Politics

Almost as soon as the war in Ukraine began, strange things started to happen in Russia. Buildings connected to the country’s military and its war effort caught fire, saboteurs were suspected – and occasionally caught, according to state TV – and recently, air bases quite far away from Ukraine have started to blow up.  All of this gives the lie to the official Russian claim, from the early days of the war, that this was a special military operation – small in scope, limited in objective – fought between the Russian military and a few fanatics and drug addicts far away. The conflict was in fact a war, as we

Happy Christmas Gillian Keegan. It’s not been the easiest of weeks for the Education Secretary. She has faced media criticism for her comments about teachers’ salaries and for wearing a £10,000 Rolex while urging public sector pay restraint. And now things have got even worse for the Chichester MP: she has had her Twitter account hacked on Christmas Day. The unfortunate minister has been locked out of her account, which has begun earnestly espousing the merits of ‘dogecoin’. Dozens of tweets from Keegan’s Twitter profile have been posted in the past few hours, urging followers of Elon Musk to sign up to an external website promising ‘a special giveaway for

Ravenna, Italy Everyone in Britain has focused on what the Qatargate corruption scandal reveals about the European Union – but not on what it tells us about the European left. The fact is that all those so far accused of taking bribes from Qatar and its ally Morocco are left-wing MEPs – or former MEPs – and their assistants, or else bosses of left-wing human rights charities or trade union leaders. Most are Italians who are members, or ex-members, of Italy’s post-communist party – the Partito Democratico (PD). The hypocrisy of these prize exponents of the Euro left – some of whom, according to leaked transcripts of their interrogations, have already

The UK government’s threat to block Nicola Sturgeon’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill took many by surprise. The powers, under Section 35 of the Scotland Act, have never been used before. The assumption from some observers, this one included, was that this was a negotiating tactic ahead of inter-governmental discussions on the Bill’s implementation and cross-border issues that might arise. That assumption appears to be wrong. I understand that raising the spectre of Section 35 is not a negotiating tactic: ministers are seriously contemplating it and legal advice is being sought. Among ministers’ concerns are questions over passports, driving licences and public safety. Michael Foran, a lecturer in public law at

Is the UK government gearing up for a court battle with the Scottish parliament over gender self-ID? This afternoon, Holyrood passed the gender recognition bill by 86 votes to 39. This makes Scotland the first part of the UK to give the green light to a process of self-identification for legally changing gender. The controversial legislation has so far seen one Scottish government minister resign and more SNP politicians speak out to voice concern. When the outcome of the vote was read out, it was met with a mix of cheers and jeers from the public gallery, with opponents of the bills shouting ‘shame on you’. What’s more, the bill