Politics Archives

Tuesday

12 Sep 2023

Joe Biden has become a global embarrassment

What time is it? A bit like the emperor Domitian, Joe Biden seems confused about the time. Warned by an omen that his death would come at midday, Domitian daily pestered people around him with that question, relaxing only after the dreaded hour had passed. Alas, his caution availed him not. One day in September 96 AD, a treacherous servant lied to Domitian about the time, inducing him to let down his guard. A knife-wielding steward did the rest. I am not sure that President Biden is still possessed of a guard he can drop. But if his recent performance in Hanoi is any indication, he does seem to be confused

Gareth Roberts

Liz Truss is wrong – the ‘global left’ isn’t to blame for her downfall

Liz Truss is back and she’s got a book to plug. ‘It will set out what we must do to counter the disastrous ideas of the global left,’ she told X at the weekend. Now, I think she’s right that there is a smorgasbord of disastrous ideas about in the modern West – net zero, increasing state power and general economic nuttery, and a whole host of barking cultural ideas about biological sex and race. But can these really be laid at the door of the left, and at a hypothetical global left? I think these foggy notions come from a different place, and they’ve seeped in to all sides of politics. Yes, some

Monday

11 Sep 2023

Jawad Iqbal

Why were Foreign Office staff ‘in tears’ over Brexit?

Simon McDonald, the former Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Office, really needs to engage his brain before opening his mouth — especially when the television cameras are rolling. Lord McDonald of Salford has admitted revealing to his staff as well as ministers that he voted Remain in the 2016 EU referendum. His jaw-dropping confession — effectively a public admission from a former senior mandarin that he breached sacrosanct civil service impartiality rules — comes in a BBC documentary series on Brexit, Laura Kuenssberg: State of Chaos. Why on earth did he do it? His attempts at an explanation justifying this dereliction of duty reveal much about the sorry state of

Kate Andrews

Can Liz Truss rewrite history?

Last week’s anniversary of Liz Truss entering Downing Street could have passed by quietly. But the Trussites had other ideas. Her supporters used the moment to make the case for Trussonomics once again: to say that Truss diagnosed the country’s problems correctly and that she was on track to find solutions – until her many conspirators took her down. As it turned out, the cheerleading was a warm-up to the big event: yesterday Truss announced the details of her upcoming book – Ten Years to Save the West – which will be published next spring. Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, the former prime minister promised a detailed account of her time in Downing Street,

Steerpike

Watch: Speaker’s statement on alleged spy

All eyes in Westminster are on the chamber today, amid talk of MPs potentially using parliamentary procedure to name the alleged Chinese spy. First up after prayers at 2:30 p.m was the Speaker, who had tantalisingly teased the media with talk of ‘a brief statement’ in ‘relation to weekend media reports relating to allegations of spying.’ Was Lindsay about to name names? Sadly, not. Like a schoolmaster chastising unruly children, the Speaker sternly told MPs that ‘this is an ongoing, sensitive investigation. Members of course understand that public discussion will be wholly inappropriate.’ Boo! Hoyle did though seek to assure MPs that the Commons follows the same vetting arrangements as

Julia Lewis

The Birmingham attack shows why Bully XLs must be banned

Three people including an 11-year-old girl have been mauled by an American Bully XL dog in Birmingham. The video showing the attack, which took place on Saturday is horrific: the child is bitten as she lays helplessly on the ground. The dog then turns on two men who intervene, dragging one to the ground before going for his head and neck. It was a miracle no one was killed. For too long, the government – which has the power to ban these violent and horrible dogs – has sat on its hands. Now, though, it might finally be waking up to the threat. Suella Braverman is seeking ‘urgent advice’ on

Steerpike

Boris’s Brexit blunder on customs unions revealed

Oh dear. When it came to getting Brexit done, Boris Johnson was, it seems, winging it more than he might have wanted to let on. Speaking on the BBC’s Politics Live show today, Labour MP Barry Gardiner has revealed that when the former prime minister was still foreign secretary he didn’t know what a customs union was – pretty vital knowledge for, er, negotiating Britain’s departure from the EU. Saying he could disclose the conversation now Boris was no longer an MP, Gardiner said that sometime between 2016 and 2018, Johnson stopped him in a corridor in parliament. Doing a decent imitation of Boris’s bumbling way of speaking – if Mr Steerpike

James Heale

Accused parliamentary researcher denies spying for China

A former House of Commons researcher has this morning denied claims that he ever spied for China. The man in question said that he is ‘completely innocent’ and a victim of ‘misreporting’, saying in a statement released by his lawyers that ‘to do what has been claimed against me in extravagant news reporting would be against everything I stand for.’ The British national, who boasted links to top Tories including Tom Tugendhat and Alicia Kearns, added that ‘I have spent my career to date trying to educate others about the challenge and threats presented by the Chinese Communist party’. Today’s Times is the only newspaper to name the man in question, with

Katy Balls

‘Chinese spy’ arrest – what we know so far

Over the weekend, it was reported that a parliamentary researcher was arrested on suspicion of spying for China. The accused has released a statement this morning claiming he is ‘completely innocent’. Katy Balls speaks to Cindy Yu and James Heale about the arrest and what this could mean for Britain’s relationship with China

Patrick O’Flynn

Could a return to its ‘nasty party’ roots save the Tories?

Next year’s general election could either be a 1992 or a 1997, commentators have speculated: a slender Tory win or a Labour landslide. Last weekend David Blunkett suggested it is more likely to be a 1964 – the narrowest of Labour wins leading to a much bigger majority in another election called a couple of years later. I’m afraid things are shaping up more grimly than that. The most likely outcome may be a 1974, a year which saw the replacement of a failed regime that had lost its nerve with another that proved to have no answers to a profound national malaise. Few would dispute that Britain is in

Andrew Tettenborn

Don’t fine drivers for doing 31mph in a 30mph zone

Drivers could soon be prosecuted for travelling 1 mph over the speed limit, at least if some MPs get their way. The all-party parliamentary group on walking and cycling (APPGWC) also proposes stiffer penalties for drivers of heavy cars like SUVs involved in accidents, and an invariable requirement for a fresh driving test for anyone disqualified. However well they may go down among a certain class of activist, it’s not difficult to see that these are all fairly terrible ideas. First, speed limits. Current informal guidance from police chiefs, pretty widely observed in England (though not in Scotland) is ’10 per cent plus 2′: in other words, ignore speeds up

Sam Leith

There’s not much we can do about China spying

A parliamentary researcher has just been arrested on suspicion of espionage. A man in his late twenties, with reported links to the security minister and the chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, is accused of spying for China and may have had access to sensitive secret documents. A second suspect has been collared in Oxfordshire. It’s said to be the worst Westminster security breach in years: ‘We haven’t seen anything like this before.’ I’m sure you were as surprised as I was to find out that the Chinese are spying on us. Gobsmacked. Flabbergasted. Probably nearly as surprised as the Prime Minister. And to hear his spokesman tell it,

Steerpike

Watch: Sir Humphrey admits ‘I told colleagues I voted Remain’

Vindication, at last. For seven years, we have been told that the civil service is a bastion of impartiality, that the Foreign Office was utterly without agenda and that anyone who dared question this was a dangerous, Trumpite populist. But now Lord McDonald – the very model of a modern major mandarin – has given the game away. In an interview with Laura Kuenssberg, McDonald – who served as Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Office from 2015 to 2020 – spoke about the aftermath of the Brexit referendum. Under the civil service code, officials are of course expected to uphold the fundamental principle of impartiality. But that didn’t stop McDonald from blithely

Sunday

10 Sep 2023

Rory Cormac

China is spying on us, so what?

That China is spying on us is hardly the revelation of the century. The Sunday Times broke the story that police have arrested two men amid allegations that a parliamentary researcher was spying for China. The spy, working on international policy, had alleged links to senior Tory MPs with sensitive information. He had previously lived and worked in China, leaving officials apparently fearing he may have been a ‘sleeper agent’ recruited to infiltrate British political networks. Cue howls of indignation all round. An unnamed source close to Alicia Kearns, chairwoman of the foreign affairs select committee to whom the spy allegedly had access, claimed the allegations, if true, constituted a ‘serious escalation and show

James Heale

China is targeting Britain’s Sinosceptics

The Times has today named the parliamentary researcher who has been arrested under the Official Secrets Act, on suspicion that he was spying for China. The man in question had links to several senior Tory MPs who were privy to classified or highly sensitive information include Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, and Alicia Kearns, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs committee. The man in question was arrested back in March; a handful of ministers were informed but details of the alleged security breach were not made public until this weekend, The most striking aspect of this story is the sheer amount of time and effort which China appears to be investing

Jim Lawley

Spain’s controlled anarchy

Life expectancy in Spain is 83 years – amongst the highest in the world. Deep, trusting relationships with family and friends surely contribute to this longevity. Orwell emphasised the ‘essential decency’ of the Spanish people, ‘above all, their straightforwardness and generosity. A Spaniard’s generosity, in the ordinary sense of the word, is at times almost embarrassing … And beyond this, there is generosity in a deeper sense, a real largeness of spirit, which I have met with again and again in the most unpromising circumstances.’ Bakunin, the nineteenth-century revolutionary Russian anarchist, noting the Spanish people’s kindly and generous feelings for those near them and their instinctive talent for co-operation, reasoned that

Joe Bedell-Brill

Sunday shows round-up: Justice Secretary defends HMP Wandsworth security protocol

Justice Secretary: ‘The relevant security protocols were in place’ The escape of Daniel Khalife from HMP Wandsworth this week has shone a spotlight on the government’s prison record. Over 60 per cent of prisons in the UK are overcrowded, and there are severe staff shortages. Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told Laura Kuenssberg that the relevant security staff and protocols were in place during Khalife’s escape on Wednesday, but he did not yet know whether the protocols ‘were followed to the extent that they should be’. Chalk also claimed the government were working hard to attract and retain prison staff. ‘Which politician… is going to put front and centre in their

Fraser Nelson

Why Sunak’s prayers in Delhi matter

Ever since Alastair Campbell’s declaration that ‘we don’t do God’, no prime minister – and almost no politician – has discussed their faith. David Cameron said his Christianity came in and out ‘like MagicFM in the Chilterns’, a line he borrowed from Boris Johnson who self-defined as ‘a kind of very, very bad Christian’. But Rishi Sunak is different. He’s a practising Hindu who has a shrine in No. 10 for family worship and works with a Ganesh idol on his desk. This being Britain, no one cares: a distinguishing point about our country. Sunak gets flak for being a Winchester old boy, a Brexiteer and an ex-banker, but no

Steerpike

Coming soon: Liz Truss’s book

First it was Nadine Dorries, then it was Theresa May. Now Liz Truss has become the latest female Tory MP to announce that they’re writing a book. Britain’s shortest-serving premier has today revealed details of her forthcoming work, titled Ten Years to Save the West. It is set be published next April by Biteback in the UK and Regnery in America, offering the ex-PM the chance to do a Thatcher and speak on both sides of the Atlantic. The book promises to be ‘a timely warning about the perils facing conservatism in the years ahead’. Well, she ought to know… According to the press release: In it, Truss will warn

Eugene Finkel

Putin can’t be compromised with

The slow-grinding Ukrainian offensive in the country’s south has forced many to accept that the war against Russia might turn out to be a prolonged conflict. But while military experts debate whether or not Ukraine can win this war, and how such a victory could be achieved, the focus on military hardware and territory has skewed the West’s approach to the war and potential solutions. Russia’s war against Ukraine war is not a territorial conflict: it is an identity war aimed at extermination. It will not and cannot be solved by territorial changes or security compromises. Just listen to Putin and take him seriously. This week, the Russian President sent

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