Politics

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

Tuesday

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Why has Labour dropped so many NHS targets?

Does the Labour government still care about mental health? Recently, it dropped its NHS targets for mental health, along with other targets on dementia diagnoses and women’s health. Today at Health questions in the Commons, ministers were confronted about whether they were still committed to improving treatment for mental illness, given the targets are now gone. Stephen Kinnock argued:  ‘What we know about targets is that if you try and overload a system with too many targets, it causes confusion, and you end up with, as she rightly says, perverse outcomes. And so we are very clear that we want to not have a system which is based on just

Andrew Liddle

It’s a mistake for Scottish Labour to stand by SNP policies

With just 15 months to go until crucial devolved elections in Scotland, 2025 will be a momentous year in Scottish politics. Few leaders understand this better than Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who hopes he will be the man to end two decades of SNP dominance come May 2026.  Yet Scottish Labour has fallen down in the polls in recent months and Sarwar needs to figure out how to make his party stand out. It was therefore little surprise that he began 2025 by pledging to use the year to set out how he and his party would chart a ‘new direction’ for Scotland. ‘In each area of responsibility for

David Cohen

What does China want with the Cook Islands?

Diplomatic storm clouds are gathering around the Cook Islands, a picturesque tourist destination in the South Pacific known for its creaking palms, pink beaches and deliciously warm nights.  The microscopic island-nation has a long-standing ‘free association’ with New Zealand, which sees Wellington give the islands defence and financial support. Now though the islands are in the middle of striking an agreement with China, and New Zealand says it has been kept in the dark about the nature of the pact.  ‘We can confirm that there are a number of issues on which New Zealand and the Cook Islands government currently do not see eye-to-eye,’ a spokesman for New Zealand’s foreign

Rhys Laverty

The problem with Labour’s home-school crackdown

There are some counterintuitive differences between the US and the UK. One of them is this: home education has always been far easier in the UK, legally speaking, than across the Atlantic. But that is all about to change. In states across the US, the right to home educate, and the attendant level of government oversight (e.g. registration, submitting planned curricula, proving progress etc.) has always varied wildly. But in the UK it has always been very simple: centuries of English common law mean that if a parent wishes to keep their child at home to be educated it is none of the government’s business. The rising home education figures

Chas Newkey-Burden

Blame vegans for the ‘anti-vegan backlash’

Is the vegan revolution over? An “anti-vegan backlash” has “made Britain fall back in love with meat,” according to the Daily Telegraph. Studies have found that 18-24 year olds in the UK increased their meat intake in 2024, sales of fake meats are falling and vegan restaurants are closing their doors. It’s not just about putting oat milk into your coffee and saying no to bacon Well, if veganism is falling out of fashion then vegans must take a fair amount of the blame. As a vegan myself, I’ve noticed that this ethically rooted movement has begun to focus too much on money and not enough on morality.  I’ve lost count

Euan McColm

Why aren’t Scotland’s politicians standing up for Sandie Peggie?

The remarkable story of nurse Sandie Peggie, suspended from her job after she complained about the presence of a male doctor in a staff changing room, has what politicos describe as ‘cut through’. Over the past week, a tribunal in Dundee has heard jaw-dropping evidence about how the nurse was treated when she questioned the presence of Dr Beth Upton, a trans woman, in a female-only space. Even BBC Scotland, normally decidedly squeamish about covering anything that might upset touchy trans activists, has carried daily reports on the case brought by Peggie against both her employers, NHS Fife, and Upton. To give you a flavour of proceedings so far, on

Matthew Lynn

Starmer should split from the EU if it hits back at Trump on tariffs

The European Union has hit back against Donald Trump’s decision to impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel imports. “Tariffs are taxes – bad for business, worse for consumers,” the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said, adding that the levy “will not go unanswered”. Yet for all the fire and fury, Europe will not be quite as united as it wishes. The British government has made it quietly clear that it will not be joining the fight. The Daily Mail reports that the Prime Minister is poised to split from the EU by holding off retaliating. The PM right: this is a fight from which Britain has little

Steerpike Steerpike

Farage and Tories in borders bill battle

It was a late-night showdown in the Commons yesterday evening. The terrain? Labour’s Border, Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. But while the legislation was passed – by Pyongyang-style majorities – on the back of Labour votes, a row has now broken out over whether the Tories or Reform were more effective in their opposition. Nigel Farage took to X to say that: Without Reform MPs there would have been no vote on Labour’s useless immigration bill tonight. The Tories did not intend to oppose it until we forced a vote in the House of Commons. Reform UK are the real opposition. This then prompted a counterargument by Conservative MPs, with

Steerpike Steerpike

Why has the BBC changed its trans tribunal headline?

The BBC is back in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. As the trial between the Scottish nurse Sandie Peggie and NHS Fife continues – after Peggie’s suspension over questioning the use of female-only facilities by trans doctor Beth Upton – it seems that the Beeb can’t quite seem to work out how to characterise its coverage. Mr S’s spies have drawn attention to a rather odd change on the BBC Scotland website in an article covering the ongoing trial. Initially a piece was posted with the headline: ‘Transgender doctor tells tribunal “I am not male”.’ The opening paragraph of this read as follows: A transgender doctor at the

Steerpike Steerpike

Six times Leadbeater promised a high court judge safeguard

Back to the assisted dying bill. It has emerged that the legislation’s requirement for a senior judge to approve whether someone should be allowed to end their life has been removed over concerns about the toll it could take on Britain’s struggling courts. An amendment put forward by Kim Leadbeater, the bill’s sponsor, has now proposed that, instead of having a high court judge investigate each case, a panel of social workers and psychiatrists among others should oversee applications. How curious. It’s certainly quite the turnaround. While Leadbeater has now claimed the changes will ‘make the system even more robust’, prior to her amendment, the bill’s sponsor and her supporters

Peter Sefton-Williams

My false diagnosis exposes a key flaw in the Assisted Dying Bill

Perhaps the strongest argument against the reintroduction of capital punishment is the possibility that mistakes, once made, cannot be rectified. In the 20th century, such errors – even with legal safeguards in place – were not uncommon. Infamous cases, such as those of Timothy Evans and George Kelly, are a testament to that. It is ironic, therefore, that MPs who would strongly oppose capital punishment can, at the same time, enthusiastically support the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill brought before parliament by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater. The same argument applies. If a mistake is made, and a person opts for assisted dying based on incorrect information, that mistake cannot later be rectified.

Thais Portilho

Should Christie’s cancel its AI art auction?

How do you define art? This centuries-old question is constantly brought back to the fore, particularly at times when artists find new ways to create. It was the case with the advent of photography in the 19th century – and it is the case with art where the process is aided or fully executed by AI models today. It displays unforgivable ignorance of the innovative and fascinating ways these artists create with the use of new technology Last week, auction house Christie’s caused a huge stir in art circles, after announcing on social media its first auction offering works exclusively created with AI. Leading the line-up of AI artists are

Patrick West

Why children peddle conspiracy theories

Teenagers today are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories, and that is a very bad thing indeed. This was the unmistakeable message conveyed by a story in the Times yesterday. Citing a report published by the Commission into Countering Online Conspiracies in Schools, it related how ‘conspiracy theories are rife in classrooms’. Young people, we’re told, are more inclined to trust social media influencers than the government when it came to news sources and forming their views of the world. Teachers ‘need urgent support’ to prevent children ‘falling down rabbit holes online’ and succumbing to ‘misinformation’ they discover therein. There is nothing novel in teenagers avoiding mainstream news sources

Oscar Edmondson

Have Kemi Badenoch’s first 100 days been a success?

18 min listen

Kemi Badenoch has been Conservative Party leader for 100 days. Her party is fighting for survival, and she faces an uphill task greater than many of her predecessors: Reform UK surging in the polls, a depleted talent pool of just 121 MPs, and the hangover of 14 years of Conservative rule leaving her hamstrung on issues such as immigration and the economy. Has she managed to transform the party? What will the next 100 days look like? Oscar Edmondson speaks to James Heale and Paul Goodman. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Gareth Roberts Gareth Roberts

Andrew Gwynne and the truth about WhatsApp

Labour MP Andrew Gwynne has been sacked from the government, and suspended from the party, for sending ‘vile’ WhatsApp messages. Gwynne, who reportedly wrote that he hoped an elderly constituent who had complained about bin collections would die, is also said to have made antisemitic remarks and jokes about Diane Abbott. He stands exposed of being a callous bigot. Case closed. Gwynne’s career is over. If making horrible jokes in private is a sin, we’re all damned Except, of course, Gwynne – and his Labour colleague Oliver Ryan MP, who was also a member of the WhatsApp group and has been suspended – are not bigots. Yes, their remarks were

Geoffrey Heath-Taylor

It’s time for Badenoch and Farage to talk

Kemi Badenoch has ruled out a pact with Reform. The Tory leader told the Daily Telegraph: ‘Nigel Farage has said that he wants to destroy the Conservative Party. ‘So I’m not…I have been given something very precious. I am the custodian of an institution that has existed for nigh on 200 years…I have to look after this thing. I can’t just treat it like it’s a toy and have pacts and mergers.’ Badenoch should think again. The truth is that many Tory voters are being wooed by Nigel Farage’s Reform party. Pretending otherwise is not going to cut it. Reform MP Rupert Lowe’s rousing recent address at a Reform rally

Monday

Steerpike Steerpike

Nick Robinson hacked in crypto-scam

Just what is going on at the BBC? It was only a fortnight ago that Laura Kuenssberg was ‘hacked‘ ahead of the launch of her new show. And now it is the turn of a second Beeb bigwig to suffer the same fate, apparently at the hands of another crypto scam. Nick Robinson, the star of Radio 4’s Today programme, is a longtime user of X, where he is often found tweeting his support for the Corporation in the face of another storm of outrage. But Robinson appeared to be hacked on Monday evening after he posted a message that seemed, er, a little off-message from his usual observations about politics

Tom Slater Tom Slater

Don’t cancel Andrew Gwynne

The police are coming for your WhatsApp groups. And if that doesn’t strike terror into your heart, you’re not using WhatsApp properly.  The hapless former health minister and Labour MP for Gorton and Denton, Andrew Gwynne, hasn’t just been sacked by Keir Starmer for his offensive messages about pensioners, Mossad and Diane Abbott. He’s also been reported to the police by a local councillor, meaning that, right now, Greater Manchester’s finest are weighing up whether to open a file on ‘Trigger Me Timbers’ – the group in which Gwynne inflicted his off-colour, often racially charged jokes on some of his fellow Labourites. Personally, I think we need to draw a bright line between public

Steerpike Steerpike

Second WhatsApp scandal MP suspended

Another day, another Labour drama. Now a second parliamentarian involved in a rather distasteful WhatsApp group has been suspended after former minister Andrew Gwynne was sacked at the weekend over his rather strange message exchanges. It transpires that Oliver Ryan, MP for Burnley, has this afternoon had the whip removed after it emerged he was also in the ‘Trigger Me Timbers’ group chat, with the 29-year-old Labour politician admitting he too made comments ‘which I deeply regret and would not make today’. News broke on Saturday that Gwynne had been sacked from his health minister job and suspended from the Labour party after some rather odd message exchanges came to

The Spectator

The Spectator is hiring: US Online Editor (London)

Join The Spectator’s expanding team as our US Online Editor and work with the best British journalists, authors, critics and cartoonists. As US Online Editor you will work closely with the senior editorial team in the UK and US to commission, edit and publish Spectator articles covering the United States. You will take charge of daily output – which includes covering breaking news and responding to world events – curating the US website and promoting Spectator articles on social media. The Spectator was founded in 1828 and is the most influential magazine in Britain. There’s never been a better time to join us. This role is full-time and based in The Spectator’s London offices. The ideal candidate