Politics Archives

Tuesday

29 Nov 2022

Steerpike

Logjams and leaks plaguing parliament

It was Enoch Powell who once called the whips’ office ‘the sewers of parliament’. But it seems that – much like the aforementioned disciplinarians – the sewers themselves aren’t up to much these days. For word reaches Mr S of a problem with the parliamentary plumbing system that are driving MPs around the (U) bend. The majority of toilets in the old Palace of Westminster were marked as being ‘out of order’ yesterday because, when flushed, the cubicles overflowed, spewing up whatever contents an unfortunate peer, MP or researcher had tried to dispose. Signs and ropes appeared, to ward off others from trying to enter. And that’s not the only

Mark Galeotti

Is Putin really to blame for this Belarusian minister’s sudden death?

Saturday’s news of the sudden death of Belarusian foreign minister Vladimir Makei, as well as the rather terse nature of the official notice, has raised the inevitable storm of instant speculation, revolving around notional Russian plots. In the process it has illustrated both some of the shortcomings of ‘instant punditry’ and the continuing significance of Alexander Lukashenko, dubbed ‘Europe’s last dictator’ (before Putin challenged for the title). Lukashenko has been in power since 1994, and the whole system is built around him The 64-year-old Makei had been in office since 2012, and apparently died of a heart attack shortly after an official visit to Armenia and two days before he

Cindy Yu

Echoes of 1989: where the protests go next

40 min listen

Comparisons with 1989’s Tiananmen Square protests are too often evoked when it comes to talking about civil disobedience in China. Even so, this weekend’s protests have been historic. It’s the first time since the zero Covid policy started that people across the country have simultaneously marched against the government, their fury catalysed by the deaths of ten people in a locked down high rise building in Xinjiang. Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Xi’An, Urumqi, Nanjing (my home city) have all seen protests over the weekend. Most of them attack the zero Covid policy, but some have called out ‘Down with Xi Jinping’. After two days of protests, these cities, especially Shanghai, now

Ross Clark

The black hole in Jeremy Hunt’s energy windfall tax

Jeremy Hunt has supposedly just closed a black hole in the government’s finances. But is another black hole opening up before his eyes? One of the more popular announcements in the autumn statement on 17 November was a rise in the windfall tax applied to oil and gas companies from 25 per cent to 35 per cent. It was popular because it didn’t affect ordinary people directly and because it feeds into the narrative of greedy oil companies making fat profits while households struggle with their energy bill. By 2028, how much, if any, profits are being made by oil companies is anyone’s guess The 35 per

Nigel Jones

How revolutions begin, and how they can end

Across China, the world’s most populous nation and its second largest economy, scenes unprecedented since the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989 are unfolding. In city after city crowds of young people are taking to the streets, holding up blank placards in eloquent protest against state censorship, and demanding to be treated ‘as citizens not slaves’. The trigger for these displays of popular dissent are the Communist regime’s draconian lockdowns designed to snuff out spreading Covid infections in the country where the virus originated. But, as is often the way with such popular protests, the original cause of the protests is widening into demands for freedoms which we in the West

Monday

28 Nov 2022

Steerpike

Showdown looms over China’s new ‘super-embassy’

All eyes tonight will be on Rishi Sunak when he addresses the annual Lord Mayor’s Banquet. The Prime Minister is expected to give his first major speech on foreign policy in which he will pledge to treat Britain’s adversaries in Beijing and Moscow with ‘robust pragmatism.’ Such talk is likely to be read in the Westminster village as a signal that Sunak will likely prioritise economic benefits when it comes to relations with countries such as China. So it’s fitting then that a perfect symbol of such co-operation is found just a mile away from London’s Guildhall in the borough of Tower Hamlets. Here, on the site of the nation’s

Ian Williams

Is Xi Jinping in trouble?

The Chinese people seem to have run out of patience with their country’s draconian Covid policies. After almost three years of brutal lockdowns, mass testing and sweeping quarantine, all facilitated by claustrophobic surveillance, they appear to have snapped. The protests that swept China at the weekend are the biggest challenge to Xi Jinping since he took power in 2012, and try as he might he cannot shift the blame. Zero Covid is his policy. Dissenting voices pointing to the economic and social cost have been silenced, and ‘defeating’ the virus and demonstrating the superiority of the Chinese Communist party over the floundering West is part of the cult of Xi.

Steerpike

Wanted: a chief of staff for Starmer

Things are looking up for the Labour party. They’re twenty points ahead in the polls, the Tories are squabbling over planning reform and just last week Keir Starmer won Politician of the Year at the annual Spectator Parliamentarian Awards. Still – as anyone within the Leader’s Office will tell you – they’re keen to avoid even in the merest hint of complacency. It was in that spirit that Sir Keir overhauled his top team last month, axing his chief of staff, Sam White, and claiming that Labour is now on an election footing. He told (surviving) party staff on a call that ‘We are turning the page to the final

Steerpike

BBC snap up GB News alumnus

Is the BBC trying to mend its ways? Word reaches Mr S that John McAndrew – the former head honcho of GB News – is returning to Broadcasting House as the Corporation’s new Director of News Programmes. The TV veteran boasts more than a quarter of a century of experience in news and current affairs broadcasting, holding senior roles across a smorgasbord of stations including the Beeb, Sky, ITN and NBC. McAndrew was also the first Editorial Director and Director of Programming at GB News, but left after less than a month following the suspension of presenter Guto Harri for taking the knee live-on air. Since then he’s found a

Isabel Hardman

Will the Tories give Andy Burnham the power to level up?

Are the Conservatives planning to inject Andy Burnham with political steroids? That could be the result of one of the plans being mulled by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who has been trying to work out how to make levelling up something that works and lasts. Greater Manchester Tories will spit tacks about the mayoral position created by their own party As I reported in the Observer yesterday, Hunt wants to change the current model of areas bidding endlessly for small pots of money here and there to one where the power is decentralised from Whitehall to local elected representatives. The ideal people to do this, of course, would be elected mayors, given

Ross Clark

Britain isn’t ready for onshore wind

Staging rebellions against their own government has become a way of life for many Tory MPs – but why choose onshore wind farms as the hill on which to die? If Rishi Sunak concedes to the demands of a group of (reportedly) around 50 MPs and lifts the moratorium on onshore wind which has been in place for seven years, it won’t take long before we find out why it was imposed in the first place. There are few places in England where you can build a wind farm of any size without either causing serious annoyance to locals or compromising valued landscapes. Most of our lowlands are so densely packed

Kit Wilson

The Wellcome Collection’s war on itself

If you, like me, have an unhealthy taste for depressing news, then you’ll have already heard about the Wellcome Collection’s decision to close its Medicine Man exhibition last weekend. The display, which featured an extraordinary range of unusual medical artefacts collected by the entrepreneur Henry Wellcome (1853-1936), has been permanently shut on the grounds that it ‘perpetuated’ sexist, racist and ableist myths, and failed to tell the stories of the historically marginalised. The decision has been cheered on by precisely nobody – both left and right, from what I can see, believe the decision will do nothing to make the world a better place. All it represents is yet another

Katy Balls

Can Sunak get a grip on his party?

14 min listen

As MPs mull over whether they would like to stand in the next general election, the cracks in the party widen. Notable MPs like Chloe Smith and Dehenna Davison have already declared they will not stand but there are likely to be more over the coming days. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has two rebellions to take on this week. One is led by Theresa Villiers over mandatory housing targets; the other by Simon Clarke railing against the ban on offshore wind farms. On the podcast, Katy, James and Fraser discuss what kind of uphill struggle this week might bring. Can the cracks in the party be patched over ahead of the

Gareth Roberts

Matt Hancock showed how Conservatives can win

It’s somehow appropriate that Matt Hancock finished third in the 2022 series of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! Third is a word that fits him neatly. Third choice. Third wheel. Third rate. Third is the ‘and you did great, too!’ of victories. The day before, Hancock had donned the brass hot pants of ‘the Bronze Bronco’ for the annual Cyclone challenge, as if bottom rung on the podium already belonged to him. His continued presence in the jungle – as straightforward, likeable contestants such as Charlene White and Mike Tindall, and less affable ‘characters’ like Boy George and Chris Moyles fell by the wayside – had started to rattle some

Steerpike

Lying-in-State leaves its mark on parliament

The Lying-in-State of Her Majesty the Queen was widely hailed in September as a triumph. The organisation was slick, the tributes were moving, the crowds respectful and the queue deftly managed. But it seems that the otherwise flawless ceremony had one misstep: the impact of all those thousands of visitors on the floor of Westminster Hall, the oldest remaining part of the original Palace of Westminster. Steerpike hears whispers of discontent among the House authorities about the management of the 180 year-old Yorkstone floor during the recent Lying-in-State. To allow for an estimated 250,000 mourners, a carpet was glued down onto Westminster Hall’s floor to lessen the impact of all

Katy Balls

Can Sunak get a grip on his party?

As Tory MPs ponder whether to stand down at the next election in the face of grim polling, the Prime Minister is facing an uphill task to show he has a grip on his party. Ahead of a difficult winter with the NHS and public sector strikes, Rishi Sunak is facing a two pronged rebellion on the levelling up bill. Theresa Villiers is leading blue wall rebels against mandatory housing targets and Simon Clarke is railing against the ban on new onshore wind farms. Meanwhile, there are concerns in government that more MPs could announce this week that they plan not to seek-re-election, with the deadline to tell CCHQ 5th

Sunday

27 Nov 2022

Steerpike

Matt Hancock comes third on I’m A Celeb

All of Westminster was glued to their screens on Sunday tonight to watch the final of I’m A Celebrity. For three weeks, SW1’s finest have watched Matt Hancock – the Casanova of the Commons – battle heroically against endless jungle-based challenges. The onetime Health Secretary has been covered in creepy-crawlies and subject to public opprobrium but against all odds, he had heroically made it to the last episode of this year’s series. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and Sunday night saw the end of the Hancock dream. Much like his ill-fated 2019 leadership bid, Hancock promised much, but failed to deliver, with his luck running out

Fraser Nelson

Yes, five million are on out-of-work benefits. Here’s the proof

How can 20 per cent of people in our great cities be on benefits at a time of mass migration and record vacancies? It’s perhaps the most important question in politics right now, but it’s not being given any scrutiny because the real figures lie behind a fog of data. But the fog is easily cleared, if you know where to look. What follows is for anyone with an interest in doing so, and it follows a few queries to The Spectator about how we found the five-million figure we’ve been using for a while. To solve a problem, you need to recognise a problem Every month, an official unemployment

Jane Stannus

Justin Trudeau’s strange defence of his protest crackdown

On Friday, Justin Trudeau made his much-anticipated appearance before the Canadian Public Order Emergency Commission, where he gave testimony about his unprecedented decision to use the Emergencies Act last February to suspend civil liberties and suppress the trucker protests against vaccine mandates. Using the Act allowed Trudeau to freeze the personal and business accounts of the protestors without a court order, clear protestors in certain areas and force businesses (such as tow-trucks) to provide services against their will. But to the fascinated eyes of the Canadian public, it soon became apparent that although the well-coached prime minister was present before the commission in body this week, in spirit he was with Alice in Wonderland

Matthew Taylor

Sunday shows round-up: no inflation-linked pay increase for public sector workers

Mark Harper – Inflation matching pay rises are ‘unaffordable’ The Transport Secretary Mark Harper joined Sophy Ridge this morning, at a time when public sector strikes are high on the agenda. Though rail unions claim to have found Harper far more satisfactory to work with than his predecessor Grant Shapps, Harper cautioned that nobody should be expecting too much when it came to their pay packets: Government will try to strike ‘balance’ on Online Harms Bill Ridge bought up the government’s Online Harms Bill, which will soon be back before the House of Commons. She asked Harper if the provisions of the bill, which have proved controversial among Conservative MPs,