Politics

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

Sunday

David Loyn David Loyn

The West is being played by the Taliban

There have been some curious juxtapositions in Afghanistan this week. On the one hand, the under-19 Afghan cricket team was allowed to leave for a planned tournament in Bangladesh, as if things were normal, while on the other there was a sinister military parade taking place in Kandahar this week. After the lines of horsemen in flowing white robes, a deliberate image of Islamic warrior superiority, came the fleets of captured Humvees. And at the side of the procession lay a car packed with a bomb, suicide vest, and large plastic bottles of explosives from a roadside bomb. This is a government-in-waiting promoting terrorist weapons that indiscriminately kill civilians. And

Steerpike Steerpike

What’s in store for MPs this new term?

Like the end of school holidays, Steerpike suspects MPs will be greeting the end of summer recess with mix feelings. New masters, new subjects and frequents tests of one kind or another – all beckon with Parliament’s return tomorrow. Amid frenzied talk of reshuffles, a punishing timetable will no doubt be leaving some Tories full of unease. Others no doubt will be relishing Parliament’s return. For the 2019-intake, this will be their first extended period in the Commons without Covid restrictions – having barely clocked up three months’ attendance on the hallowed green benches before the pandemic took hold. This could be their chance to show-off their skills and get noticed by

Adewale Maja-Pearce

Who really owns the Benin Bronzes?

Should the British Museum return its priceless collection of Benin Bronzes? For years, the museum has stood firm in its refusal to hand back artwork looted from the ancient kingdom of Benin, in what is now southern Nigeria. In doing so, it has defied the trend set by regional institutions in Britain, such as the university of Aberdeen. Earlier this year, the university confirmed that it would repatriate a bust of an Oba, or king of Benin, which it has had since the 1950s. As a result of refusing to take a similar stance, the British Museum has been heavily criticised – but there is a strong case to be made that its

Saturday

Francis Elliott

How will Boris Johnson sell his social care tax rise?

Boris Johnson is on the brink of raising taxes to fund a health and care spending package two decades after Tony Blair embarked on his own NHS tax rises. There are striking differences in their approaches though, when it comes to preparing the ground for this rare event in British politics.  It is not yet apparent what Boris Johnson’s primary objective for social care is Blair’s 2002 tax rise came at the end of a long, high-profile process that sought to put the long-term future of the health service at the centre of a national discussion. By contrast there has been little to no debate ahead of Boris Johnson’s health

Steerpike Steerpike

Six times Remainers denied an EU army would happen

One of the points of discussion which dominated British politics in the Brexit era was the possibility of the formation of an ‘EU army’. During the referendum campaign and for years afterwards, Remainers and ‘People’s Vote’ campaigners repeatedly claimed that there was no serious chance of establishing an EU army because the upper echelons of the Commission had no interest in the idea – despite top Eurocrats being so open about their goals. But now the fall of Afghanistan and the sudden realisation of Europe’s dependancy on America has brought the issue to the fore once again. On Thursday EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell announced that the withdrawal will ‘catalyse’ the EU to

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Kate Andrews, Mary Wakefield and Caroline Crampton

19 min listen

On this week’s episode, Kate Andrews argues that the government’s social care reform plans simply don’t add up (00:55). Mary Wakefield makes the case for church doors to reopen (06:55) and Caroline Crampton reviews Tom Chivers’s new book, London Clay (13:25).

Cindy Yu Cindy Yu

Are Britain and America drifting apart?

14 min listen

In a speech this week, Joe Biden said America will focus more on threats from Russia and China and less on foreign interventions. The US President signalled that his country would return to using ‘over the horizon’ drone strikes against terrorist targets, and would need to prove it was ‘competitive’ in combatting emerging threats. Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, addressed this in an interview with The Spectator last week. He said: ‘If America makes the decision that it needs to tilt more, the question for the West, for Europe, for the United Kingdom and for other nations is: are we going to go with them? Do we backfill? Or do

John Jenkins

Don’t be fooled: the Taliban hasn’t changed its spots

Has the Taliban really changed its spots? Those who advocate talking to the Taliban make the case that they have. The organisation, they say, has recognised the mistakes it made in the years culminating in 9/11. Others claim that the organisation is now committed to local and national aims, not international terrorism, and that the Taliban have – or can be moderated – via the tool of engagement. All of these approaches seem to share the view there is a disconnect between the west’s reaction to events in Afghanistan, and the reality. But is this really the case?  Pakistan’s national security adviser, Dr Moeed W Yusuf, has suggested the time has come to

Friday

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Boris Johnson’s tax gamble

Will MPs go along with Boris Johnson’s social care plans? On Tuesday, the Prime Minister is expected to share his plan to reform social care through a 1 per cent hike on national insurance with his cabinet before presenting it to MPs. Given raising national insurance amounts to breaking a manifesto pledge, there are already backbenchers who have gone public with their concerns. John Redwood has taken to social media to declare it a ‘bad idea’ while several ministers have voiced their opposition under anonymity. The biggest concern speaking to ministers and MPs is the political ramifications of breaking a manifesto pledge Now Johnson’s former aide Dominic Cummings has penned a blog

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Why raise tax to subsidise the wealthy?

When conservatives renege on election-time promises not to raise taxes, they tend not to be forgiven in a hurry. ‘Read my lips: no new taxes’, promised George H.W. Bush, words that Bill Clinton did not let Americans forget. John Major also promised not to raise taxes, then hiked National Insurance, blaming unforeseen circumstances. Tony Blair never let up, arguing that the Tories had forfeited the right to be believed on financial promises. In the 2005 campaign, the Tories announced they would not make any tax promises because they would not be believed. Once you renege on a promise, credibility takes a decade — perhaps more — to repair. I look at

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Why isn’t the vaccine approved for 12- to 15-year-olds?

This afternoon, the JCVI has essentially passed the buck on vaccinating 12- to 15-year-olds. It has declared that the health benefits of a vaccine for this age group are ‘marginally greater’ than the risks of Covid. But it has left the decision on whether to actually vaccinate them to the chief medical officers. It would surely have been better for the committee to have made a decision one way or the other In the past few weeks, tensions between ministers and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation have been rising. Ministers are keen to get on with an autumn booster shots campaign for the elderly and to vaccinate more school children.

Julian Jessop

Scotland’s four-day week policy would be a disaster

A shock poll commissioned by the IPPR Scotland thinktank has revealed this week that more than 80 per cent of Scots would like to work fewer hours for the same pay. This may well prompt further revelations about the religious leanings of the Pope, or the toilet habits of bears, but in the meantime, the IPPR has called on the Scottish government to extend its financial support for companies who want to trial a four-day working week. This is still quite a modest proposal. The SNP manifesto for the May elections promised to establish a £10 million fund for companies trialling the shorter week, with the results used to consider

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: SNP appointee suggests Scotland should be in hock to Beijing

Oh dear. Not content with swelling the Scottish government to an eye-watering 29 ministers in a parliament of 129, it seems the SNP now wish to emulate Beijing’s over-mighty executive in other ways. Economist Mark Blyth, who was appointed less than two months ago to the Scottish government’s much-trumpeted economic council, has suggested that China’s controversial ‘Belt and Road’ scheme could well be the answer to the ails of an independent Scotland.  Speaking on a Zoom call he responded to a question about whether a post-Scexit Edinburgh would be dependant on ‘Russian roubles’ by suggesting the threat of a Beijing-backed scheme would be worth exploiting to prove Westminster wrong for not wanting

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Boris could pay a big price for his flawed social care shake-up

Boris Johnson pledged to ‘fix the crisis in social care’ over two years ago. Next week, the Prime Minister is set to announce his plan to do just that. In doing so, he is also expected to opt for a major break from his manifesto pledge not to raise key taxes. So what is Boris’s solution, and will it work? The Prime Minister remains wedded to the 2011 Dilnot reforms to answer today’s problems. This includes bringing in a cap on the cost one would be required to pay for their social care. At least a 1p tax hike on National Insurance is also expected, to raise around £6bn. This pot of

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Is Boris Johnson about to betray his manifesto?

15 min listen

Despite pledging not to raise taxes in the 2019 manifesto, rumours abound in Westminster that Boris Johnson is about to increase National Insurance in order to raise funding for healthcare and social care. Katy Balls talks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth about whether the government has other options.

Lee Cohen

Joe Biden has treated Britain with disdain over Afghanistan

Congratulations, Joe. No US President has simultaneously alienated (and abandoned) so many of his compatriots or exacerbated threats to the West with such efficiency as Biden this past week. Biden defiantly sees ‘an extraordinary success’ in the chaotic and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan, but disaster currently flows in the President’s wake. And one of the consequences is the mortal danger to America’s most important diplomatic and military alliance: the UK-US Special Relationship. Biden’s speech on Tuesday was a deranged, dramatic tragedy. He lashed out at critics of his calamity which saw the Taliban reinstalled in power and strengthened with new deadly capabilities. Though entirely of Biden’s making, he took every

Matthew Lynn

Three big problems with the government’s planned tax hike

We are in the middle of a once-in-a-generation shift: working from home. There are skill shortages across the economy, supply bottlenecks, and empty supermarket shelves. A couple of million people are still set to come off furlough, back into jobs that may no longer exist. The labour market is in utter chaos. But, hey, here’s a good idea. Let’s whack a tax on jobs. Really? The government’s widely leaked plan to increase National Insurance, a tax on jobs, could not come at a worse possible time.  The government’s widely leaked plan to increase National Insurance, a tax on jobs, could not come at a worse possible time We can all debate whether

Douglas Murray

What can we learn about Afghanistan from Alastair Campbell?

Alastair Campbell can’t write. If that sounds like one of the less significant charges one might level against Tony Blair’s former spin-doctor then stick with me. Because anyone who can spill out thousands of words and still be so unoriginal and lacking in insight or self-perception must have things they are trying to hide. That is why the laborious ‘long-think’ that Campbell wrote this week for the equally laborious ‘Tortoise’ website is worth pausing over. For those who have missed it, Campbell was this week invited by Tortoise to write a multi-thousand word piece on the recent events in Afghanistan. Since Campbell was right-hand man to Tony Blair when the

Steerpike Steerpike

Revealed: Parliament’s plans for the Queen’s death

This morning Playbook has revealed details about the plans – codenamed Operation London Bridge – for the sad day when the Queen passes away. But while the outlet’s excellent write-up reveals much about the preparations involved for Her Majesty’s death, Steerpike noted that one detail about the behind the scenes work was somewhat glossed over: advanced plans for the royal coffin to lie in state at Westminster Hall. Codenamed ‘Operation Marquee’ – a moniker last used for the Queen Mother’s ceremony in 2002 – the plans have been kept tightly under wraps for decades and will run with military precision, judging by its expenditure. Between 2010 and 2020 some £2.6 million

Kunwar Khuldune Shahid

Pakistan is relishing its role as kingmaker in Afghanistan

The details of engagements involving the head of MI6 are, unsurprisingly, usually kept secret. But not so Richard Moore’s meeting with the head of the Pakistani army, General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Officers from Britain’s intelligence service are also said to have met the Taliban, both in Kabul and Qatar. How do we know? Because hours after Moore met Bajwa, the news was plastered all over Pakistani media, much to the dismay and horror of British officials. Pakistani leaders have spent much of the past fortnight basking in the Taliban’s triumph. Imran Khan lauded the Taliban for breaking the ‘shackles of slavery’. The Pakistani prime minister’s office made special social media banners to advertise calls received from world