Politics

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

Friday

David Shipley

Labour’s prison plan will fix one problem – but could cause plenty of others

Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood has bowed to the inevitable: acknowledging that ‘our prisons are on the point of collapse’, Mahmood has announced that, from September, most prisoners serving sentences of less than four years will be released 40 per cent of the way through their sentences instead of the halfway point, which is currently the case. It’s a policy that will ease the pressure on prisons, but could end up backfiring badly. The plan will ease the pressure on prisons but could end up backfiring The Prison Governors’ Association advocated for this early release policy during the election campaign, and while it may seem that the government has no other

Ross Clark Ross Clark

The trouble with Ed Miliband’s North Sea oil plan

Just Stop Oil continued its campaign by spreading orange paint over road junctions in Westminster this week, but why bother when the organisation seems now to be in power? Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband is said to be weighing up blocking new licenses for oil drilling in the North Sea. Labour has previously said that it wouldn’t allow exploration of entirely new fields but wouldn’t stand in the way of the continued exploitation of existing fields. Yet even this limited exploration now looks in doubt. How is the government going to generate that income if oil and gas companies are not going to be allowed to drill? The Department for

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Britain is still the world’s most successful multi-faith democracy

The swearing-in ceremonies in parliament this week have been rare in that more of them are filmed, posted on social media – and together, give us a flavour of the diversity in the islands, unified by the crown. Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Protestants and Catholics swear loyalty to the King on a holy book of their choice. Torcuil Crichton took the oath on a Gaelic bible, in Gaelic. I’ve found this a moving, quiet and beautiful reminder of the virtue of our democracy, the purpose of the Crown and the strength of our ancient system. British politics has no shortage of flaws and challenges, but we can perhaps claim to be

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Eric Kaufmann on DEI, the contagion effect and free speech

49 min listen

The Spectator’s Freddy Gray sits down with author and professor of politics Eric Kaufmann. They discuss the dangers of DEI, why Eric blames the bleeding heart liberals for the woke contagion and why it is possible much worst than originally thought. You can also watch this episode on Spectator TV:

James Kirkup James Kirkup

Is this Westminster’s coolest MP?

Parliamentary oath-taking rarely causes excitement. MPs swearing the oath of allegiance to the Crown after an election is an archaic yet prosaic sight: line up, shuffle in, say the words, shuffle off. Repeat 600-odd times. It’s a bit different this time, because so many of the MPs are first-timers. Nonetheless most of their swearing-in moments go unnoticed to all but friends and family.  Yet one swearing-in has caused a minor ripple, because it wasn’t in English. Torcuil Crichton, newly-elected MP for the constituency of Na h-Eileanan an Iar, formerly the Western Isles, swore his oath in Scots Gaelic and in the Scottish manner – right hand raised, not resting on a holy

Theo Hobson Theo Hobson

What does it mean to have a more secular House of Commons?

The House of Commons has a more secular character than ever before. Roughly 40 per cent of MPs have chosen to swear in using the secular ‘affirmation’ rather than a religious oath. Only 24 per cent took the secular option at the start of the last parliament. The current secular affirmers include half of the cabinet, and of course the PM. This is a good thing, in one respect. It is, on the whole, good for democracy if MPs reflect the attitudes of the nation. And it now seems that over half of the nation are non-religious (though all such measures are made of jelly). It’s hard to say whether

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Starmer’s most radical prisons shake-up is still to come

When Keir Starmer gave his first Downing Street press conference last weekend, he warned that ‘tough decisions’ were coming shortly. The first of these is expected later today. The new Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to announce plans to ease prison overcrowding in England and Wales. That plan is expected to involve prisoners being released early, including some convicted of violent offences. The proposal is that some inmates on fixed sentences will be released after serving 40 per cent of their sentences, rather than the usual 50 per cent. However, there will be some exemptions – with certain crimes meaning that inmates are not eligible for early release. The

Thursday

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Biden calls Zelensky ‘Putin’

Oh dear. It’s a day ending in ‘y’ which means Joe Biden has caused another diplomatic incident. As the gaffe-prone president battles to convince Democrats to stick with him for another four years, the aging octogenarian slipped up again when speaking today at the Nato 75th anniversary summit in Washington DC. This year’s jamboree is partly dedicated to the defence of Ukraine, with world leaders lining up to praise the country’s struggle against Moscow’s aggression. So it was especially unfortunate then that, when introducing President Zelensky, Joe Biden accidentally referred to him as, er, President Putin. Yes, that’s right – when welcoming Ukraine’s head of state, the leader of the

Steerpike Steerpike

Reform members warned of Farage scam

Uh oh. It’s a busy time for elected politicians trying to work their way around Westminster and no party knows that better than Reform UK. For the first time the group now has parliamentarians elected under its own banner, after sweeping up 14 per cent of the vote share last week.  But it’s not all been plain sailing so far. Nigel Farage received groans in the Commons after he used his first speech to attack former Speaker John Bercow, and the appointment of Richard Tice as deputy leader left the unelected Ben Habib rather outraged earlier today. And now Steerpike can reveal the party is desperately trying to stop its

Will Moore

Keir’s reformation: Labour’s radical plans

50 min listen

This week: Keir’s reformation. A week on from Labour’s victory in the UK general election, our cover piece looks ahead to the urgent issues facing Keir Starmer. If he acts fast, he can take advantage of having both a large majority and a unified party. The NHS, prisons, planning… the list goes on. But what challenges could he face and how should he manage his party? The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls joins the podcast, alongside Lord Falconer, Labour peer and former cabinet minister under Tony Blair (2:53). Next: have smartphones revolutionised home working for women? Our very own Lara Prendergast writes in the magazine this week about the eclectic ways

James Heale James Heale

Has Nato been a success for Starmer?

18 min listen

Keir Starmer is on his first big diplomatic trip to Washington, attending the Nato summit. He has called on member countries to increase defence spending, had a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, and enjoyed a dinner with Joe Biden – all in his first week of the job. How is the trip going, are there any tensions arising, and has it been a success for the new PM?  Oscar Edmondson discusses with James Heale and Sophia Gaston, head of foreign policy at Policy Exchange. 

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

What explains Trump’s silence?

As the Democrats go into a very public meltdown about Joe Biden’s fitness to be their presidential candidate in November, there is an unusual sound emanating from Donald Trump: silence. In the 2016 campaign and across four years in the White House, Trump proved himself incapable of message discipline, venting against fellow Republicans on social media and turned press conferences into rambling denunciations of the latest character to displease him. This behaviour regularly handed Democrats and journalists the chance to shift the news cycle from issues difficult for them (e.g. immigration) and onto issues difficult for the GOP (e.g. Trump’s intemperance and Republican infighting). Few presidents have so routinely undermined

James Heale James Heale

Farage reshuffles Reform’s top team

It’s been a busy week for Nigel Farage. After six days of being bombarded with parties, press requests and parliamentary rigmarole, he was this morning sworn in as the Honourable Member for Clacton. Such is the level of attention foisted on the Reform UK leader that even House of Commons staff have reportedly now been told to stop requesting selfies with him. With so much focus on Farage, the inevitable question is: what comes next? This morning, we got our answer. Reform UK has rejigged its top team, in the wake of the election of five MPs last Friday. Farage, unsurprisingly, retains his spot as leader, with Lee Anderson now

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

What will the Democrats do next?

29 min listen

As speculation over whether Biden will remain in the presidential race continues, Freddy Gray speaks to journalist and founder of News Items John Ellis about what could happen next. How did Democrats end up in this situation and who holds the most power in influencing Biden’s decision? They also look ahead to next week’s Republican National Convention and discuss who is in the running to be Trump’s VP. Produced by Natasha Feroze and Patrick Gibbons.

Ross Clark Ross Clark

How Starmer should deal with Thames Water

Less than a week in to his government and Keir Starmer is already facing an ideological battle within the Labour party – over the nationalisation, or non-nationalisation, of the water industry. News that Thames Water has been put in special measures at the same time that Ofwat has given permission for other water companies to increase bills by an average of £94 over the next five years is going to rekindle the beliefs of many in his party that public utilities do not belong in the private sector. Starmer is not helped by the fact that when he won the Labour leadership in 2020 it was on the promise of

Steerpike Steerpike

Spoilsport councils warn football fans to keep quiet

As if London mayor Sadiq Khan and his night tzar Amy Lamé weren’t already taking it upon themselves to be the capital’s fun police, now councils have decided to lecture football fans about peace and quiet during the Euros. As the England team approaches the final, Mr S can reveal that two London councils have been accused of being ‘spoilsports’ by the TaxPayers’ Alliance. Letters sent by the council to pubs see local politicians issuing ‘reminders of responsibilities’ during the football tournament, with notices warning venues to ‘avoid irresponsible marketing or any drinks promotions’. Good heavens… Islington Council and Waltham Forest Council are the guilty culprits – with the former

Steerpike Steerpike

Tories turn on Suella Braverman

Oh dear. While no one has officially announced that they’re standing for the Tory leadership, prospective candidates are already rocking the boat. Mr S wrote on Wednesday that shadow showing secretary Kemi Badenoch had blasted ex-PM Rishi Sunak and said that former home secretary Suella Braverman seemed to be having a ‘very public’ nervous breakdown – and now Braverman’s other colleagues are turning on her too. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if Suella defected to Reform in the next few months if she doesn’t get into the leadership race,’ one former Tory MP told the i newspaper. A current Conservative MP was a little more crude, commenting: ‘She’s lost all her

Steerpike Steerpike

SNP financial woes set to worsen

Back to Scotland, where the Nats are still reeling after their general election defeat. The national poll left the SNP with just nine seats and the exodus has rocked the secessionists. It transpires that while Stephen Flynn has remained leader of the Westminster group, Pete Wishart is now his deputy and Kirsty Blackman is the party’s new Chief Whip. But while the SNP attempts to reassemble, there are financial problems to worry about. Thanks to the bad publicity of the ongoing police probe into party funds, member donations dried up – and now it turns out that the SNP is facing more post-election financial woes. The party is set to

Tanika D’Souza

What will Labour do about women-only spaces?

As the dust settles on last week’s general election, voters are beginning to learn more about their new government’s plans for change. From growing the economy to curbing illegal immigration, Labour’s goals, as confirmed in recent speeches by Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer, are becoming clear. Yet one policy issue remains conspicuously uncertain: the issue of women-only spaces. In an interview with the Times in the final week of campaigning, Starmer stated that biological males with Gender Recognition Certificates (GRCs) should not be allowed in women-only spaces. This contradicted comments previously made by the since-appointed education secretary Bridget Phillipson in an interview with LBC in which she refused to answer

James Heale James Heale

Sunak apologises to Tory MPs for election mess

Before the joy of last night’s football, came the sorrow of Rishi Sunak’s address to Tory MPs. The Conservative leader addressed the 1922 committee for the first time since calling the election which reduced his colleagues’ numbers by almost two-thirds. Instead of the usual oak-panelled confines of the committee’s favoured committee room 14, the night’s meeting was held in Portcullis House. Accompanied by interim party chairman Richard Fuller, the ex-premier appeared to pause and take a deep breath before heading in. Stony faces, muted cheers and the ritual banging of tables met him there, as Sunak prepared to take responsibility for his party’s worse election result in history. The former