Politics

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

Wednesday

Andrew Tettenborn

Letting the worst universities collapse would be an act of kindness

Nobody said much about it before the election, but the new government inherits a ghastly financial problem with the higher education system. Rising costs, stagnant tuition fees, and a big drop in foreign student enrolments have left several universities tottering like ivory Jenga towers. We probably have too many universities This week we got an inkling of what education secretary Bridget Phillipson and higher education minister Jacqui Smith are thinking of doing about this mess. Not surprisingly, big money bail-outs are out (chancellor Rachel Reeves won’t allow them), as are increases in student fees (which backbenchers wouldn’t stand for). Instead, apart from telling the institutions in trouble to tighten their belts, the

Tuesday

Katy Balls Katy Balls

James Cleverly becomes the first Tory candidate to declare 

James Cleverly has become the first candidate to declare in the Conservative leadership contest. Announcing the news tonight in an op-ed for the Telegraph, the shadow home secretary made the pitch that he ‘can unite the Conservatives and overturn Starmer’s loveless landslide’.  He says: We need to rediscover confidence that our core values are shared by the British public and present an offer of unity, security, and prosperity. We must ditch the self indulgent infighting and be ready to deliver when the next chance comes. This will take dedication, discipline and focus. More announcements are expected in the coming days after the 1922 committee agreed the rules and timetable for

James Heale James Heale

Seven Labour MPs lose the whip

In the end, the great two-child benefit cap revolt proved to be somewhat underwhelming. The measure was always likely to fail given Labour’s mammoth majority of 172, with the government winning the vote by 363 votes to 103. Only seven of Keir Starmer’s MPs defied the entreaties of the Labour whips to vote in favour of the SNP’s amendment to the King’s Speech to scrap the policy. Their names are a handy ‘who’s who’ guide to the Labour left awkward squad: Apsana Begum, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, Imran Hussain, Rebecca Long Bailey, Zarah Sultana and ring-leader John McDonnell. All seven have tonight had the whip suspended for six months, before

Steerpike Steerpike

Farage in diversity stand-off with Commons bosses

It’s a red letter day for Nigel Farage. The former Ukip leader entered parliament this month at the eighth attempt of trying and today delivered his maiden speech to fellow MPs. In an address that mixed wit and wisdom, Farage observed the custom of paying tribute to a member’s predecessor by saying of Giles Watling that he was a ‘jolly nice chap’ despite ‘having nothing even vaguely conservative about him.’ But there is one Commons convention that Mr S understands he will not be observing. All MPs are invited attend inclusion and diversity training by the House of Commons, with newly elected members offered a place on seminars titled ‘Behaviour

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Farage makes maiden speech in Commons

To the House of Commons, where today Reform’s Nigel Farage made his maiden speech after returning from Milwaukee’s RNC. Attempting a number of times to gain access to the Commons, Farage was successful on his eighth shot this election – and this afternoon’s speech shows he’s wasting no time getting down to business. In his characteristically caustic fashion, Farage was quick to hit out at his parliamentary colleagues – taking special care to focus on Labour’s lefty lot. ‘This is very much a Remainers parliament,’ Farage proclaimed, before adding cynically: ‘I suspect in many cases it’s really a rejoiners parliament.’ Oo er. With prominent leavers from Jacob Rees-Mogg to Penny

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Streeting hammers Tories on NHS

We know that the NHS is broken: Wes Streeting announced that it was now the official policy of this government when he entered the Department of Health and Social Care. Today he had a chance to elaborate on just what exactly he thought was broken – and of course to point the finger at who was responsible. It was his first departmental questions in the House of Commons, and like every other incoming Secretary of State, Streeting made sure he laid on the ‘Tories broke this’ line as thickly as cream on a scone. Pointing to shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins, he described the hospital building programme: I once again

Steerpike Steerpike

Huw Edwards got £40,000 pay rise despite suspension

Back to the BBC, which these days is better at being in the news than making it. The six-figure salary list for 2023-24 has been published and with it come some quite interesting revelations. Top earner Gary Lineker received £1.35 million, while Radio 2 presenter Zoe Ball isn’t too far behind on £950,000. Big names including Greg James, Stephen Nolan and Fiona Bruce saw their salaries increase while politicos Laura Kuenssberg and Nick Robinson also made the list. But, most interestingly, Mr S notices that Huw Edwards saw his salary rise by a colossal £40,000 last year – despite not having worked for most of the last 12 months. Edwards

Steerpike Steerpike

Will president Biden pardon Hunter?

After President Biden announced he would be standing down on Sunday evening, it’s been all go in the White House. But while speculation about the next Democrat nominee continues, there is a separate side plot that Mr S is rather interested in – involving Biden’s son. Robert Hunter Biden has spent a fair amount of time in the limelight over the years, for scandals both personal – crack cocaine use, infidelity and a two-year relationship with his late brother’s wife – and professional, with his dealings in China and Ukraine. Last month, the eldest son of the US president was found guilty of lying about his drug use when purchasing a handgun

Daniel Rey

Biden’s legacy is in Harris’s hands

Joe Biden did the honourable thing. It took dire polls and home truths from donors and allies, but the President finally admitted that his political race is over.  Biden was trailing Donald Trump in the swing states – in some cases with a wide margin – and was showing little sign of being able to close the gap. On course for defeat, Biden made his decision in the interests of his party and country, but also his legacy.  Biden’s legacy could go one of two ways. Like almost every US president, his tenure has included both major successes and significant failures. While some of his major achievements, such as record

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Liz Kendall promises a game-changer on welfare

Seven Labour MPs had the whip suspended after voting against the two-child benefit cap, but this is a small taste of what awaits Labour. In her first major, Liz Kendall has set herself a target of hitting an 80 per cent employment rate – bolder than anything the Tories ever shot for. It is higher not only than today’s 72 per cent but (far) higher than the all-time, pre-lockdown record of 74 per cent. It is precisely the right target, for economic and social reasons. But it is one that can only be achieved via serious, game-changing welfare reform. The new Work and Pensions Secretary has inherited a full-blown welfare

Matthew Lynn

Labour will struggle with its plan to get Britain back to work

Liz Kendall wants Britain to get back to work. The Work and Pensions Secretary has unveiled a target for the country to reach an 80 per cent employment rate. But hold on: that ‘ambition’, as the government is calling it, is completely unrealistic. Labour’s plan to reverse the dire labour market and drive up Britain’s employment rate seems certain to fall short of its ambitious target. Spending on sickness and disability benefits is set to increase by £30 billion over the next five years Britain is the only country in the G7 whose employment rate has still not returned to pre-pandemic levels: 2.8 million people are out of work because of

Jake Wallis Simons Jake Wallis Simons

After Biden, the deluge

Remember that $230 million ‘humanitarian pier’ that the Americans moored off the coast of Gaza? It was announced with great fanfare in Joe Biden’s State of the Union address in March. But earlier this month, the White House quietly mothballed the project. It had not been built to withstand inclement weather, you see, so sections of the causeway broke off and washed up among the sunbathers on Tel Aviv’s Frishman Beach. During the first week in which the pier had been operational, three-quarters of the aid it delivered had been stolen by unspecified Palestinians on the way to a UN warehouse. Who would have thought that the administration responsible for

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Miliband will need natural gas to hit net zero

Three weeks into the new Labour government and it is already becoming clear where some of its weaknesses lie – none more so than Ed Miliband’s promise to decarbonise the electricity grid, save consumers money and boost the economy with many thousands of ‘well-paid green jobs’. Today the Royal Academy of Engineering weighs in with its own assessment of Miliband’s chances. Its verdict? That even if the government wants to decarbonise the grid, Britain is going to have to invest in new gas plants – and ‘unabated’ ones (i.e. not fitted with carbon capture and storage CCS technology) at that. Even in an optimistic scenario, the Academy thinks that in

Steerpike Steerpike

Nadine Dorries takes aim at Emily Maitlis’s ‘cosy “centrist” podcast’

Another day, another drama – only this time it’s not MPs in the spotlight. Now politician-turned-pundit Nadine Dorries has taken aim at journalist Emily Maitlis and her ‘cosy “centrist” podcast’ The News Agents. In a scathing attack laid out in the fine pages of the Daily Mail, Dorries slams Maitlis’s ‘neurotic’ perspective of politics, her obsession with ‘remaining “relevant”‘ and her, um, ‘orange permatan’. Ouch. The former cabinet minister described how she had been invited on Maitlis’ podcast only to be asked, charmingly, whether she was ‘unhinged’. ‘I had no particular desire to be on The News Agents,’ Dorries fumed, continuing: ‘I won’t tolerate being spoken to like that by a

Steerpike Steerpike

SNP leader convinced party in ‘strong position’ for 2026

To Scotland, where First Minister John Swinney appears to be trying to make a career for himself as a spin doctor. The leader of the Nats has a new tactic to win back support for his beleaguered party – convince voters that, contrary to their daily experiences, his party has actually been, er, ‘formidable’ over the 17 years it has clung onto power in Holyrood. During a trip to Aberdeenshire, the FM also suggested that the SNP’s bad press is down to a lack of ‘appreciation’ of all it has achieved. Pull the other one… The Nats saw dozens of Westminster MPs ousted at the election – and lost their

Damien Phillips

What will Labour do about Iran?

Labour isn’t typically known for offering a more hawkish foreign policy platform than the Conservatives, but at the last election there was an exception: Iran. Yvette Cooper and David Lammy have spoken in strong terms about toughening up Britain’s approach to Iran George Robertson, the former defence secretary and Nato secretary general leading the government’s defence review, has described Tehran as part of the ‘deadly quartet’ of nations working together to challenge the Western-led global order. Both Yvette Cooper and David Lammy have also previously spoken in strong terms about toughening up Britain’s approach to Iran. With the Home Office and Foreign Office on board, Sir Keir Starmer has the

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Are we in for a ‘dirty’ Tory leadership contest?

16 min listen

At last there is white smoke in the negotiations over the rules for the Tory leadership contest. On Monday, the 1922 committee met and agreed a timetable for the contest to succeed Rishi Sunak as Conservative party leader. The plan is for a new leader to be unveiled 2 November with eligible candidates to throw their name into the ring before the summer recess. It’s going to be a long process, but will they be able to keep it civil? Will this be a beauty contest or a Tory Wacky Races?  Fraser Nelson speaks to Katy Balls and James Heale.  Produced by Oscar Edmondson. 

Eamonn Butler

Why Labour should avoid Gordon Brown’s stealth taxes

During the election campaign, Chancellor Rachel Reeves made bold promises – no increases to Income Tax, National Insurance, or VAT. She also sought to echo the ‘prudence’ mantra of her predecessor as chancellor Gordon Brown, though his tenure was marked by significant spending increases rather than prudent restraint. True to form, over the weekend Reeves indicated the government could accept recommendations for above-inflation pay increases, of about 5.5 per cent, for NHS workers and teachers. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) estimates that a similar pay hike across public sector professions would cost about £10 billion, requiring more taxation or borrowing. This comes amid other ambitious plans for restructuring and

Daniel DePetris

President Kamala could spell trouble for Israel – but good news for Ukraine

In the two days since Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid and endorsed vice president Kamala Harris as the Democratic party nominee, much attention has been devoted to the mechanics of Biden’s decision, which close advisers or family members may have convinced him to pull out and how the entire episode will shake up the race. But with Harris the strong favourite to become the Democratic’s presidential nominee, it’s worth asking what president Harris could mean for other countries, not least the United State’s allies – and enemies. The VP is tougher on Israel than Biden for the way it’s prosecuting its war on Hamas Does Harris have a foreign

Rakib Ehsan

What the Harehills riots say about Britain

The Harehills riots and disorder, which started last Thursday in Leeds after social services removed several children from a Romani family, is a fine example of people projecting their biases onto complex social events. We are more likely to find the roots of the Harehills disorders in the politics of Central Europe than on the Indian subcontinent Reform UK leader Nigel Farage – no stranger to questionable takes on  integration – labelled the events as a destructive manifestation of subcontinental politics in inner-city England. This is wide of the mark. Harehills in Leeds is not Belgrave in Leicester, where trouble broke out in 2022 after an India–Pakistan Asia Cup cricket match. Some