Politics Archives

Monday

2 Sep 2024

Scottish Nats still haven’t worked out why they lost

Unlike a slightly more high-profile reunion event, the ticketing website for the Scottish referendum tenth anniversary show is not expected to crash. But there will no doubt be much looking back in anger at the IMAX theatre at the Science Centre in Glasgow on 14 February as ‘the stars’ (it says) of the 2014 referendum gather to ‘reflect’ on the defining moment in their lives and ‘outline their hopes for the future’. In a fine Scottish tradition, they clearly still see themselves as the moral, if not actual, victors of 2014 The headliner (surprise, surprise) is Alex Salmond, who will be in discussion with STV political journalist Bernard Ponsonby. From the flyer,

Sunday

1 Sep 2024

Stephen Daisley

This could be the first right-wing Scottish Tory leader in years

The Scottish Conservative leadership election is now Russell Findlay’s to lose. The West Scotland MSP has secured three big endorsements: former Scottish Secretaries Lord Forsyth and David Mundell, and shadow Scottish Secretary John Lamont. It means all five Scottish Tory MPs support his campaign, alongside 12 MSPs, two council leaders and leading party donors Alasdair Locke, Alan Massie and Robert Kilgour. Right-winger Forsyth has an op-ed in today’s Scottish Mail on Sunday hailing Findlay’s ‘courage, competence, conviction and compassion’ and predicting that his leadership would see the Tories shift focus to ‘the real day-to-day concerns of every voter’. Left-winger Mundell believes Findlay has ‘the life experience’ and skills to win back ex-Tories

Patrick West

Labour’s puritanical attack on vaping

On Times Radio this morning Lucy Powell, Leader of the House of Commons, said that she wanted the government to ‘tackle the scourge of vaping’. Of course she does. This is the next natural step for a government intent on stopping people enjoying themselves, or exercising individual freedom. Never mind that vaping, according to Public Health England, is 95 per cent safer than smoking and that it is recommended by the NHS for smokers looking to quit. Government ministers just can’t help themselves. There’s nothing more morally intoxicating than stopping others deriving pleasure from something you regard as sinful Labour are drunk on power. They’re in a ban-happy state of

Neve Gordon

The ICC is right to pursue Benjamin Netanyahu

On 20 May, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan tried to push the borders of the ‘permissible’. In an extraordinary rebuke of existing practice, he not only sought arrest warrants for Hamas leaders who allegedly planned the 7 October, 2023, attack on Israeli military bases, kibbutzim, towns and the Nova music festival where 815 civilians, among them 36 children, and close to 400 members of the security forces were killed, and 251 others (mostly civilians) were abducted and taken to Gaza. In addition, Khan had the courage to ask the Pre-Trial Chamber to approve the arrest warrants of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and its Defence Minister Yoav Gallant – two leaders

Ian O’Doherty

The Irish elite are terrifyingly out of touch

For the average member of the Irish political, media and NGO complex there are several political issues in Ireland which need to be addressed urgently. There is the burning need to introduce more stringent hate speech laws, a topic which seemed dormant until Taoiseach Simon Harris resurrected this prospect last week. There is the race to institute even more regulations which will help Ireland show the rest of the world how to tackle climate change. Not only are politicians failing to understand the entirely legitimate fears and concerns of ordinary people, they are regarding them with something approaching complete contempt Inevitably, ever since Ireland joined forces with Norway and Spain

Sophia Gaston and Justin Bassi

How Labour should deal with China

Keir Starmer’s geopolitical in-tray will arguably be one of the most daunting in recent history. The Prime Minister faces a number of conflicts and hard choices – and a completely different geopolitical landscape to the last time Labour was in power. Key among these challenges is China, which has risen in the past 14 years to become an economic and military superpower, and a disruptive antagonist to the liberal international order. A relationship with China requires careful balance and an understanding of the unseen traps that might lie ahead So far the new government’s position has been mixed. Work has begun on the promised China audit, which David Lammy described as

Mike Parry

A four-day week is bad news for workers

When I was a young reporter on the Daily Express in the 1980s I was sent to Belfast to cover the IRA’s hunger strikes campaign. It was a fast moving story, focused not just on the men who were dying from refusing food but all the riots, bombings and killings that accompanied their deaths. When you heard dustbin lids being banged on the pavements outside the Divis Flats on Belfast’s lower Falls Road at 2am it was the signal that another protestor had died. Employees could be able to insist on finishing their contracted week’s hours on Thursday It was an incredible story in which to be involved. But after

Lee David Evans

How to end the Tory leadership chaos cycle

In the eight years since David Cameron resigned as prime minister, the Conservatives have had four different leaders. Soon it will be five. Between Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, recent stints at the top of the party have averaged just two years. Being the leader of the Conservative Party – a role for which six candidates are currently vying – has become an almost impossible job. Restoring Conservative fortunes will depend upon breaking the cycle of chaos at the top of the party Intractable policy challenges, especially Britain’s relationship with the European Union which felled both Cameron and May, go some way towards explaining the tumult.

Saturday

31 Aug 2024

Richard Kemp

The US should sanction the ICC

The actions of the International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor, Karim Khan, will deprive Israel of its sovereignty and undermine the West’s defence against terrorists and despots. The US must put a stop to it. In a submission to the ICC last week, Khan doubled down on his demands to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. He was responding to a multitude of submissions made to the Pre-Trial Chamber contesting the arrest warrants he demands. Most of these submissions questioned the ICC’s jurisdiction over Israel. Israel is the canary in the coal mine Israel, like the US and many other countries, is not a state party to the ICC. Before

Katy Balls

Which Conservative leader could be a problem for Keir Starmer?

14 min listen

The Tory leadership contest is still rumbling on, and we’re lucky enough to still have weeks to go! In this Saturday episode, we assess which of the candidates would create the biggest problem for Keir Starmer. Who would be most frustrating at the dispatch box, and whose politics would be the most difficult for him? Who might be a slightly easier opponent? Megan McElroy speaks to Katy Balls and John McTernan, political strategist and former political secretary to Tony Blair.

Matt McDonald

Will Kamala actually build the wall?

32 min listen

In a CNN interview, Kamala Harris has been pressed on why her policies on immigration have become more moderate since 2019, when she ran for president. Republicans have been accusing her of flip-flopping on her border wall policy. In this episode, Matt McDonald, managing editor of The Spectator’s US edition, fills in for Freddy whilst he’s on holiday. Matt speaks to Todd Bensman, journalist, author, and fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies.

Igor Toronyi-Lalic

Joan Collins, Owen Matthews, Sara Wheeler, Igor Toronyi-Lalic and Tanya Gold

30 min listen

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Joan Collins reads an extract from her diary (1:15); Owen Matthews argues that Russia and China’s relationship is just a marriage of convenience (3:19); reviewing The White Ladder: Triumph and Tragedy at the Dawn of Mountaineering by Daniel Light, Sara Wheeler examines the epic history of the sport (13:52); Igor Toronyi-Lalic looks at the life, cinema, and many drinks, of Marguerite Duras (21:35); and Tanya Gold provides her notes on tasting menus (26:07). Presented and produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Charlotte Henry

Tottenham’s ‘Yid Army’ chant isn’t antisemitic

‘They tried to stop us and look what it did. The thing I love most is being a yid.’ So chanted the Tottenham Hotspur fans 44 seconds into their side’s 4-0 thrashing of Everton last weekend. That often-repeated song refers to previous, unsuccessful, attempts to try and stop Spurs fans using the ‘Y-word’. The bile underneath the social media posts announcing the deal was as depressing as it was predictable Ask any Spurs fan singing that and similar tunes why they do so, and they will likely say that it started as a response to antisemitism from opposing fans because of Tottenham’s connection to the Jewish community. Chanters would undoubtedly

Patrick O’Flynn

Keir Starmer’s popularity delusion

All year Keir Starmer has been using a reassuring phrase about his inevitable Downing Street tenure in a bid to calm the nerves of those not certain they were keen on it. He debuted it in January, when the Labour leader promised to bring forth ‘a politics that treads more lightly on all our lives’. Starmer used a similar line on the steps of Downing Street on July 5, after becoming Prime Minister, when he pledged to ‘tread more lightly on your lives and unite our country’. Starmer’s lack of warmth or wit as a communicator only serves to enhance the impression of power-mad arrogance This suggested that he understood the

Friday

30 Aug 2024

Freddy Gray

Harris-Walz interview: what did we learn?

27 min listen

Kamala Harris and Vice President nominee Tim Walz have done their first interview together for CNN. They covered Kamala’s first day in office if elected, Israel-Gaza, Walz’s army credentials and the economy. Harris has been under scrutiny having avoided all media interviews since Biden’s decision to step down. Did she do it justice? Jon Levine the political reporter for the New York Post speaks to Matt McDonald, The Spectator’s managing director about the interview and RFK’s influence in Trump’s campaign.

Stephen Daisley

Why are people so shocked that Starmer isn’t perfect?

The 1997 Christmas special of The Mrs Merton Show probably doesn’t feature in many people’s formative political memories, but it remains with me more than a quarter-century later. Caroline Aherne, as the bitchy old biddy who made celebrities squirm, turned her smiling-assassin interview style on Edwina Currie, there to flog a book. After introducing her guest as ‘the female Margaret Thatcher’ and asking to check the back of her head for a 666 tattoo, Aherne invited Horace Mendelsohn, a Stockport pensioner and Mrs Merton regular, down onto the sofa. The old boy proceeded to harangue the ex-minister on her party’s record in office before the two sparred over the new

Brendan O’Neill

Jess Phillips must explain her two-tier NHS Gaza claim

Forget two-tier policing – we need to talk about two-tier healthcare. Jess Phillips, Labour MP and Home Office minister, has reportedly said she was whizzed through an overcrowded A&E unit on account of her pro-Gaza campaigning. If this is true, it raises some truly troubling questions about the NHS. ‘The doctor who saw me was Palestinian’, and ‘he was sort of like, “I like you. You voted for a ceasefire.”’ It was at an event at the Kiln Theatre in North London that Phillips implied that she received preferential treatment in a publicly funded hospital because of her position on the Palestine question. According to the Daily Mail, she told

Steerpike

Police probe senior civil servant over Salmond inquiry

As the SNP conference weekend kicks off, another Scottish story is starting to take shape. It has emerged that detectives north of the border are now investigating allegations that a senior civil servant gave a false statement under oath to an inquiry into sexual misconduct allegations involving Alex Salmond. Edinburgh’s Court of Session was informed today that Police Scotland is now looking into the Scottish government’s head of cabinet, parliament and governance, James Hynd, as part of the investigation entitled Operation Broadcroft. Good heavens… Ex-SNP leader Salmond is taking legal action agains the Scottish government – with the former FM alleging ‘malfeasance’ by civil servants and seeking ‘significant damages’. Salmond claims

Lucy Dunn

Will Priti Patel’s ‘unity’ pitch succeed?

Priti Patel’s Tory leadership launch in Westminster this afternoon was an upbeat affair, featuring mango lassi and a tonne of merchandise. With caps, tote bags and even festival-esque ‘tour’ date t-shirts on offer for enthusiastic supporters, today’s event was excitedly dubbed a ‘political Glastonbury’ by one of her team, already kitted out in pro-Priti gear. Certainly, Patel’s speech took on an optimistic tone. Leading on her 14 years of experience as a Tory MP (including three as Home Secretary) she touched only briefly upon the recent ‘historic defeat’ suffered by her party at the general election. Instead, the Tory leadership hopeful focused on rebuilding trust between the membership, the public

Iain Macwhirter

John Swinney is leading the SNP to oblivion

As the SNP gathers for its conference in Edinburgh this weekend, its membership nearly halved from a peak of 125,691, there is a palpable sense of confusion and drift, laced with anxiety for the future. ‘Horsed’ is how the former SNP MP Stewart McDonald describes the SNP’s likely fate at the 2026 Holyrood election unless something serious is done to arrest the party’s electoral decline. But the SNP is without answers and most importantly without a credible leader after last month’s general election disaster. How, after losing 39 of the 48 seats it won in 2019, is John Swinney still in charge? The SNP makes no apologies for overspending McDonald says the First