Politics

The greatest danger presented by the rail strikes – for the Government, that is – has passed. The trade unions, chief among them the RMT, fronted by the alternately reasonable and hectoring Mick Lynch, threw everything they could at ministers in the run-up to the holidays. It did not work.  Much the same applies, to a greater or lesser degree, to other public sector strikes. There was a cynical – and concerted – attempt to use the Christmas and New Year break as an emotive deadline. This was apparently based on a gamble that enough of the public would blame the Government for ‘ruining Christmas’ to force a generous settlement. There

It’s not been the best few years for Sino-British relations, what with Huawei, Hong Kong and the whole Covid thing. So it was no surprise when, last month, Tower Hamlets council voted to block China’s new ‘super-embassy,’ with councillors citing security fears and the concerns of local residents. The borough of Tower Hamlets is more than 38 per cent Muslim: many constituents were outraged by the ongoing atrocities by the Chinese Communist Party against Uyghur Muslims. The local authority’s decision has been greeted with delight by many Sinosceptics – but not by some in the Foreign Office. Mr S understands that mandarins there are privately fearful about what happens if

And you thought we’d seen the last of them in 2022. The new year kicks off with some old score-settling: for next week will see the publication of Prince Harry’s pithily-titled memoir Spare (or Going Spare, quips one royal insider). As the title suggests, the book is expected to focus on the fraternal frictions between the runaway royal and his brother William. Other topics covered include Harry’s hatred of the press (quelle surprise) and his reflections on Diana’s death. And, in a delicious irony, Harry will be forced to give multiple media interviews to promote the book. Sadly, he has ducked the chance for a no-holds-barred, sit-down grilling with one

New year, old politicians.  Yesterday’s men will loom large in the politics of 2023.  British politics has a nostalgia problem, often to the benefit of our over-large population of former prime ministers. They may have disappointed in office, but the urge to rose-tint our memories means failure is no bar to a lucrative or influential post-premiership.  How else to explain the £2 million earned by Theresa May since the end of her painful, pedestrian premiership? Her reputation has also been enhanced through the power of hindsight: during the chaos of 2022’s politics, the history of her shambling, stumbling government was quietly rewritten and she became a ‘grown-up’ politician from a

Following an unusually quiet December for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin has emerged to deliver his traditional New Year’s Eve address. The first since his invasion of Ukraine ten months ago, many across Russia’s eleven time zones will today be glued to TV screens and internet live-streams at five minutes to midnight to hear what he has to say. With 2023 already beginning in half of those time zones, we too have been able to view his speech. In years gone past, Putin’s typically predictable and formulaic pre-recorded New Year’s Eve speech has been a staple fixture of Russia’s countdown to midnight. It is a useful touchstone for Putin and