Politics

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

Thursday

Robert Peston Robert Peston

Keir Starmer has shown he’s serious about winning power

It’s not as though Jeremy Corbyn wasn’t put on warning. Well he would have been put on warning, if he had bothered to wait even five minutes before putting out his own statement in response to the EHRC verdict that Labour on his watch had made ‘serious’ failures in tackling anti-Semitism. Because his successor Sir Keir Starmer said in a prepared statement at 11.05 am that anyone who thought that verdict was ‘all exaggerated or a factional attack… should be nowhere near the Labour party’. Just a few minutes earlier Jeremy Corbyn had said ‘the scale of the problem was… dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The challenge the Tories face after the pandemic

After the last few years of political turmoil, Westminster can’t break the habit of waiting for the latest poll to come out. But the polls at the moment are in stasis. As I say in the magazine this week, there is neither the rally round the flag effect seen during the first wave but nor is there a decisive shift to the opposition. So, the question becomes: how will the public feel at the end of this crisis? One immediate problem for the government — highlighted by the row over free school meals in the holidays — is that people resent having things taken away from them. It will be

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Kicking Corbyn out is only the start of Starmer’s anti-Semitism fight

There it is, in black and white. For almost five years, Jews warned, nudged, reported, complained, pleaded and protested that there was a culture of anti-Semitism in the Labour party. For the most part, the party ignored them, although others assailed them, denounced them as fifth columnists, accused them of orchestrating a ‘smear’ campaign, of being agents of a well-financed ‘lobby’, of trying to destabilise Jeremy Corbyn in service of Israel. Scarcely better, and in some ways worse, were those who knew they were telling the truth but whose solidarity with them and commitment to resisting anti-Semitism was conditional on there not being an election in the offing. British Jews

John Connolly John Connolly

Keir Starmer has declared war on the left of the party

Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of Labour, has been suspended from his own party and had the whip removed. The move to oust him was taken by the party after Corbyn commented on a report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, published today, into anti-Semitism in the Labour party. Earlier today Corbyn released a statement in response to the report, claiming that he rejected some of its findings and arguing that the scale of Labour’s anti-Semitism problem had been ‘dramatically overstated’ for political reasons – which he also blamed on the media.  In response, the Labour party acted to remove Corbyn from the party, while it investigates his comments. In a statement, a spokesperson from the Labour party said:

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Five things we learnt from the EHRC report

Over a year after the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched its investigation into anti-Semitism in the Labour party, the findings have been published. In what Sir Keir Starmer has described as a ‘day of shame for the Labour Party’, the report comes after years of allegations of anti-Semitism that dominated Jeremy Corbyn’s time as Labour leader.  In the build up to the report’s republication, a number of Corbyn’s closest allies attempted to put their side of the story out first. In a statement today, Corbyn claimed the scale of Labour’s anti-Semitism problem had been ‘dramatically overstated’. While the row over the episode is likely to rumble on for some time, here are five main takeaways from the

Steerpike Steerpike

Corbynites react to the EHRC report

The Equality and Human Rights Commission released its report today on antisemitism in the Labour party – and it did not make pretty reading. The report claims that the Labour party was responsible for three breaches of the law in its handling of anti-Semitism complaints after alleged ‘political interference’ in the process. It also found that Labour’s policies were ‘indirectly discriminatory and unlawful’ and this led, the report says, to: ‘A culture within the Party which, at best, did not do enough to prevent antisemitism and, at worst, could be seen to accept it.’ Pretty damning stuff, you might think. But it appears that many Corbynites don’t agree with all

The Spectator

Full text: EHRC report into Labour anti-Semitism

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission has found Labour responsible for unlawful acts of discrimination and harassment. In a long-awaited report, the body identified three breaches of the Equality Act 2010:  Political interference in anti-Semitism complaints; A failure to provide proper training to those handling anti-Semitism complaints, and; Harassment. You can read the full report here:

Jay Bhattacharya

It’s time for an alternative to lockdown

As France and Germany lock down again – and as Britain considers whether to follow suit – many people will be wondering: can’t we think of a better way to handle this pandemic? No one is in any doubt about the threat posed by the Coronavirus. But nor should there be any doubt about the harm posed by lockdown: the mental health, the economic destitution, the deep damage inflicted on families, communities and societies. Perhaps the worst of it is the idea that, when lockdown ends, the virus resumes – and you are back where you started. Where is the exit strategy? And where is the assessment of the costs?

Martin Vander Weyer Martin Vander Weyer

What’s the point of trying to break up ‘big tech’?

The ‘antitrust’ law suit launched by US authorities against Google has been reported as a potential turning point in the dominance of ‘big tech’ — and an echo of the courtroom dramas that diminished the excessive power of America’s late 19th–century oil, steel and railroad barons. But I wonder how much impact it will really have. The allegation, in brief, is that Google has created an illegal near-monopoly by paying large sums to Apple and other smartphone makers to secure its position as the default search engine for billions of consumers, its grip reinforced by ownership of Android, the phone operating system, and Chrome, the popular browser — all of

The Spectator

A Biden victory would be no great boon for Britain

It is remarkably uncommon for a US president to fail to be re-elected. It has happened just twice in the long lifetime of Joe Biden: with Jimmy Carter in 1980 and George H.W. Bush in 1992. On Tuesday, however, it looks likely that it will happen again. It is not just that Donald Trump is trailing badly and consistently in the national polls — he was behind in 2016 but won nonetheless — it is that his support seems to be draining most in his own heartlands. Biden appears to be well ahead in industrial ‘rustbelt’ states like Michigan and Wisconsin where Trump’s protectionist message gave him victory four years

Francis Pike

Erdogan’s game: why Turkey has turned against the West

Six years ago, at the celebratory opening match of the new Basaksehir Stadium in Istanbul, an unlikely football star emerged. The red team’s ageing, six-foot tall centre-forward lumbered toward the white team’s goal; a delicate chip over the advancing keeper brought a goal that sent the stadium into ecstasy. The scorer was Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It was the run-up to an election in which he expected to become his country’s 12th president. For Erdogan, a former semi-professional footballer, it was brilliant self-promotion. Like Fidel Castro’s baseball pitching or Chairman Mao’s ‘world record’ Yangtze River swim at the start of the Cultural Revolution, Erdogan’s contrived sporting prowess helped make

James Forsyth James Forsyth

What will post-pandemic politics look like?

A few days ago, I came across a group of Tory MPs in a House of Commons corridor looking rather perplexed. It soon became apparent why. They had been discussing the government’s myriad problems and expressing their concerns about how things were being handled by Downing Street. Then their phones had pinged with news of a poll that showed the Tories moving into a six-point lead. To be sure, not all the polls are this favourable to the Conservative party: one at the weekend had Labour two points ahead. There is also an argument that it’s not useful to look at voting intentions so far away from the next general

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

The ‘Pestminster’ reforms are faltering

One of the leading figures in setting up parliament’s independent complaints process has told Coffee House she is worried it will ‘fall into disrepute’ and that key measures designed to crack down on harassment and bullying are not being implemented. Andrea Leadsom was Leader of the House of Commons when the ‘Pestminster’ scandal broke in 2017 and worked on a cross-party basis to set up the Independent Complaints and Grievances Scheme. She is concerned that the reputation of the scheme is already struggling, as complainants find their cases are taking too long to be resolved or are receiving conflicting advice. She said: It was quite common every day or so for

Wednesday

Emmanuel Macron

Emmanuel Macron: Why France is locking down again

The virus is now circulating at a speed that even the most pessimistic predictions had not anticipated. The number of contaminations has doubled in less than two weeks. Unlike the first wave, all regions are now at the alert threshold. In many places, we have started to postpone heart or cancer operations, sometimes already postponed until spring. We had sought to control its circulation by relying on our capacities to test, alert and protect. This is what we have been doing since August. Have we done everything right? No. We can always improve. We could have gone faster at the beginning with the testing. We should have been more respectful

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Why are Trump voters more enthusiastic?

21 min listen

Freddy Gray is in America for the final week of the election campaign. The polls show Joe Biden is set to win the race by a clear margin, but his supporters are nowhere to be seen. Freddy asks Roger Kimball, editor and publisher of the New Criterion, why Trump voters are more enthusiastic.

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

The SNP’s Orwellian Hate Crime Bill

Scottish nationalists have never been keen on Orwell. For decades, his ‘Notes on Nationalism’ has been quoted at them, with its description of their tendency as ‘power-hunger tempered by self-deception’ and the observation that ‘all nationalists have the power of not seeing resemblances between similar sets of facts’. Not to mention, at risk of getting into indelicate matters, that some of the SNP’s early leading lights were on the other side of the old fascism question. But I’m happy to report a rapprochement between the two. Indeed, the Nationalists have so thoroughly warmed to their former foe that they are putting some of his ideas into practice. Here is Orwell

Cindy Yu Cindy Yu

Can Boris Johnson resist a national lockdown?

12 min listen

SAGE warned that the second wave of Covid-19 could be worse than the first, and that the whole of England could be in Tier-3 by Christmas, reports today claim. With Emmanuel Macron also expected to announce another national lockdown in France tonight, can Boris Johnson continue to resist doing the same? Cindy Yu speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman. Tell us your thoughts on our podcasts and be in for a chance to win a bottle of Pol Roger champagne by filling out our podcast survey. Visit spectator.co.uk/podcastsurvey.

Jonathan Sumption

‘This is how freedom dies’: The folly of Britain’s coercive Covid strategy

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the British state has exercised coercive powers over its citizens on a scale never previously attempted. It has taken effective legal control, enforced by the police, over the personal lives of the entire population: where they could go, whom they could meet, what they could do even within their own homes. For three months it placed everybody under a form of house arrest, qualified only by their right to do a limited number of things approved by ministers. All of this has been authorised by ministerial decree with minimal Parliamentary involvement. It has been the most significant interference with personal freedom in the history of our

Tuesday

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

The BBC needs a reality check

One of my favourite moments of viewing in this strange and dark year was the outgoing director-general of the BBC, Tony Hall, explaining why the Corporation had decided to drop the singing of Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory from the Last Night of the Proms. The BBC had already, needlessly, dug itself a capacious hole and Tony had turned up with a big spade to continue the work. ‘The fact is we have come to the right conclusion, which is a creative and artistic conclusion,’ his emollience announced, his nose growing fractionally longer with every second of the interview. Earlier ‘BBC sources’ had – shamefully, out of cowardice –

Cindy Yu Cindy Yu

Is levelling up still viable in the age of Covid?

10 min listen

More than 50 Tory MPs have signed a letter organised by Jake Berry’s Northern Research Group, urging the government to not forget its pledge to level up the North. But does Boris Johnson need to recalibrate his ambitions in the age of Covid? Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and John Connolly. Tell us your thoughts on our podcasts and be in for a chance to win a bottle of Pol Roger champagne by filling out our podcast survey. Visit spectator.co.uk/podcastsurvey.