Politics

Is the DUP intent on compounding the disaster of its recent election defeat which saw Sinn Fein returned as Northern Ireland’s largest party? It certainly seems that way. In the aftermath of that result, the DUP, the TUV (Traditional Unionist Voice) and other loyalists have been quick to point out that the unionist designation remains the largest at Stormont, albeit marginally. They argue that polling continues to show a majority in favour of Northern Ireland staying within the UK. This has been used to downplay Sinn Fein’s achievement last week. But this complacency is dangerous. Contrary to the predictable hyperbole of recent days, a united Ireland is not imminent. Sinn Fein’s victory

British Railways lives again. Well sort of. The Queen’s Speech is expected to contain plans for a Transport Bill, the centrepiece of which is the creation of Great British Railways which will take over many aspects of the nation’s rail system. However, before the nostalgics start dusting off their Ian Allan Locospotters’ annual, this new beast will be nothing like the old one. British Railways was much more than just a railway. It owned a series of 29 superb hotels next to stations around the country including Turnberry and Gleneagles and their adjoining of golf courses; it organised holidays on stationary coaches in dozens of locations; and it ran ferries

It was Enoch Powell who remarked that ‘the House of Commons without whips is like a city without sewers.’ And it seems that the piping has sprung a leak, given the amount of excrement that’s been flying around Westminster in recent months. In January it was the Tory whips and their chief Mark Spencer, who faced allegations of intimidation and Islamophobia from disgruntled wards. And now it’s the turn of the SNP, those custodians of probity and standards in public life. For Patrick Grady – the party’s former chief enforcer at Westminster – is one of two nationalist MPs facing claims of sexual harassment. An SNP staffer says the Glasgow North MP

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab was tasked with the government’s media round this morning, and he used the opportunity to take aim at the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, accusing him of hypocrisy after Durham Police said they will re-investigate the so-called ‘Beergate’ affair. A leaked Labour party document appears to suggest that Starmer and his colleagues did not return to working after a scheduled dinner, which lasted for over an hour. Raab stopped short of calling for Starmer to resign, but piled on the pressure for him to account for exactly what happened on that night: Local elections were ‘a mixed bag’ In other political news, the results from the local elections

I’ve so far found it hard to get outraged about Keir Starmer’s curry with staffers after a campaigning event in April last year. For the boss to buy in a curry for his local activists during the visit is a decent and human thing to do. I’d not condemn anyone for it. But this is politically tricky for Starmer for three reasons: Starmer was not a voice of moderation on lockdown. He was always calling for an even tougher regime than that which the Tories needlessly imposed. As Opposition leader, I’d say, he had not only the option but the duty to oppose a cruel and draconian policy that gratuitously criminalised harmless, everyday acts. Starmer did

Beergate represents a great danger to Starmer’s leadership. But handled in the right way it could be his opportunity to show that his is a party that can be trusted by voters who have abandoned it since the days of New Labour. It might even be his ‘clause four moment’, one which allows Starmer to transform how the public regard Labour and be the springboard to victory at the next general election. Last week’s local elections were good for Labour: they suggest it is on course to become the largest party in the Commons. But they were not good enough: much work remains to be done before Labour can form