Politics

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

Friday

Sam Ashworth-Hayes Sam Ashworth-Hayes

How Germany’s energy crisis could bite Britain

For now, Berlin can breathe a sigh of relief: after a ten-day shutdown for maintenance, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline is back online. Russia is once again heating German homes, fuelling German industry, and using German money to finance its war in Ukraine. But this happy exchange may not continue; the pipeline is still operating at just 40 per cent of its usual capacity, and Vladimir Putin is warning this could fall to 20 per cent next week. With Germany’s gas reserves just 65 per cent full – thanks in part to state-owned Russian energy company Gazprom’s curious oversight in maintaining them last year – and plans to refill it

Thursday

Steerpike Steerpike

Labour candidate’s political journey

With two years to go until the next election, constituency battles are well underway across the country. Labour candidates are scrapping it out with one another for selection in winnable seats, with one such case being Chingford and Woodford Green. This London seat was just 1,263 votes off going red last time, with the added bonus of a prized scalp of in Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the sitting MP and former Tory party leader. Faiza Shaheen, who fought the seat for Labour last time, is desperate once again to get selected in this area. But Mr S hears talk that some local members are unhappy about her lack of presence

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Rishi Sunak has a mountain to climb to beat Liz Truss

It’s day one of the national campaign of the Tory leadership campaign – and Rishi Sunak has a mountain to climb. The former chancellor has already admitted that he is the underdog in the race, with the majority of membership polling indicating Liz Truss will be selected as the next prime minister. A YouGov poll released today confirms the current state of play. Can Sunak turn things around or is it a done deal for Truss? When Tory members were asked on Wednesday and Thursday who of Truss or Sunak they would back, the Foreign Secretary came out on top at 62 per cent, with the former chancellor 24 points behind on 38

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Can Rishi catch up?

14 min listen

So far, most polls of Tory members show that they’d prefer Liz Truss to Rishi Sunak when it comes to the next Conservative party leader. With ballots for the membership phase going out at the beginning of August, it’s vitally important for Sunak to break through to members as soon as possible. Can he catch up? Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson. Produced by Cindy Yu.

William Moore William Moore

Trump’s Return

42 min listen

In this week’s episode:Will Donald Trump have a second shot at the US presidency?Freddy Gray and Sarah Baxter debate the return of Donald Trump. (1.10)Also this week:A look at the history of Scotland’s paradoxical relationship between Scottish identity and the Union.The Spectator’s Scotland editor, Alex Massie talks with Murray Pittock about his book Scotland: The Global History, 1603 to Present. (21.49)And finally: What happened to bad taste humour?Screenwriter Gareth Roberts wrote about this in the magazine. He’s joined by comedian and podcast host of NonCensored, Rosie Holt (32.30)Hosted by William MooreProduced by Natasha FerozeSubscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher: www.spectator.co.uk/voucher

Steerpike Steerpike

Tom Tugendhat gets roasted

The One Nation brigade were out in force last night and Tom Tugendhat was the talk of the town. He may not have not made it into the final two but the former leadership contender received a hero’s welcome at summer receptions for both the Tory Reform Group and Conservatives in Communications. Flanked by a phalanx of fans, Tugendhat was all smiles at the latter event, telling Mr S about the ‘huge’ after party his team threw following his defeat on Monday: ‘it went on until 4 a.m.’ But it was another Tory politician who stole the show at Tugendhat’s event, delivering a witty, self-deprecating speech that made some (well-received)

Nigel Jones

Is Putin really in good health?

Soon after Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February a rash of stories appeared in the western media speculating that the Russian president was dying, or at least very seriously ill. The evidence offered was circumstantial but superficially compelling. This ranged from the absurdly long tables the dictator uses to keep his distance from his aides, to analysis of such symptoms as his awkwardly shaking limbs and puffy face. There were also reports that Putin keeps a top cancer specialist in his entourage at all times. Now, no less an authority than the boss of the CIA, William Burns, has poured a douche of cold water on such

Steerpike Steerpike

British Museum keeps the Chinese golden era alive

It’s been a bit of a bad week for the British Museum. High temperatures forced staff to close the site early on Monday and Tuesday, damaging revenue flow and prompting renewed criticism of its BP sponsorship deal. Then today Sadiq Khan – the museum’s own local mayor – called on the government to find a way of sharing the highly-prized Elgin Marbles with Greece. In such circumstances, the British Museum needs all the friends it can get. So it was no surprise therefore that two new names have been appointed as directors of the British Museum Friends, which serve as trustees of its collection. One of them is private equity chief Weijian Shan, who

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Do Truss and Sunak’s spending pledges add up?

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have only a few weeks to make their case before postal voting begins on 1 August. Sunak has vowed to be ‘the heir to Margaret Thatcher’ in a comment piece in the Daily Telegraph today, in which he promises to deliver a ‘radical’ set of reform, without expanding much on what that reform would look like. Meanwhile Truss joined BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning to double down on her plans to grow the economy, admitting that ‘twenty years of economic policy haven’t delivered growth’, even if the majority of this time has been under Conservative leadership. But there’s a big economic elephant in the room:

Patrick O’Flynn Patrick O'Flynn

Why I’m coming round to the idea of Prime Minister Truss

The prospect of Liz Truss becoming the United Kingdom’s third female prime minister is antagonising all the right people. Almost the entire Remainer establishment – including state-sponsored leftist comedians, professors of European studies, AC Grayling, senior figures at the Times newspaper, Irish government insiders – is recoiling at the thought. It is only partly as a result of this that I find myself thawing towards her – if not quite warming – and hoping she defeats Rishi Sunak when the votes of the wider Conservative membership are counted in early September. This is a U-turn on my part. Anticipating this contest as a distinct possibility I wrote a somewhat prophetic

Steerpike Steerpike

Penny hits back at her critics

It’s been a bruising week for Penny Mordaunt. Six days ago she was the favourite to be Prime Minister; now she’s out of the running after a series of searing criticisms from colleagues and the press. A repeated line of attack she faced was the suggestion that she wasn’t entirely across her brief, with Lord Frost claiming he had to request Mordaunt be transferred off the Brexit negotiation One of those making such a criticism was Anne Marie Trevelyan, the Secretary of State for International Trade. She said of Mordaunt, her departmental junior, that: ‘there have been a number of times when she hasn’t been available, which would have been

Matthew Lynn

Is the eurozone about to plunge into a recession?

A reforming prime minister has been ousted by a fractious, divided parliament. The central bank is raising interest rates to try and stem inflation that is running out of control. Everyone is being urged to use as little electricity as possible as officials scramble around to secure enough energy, and the currency is crumbling as the economy turns down. It would, in fairness, be a reasonable description of a chaotic and struggling Brexit Britain. As it happens, however, it is a summary of the EU and the euro-zone as it stumbles towards its next crisis. As chaotic as Brexit Britain is looking, it will be just as difficult on the

Paul Collier

The Singapore model: lessons for the new PM from Lee Kwan Yew

Labour has sneered at talk of ‘Singapore-on-Thames’ as a post-Brexit economic model, while the tax-cutting wing of the Conservatives has embraced it with a passion. But neither seem to know much about how Singapore actually achieved its remarkable prosperity. Lee Kwan Yew, the country’s prime minister from 1959 to 1990 (and one of the greatest national leaders since 1945), transformed Singapore from corruption, division and poverty by moral, fiscal, social and market acts of genius which gave people a new sense of hopeful purpose. First, the moral genius. The population of Singapore was bitterly divided by racial and ideological antagonisms that had left the country isolated from its neighbours. A

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

The high price of failure

I was listening to a rich bastard on the radio explaining why he was feeling disinclined to give any more of his money to the Conservative party. The term ‘rich bastard’ is the one which I was habituated to use when I was a member of the Labour party and which I have disinterred now to give my opening sentence a little more punch. It was axiomatic to us that anyone with sufficient dosh to consider squandering a few hundred thou on a political party must be a bastard and was both immoral and undeserving of his wealth. Wealth in any shape or form appalled us in an almost Freudian

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Last ones standing: the leadership finalists on taxes, net zero and freedom of speech

After the last televised leadership debate was cancelled when Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak pulled out, we asked the remaining three candidates if they would come on SpectatorTV to face questions before Tory MPs’  final vote. (Since going to press the contenders will have been whittled down to two.) This is an edited transcript of their answers. Do you propose tax cuts? If so, how would you pay for them? PENNY MORDAUNT: On the current trajectory Rishi’s set us on, we are going to be one of the most uncompetitive nations in the OECD and that cannot be allowed to happen. We have to be able to compete. So there

Matthew Parris Matthew Parris

Liz Truss is no Margaret Thatcher

The late Senator Lloyd Bentsen was 26 years older than the young Senator Dan Quayle when in 1988 they crossed swords in a debate in Omaha, Nebraska. Their exchange became famous. Quayle had been comparing himself with the late John F. Kennedy. Old Bentsen hit back: ‘Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.’ As it happens, I’m 26 years older than Liz Truss. So it’s a temptation to which I yield to quote that exchange, now that Ms Truss, explicitly, both in her wardrobe and the photo opportunities she contrives, is inviting comparison with the

Nicholas Farrell

Mario Draghi’s fall and the death of Italian left-wing populism

So, another unelected Italian government is collapsing, and the putatively pro-democratic media are all calling it a ‘dark day.’ In many ways, it is. Mario Draghi’s resignation (his second in the space of a week and this time for real) is bad news for Brussels and the Eurozone. The war in Ukraine was the catalyst for Draghi’s fall as it tore apart Italy’s left-wing populist party, the Five Star Movement. That, in turn, destabilised Italy’s government. The Russian media will be ecstatic: first Boris, now this. But it is a great day for Italy’s leading right-wing populist party – the post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) – which is now

Francis Buckley

The European Union can’t fix its gas problem

Over a 20 year period, former German chancellors Gerhard Schroder and Angela Merkel, handed Russian President Vladimir Putin a vice-like grip on Europe’s energy security. Schroder, who enjoyed a well-publicised bromance with Putin, oversaw the start of Gazprom’s Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. With unseemly haste, soon after he stepped down as chancellor, Schroder became chairman of Nord Stream AG’s shareholder board. Schroder’s successor Angela Merkel — the Russian speaking daughter of a Lutheran pastor who joined the East German communist youth party in her teens — was equally accommodating. She oversaw the development of Russian gas projects in the face of opposition from her Nato allies and particular the

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The future of the Tories is at stake

To govern is to choose. So leadership contests for a party in government tend to come down to a key policy question. In 2019 it was how to break the Brexit deadlock; this time it is what to do about the economy. Should the new prime minister prioritise tackling inflation or delivering immediate tax cuts? The candidates have been divided on this issue. Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, who I have been friends with for years, argues inflation makes everybody poorer and so getting control of it must be the primary objective. On the other side is Liz Truss. The Foreign Secretary wants, as she tells Isabel Hardman in this

Steerpike Steerpike

Biden in ‘I have cancer’ gaffe

You’re the American president on a visit to former coal plant in Massachusetts. You’re ostensibly there to deliver remarks about climate change. You’re facing criticisms for being out-of-touch, rambling and gaffe-prone. So what do you decide to do? Start suggesting you’ve got cancer in front of the world’s press! An implausible-sounding scenario perhaps but that’s exactly what bumbling old Biden did yesterday. In a speech delivered yesterday, America’s septuagenarian president mistakenly referred to Glasgow as part of England and appeared to suggest he currently has cancer. Whoops! In a long-winded address on global warming, Biden began to describe the harmful impact of emissions from oil refineries near his childhood home. He