and people of all political persuasions seem to adore her for it.  Now, however, at arguably the crunch moment of the American presidential election cycle, Melania is busy promoting Melania, her new autobiography – and suddenly her

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Is there really a private school exodus?

Will Labour actually gain some revenue for slapping VAT on school fees, or is it heading for fiscal embarrassment as so many private school pupils are decanted into the state sector that the taxpayer will suffer a net loss? The question has been batted around for months as everyone ponders a great unknowable: how many parents would throw in the towel when faced with a higher bill for educating Barnabus and Fenella, and send them to the local comp instead? An early indication has been provided on Friday by the Independent Schools Council (ISC), which claims that the number of pupils enrolled in independent schools (or at least those affiliated

Friday

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Is the enlightenment over?

Amy Wax is a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania, known for her views on race, culture, and social policy. Recently, Amy faced suspension from her teaching duties following remarks that sparked debates over academic freedom and the limits of discourse in the classroom. Amy joins Freddy Gray on the Americano show to discuss her recent suspension, what is behind the feminisation of institutions and how school teaching should return to the 50s. 

Steerpike Steerpike

Scottish Tories fume over leadership rivals snubbing Scotland

Back to the Tory leadership contest which is gathering pace post-conference season. In a matter of days, MPs will cast their votes to leave just two contenders in the race, before the membership gets its say. But there is consternation about the final two among the Holyrood group – which only appointed a new leader itself last week – after growing frustration about some of the frontrunners having snubbed Scotland. How very interesting. Half of the Scottish Tory crowd – which only appointed a new leader itself last week – have publicly thrown their weight behind Tom Tugendhat, who has the backing of 16 of the party’s 31 MSPs. The

Constantin Eckner

Germany’s plot to face off Chinese car tariffs has failed – for now

Germany has voted to oppose a proposal by the European Commission to introduce additional tariffs on electric cars imported from China. This was no surprise: in the days leading up to today’s meeting, German chancellor Olaf Scholz and other government officials in Berlin had made clear that they had instructed the country’s representative not to vote in favour of such tariffs, widely described as ‘punitive’. Alongside Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Malta and Slovenia voted against the introduction of the tariffs. A majority of states representing at least 65 per cent of the population in the EU – or 14 of the bloc’s members states – would have been needed to stop

Julie Bindel

Is this wife killer jumping on the Post Office scandal bandwagon?

Robin Garbutt is serving life in prison for murdering his wife, but is he innocent? His supporters say so. They insist that evidence from the Horizon IT system and the Post Office which helped convict him of the killing of Diana in 2010 was flawed. Garbutt, they claim, is another victim of the Post Office scandal which saw hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted. Diana’s mother is sceptical and has said she believes her son-in-law is guilty. Garbutt, she said, was ‘jumping on the Horizon bandwagon’. The jury saw through Garbutt’s story It’s right to treat Garbutt’s appeal with scepticism. Every year, many men are convicted of murdering their partners. The

Steerpike Steerpike

Could Starmer sign away the Falklands too?

When Sir Keir Starmer announced on Thursday that the UK will cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, he was met with widespread outrage. Opposition politicians were quick to blast the Prime Minister over the move, pointing to the strategic importance of the land, with ex-PM and one-time foreign secretary Boris Johnson slamming the decision as ‘total nonsense’. Questions have been raised about it all – with Guido Fawkes yesterday pointing out that Starmer’s close friend Philippe Sands KC happens to be Mauritius’ chief legal adviser and a longtime campaigner for the country to control the land. How very interesting. And on the issue of other British overseas territories,

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Ed Miliband’s ‘new era’ for energy policy is anything but

How the ground is shifting now that Labour finds itself in government and is actually responsible for UK energy policy. This morning, workers at a glass factory on Merseyside were treated to an unusual visit from the threesome that is the Prime Minister, Chancellor and Energy Secretary. Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves and Ed Miliband had travelled up to announce the latest twist in the government’s energy policy: a £22 billion investment in carbon capture and storage (CCS). This, apparently, is an inspired policy to create jobs, help us accelerate to net zero and boost our economy. It is also extraordinarily similar to an announcement that the previous government made in

Oscar Edmondson

Assisted dying and Chagos row overshadow Starmer’s carbon capture pledge

17 min listen

What Keir Starmer wants to be talking about today is his landmark £22 billion investment into carbon capture. Flanked by Ed Miliband and Rachel Reeves, his speech was an unusually personal one where he spoke about the impacts of deindustrialisation. But how new is this policy? And what does this huge investment mean for the £20 billion black hole?  What Westminster seems more interested in talking about is the news that assisted dying is back on the agenda and the fallout of the deal to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Is there a degree of inevitability about these two stories resurfacing?  Oscar Edmondson speaks to Isabel Hardman and James

Steerpike Steerpike

Fifteen top takes from Boris Johnson’s memoir

Boris Johnson’s new memoir Unleashed is to be published next week, and with the highly-anticipated account promising to be the ‘political memoir of the century’, Mr S was rather interested in what exactly it contains within its pages. Steerpike has put together a list of the top 15 things we learned from the former Prime Minister’s lengthy memoir… Partygate stories ‘grossly exaggerated’ First to one of the most prominent scandals of Boris Johnson’s career: the matter of Partygate. In his 800-page tome, the former PM insists that he was told by his adviser that the pandemic parties broke no lockdown rules. Johnson admits he put it down as ‘desperate nonsense

James Heale James Heale

Can Keir Starmer sell carbon capture?

The Prime Minister is in Liverpool today, outlining plans for green investment. Nearly £22billion is pledged for projects to capture and store carbon emissions from energy, industry and hydrogen production. This includes funding for two ‘carbon capture clusters’ on Merseyside and Teesside over the next 25 years. Ministers hope this will create new jobs, attract investment and hit climate goals. Keir Starmer’s speech was an unusually personal one. Speaking at a glass manufacturing factory, he began by offering up his usual line about being ‘the son of a toolmaker’ but then elaborated saying ‘that matters to me, because until I went off to college, I didn’t even know any working

Andrew Tettenborn

Boris is right: we need a referendum on the ECHR

Nobody should be surprised that Boris Johnson favours a referendum on leaving the ECHR, as his book now makes clear. Boris is an instinctive populist and maverick, who cordially despises the educated progressive establishment which argues for continued membership. He is also right.  Intellectually, the case for remaining in the ECHR gets ever flimsier Intellectually, the case for remaining in the ECHR gets ever flimsier. When we ratified it in 1951, the convention was fairly uncontroversial. Against the background of the horrors of 1945, most of its provisions quite intentionally tracked the practices traditionally associated with the activities of Nazi and fascist regimes: mass murder, midnight searches of homes, overt torture,

Jonathan Campbell-James

Could the Chagos handover put the Diego Garcia military base at risk?

The decision to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has taken many by surprise. After years of painful negotiations, the speed with which the Labour government concluded a deal seems striking. But while the terms of the treaty to settle the future of the Chagos appear to have been thrashed out quickly, it’s a decision that could come back to bite in the years and decades to come. This could spell trouble in the years ahead The Foreign Office statement frames the agreement as a resolution of all outstanding differences with Mauritius, but one which also protects the continued operation of the strategically-important joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia.

Steerpike Steerpike

Cleverly and Jenrick slam CCHQ machine

Who would want to work in Conservative Campaign Headquarters? The election this year was certainly not Tory high command’s finest hour, with rows over stitch-ups and misallocated resources neatly topping off the party’s worst election result in history. So with discontent high among both MPs and members, it is no surprise that Tory leadership contenders are lining up to criticise their own party establishment, according to a series of leaked recordings given to Mr S. First up, Robert Jenrick, who is keen to present himself as the candidate most keen to overhaul the party machine. He wants to scrap the CCHQ-approved candidates’ list so that any member can stand and

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

It’s time to break the stranglehold on the migrant crisis debate

John Major and Nicolas Sarkozy are grandees of their respective centre-right parties. But the days when the Conservatives and the Republicans dominated the political landscape of Britain and France are long gone. The fortunes of both parties have dwindled as the migrant crisis has deepened. Neither the Tories nor the Republicans confronted the phenomenon with the courage that their electorate demanded. They paid the price at the ballot box. But while one grandee has woken up to this fact, the other remains in denial. Major’s recent interview with the BBC underlined his misreading of the crisis confronting Europe. The former Tory PM, who governed the country between 1992 and 1997, spoke sympathetically

Steerpike Steerpike

Labour in fresh ‘cash for croissants’ storm

It’s a day ending a ‘y’ – so there’s another Labour scandal brewing. After the ‘passes for glasses’ row about Lord Alli’s role in Downing Street, the party has been plunged into another row about claims of ‘cash for access.’ The Sun today reports that companies have been offered breakfast with the Business Secretary in return for £30,000. Party apparatchiks invited bosses to a top Manchester restaurant for the ‘rare chance’ to ‘gain insight’ from Jonathan Reynolds in return for sponsorship of the meal. Talk about ‘cash for croissants’… Attendance at the exclusive event was limited to just ten tickets. ‘Distinct benefits’ include a photo with the minister (yours for just £15,000),

Steerpike Steerpike

Boris and Liz in Chagos Islands’ blame game

Mauritius is getting the Chagos Islands – and a lot of Tories ain’t happy. Tom Tugendhat calls it a ‘shameful retreat’; Robert Jenrick bemoans the ‘dangerous capitulation.’ The Telegraph calls it a ‘national scandal’ while the Mail splash screams it is ‘Starmer’s surrender.’ So with the Tory tribes raising a hue and cry, who better to articulate patriotic harrumphing than Boris Johnson? As part of his book tour, the former premier was grilled last night by Camilla Tominey on GB News. Asked for his reaction to the decision, Johnson called it: Crazy. I mean do, I urge viewers of GB News to get out your maps, get out your atlases,