Politics

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

Wednesday

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Sunak and Starmer can’t help but trade identical insults

Another week, another Prime Minister’s Questions featuring the two party leaders trading exactly the same insult: you don’t believe in anything. Keir Starmer wanted to argue that Rishi Sunak didn’t believe in his own Rwanda policy, while the Prime Minister tried to claim that the Labour leader would say anything to get what he needed at any given moment in time. Starmer entered the chamber with the upper hand, given the turmoil in the Tory party over Rwanda. He maintained it throughout the session, painting the Rwanda policy as ridiculous and inviting MPs to laugh at the Prime Minister as often as possible. He labelled the deportation policy a ‘farce’,

Jawad Iqbal

Iran’s attack on Pakistan shows how close the Middle East is to war

Iranian airstrikes on ‘militant bases’ in neighbouring Pakistan signal a dangerous and worrying escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. Details of what unfolded remain sketchy, but Iranian media reported that the strikes were aimed at the bases of a Sunni militant group, Jaish al-Adl. The missiles and drones landed in the Balochistan province, which lies along the 600-mile border between the two countries. Both countries have long bickered over the activities of Baloch separatists and other militant groups in the border region. All it would take is one misunderstanding or false move to spark all-out war Pakistan’s foreign ministry said two children were killed and three others were injured. The Pakistani

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Rishi goes for Keir on his legal record

A feisty edition of PMQs today, following the drama in the House yesterday evening. As predicted, Sir Keir Starmer opted to lead on Tory disunity over the Rwanda plan. He likened the Conservatives to ‘hundreds of bald men scrapping over a single broken comb’ before turning to reports that Rishi Sunak wanted to scrap the scheme when he was Chancellor. ‘Doesn’t he wish he’d had the courage to stick to his guns?’ he jibed. But Sunak hit back strongly, raising Sir Keir’s legal record and work defending the extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir which was banned by James Cleverly on Monday. Mr Speaker, it is rich to hear from the Honourable

Andrew Tettenborn

Joining Reform may be a smart move for Lee Anderson

Richard Tice of Reform may not be the most charismatic party leader, but he has impeccable timing. The ink was hardly dry on Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith’s joint resignation letter following their support for Robert Jenrick’s amendments to the Rwanda Bill, before he openly propositioned them to defect. Predictably Anderson told Christopher Hope straight away on GB News that he was not for turning. But things can change fast in politics. The idea that at least some of the New Conservatives should jump ship actually makes more sense than you might think, whether you look at things from the point of view of the people concerned, the Tory party or the

Steerpike Steerpike

Cabinet Office turn the tables on Chris Bryant

When he’s not grovelling to the House for his latest error, there’s nothing that Chris Bryant likes more than a bit of Tory-bashing. Whether it’s popping up in parliament or firing off posts on his ever-active Twitter account, few Members bill themselves as being better at holding ministers’ feet to the fire than our Sir Chris. Lately, the chosen choice of weapon for the Rhondda rabble-rouser is the time-honoured favourite of the written question. Bryant marked the new year by firing off one such inquiry to the Cabinet Office, the ministry known as the ‘thinking brain’ of government. His query concerned the status of one Dominic Cummings, back in the

Jonathan Miller Jonathan Miller

The endless narcissism of Emmanuel Macron

I watched Emmanuel Macron’s prime time press conference last night but I wish I hadn’t. It was meant to be Macron’s relaunch of his presidency after a tough period of soaring prices, international and civil disorder, Europe in turmoil and awful polls. I should have known better than to stay up past my usual bedtime. Mr Macron is a president who delights in his own words yet is entirely unaware of his soporific effect on others. These were two and a half hours of my life I will never recover.  This wasn’t really a press conference. It was theatre. A one-man show where there was no director to tell the

Natasha Feroze

Why Lee Anderson’s exit is a problem

10 min listen

Last night Rishi Sunak faced the largest rebellion of his premiership over amendments to the Rwanda bill. There were also three resignations – deputy chairs Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith as well as PPS to Kemi Badenoch, Jane Stevenson. How much damage could do to his already divided party? Today, MPs will debate for a second time on the government’s flagship immigration policy. It is likely the bill will pass through Parliament but that won’t mean the Prime Minister is out of the woods yet. How could today play out? Natasha Feroze speaks to James Heale and Katy Balls. The Spectator is hiring! We are looking for a new producer

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Immigration minister stumped by Kay Burley’s sports question

Immigration minister Michael Tomlinson is a KC so is good at thinking on his feet – or so you might expect. But this morning the Tory MP was caught out when it came to what should have been a straightforward question: what does he watch on TV? ‘I watch very little,’ Tomlinson told Sky News’s Kay Burley, when asked whether he has seen the hit ITV drama Mr Bates vs. the Post Office. ‘I’m not sure I can tell you the last box set I watched, but I do enjoy watching sport so if you want to ask me about cricket and sport, then please do.’ Absolute CAR CRASH interview

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Rising inflation makes a speedy interest rate cut less likely

Inflation rose to 4 per cent on the year to December, up slightly from 3.9 per cent the previous month. It’s the first time the inflation rate has increased for almost a year – an unexpected uptick, as the consensus was for the rate to slow once more, down to 3.8 per cent.  This is not the update politicians and central bankers were hoping for, but as far as monthly data goes, it’s not the end of the world either. The inflation rate doesn’t come down in a straight line, as evidenced already in the UK’s battle to get prices under control. The jump up to 4 per cent on the year

Andrew Liddle

In praise of Labour’s Dame Jackie Baillie

In an age of nepotistic knighthoods, dodgy peerages and now even returned CBEs, it is easy to understand the general cynicism around the honours system. Too often it is used to reward politicians for failure rather than success, loyalty rather than achievement, and party rather than principle. None of that, however, applies to Jackie Baillie, who will today officially become the first sitting MSP to be invested as a Dame at a ceremony at Holyrood Palace.  The Scottish Labour member bestrides the devolution era like a colossus. Elected for her constituency of Dumbarton at the first Scottish parliament election in 1999, Dame Jackie has held it – much to the

Terry Barnes

Why is Australia burying helicopters that Ukraine wants?

What do you do if you have dozens of combat helicopters you don’t want? If you’re the Australian government, you dismantle them and turn them into landfill. That’s the imminent fate of 45 Australian Army and Royal Australian Navy MRH-90 Taipan helicopters, grounded since a crash in Queensland last summer and withdrawn from service. Australia has had something of a troubled history with its European-UK designed MEH-90s, the Taipan being an adaptation of the NH-90 type currently in service with a number of Nato countries. Severe procurement and operating cost blowouts, mechanical failures, high maintenance costs, difficulty in obtaining spare parts, and several whole-fleet groundings have plagued the aircraft. Australian

Jawad Iqbal

Are Indian agents targeting British Sikhs?

How worried should British Sikhs be about the threat to their lives from forces acting on behalf of the Indian government? The question has arisen after it was revealed that some Sikhs have been issued with ‘threat to life’ warnings by West Midlands police. Such warnings – called ‘Osman warnings’ – mean there is credible intelligence of a death threat or risk of murder but not sufficient to justify an arrest. The warnings by British police follow claims of murder and an assassination attempt on activists in Canada and the United States last year. This has fuelled speculation that Sikhs are being targeted by India because of their support for the formation

Geoff Hill

Why Rwanda isn’t safe for migrants

Kigali is, for now, one of Africa’s safest cities. Walk down a street in the Rwandan capital after dark and there are lights everywhere, police are on the beat and tourists and locals are strolling back to their lodgings or dining al-fresco. There are no potholes where you might twist your ankle and the city feels, and works, like a European capital, without the pickpockets. The power of the state here is absolute; few dare to test it. Many travellers come to Rwanda to see mountain gorillas. As with Kigali, Rwanda’s national parks are safe and poachers risk being shot if they cross the fence. After decades in decline, gorilla

Tuesday

Coffee House

Full list: Tory MPs prepared to vote against Rwanda Bill

The Rwanda Bill tomorrow gets its Third Reading in the House of Commons. But before that comes the committee stage, with MPs on the right of the Conservative MPs putting down amendments to the Bill. Some are warning that unless the Bill is amended to make it tougher today then they will either abstain or even vote against it tomorrow night. If Rishi Sunak and the Whips’ Office were to lose such a vote on a major piece of legislation at Third Reading – at a time when they still boast a working majority of 54 – then it would constitute a major crisis for the government. Below are a

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Tory rebels defy No. 10 over the Rwanda Bill

It’s always a mistake for Downing Street to pretend it knows backbenchers’ minds better than they do It turns out that Tory backbenchers aren’t all mouth and no trousers, as Downing Street thought. After briefing that the right of the party was all talk, Rishi Sunak’s team watched this evening as around 60 rebels repeatedly trooped through the opposite lobbies to vote to toughen up the Rwanda Bill. The breakdown of those rebellions is as follows: 68 MPs, including 60 Tories (two of which were tellers), voted in favour of Bill Cash’s amendment, which would allow the government to deport people to Rwanda even if it went against the European

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Lee Anderson’s resignation spells trouble for Rishi Sunak

The fallout from the return of the Safety of Rwanda Bill has begun – before a single vote has been cast. Lee Anderson has handed in his resignation as deputy chairman of the Conservative party, alongside his fellow deputy Brendan Clarke-Smith. The two red wall MPs, who won their seats in the 2019 election, had signalled their intention last night to back amendments by Robert Jenrick and Bill Cash to toughen up the Bill. However, up until half an hour before the vote, the government had not made clear whether such an act would make their position untenable. Eventually this was confirmed and both decided to walk rather than be

Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith

Why we’re quitting over the Rwanda Bill

Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith have just resigned as deputy party chairmen over the government’s Rwanda Bill. Below is their joint resignation letter, in full: Dear Prime Minister, We have already had two pieces of legislation thwarted by a system that does not work in favour of the British people When we were elected in 2019 we promised the public that we would Get Brexit Done and Take Back Control. One of the key issues for the public was our sovereignty and making sure our Parliament and our courts would have supremacy over distant and unaccountable ones abroad. This Conservative Government has taken unprecedented steps to make sure that this

Steerpike Steerpike

Judicial Office slaps down Sunak over Rwanda

No. 10’s latest effort to convince Tory rebels to vote for its Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill has collided with that regular ministerial inconvenience, the independence of the judiciary. According to a report in Tuesday’s Times, ministers plan ‘to move 150 judges from the first-tier tribunal to the upper tribunal, the body that will hear appeals under the new legislation’. The newspaper said there would be additional training and extra pay for judges sitting on evenings and weekends. ‘This is designed to fast-track the process of considering individual legal appeals lodged by migrants,’ the paper explained. But there are judges in London and the Judicial Office speaks for

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Is the Republican race over?

32 min listen

Freddy Gray speaks to Republican strategist Luke Thompson about Trump’s landslide Iowa win; how much Trump’s legal proceedings will interfere with his campaign and who could be his deputy. The Spectator is hiring! We are looking for a new producer to join our broadcast team working across our suite of podcasts – including this one – as well as our YouTube channel Spectator TV. Follow the link to read the full job listing: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/wanted-a-broadcast-producer-for-the-spectator-2/

James Heale James Heale

Isaac Levido’s warning to the Tory party

11 min listen

With the Tories reeling from yesterday’s poll in the Telegraph, it is interesting that the party’s official election strategist Isaac Levido was already scheduled to address Tory MPs last night. Levido ran the 2019 election campaign and holds clout with Conservative MPs. What did he have to say? Is the Tory strategy evolving? Also on the podcast, Rallings & Thrasher have put out polling today which demonstrates how difficult it will be for Labour to achieve a majority considering the new boundaries. They will need a national swing of 12.7 per cent – higher than in 1997 and 1945. Are voters enthusiastic enough about Labour to provide such a huge swing?