Politics

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

Friday

1 Mar 2024

Sunak pledges extremism crackdown

Rishi Sunak has just appeared on the steps of Downing Street to give a speech on the need to take action after ‘a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality’ in recent weeks. On the day former Labour MP George Galloway was announced as the new MP for Rochdale, the Prime Minister said ‘this situation has gone on long enough’, arguing that ‘Islamist extremists and far rights groups are spreading a poison, that poison is extremism’. Responding directly to Galloway’s victory in the by-election, Sunak said: It is beyond horrifying that last night the Rochdale by election returned a candidate who denies the horror of what happened on October 7th,

Rishi Sunak

We must face down the extremists

The Prime Minister has given the following speech tonight outside 10 Downing Street. In recent weeks and months, we have seen a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality. What started as protests on our streets, has descended into intimidation, threats, and planned acts of violence. Jewish children fearful to wear their school uniform lest it reveal their identity. Muslim women abused in the street for the actions of a terrorist group they have no connection with. Now our democracy itself is a target. Council meetings and local events have been stormed. MPs do not feel safe in their homes. Long standing Parliamentary conventions have been upended because of safety

Steerpike

Hacked Off Hugh hosts fundraising bash

When Hacked Off first launched in 2011, Hugh Grant was its lead spokesman, regularly appearing on shows like Question Time to preach the importance of press regulation. And while others like the-then DPP Keir Starmer are now less keen to talk about their role in the subsequent phone-hacking scandal, Grant remains a vocal supporter of Hacked Off. Indeed, such is his enthusiasm that the Love Actually star is tonight expected to appear at a £175-a-head fundraiser in aid of the Press Justice Project, a newly-launched charity to ‘complement’ Hacked Off’s work, as well as Yellow Press Books. An advert for the event gushes that the night will consist of ‘drinks followed by an

Steerpike

Watch: Tory Alicia Kearns rebukes MP for removing ‘T’ in ‘LGBT’

In order to be inclusive of as many sexual orientations and gender identities as possible, Mr Steerpike uses the acronym LGBTQIA2S. Readers won’t need to be reminded that this stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and Two spirit. During a debate in the Commons this afternoon, Tory MP Alicia Kearns preferred the somewhat punchier four-letter ‘LGBT’. Her fellow MP, the Alba party’s Westminster leader, Neale Hanvey, then ditched the letter ‘T’. Kearns’ response was furious: ‘He is absolutely right but there was one digit missing from his LGBT. We do not divide the LGBT community in this place.’ Kearns then went on to accuse Hanvey of ‘suggesting

James Kirkup

Does Labour want an anti-CV revolution?

Alison McGovern, Labour’s shadow employment minister is one of those politicians who are always worth watching. She combines the ability to look and speak like a normal human being – a rare thing at Westminster – with a genuine policy wonk’s fascination for data and trends and ideas. She also has fans at the top of the Labour party. While other shadow ministers are rendered almost mute by the message discipline of Team Starmer, McGovern has the confidence and license to think out loud. This week she was at the Social Market Foundation to talk about social mobility, which covers a lot of ground. There were several significant takeaways from that

Rakib Ehsan

How Galloway won Rochdale

Labour’s defeat in Rochdale – following the party’s string of impressive by-election victories in places such as Wellingborough, in Brexit-voting middle England – will give leader Keir Starmer an almighty headache. Despite the party’s big poll lead, it shows that nothing can be taken for granted when it comes to looking ahead to the general election. The problems in Rochdale started when the Labour candidate, Azhar Ali, appeared to suggest that the Israeli government allowed the October 7 Hamas-led terror attacks to take place, in order to provide the pretext for a full-scale military invasion and bombardment of Gaza. Labour withdrew support for Ali but he remained on the ballot

Lisa Haseldine

‘We are not afraid’: Russians gather for Navalny’s funeral

Today is a sad day for Russia. Two weeks after his death in an Arctic penal colony, Alexei Navalny, Putin’s most vociferous opponent, has been buried in Moscow. Thousands of mourners lined the streets in southern Moscow to pay their respects, their sorrow compounded with a sense of anger and defiance that grew as the funeral wore on. Addressed quite clearly to Vladimir Putin, shouts of ‘We won’t forgive you’ intermingled with chants of Navalny’s name and ‘There are more of us’. The odd verse of harmonious Russian Orthodox sung funeral liturgy occasionally broke through the noise. The funeral took place at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God ‘Quench

Gavin Mortimer

Reform should ditch Richard Tice before it’s too late

The Reform Party has claimed that the Rochdale by-election was not ‘free and fair’. Their leader, Richard Tice, said that his party had suffered intimidation on the campaign trail including ‘vile racist abuse’. It was certainly an ugly election battle, one dominated by the conflict in Gaza – and, because of that focus, George Galloway of the Workers Party triumphed. But say what you like about ‘Gaza George’, but he has one crucial commodity for a politician that Tice lacks: charisma. As long as Tice remains leader, the Reform Party will remain also-rans Galloway, of course, one participated in the most ‘cringeworthy’ moment in the history of reality TV –

Debbie Hayton

Justin Webb has been wronged by the BBC

The BBC has upheld a ludicrous complaint against the Today programme’s Justin Webb. Back in August, Webb told listeners that trans women were ‘in other words, males’. This basic truth should not be controversial. We transwomen are male. It is a necessary criterion – women cannot be transwomen because women are female. The background, incidentally, was a decision last summer by the International Chess Federation to ban those transwomen from competitions reserved for females. Webb was on the radio discussing the news item with Dominic Lawson. Webb’s point was timely and appropriate. Not everyone is up to date with the transgender debate and there is confusion – understandably – over

Iain Macwhirter

George Galloway will be a nuisance for Keir Starmer

The return of ‘Gorgeous’ George Galloway to the House of Commons may not be Keir Starmer’s worst nightmare, but it is certainly the recurrence of a bad dream. No one who recalls how Galloway harried Tony Blair over the Iraq war twenty years ago can deny that the new Workers Party MP for Rochdale can be a powerful Commons speaker. His Old Testament-style may seem ridiculous to many, like his adoption of that fedora – which he presumably will have to discard in the hatless debating chamber – but on issues of war, and the plight of the dispossessed, he can certainly rouse emotion. His declamatory style goes down well in the

Gavin Mortimer

China’s nickname for Macron is perfect

Alexei Navalny is being laid to rest in Moscow today, a fortnight after the Russian opposition leader was found dead in a gulag in the Arctic circle. His death prompted an outpouring of grief but also anger among Western leaders. Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron expressed their sadness at the news and their indignation, pointing the finger of blame for Navalny’s death at Vladimir Putin. Navalny was a courageous man who paid a heavy price for his dissidence. So, too, did Jamal Khashoggi. The Saudi journalist was a fierce critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, using a monthly column in the Washington Post to denounce the de

Patrick O’Flynn

Keir Starmer must stand up to George Galloway

George Galloway has done it again. As an expert in riding waves of fury among Muslim voters about happenings in the Middle East, from the Iraq War to the Gaza conflict, Galloway has turned into a skilled tormentor of successive Labour leaders. The biggest short-term risk by far that Galloway’s win in Rochdale poses to Keir Starmer is that it will force an over-correction in Middle East policy from the Leader of the Opposition. Were Starmer to become detectably more anti-Israel and pro-Palestine over the coming weeks as a result of pressure from a perceived Muslim block vote, it would certainly shore up Labour’s position in a couple of dozen urban

Oscar Edmondson

Labour nightmare as George Galloway wins Rochdale by-election

15 min listen

George Galloway has won a resounding victory in Rochdale, after a chaotic and messy by-election in which Labour was forced to disown its own candidate after he claimed Israel had allowed Hamas to attack on October 7th. Former Labour MP Galloway – standing for the Workers Party of Britain – won on a single issue campaign, criticising the Israel-Gaza war and in particular the response of Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak to the conflict. How bad is the result for Labour? Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and James Heale. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Andrew Liddle

There is still hope for the Scottish Tories

As Douglas Ross and his colleagues gather for the annual Scottish Tory conference in Aberdeen this weekend, there are good reasons for the Scottish Conservatives to feel more upbeat than their counterparts elsewhere. In 1997, Scotland proved particularly emblematic of New Labour’s landmark victory. Where the Conservative Party had held 11 seats, they now held none. Their share of the popular vote fell to just over 17 per cent. Three serving cabinet ministers – Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind, Scottish Secretary Michael Forsyth and President of the Board of Trade Ian Lang – were among the more high-profile casualties. As defeats go, it was comprehensive, and reflected a UK-wide disaffection after

Nick Cohen

George Galloway’s Rochdale win should trouble Labour

The Rochdale by-election raises a question that Labour will find hard to duck in government: can a European left-wing party survive without a pro-Islamist foreign policy? They can’t win with one, as Jeremy Corbyn proved twice. But the shocking success of George Galloway last night shows that the arguments of the Corbyn years have not been settled. No one can pretend they do not know who the loudmouthed old ham really is after all this time. Just before Muslim voters propelled him to victory, Galloway received the endorsement of none other than Nick Griffin, the former leader of the British National Party (BNP). Rochdale raises a question about how Labour

Steerpike

Watch: Galloway heckled by Just Stop Oil during victory speech

You’ve got to hand it to Just Stop Oil: just when you think you’ve seen the last of the climate protest group, up they pop again. The eco-activists gave George Galloway a not-so-warm welcome back to Parliament, heckling the newly-crowned MP for Rochdale during his victory speech. Galloway was mid-flow in his speech, declaring bullishly, ‘Keir Starmer – this is for Gaza’, when a spray of orange confetti fluttered towards Galloway – but didn’t quite hit its target. Undeterred, a Just Stop Oil protester then began shouting: ‘George Galloway, you are a climate change denier! You said in the hustings that you want to extract oil and gas from the

Katy Balls

The Thangam Debbonaire Edition

35 min listen

Thangam Debbonaire was born in Peterborough to an Indian father and English mother. She has been an MP since 2015 but before Parliament spent over 25 years working to end domestic violence. She served under Jeremy Corbyn as Shadow Minister for Arts and Heritage and has served in Keir Starmer’s Shadow Cabinet since his leadership as the Shadow Culture Secretary. Thangam is no stranger to a lively debate at the dispatch box and despite a busy life as an MP, still finds time for music, playing cello in Parliament as part of the string quartet, The Statutory Instruments.

Nick Tyrone

George Galloway’s Rochdale victory is nothing to celebrate

George Galloway has won the Rochdale by-election. The new MP for the town announced the result as a ‘shifting of the tectonic plates’ in his acceptance speech, but that’s not an accurate way of describing what’s just happened. It’s more like a blip and an unpleasant one at that. No one who hopes for the best out of British politics can look at Rochdale with any joy. Certainly not celebrating this morning will be the Reform party, who came a shocking sixth, behind even the Liberal Democrats. Richard Tice was campaigning heavily in the constituency himself yesterday, with various Reform figures having talked up the candidate Simon Danczuk’s chances of

Steerpike

Richard Tice and George Galloway in war of words

Following his triumph in the Rochdale by-election, George Galloway marked the occasion by dropping another bombshell. Speaking to reporters at the count, Galloway was asked about the criticisms of Richard Tice, Reform party leader, who said that his candidate Simon Danczuk suffered intimidation throughout the campaign. Yet, in a shock twist, Galloway responded by claiming Tice had previously asked him to a Reform candidate. He told reporters: I think Mr Tice has rather lost his balance, and Mr Farage too, and I remind Mr Tice that I have on my telephone a text from him inviting me to be the Reform UK candidate in a by-election not that long ago.

Katy Balls

Labour nightmare as George Galloway wins Rochdale by-election

George Galloway is back. The former Labour MP has triumphed in the Rochdale by-election, taking the seat from Starmer’s party with a majority of 5,697. Galloway – standing for the Workers Party of Britain – won comfortably with nearly 40 per cent of the vote at 12,335 votes. The independent candidate David Tully came in second place on 6,638, the Tories in third on 3,731 and Labour in a dismal fourth place on 2,041 votes in their former seat after Keir Starmer suspended the party’s candidate part way through the campaign. The Reform party – which put up another former Labour MP in Simon Danczuk as its candidate – came

Unlock unlimited access, free

Friday