Politics Archives

Thursday

30 Sep 2021

Was Labour conference a success for Starmer?

There is relief in the opposition leader’s office this morning following a broadly warm reception to Keir Starmer’s speech at Labour conference. An Opinium poll found that when chunks of the speech were surveyed on a group of 1,330 people, 63 per cent agreed with what he had to say and 62 per cent said he was competent. The front pages, too, are encouraging for Starmer with the papers focussing in on his effort to separate himself from Corbynism and learn from the Blair years. The Mirror has hailed it as one step ‘closer to power’, the Times says he made a ‘reasonable fist’ of it while the Sun has blasted

Rod Liddle

Labour has gone back to 1983

One day quite soon someone at a petrol pump is going to get a tyre iron wrapped around their head. It will almost certainly be the middle-aged male driver of a Land Rover Discovery — a flatulent showboating car driven almost exclusively by smug pigs — while he is busy filling up his 16 jerry cans with unleaded. It will take place in a city — there’s still quite a bit of petrol left in our towns, because townsfolk are not sociopaths — and the assailant will be a Ukip-voting working-class man in his early thirties called ‘Matt’. With any luck, the jury will acquit. I do not know (and

Kate Andrews

Running on empty: the government is out of fuel – and ideas

The Prime Minister is thought to thrive on chaos. If so, then he should be in his element. Wholesale gas prices have risen sixfold, winter heating bills are set to be the highest on record. Millions of people across the country are wondering what they might have to forgo to pay for heat. Supermarkets are warning of food shortages. There are 100,000 missing HGV drivers. The army has been called in to help, but has only 150 tanker drivers available. Queues for petrol jam the roads, and medics can’t get to work. The Prime Minister might thrive on chaos, but Tory members do not. ‘Tory grassroots are furious,’ says one

Katy Balls

Its own opposition: Labour’s conference was all about in-fighting

As the Tories faced multiple crises this week, Keir Starmer’s party was busy in Brighton doing what it does best: arguing with itself. The Labour conference has been dominated by internal rows about rule changes, a shadow cabinet resignation and whether or not Tories can be called ‘scum’. Labour’s failure to focus on the chaos at petrol stations or chastise the Tories for incompetence was enough to baffle international visitors. ‘Why didn’t Starmer start conference at a petrol station in Brighton trying to fill people’s cars?’ one experienced diplomat asked me. ‘It would have been everywhere.’ Starmer had hoped to use the conference to end his party’s navel-gazing and outline

Douglas Murray

The tactics of victimhood

Late last week the Labour deputy leader was the subject of a glowing profile in the Times. The piece described Angela Rayner’s alleged physical similarity to Nicole Kidman, spoke indulgently of her ‘outspokenness’ and otherwise confirmed my suspicion that most of the people who go into politics should never be allowed near the stuff. Rayner described herself as having ‘thrived’ off the ‘chaos’ of recent years. Apparently ‘the trauma, the screaming, the unpredictability — this is my bread and butter’. She continued: ‘In fact, I think it’s strange when people are nice. I find taking compliments more difficult than taking abuse, to be honest. I’ve never had that love and

Wednesday

29 Sep 2021

Steven Fielding

Starmer’s big speech showed how far the far left has fallen

For much of Keir Starmer’s life, Labour leaders have often found themselves delivering ‘make-or-break’ speeches at their party’s annual conference – and they have generally turned out to be neither. Unlike in the Conservative party, Labour tends to stick by its leaders between general elections, however hopeless they might be. The only time MPs tried to unseat an incumbent, Jeremy Corbyn in 2016, it did not turn out well for the plotters, one of whom was, of course, Starmer. Yet despite that record of loyalty to embattled leaders, with Labour trailing the Conservatives in the polls, recent rather iffy by-election results, and a botched reshuffle raising questions about his authority,

Lloyd Evans

Labour’s bid to lose the next election has begun

Sir Keir stamped the Labour conference with his personality today. And the mark he left was very bland, vague and colourless – but hard to dislike. Mum and Dad featured prominently. Sir Keir treats his parents like a couple of pet hedgehogs whose habits still amuse him as he looks back on his childhood. His father, a busy tool-maker, liked to toil over his instruments and to dispense wisdom at the kitchen table. His mother was a hard-working nurse whose career was curtailed by a debilitating illness. He described her sprawling helplessly in intensive care – ‘Mum’s bed a riot of tubes’ – while four nurses strove to keep her

Isabel Hardman

Did Starmer’s speech save Labour conference?

15 min listen

After a rocky few days, Sir Keir Starmer has delivered his first in person speech as Labour leader to conclude the 2021 Labour Party Conference. The 90-minute speech featured hecklers, multiple references to ‘tools’ and 17 standing ovations. But was it enough to win over the country or even his party? Katy Balls speaks to Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth.

Isabel Hardman

Starmer’s speech will go down as a success

Keir Starmer gave a very long speech on the final day of Labour conference. It lasted an hour and a half, and had 17 standing ovations. But it will largely be remembered as the speech in which the Labour leader was repeatedly heckled by the hard left. These heckles worked hugely in his favour and made the speech all the better. Those shouting from the conference floor largely chose to do so at very inappropriate moments, including when he was talking about his mother being seriously ill in intensive care. The heckles worked hugely in his favour and made the speech all the better Many other delegates turned on the woman

Freddy Gray

Joe Biden’s presidency is unravelling

Joe Biden’s presidency appears to be unravelling at remarkable speed. Back in January, in the days after his inauguration, Biden enjoyed considerable public support. His job-approval score was 58 per cent, with only 35 per cent disapproving. That could be put down to a widespread sense of relief that the sturm and drang of the Trump years were finally over, especially in the aftermath of the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill. Biden benefitted too from being widely regarded as a decent man. And it didn’t hurt that large parts of the news media spent all day every day praising him as a marvellous antidote to his frightful predecessor. Yet

Steerpike

Watch: Starmer heckled during conference speech

Labour’s conference is finishing off in much the same way it started: with party members determined to shout at each other rather than take the fight to the Tories. During Keir Starmer’s big speech in Brighton, the Labour leader has been repeatedly heckled – including as he spoke about his mother’s harrowing ordeal in the intensive care ward of an NHS hospital. One particularly worked-up Labour party member took to her feet to vent her feelings about Starmer: Starmer responded by asking: ‘Shouting slogans or changing lives, conference?’ Early on in the speech, the Labour leader was heckled for his Brexit policy and over his refusal to back demands for

Isabel Hardman

How will Keir Starmer deal with hecklers during his big speech?

What does Keir Starmer have planned for his conference speech, due to begin shortly? Not so much the words in his script, but what he plans to say if – when – he’s heckled. Starmer has been taking quite a Neil Kinnock stance over the past few days, antagonising the hard left with his rule changes for leadership elections and refusal to back a £15-an-hour minimum wage. And you can’t channel Kinnock without expecting a few heckles in your conference speech. Those around the leader see this conference as being the last hurrah of the left LabourList‘s Sienna Rodgers reports that Momentum has instructed its delegates to heckle about the wage

Alex Massie

Labour’s Scottish problem isn’t going away

Certain questions are eternal and many of them are correspondingly dreary too. ‘How should Labour deal with the SNP?’ and ‘What can Labour offer the nationalists?’ are two of them. Since Labour requires a swing of heroic – or 1997 – proportions to win even a bare majority at the next election, you can understand why these questions will not disappear. Equally, if Labour cannot win a majority, it must dance with the parliament likely to be returned, not the parliament of its dreams. There is a problem here. What appears to make abundant sense viewed from London makes little sense viewed from Scotland. And vice versa. Any arrangement with

Isabel Hardman

Starmer prepares to make his pitch

Keir Starmer is giving his big speech at noon today, the first one he’s been able to give to a packed conference hall since becoming leader. He seems to think that this means he needs to reintroduce himself to his own party and the electorate, and to that end we’ve been promised more detail on his backstory. But the Labour leader’s problem is not so much that people don’t know who he is as that they don’t really know what he stands for. Starmer is expected to take Labour away from the Corbyn era To that end, Starmer does plan to make a sweep of policy announcements, only a handful

Steerpike

Watch: Rayner sings Grease duet

In recent years the Labour shadow cabinet has never done much singing from the same hymn sheet. But last night, in a rare display of front bench solidarity, three of Sir Keir Starmer’s top team took to the stage at the Daily Mirror shindig to mark the final night of their party conference in Brighton. Health spokesman Rosena Allin-Khan performed a lively rendition of ‘Sex on Fire’ while walking diary story Angela Rayner was virtually wedded to the microphone, performing a smorgasbord of hits including ‘I’m Gonna be (500 Miles)’ ‘Summer of ’69’ and ‘Zombie.’ Held at Revolution, the rooms were packed with hacks, hangers-ons and anyone just trying to get out of

The Spectator

The Spectator’s events at Tory party conference

The Spectator is back at Conservative party conference, where we’re delighted to be hosting a packed schedule of entertaining fringe events. We’ll be discussing the biggest topics of the day with a range of exciting guests, hosted by our top team of political journalists. Every event includes a free G&T – make sure to arrive 15 minutes early to claim it and join our team for a drink (ticket for event required). Our full schedule is below: Monday 1 – 2 p.m. Can green growth really supercharge the north? Katy Balls with Jake Berry and Ben Houchen. Purchase tickets here. 2.45 – 3.45 p.m. Coffee House Shots Live: Fraser Nelson,

Tuesday

28 Sep 2021

Jonathan Miller

Eric Zemmour is eating Marine Le Pen alive

French opinion polls are best taken with a generous bucket of sel de Guérande but this evening’s drop of a Harris Interactive survey of intentions to vote in the 2022 presidential election might genuinely be described as explosive. This poll contains the crucial assumption that Xavier Bertrand will emerge as the candidate of the centre-right Les Républicains, but it nevertheless suggests that trends are moving in unpredicted directions. Bertrand is currently only marginally ahead of Eric Zemmour, whose insurgent campaign from the right is starting to profoundly unsettle the conventional wisdom. If Zemmour, who still hasn’t officially announced his candidacy, continues to climb and Marine Le Pen to decline, something extraordinary

Isabel Hardman

Why is Labour ignoring the fuel crisis?

12 min listen

With petrol and gas supply issues still continuing Labour doesn’t seem to be focusing on this important issue gripping the nation. Instead, though Starmer had a victory in pushing through his changes in regards to Labour leadership voting, his parade was rained on by the resignation of Andy McDonald over disputes about the minimum wage. Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls join us from the conference in Brighton along with James Forsyth in London.

Katy Balls

Starmer tries to show his winning streak

It’s been a bruising few days for Keir Starmer at Labour conference. The Labour leader has had to deal with internal warfare and in the process lost a member of his shadow cabinet. Tomorrow, Starmer will attempt to move past the turbulence of the last 48 hours and set out his vision to the public. Given that this will be Starmer’s first conference speech in front of the membership (the last conference was remote due to Covid restrictions), it is a test for his authority and his ability to connect both with his party and the public. Starmer’s team are in an upbeat mood – they believe they have won

Brendan O’Neill

The trouble with ‘Angiemania’

The most annoying thing about Angela Rayner’s branding of the Tories as ‘scum’ was not that it offended some Tories, though no doubt it did. It wasn’t even the sad story it told us about the calibre of left-wing politicians in the 21st century, who seem more adept at reaching for playground insults than at making a cool, rational case against their opponents. No, it was the implication made by some that Rayner speaks like this because she is working class. That’s what working-class people do, right? They bark the word ‘scum’ at everyone. Such larks! When they aren’t gathered around a piano belting out hilarious songs they’re hanging around