Politics

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

Thursday

Lucy Dunn

NHS waiting list reaches record high — again

On the same day that junior doctors in England are staging their longest strike yet, new NHS statistics show that the service continues to struggle with patient demand. The number of waits for treatment – including elective operations and procedures – has now reached a record 7.5 million, according to figures published this morning. Over 385,000 of these appointments have been on the waiting list for more than a year, an increase on figures at the end of April. Meanwhile, more than 11,000 were delayed for 78 weeks or more, even though waits of this length were meant to be abolished by April. Waiting times for the majority of non-emergency

Andrew McQuillan

The Orange order risks damaging the cause for Irish unionism

Another year and another July has come round where viewers in the UK have been treated to the sight of some of their compatriots in Northern Ireland marking William of Orange’s triumph over his father-in-law James II, the Catholic Stuart King, on the ‘green grassy slopes of the Boyne’ – as the Orange song goes – in 1690.  Mention Ulster unionism and, to the casual mainland observer, it will conjure up images of stern bowler hatted men in orange collarettes and sashes, the skirl of pipes and flute bands, parading disputes and monumental bonfires of pallets and tyres on loyalist housing estates. Even weeks after the event, the acrid smell of

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Rishi’s pledge to grow the economy isn’t going well

The economy contracted by 0.1 per cent in May – down by 0.4 per cent compared to May 2022. But this dip is largely being attributed to the extra bank holiday for the King’s Coronation. This morning’s update from the Office for National Statistics shows some changes in behaviour due to this one-off occasion, including a fall in production of 0.6 per cent (the biggest contributor to the overall dip in GDP) but a 1.8 rise in arts, entertainment and recreation. Other events can be spotted in the data. Health and social work activities saw the biggest bounce back from April – a rise of 1.1 per cent – as

Wednesday

James Heale James Heale

Huw Edwards named by wife as BBC presenter at centre of scandal

After five days of speculation, Huw Edwards has today been named as the BBC star at the centre of allegations about his private life. His wife, the TV producer, Vicky Flind, has released a statement in which she says her husband is ‘suffering from serious mental health issues’ and is now ‘receiving in-patient hospital care where he will stay for the foreseeable future’. Last year, her husband spoke about how he had been bedridden with depression. His wife says his condition has significantly deteriorated. She says: In light of the recent reporting regarding the ‘BBC Presenter’ I am making this statement on behalf of my husband Huw Edwards, after what

Max Jeffery Max Jeffery

Should Ukraine show more ‘gratitude’?

Ben Wallace thinks Ukraine needs to be careful. The West has used a whole load of political energy this week to try and bring Ukraine closer to Nato, and its government’s response has been a bit unthankful. ‘There is a slight word of caution here,’ Wallace told a gaggle of reporters this morning, on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Vilnius, ‘which is that whether we like it or not, people want to see gratitude.’  His comments come after Volodymyr Zelensky fumed on Tuesday that it was ‘absurd’ of Nato to not set a timeframe for when his country would become a member of the alliance. ‘Uncertainty is weakness’,

James Heale James Heale

Illegal Migration Bill survives mammoth voting session

12 min listen

Tory whips will be smiling today after a mammoth three and a half hour voting session on amendments to the Illegal Migration Bill last night. All the amendments put down by the House of Lords were defeated by the government across 18 divisions. Are Rishi’s hopes of stopping the boats still alive? Where do Labour stand on the bill?  James Heale speaks to Stephen Bush and Katy Balls.  Produced by Natasha Feroze and Oscar Edmondson.

Svitlana Morenets Svitlana Morenets

This week’s Nato summit will embolden Putin

The Nato summit in Vilnius has not helped Ukraine. Rather than facilitating the country’s swift accession into Nato, the alliance introduced conditions for membership called the ‘Annual National Programme’: a fudge, in other words. Nato leaders said they would continually ‘regularly assess progress… on [Ukraine’s] path towards future membership’. Ukraine would be invited to join the alliance only once ‘conditions are met’, the document stated. Those conditions are Ukraine’s progress on democratic and security sector reforms. Volodymyr Zelensky, who nearly lost his temper, said that Ukrainians would like the allies to be more specific.  Kyiv had prepared for the likelihood of not receiving an immediate invitation to Nato membership, as

Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

It was a bad day for Oliver Dowden at PMQs

Blindness, ignorance and folly were on fully display at PMQs. Rishi Sunak was absent in Vilnius where he’s busy discussing with his Nato chums how to prolong or escalate the war in Ukraine. His deputy, Oliver Dowden, tried to fend off some excellent, probing questions from Labour’s Angela Rayner. She berated the Tories for overseeing a rise of 75 per cent in the number of ‘homeless children.’ Dowden replied with a feeble scripted gag. ‘Her leader says he hates tree-huggers but they’ve been very keen on hugging that magic money tree.’ Labour members howled with derision at that daft quip. Bad day for Dowden. The Alba party’s Kenny MacAskill complained

Charles Lipson

Why Nato shouldn’t let Ukraine in just yet

Deciding whether Ukraine should eventually join Nato is hotly debated. There are good reasons to favour its inclusion, but not now, while the war is ongoing. It would transform the war into a conflict between nuclear-tipped Great Powers and vastly increase the danger. Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, is not happy with the uncertainty over his country’s membership. Actually, that’s an understatement. He is furious, according to reports. But that’s the decision taken by the allies meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, and Joe Biden led the side urging delay.  In a tweet Tuesday morning, Zelensky said, ‘It’s unprecedented and absurd when [a] time frame is not set neither for the invitation nor for

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Should people with big gardens pay more for their water?

According to Cathryn Ross, Thames Water’s co-interim chief executive, householders with large gardens should be paying a higher price for their water than people with small or no gardens. Actually, they already almost certainly do. If they have a metered supply, their bills will be proportional to how much water they use – and will be bearing the full cost of watering the lawn or the flowerbeds. If they are unmetered they will be charged a rate that reflects the size of their property. If, on the other hand, Ross means that people who own large gardens should be paying a higher rate for each unit of water they use,

Steerpike Steerpike

SNP in crisis, again

In fairness to the Nats, they never let things get too dull. Just days after losing his party’s whip, SNP MP and Salmond ally Angus MacNeil has now announced that he will sit as an independent candidate until at least October. MacNeil was seen in the Commons last week having a bust-up with Chief Whip Brendan O’Hara but time is yet to heal his wounds, judging by the fiery statement he has released this afternoon.  ‘I will only seek the SNP whip again if it is clear that the SNP are pursuing independence,’ sniped MacNeil. ‘At the moment, the SNP has become a brand name missing the key ingredient. The

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Labour vs the unions

The Labour party is preparing for power and the unions are deciding what role they might play. Friend or foe? Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, has already incited their ire by refusing to commit to accepting independent pay-review body recommendations. Unite, the second-largest trade union, this week debated cutting ties with Labour and starting its opposition early. There is growing anxiety from the left that Starmer is abandoning party traditions in the pursuit of power The motion was, in the end, rejected. ‘The Labour party has decided we want to win,’ insisted one party figure. The union hit back. It insisted that Starmer has been ‘put on notice’ and that

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Liz Truss resurrects her pro-growth agenda

What will Liz Truss’s legacy be? The obvious answer is her 49-day stint in Downing Street. But she is determined not to settle for that. Today in Westminster, she oversaw the formal launch of her new project, The Growth Commission, dedicated to spreading the message she tried to convey as prime minister: the importance of growing the size of the economy. Truss can take some credit for shifting the national conversation towards a more pro-growth agenda Today’s launch was attended by Truss, who is stressed to have convened the commission but holds no formal role within it. The Telegraph’s Liam Halligan chaired a panel of four members of the commission:

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Tories will be missing Sunak at PMQs

Are you tiring of the stand-in routine at Prime Minister’s Questions? Oliver Dowden seems to be. When he first started this now regular gig for Rishi Sunak, the Deputy Prime Minister was clearly delighted that he could deliver the lines he’s been coaching other prime ministers to say for years. Today, as he stood in for Sunak for a second week running, he looked as though he could do with a break. His jokes were not well delivered: he teased Angela Rayner for wanting John Prescott’s old job (which she already has), and he also fluffed what was already a poor line about Keir Starmer hating tree huggers but being

Matthew Lynn

Britain should place a big bet on the petrol engine

Ministers should be hailing it as a major vote of confidence in the economy. King Charles should be clearing his diary to make sure he is available for the opening ceremony. And the broadcasters should be leading the news with it. In normal circumstances, you might expect the announcement that two major global corporations will headquarter their new €7 billion joint venture in the UK to be greeted as a huge win for the country. It may not be popular with the green elite, but it is a lot more likely to be successful The trouble is, the Renault joint-venture with China’s Geely has been designed to produce petrol and

Toby Young Toby Young

In praise of Milan Kundera

The Czech-born writer Milan Kundera has died, at the age of 94. Four years ago, Toby Young wrote this tribute to Kundera. I was surprised to learn that the novelist Milan Kundera celebrated his 90th birthday on Monday. I had no idea he was still alive. He has taken up residence in that old people’s home that many former luminaries of western culture now occupy — the one with the sign above the door saying ‘Forgotten, but not gone’. In Kundera’s case, his decline into obscurity is probably connected to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Czech émigré was all the rage in the mid-1980s when he was a

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

It’s time the SNP was honest about EU membership

There’s a school of thought that, since Scotland isn’t likely to become independent anytime soon, interrogating the SNP’s claims about what independence would mean in practical terms is hypothetical and academic. This view is usually expressed by Unionists rather than nationalists, and reflects a frustration with the refusal of the constitutional question to go away. Journalists and commentators, they complain, are artificially invigorating a debate that would otherwise fade to silence.  Setting aside the wishful thinking required to sustain such a belief, there are two stories in the news that illustrate why continuing examination of the case for independence is necessary. First up is the Scottish Information Commissioner ruling against the SNP

John Ferry John Ferry

The Nato summit is a blow to the SNP’s nuclear plans

The Nato summit in Vilnius has been an eventful one already. Even though no clear timeline for when the country can join the group was given, Ukraine’s hopes of one day becoming a Nato member were given a boost. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has hailed proposals as ‘a strong package for Ukraine, and a clear path towards its membership in Nato.’ And there are other parts of the final communique which carry more relevance closer to home — in particular, the alliance’s renewed and notably strong language opposing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Yet the SNP government led by Humza Yousaf remains committed to an independent

Uxbridge by-election
Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Can the Tories make the Uxbridge by-election all about Ulez?

‘Is this about the Ulez?’ asks the woman looking out of her front door at a group of campaigners in her garden. One of them is wearing a round STOP ULEZ sticker on his top. It’s not actually about the Ultra-low emission zone, which is being expanded to the constituency by the Labour mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, it’s about the by-election in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat vacated by Boris Johnson. But the man hoping to succeed him as Conservative MP, Steve Tuckwell, wants to make the campaign about Khan and cars, not the Conservatives. Both main parties insist that this isn’t in the bag for them His

Colin Freeman

Will mounting casualties change the debate in Ukraine?

At a small army field clinic outside Bakhmut, I watched as the body of a dead soldier was carried in. Two more soldiers followed, this time seriously injured – and this was what troops described as a ‘quiet day’. Ukraine doesn’t talk about its military deaths much and refuses to reveal any figures. There’s little in the way of victim culture here; the emphasis is on how brave its troops are, not how many have perished. Most people know someone who’s died in action, but treat the collective trauma as something to worry about when the war is over. In the meantime, there’s vodka. While Russia has used the conflict