Politics

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

Monday

27 May 2024

Tory backlash grows over Sunak’s national service pledge

The Conservative campaign pledge to introduce mandatory national service is still dominating the news two days on. Many of Monday’s front pages carry details or questions over the practicality of the policy. There are also questions about what sanctions 18-year-olds would face for refusing to take part in community service or take part in a twelve-month armed forces placement. Officially, this is one for the royal commission to decide (if Sunak is somehow prime minister after 4 July) – but ideas floating around include being blocked from civil service jobs, fines or credits in relation to university applications. There is plenty of bad will in the Tory party However, the

Steerpike

CCHQ memo blasts ‘noncommittal’ Tory MPs

It’s all a barrel of gaffes at CCHQ these days. The latest slip-up comes in the form of a leaked memo in which party staff criticised Conservative MPs for failing to ‘get behind’ the election campaign — accusing some of focusing too much on ministerial business, others of being more concerned with holiday plans and adding that a number of seats were rather low on funds. Oh dear… The controversial email in question delivered to Tory politicians was mistakenly sent with two attachments: one with a constituency breakdown with constructive comments, and another with rather frank remarks about what CCHQ staff thought of the Conservatives’ campaign efforts. The memo focused

Fraser Nelson

Does Keir Starmer have enough to say?

16 min listen

Keir Starmer set out his first major speech to kick of Labour’s general election campaign. The Labour leader prioritised national security, a strong economy and the borders. But with a ‘policy light’ campaign – has he done enough? Kate Andrews speaks to Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson.

Matthew Lynn

Why is Rachel Reeves so proud of working at the Bank of England?

We don’t know much about what taxes she will impose. Nor do we have many clues as to how she will boost growth, or find the money to improve public services. Still, not to worry. It turns out that we can, at least according to her feed on X, trust the shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves to ‘run the economy’ for a very simple reason. She used to work at the Bank of England, and apparently they know about that kind of stuff over there. There is just one problem. In reality the Bank is not as brilliant as Reeves seems to think it is – and it is questionable, to

Isabel Hardman

Starmer’s ‘why Labour’ message needs to get slicker

Keir Starmer has been considerably less discombobulated by the election announcement than the party that made it, but he still has some catching up to do. The Labour leader knows that he has to answer the question of ‘why Labour’ to voters who have already largely accepted that there is a strong reason to change from the Tories. To that end, his speech this morning was an attempt to explain to the public what Labour now stands for. Slightly improbably, Starmer started by telling the audience that they really should visit Oxted. The reason for this was that Starmer sees Oxted as being the way he can explain his politics

Steerpike

SNP candidates struggle to Crowdfund campaign money

Uh oh. As election campaigns kick off, a number of nationalist politicians have had a rather rocky start. The SNP has already gone into election season on the back foot as polls consistently predict the party is likely to lose around half its Westminster MPs in the next election. To make matters worse the SNP is also having trouble attracting investment while the police probe into party finances hangs hangs over it. The latest accounts show the Nats saw an £800,000 financial loss as membership numbers fell and donations dried up. Now it transpires that Scottish National party candidates have had to resort to launching Crowdfund pages to try and

Jan Camenzind Broomby

There’s trouble ahead for Taiwan’s new president

Not many inaugural ceremonies bring together dragons, dancers, rappers, and a 10-metre-high blue horse breathing steam out of its nostrils. But last Monday morning, as thousands gathered to watch the inauguration of Taiwan’s new president William Lai, Taipei’s residents were treated to just that. And as Lai danced on the stage, he may well have been very happy. His inauguration ceremony, an eclectic display of Taiwanese culture, had gone off without a hitch. Moreover, his inaugural speech, designed to outline a pragmatic foreign policy while developing new ideas to stimulate Taiwan’s economy, had elicited what felt like a relatively muted reaction from Beijing. Like his predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, Lai committed

James Heale

Tories race to find 160 candidates

The decision to call a snap election last Wednesday caught many in Tory and Labour high command by surprise. Both parties are now racing to finalise candidate selections for all 630 seats in Britain by the deadline of Friday 7 June, with Labour much further advanced in this process than the Conservatives. Fewer than 35 constituencies currently lack a Labour candidate, and some in Keir Starmer’s team are keen to highlight the contrast in readiness between the two parties. The Tories now have 12 days to fill 160 vacancies – the equivalent of picking one candidate every 100 minutes. Within CCHQ, however, there is confidence that this target can be

Steerpike

Labour refuse to say if Bercow’s ban is lifted

It is now 812 days since John Bercow membership of the Labour party was suspended on an ‘administrative basis’ pending an investigation into his bullying. Back in March 2022, the former Speaker was banned from ever holding a parliamentary pass after an independent panel upheld the findings of Kathryn Stone, who found him guilty on 21 counts of 35 complaints over five years. The panel’s 89-page review of their probe revealed that Bercow threw phones at staff, displayed ‘undermining behaviour’, and ‘lied extensively to try and avoid the damning reality of the truth’. Since then, there have been various reports that Labour’s investigation remains ongoing, despite Stone’s comprehensive findings. So Mr S was

Edward Howell

Kim Jong Un’s catchy propaganda revamp

Think of North Korean propaganda and you might think of old-fashioned revolutionary marches praising the Supreme Leader, denouncing the United States, and intercontinental ballistic missiles ready to be launched. The sight of cheering military officials using computers, donning a pair of Sony headphones, may not immediately come to mind. Even more unimaginable, however, is the thought that a North Korean propaganda video would go viral, not least, ironically, on platforms that the North Korean population cannot even access. Yet, North Korea’s latest propagandistic video, entitled ‘Friendly Father’, has done just that. Lauding the ‘bright future’ for North Korea under its ‘trustworthy and loving leader’, Kim Jong Un, the song’s melody

Eliot Wilson

The logic of national service

It would be hard to argue that the Conservatives have had a flawless start to the 2024 general election campaign. Rishi Sunak’s rain-drenched Downing Street announcement, the removal of a Sky News journalist from a media event, the symbolism of an inexplicable prime ministerial visit to Belfast’s Titanic Quarter – almost every move so far has required immediate damage control. The unveiling of a plan to introduce some kind of compulsory national service seems at first glance like another hasty gambit which has created its own ecosystem of problems. The idea that it is an unacceptable curtailment of personal liberty is hard to sustain ‘Bring back national service!’ is a

Keiran Pedley

Could Scotland decide the election result?

The starting gun for the general election has been fired. This 2019 parliament is over and we will have a new government in Westminster in six weeks’ time. There have been many significant political inflection points this parliament. Partygate of course. The departure of Boris Johnson, Liz Truss’s brief period as Prime Minister. Arguably as important as any of this is the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon in March 2023. Since her surprise departure from Scottish politics, it is worth dwelling on just how far the SNP have fallen. At the 2019 general election, they won 45 per cent of the vote and 48 of Scotland’s 59 seats. At the height

Sunday

26 May 2024

Katy Balls

Tories and Labour go to battle on TikTok

The digital election battle is heating up. Just a few days ago the Labour party joined TikTok, the social media app. Today the Conservatives have followed suit. The Tories have launched on the app this Sunday with a post from Rishi Sunak heralding his new election policy: mandatory national service. In the first video on the app, Sunak said: ‘Hi TikTok, sorry to be breaking into your politics-free feed – but I’m making a big announcement today and I’m told that a lot of you already have some views on it. So, first thing, no – I’m not sending everyone to go and join the army. What I am doing

Sam Bidwell

Young people are right to resent national service

Young Britons like me have already done our fair share of national service. For two gruelling years, we sacrificed the best years of our lives to protect the elderly from Covid, dutifully abiding by each arbitrary restriction on our freedoms. Parties were cancelled, concerts were postponed, and evenings were spent alone, all in the name of national solidarity. Like most of my peers, my memories of university life will forever be tarnished by lockdowns, social distancing, and Zoom lectures. Even now Covid is over we still face sky-high house prices, crippling student debt, and a historically high tax burden, which squeezes working-age people in order to fund the ever-increasing cost

Kate Andrews

Will Labour raise taxes?

What is Labour’s tax-and-spend agenda? This is an outstanding question the party needs to answer before polling day – and Labour seems to know it. That is presumably why shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves sat in the BBC One hot seat on the first Sunday of the election campaign. ‘I totally agree I have to show the sums add up’ Reeves told Laura Kuenssberg this morning. But what will be done to make that possible: higher taxes, more borrowing, or a reduction in spending? Unsurprisingly, Reeves did not want to make firm commitments in most of these areas. The shadow chancellor did commit though once again to not raising certain taxes.

James Heale

Sunday shows round-up: Farage brands national service plan ‘a joke’

Today saw the first set of Sunday shows since the election was called on Wednesday. Rachel Reeves was interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg about Labour’s fiscal plans if they win power on 4 July. The Shadow Chancellor said ‘We won’t increase income tax or National Insurance’ but refused to rule out some public spending cuts as she vowed that there ‘will not be a return to austerity’ under a Labour government. Reeves also refused to put a timetable on raising defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030, though she said the party supported getting there eventually. Cleverly rules out jail for national service refuseniks The big announcement of

Patrick O’Flynn

This national service plan is a patronising gimmick

The idea of bringing back national service to knock into shape teenage tearaways and long-haired layabouts was a staple of my youth. Peppery comment articles along those lines in the old, broadsheet Sunday Express or News of the World would crop up intermittently through the ill-disciplined 1970s. Typically they would then be countered by the response that ‘the army doesn’t want them’ and the idea would die down for a while. It is a gimmick from a posh liberal who thinks the plebs can be won over with eye-catching superficiality It should therefore come as no surprise that a prime minister desperate to reconnect with a long-lost tribe of social conservatives is now proposing

Steerpike

James Cleverly: no one will go to jail over national service

Well, Rishi Sunak’s new flagship policy of reintroducing national service has certainly gone off with a bang this morning. The policy, announced last night, would see 18-year-olds given the option of applying for a military post, or spending one weekend every month for a year working for the fire services, police, the NHS, or local charities. According to the Conservative party the scheme will be mandatory. What happens though if young people refuse to take part? It seemed initially at least the Tories were feeling bullish about cracking down on any absconding youths, with a leaked internal Q&A from the Conservatives suggesting that the party wasn’t ruling out arresting 18-year-olds

Oscar Edmondson

Sunak: let’s bring back national service

17 min listen

The first big new policy announcement of the election campaign is in from the Tories, and it’s likely to be a talker. Where Keir Starmer appears to be opting for a ‘ming vase’ strategy – trying not to rock the boat ahead of polling day – the Tories are leaning towards the opposite. At 20 points behind in the polls, aides believe they need headline-grabbing, bold policies in order to get the public’s attention. The first of which is the return of mandatory national service. What’s the thinking behind this one? Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

John Oxley

Sunak’s national service may end up backfiring

The idea of bringing back national service has been kicking around British politics for about five times longer than the policy itself lasted. Mandatory conscription was introduced by the Attlee government and dismantled gradually from 1957 to 1963. Those old enough to have experienced it will now be in their mid-80s. Following Rishi Sunak’s announcement last night, the Tories might introduce it to a new generation. When voters see you as the political wing of the OAPs, this is how national service will be viewed Though the PM’s main attack line on Starmer is his lack of plan, the Conservative party’s national service suggestion is itself quite vague. Sunak is