Politics

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

Thursday

16 Sep 2021

Boris Johnson’s government shake-up continues

After a rather quiet day, the reshuffle is back on, and Boris Johnson is proving to be even more brutal with the more junior ministerial jobs than he was in his clear out of the cabinet. So far, the following have left government: Jesse Norman Caroline Dinenage Luke Hall Graham Stuart James Duddridge Matt Warman John Whittingdale Nick Gibb And these are the moves and promotions within government:Treasury Lucy Frazer is financial secretary, moving from Justice. Helen Whately is exchequer secretary, moving from Health and Social Care. Home Office Rachel Maclean has been made a parliamentary under sectary at the Home Office, having been moved from Transport. Education Robin Walker

Isabel Hardman

What the Aukus pact says about Britain’s foreign policy

12 min listen

With the Commons still reeling from the reshuffle, the UK, US, and Australia have formed a new security alliance, the Aukus pact. Many have seen this as early preparation for a more aggressive China, as the US nuclear submarines being gifted to Australia will be able to reach territories like Taiwan without refuelling. To discuss the pact, and the fallout from yesterday’s reshuffle, Isabel Hardman talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.

Steerpike

What MPs drank as Kabul burned

There were many fine speeches made in last month’s emergency debate on Afghanistan. Peers and MPs queued up to deliver their musings on the Taliban takeover, in spite of twenty years of blood and treasure. From rising stars to extinct volcanos, backwoodsmen to bootlickers, the tributes poured fourth with liberal mentions aplenty of Vietnam and betrayal. But such speech-making is thirsty work it seems. For while the bars of the House of Commons remained closed on the day of the debate, no such restrictions existed in the Lords where peers and MPs could freely wander in throughout the afternoon’s oratorical marathon. Records show some seventeen glasses of wine were glugged from the establishment’s

William Moore

Payday: who’s afraid of rising wages?

45 min listen

In this week’s episode: is Brexit to blame for the rise in blue-collar wages? With labour shortages driving wages up, many have blamed Britain’s removal from the single market. However, this week in The Spectator, Matthew Lynn argues that shocks and price signals are how the free-market economy reorganises, and that we are experiencing a global trend just like America and Germany. Simon Jenkins, columnist for the Guardian, joins Matthew to discuss. (00:45) Also this week: the British Medical Association has dropped its opposition to assisted dying, but is euthanasia really a dignified and painless process? Dr Joel Zivot asks this question in The Spectator magazine, drawing upon his own experience

Brendan O’Neill

Jess Brammar isn’t the problem

We need to talk about Jess Brammar. No, not the fact that Ms Brammar has landed the plum job of executive editor of the BBC’s news channels, despite cries of opposition from various Tories who insisted that Brexit-bashing Brammar is too politically partisan for such a position. My view is that it should be up to the Beeb who it employs, and politicians and their advisers should keep their beaks out of broadcasting. Rather, Jess Brammar represents a wider problem. It’s the fact that so much of the cultural elite is hostile to Brexit, which, lest we forget, is the most popular political idea in living memory in this country.

Katy Balls

What the Aukus pact says about Britain’s foreign policy

While the foreign secretary changed in the last 24 hours, the most important announcement regarding the direction of UK foreign policy yesterday came outside of the reshuffle. Overnight, the UK, US and Australia announced a new defence arrangement – known as the Aukus pact – in the Asia pacific, which will see Australia build nuclear-powered submarines using US technology as well as collaborate on other technologies. The Chinese government has been quick to criticise the move The purpose of this new arrangement? While the respective governments have not specifically said it, it’s viewed as a counter to China that will see the three countries team up against Chinese aggression in the

Steerpike

Watch: SNP health secretary slips up (again)

It’s not been a great week for Humza Yousaf. The under-fire SNP health secretary has been a fixture of newspaper headlines this week over ambulance waiting times after telling long-suffering Scots to ‘think twice’ about ordering one amid pressure on the country’s health service. Humiliatingly, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has today been forced to call in the British Army to provide ‘targeted assistance’ to alleviate such delays – an option that would not of course be available in an independent Scotland. To add injury to insult, the SNP apparatchik is currently forced to use crutches and a scooter since rupturing his achilles playing badminton during his self-isolation. Running for a vote

Joanna Williams

Is Harry and Meghan’s Time profile a parody?

Of course the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are named in Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2021. And of course their listing, which makes the publication’s front cover, is accompanied by a lavish citation and photos of the pair put together by Hollywood A-list stylists. Did we really expect anything less? Time truly has it all. First there are the photos. The couple are groomed beyond the imagining of mere mortals, their clothes carefully co-ordinated. They are artistically positioned in order to comprise both a beautiful image and a political statement. Yes, indeed! These are no ordinary celebrity snaps. They are Harry and Meghan’s meaningful portraits. The cover shot

Steerpike

Sadiq offers Gove the trip of his life

It’s been quite the few months for Michael Gove. The Tory party’s answer to Angela Rayner yesterday bagged himself another new title: Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government with added cross-government responsibility for levelling up and retaining ministerial responsibility for the Union and elections. This comes after a summer where he announced his forthcoming divorce with longtime wife Sarah Vine and was spotted raving in an Aberdonian nightclub at 2 a.m. All this alongside a busy schedule of Whitehall commitments and evening receptions, where Gove is fond of making a joke or two. But now it seems the Great Poo-bah of the Whitehall jungle doesn’t just get to dish it out; he has

Katy Balls

The aim of Boris Johnson’s reshuffle

What was the purpose of Boris Johnson’s third reshuffle since becoming Prime Minister? His first reshuffle on entering 10 Downing Street back in the summer of 2019 was all about sending a message over Brexit. The one in February 2020, after Johnson won a majority of 80 in the December snap election, was aimed at getting his new look government in place. This week’s was about reform. The new foreign secretary Liz Truss is the big winner from the reshuffle The headlines over the reshuffle have largely focussed on who is in and who is out – of which there is plenty to digest. The shake up of Johnson’s front

James Forsyth

The Tories need a new purpose

One of the things that distinguishes Boris Johnson from the last three Tory prime ministers is that he has a comfortable majority. This gives him a lot of flexibility. Unlike David Cameron, Theresa May or John Major, Johnson can handle a parliamentary rebellion of quite some size. Indeed, the 25 Tory MPs who in July voted against the cut to foreign aid would have wiped out any Conservative majority since the 1992 election. Until recently, Johnson hadn’t used his 80-seat majority much. He did take on large Tory rebellions over Covid powers, but the significance of these revolts was reduced by the fact Labour either abstained or backed the government

Wednesday

15 Sep 2021

Jake Wallis Simons

Saigon’s sequel: Afghanistan and the failed lessons of Vietnam

The greatest American defeat of modern times was — until very recently — Vietnam. The fundamental reason for the debacle was clear. As Washington was loath to turn the Cold War into a hot one, it was unable to stem Soviet support for the Vietcong. This left America with a choice: mount a full invasion of North Vietnam or suffer the indignity of a humiliating retreat. It chose the latter. That same strategic error could be seen this summer on the streets of Kabul. But this time, the opposing power was Pakistan. Two decades ago, in the aftermath of 9/11, Islamabad trumpeted the severance of its bond with the terrorist

Katy Balls

What to make of the reshuffle?

16 min listen

Boris Johnson has reshuffled his cabinet. Gavin Williamson is gone. Dominic Raab is no longer Foreign Secretary, but is now the Deputy Prime Minister, with Liz Truss taking over his former position. These changes and many more are dissected by Katy Balls and James Forsyth on today’s Coffee House Shots.

Steerpike

Culture Secretary joins the culture wars

After six hours of speculation, most in SW1 seem ready to re-shuffle off their mortal coil. As the hacks and hangers-on picks over who’s up and who’s down, attention has focused on the newly-appointed Culture Secretary. Former nurse and part-time novelist Nadine Dorries succeeds Oliver Dowden in the post, having served two years in the health department in which capacity she made headlines for being the first MP to test positive for Covid. Dorries is an interesting choice for the role sometimes known as the ‘Minister for fun.’ Elected in 2005 she is considered to be on the right of the party: a proto-Brexiteer who advocated sexual abstinence for girls in

Stephen Daisley

Can doctors be ‘neutral’ on assisted dying?

The British Medical Association (BMA) has dropped its opposition to assisted dying after a landmark vote. In doing so, it marks a journey from professional principle onto the ethical fence. This is not the first time the BMA has declared itself neutral on the termination of post-natal human life. In 2005, the organisation voted to switch from opposition to neutrality on physician-assisted suicide but that position was overturned the following year amid charges that the policy shift had been achieved through an ‘extraordinary manoeuvre’ and ‘procedural tactics’. A decade later, in 2016, the body again rejected adoption of a neutral stance following a consultation with 500 association members and the

Lloyd Evans

PMQs: Boris blustered his way out of trouble

What were they? Model broomsticks? Mini cricket bats? The chewed ends of lolly-sticks? At PMQs today many MPs arrived with odd sprigs of material attached to their clothing. The badges turned out to be ‘wheat-pins’ which are part of ‘Back British Farming Day’. Sir Keir Starmer had attached his device firmly to his jacket. Very sensible. Boris had lazily shoved the thing into his breast pocket. It slowly descended into the depths of the lining and disappeared. The session began sombrely as members expressed their sympathy with Boris over his recent bereavement. Sir Keir Starmer took just three seconds to turn it into a story about himself. ‘I offer my

Steerpike

Harry and Meghan named world’s most influential icons

It’s still some months until awards season gears up but Mr S is happy to announce this year’s winner of the Steerpike ‘Slurp Prize for Sycophancy.’ In a tough field, full of the usual deferential dross, slimy pseudo-babble and glutinous grovelling, one entry has today blown away all competition to clinch the gong, with an entry so obsequious it would make Uriah Heep cringe. Step forward José Andrés with his fawning submission to this year’s Time magazine list of the ‘World’s 100 most influential people.’ The Spanish chef has prepared an appropriately nauseating entry on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, replete with a suitably airbrushed front cover which has them staring vacuously into the distance. The pair topped

James Kirkup

No, Gavin Williamson wasn’t the worst education secretary ever

Gavin Williamson was the worst education secretary in history, according to Sam Freedman, a former Tory education adviser. In the wake of Williamson’s departure from the Department for Education, many other commentators are being even less generous. No one has a good word to say about the man. No one except me, that is. I write here in defence of Gavin Williamson. To be utterly clear, my defence is a very narrow one. I am speaking up for Williamson over only a portion of what he did as Education Secretary, and not the largest part either. While a lot of things Gavin Williamson did were indeed dismal, not everything he did was

Coffee House

Boris Johnson’s reshuffle, as it happened

Boris Johnson’s long-awaited cabinet reshuffle is over (at least for today). After weeks of rumours that the Prime Minister would shake up his top team, today Boris finally made his move. Here are the changes to his top team: Dominic Raab has been demoted from Foreign Secretary to Justice Secretary, replaced by Liz Truss. Gavin Williamson has been sacked as Education Secretary. Nadhim Zahawi will take on the job (the new vaccine minister is yet to be appointed). Michael Gove has been appointed Housing Secretary. Steve Barclay is his replacement as Cabinet Secretary. Anne Marie-Trevelyan has been appointed Trade Secretary, replacing Liz Truss who becomes Foreign Secretary. Robert Jenrick and Robert

David Paton

Will vaccinating teenagers really prevent disruption to schools?

After the JCVI recommended against offering vaccines to children aged 12 to 15 on health grounds, the government asked the four chief medical officers to consider the broader case, including the impact on schooling. As we know, the government has now accepted the chief medical officers’ recommendation: that all 12 to 15 year olds should be offered one dose of Pfizer on the grounds that doing so will reduce disruption to education. The government has released details of the modelling that underpins that rationale. The approach was first to estimate the number of infections with and without vaccination under different scenarios of infection spread. Next, they used this to model