Politics

As the long-overdue intelligence and security committee report into Russian interference in the UK is finally published – after a needless and politicised delay – most eyes are (rightly) focused on claims around Brexit, Russian infiltration of the British establishment and killings on UK soil. But there’s a section of the report that, while less immediately startling, must not be missed and it comes as the report discusses potential threats to UK elections, referendums and our broader political process. There’s some reassurance in the fact that our low-tech election system, which is still primarily based on manually counting paper ballots marked by pencil (or pens, if you bring your own),

So there you go. There is still no hard evidence that Russia interfered in the EU referendum. What’s more, it would be ‘difficult — if not impossible — to prove’ the existence of Russian meddling. Can we now, please, put the Russia-Brexit conspiracy theory to bed? The quote above comes from the Intelligence and Security Committee’s long-awaited Russia report, published this morning. Some people, especially hard-line Remainers, have been waiting for this report with bated breath. They hoped it would back up their conviction that the mass vote for Brexit in 2016 was essentially the handiwork of pesky Ruskies who infiltrated our public life and brainwashed the electorate into voting

The release of the Russia report has long been a cause championed by some Remainers. The idea took hold that sitting in some select committee chamber was a report detailing how the 2016 EU referendum was influenced by Russian state actors to such a degree that it materially affected the result. The government has been trying to stifle the release of the report for that precise reason; once it sees the light of day, the Russia report will be the thing that turns the tide on Brexit. It will become so apparent that the referendum result happened via bent means, Leavers will have their false consciousness ripped away and leaving

It is often written that the Labour party has an enormous electoral mountain to climb in order to win a majority at the next general election – or possibly, even the general election after that. What isn’t evaluated enough is what this means in hard, psephological terms. Winning substantially in Scotland appears to be getting harder and harder by the day, with the SNP looking indomitable. This means that Labour has to win in England and Wales on a Blair-style majority – perhaps even bigger than Blair given the Scottish problem. All this leads to one conclusion: Labour has to figure out how to win again in seats with a

Dominic Raab has this afternoon confirmed that the UK will suspend its extradition treaty with Hong Kong ‘immediately and indefinitely’. Speaking in the Commons chamber, the Foreign Secretary said the imposition of China’s controversial security law in Hong Kong amounted to a ‘serious violation’ of the country’s international obligations and as a result the UK had little choice but to take action. On top of the suspension, Raab said the government would extend its arms embargo to Hong Kong, thereby preventing the UK exporting firearms, smoke grenades and other such items. What was striking about Raab’s statement was the effort he took – on numerous occasions – to stress that this government wants

What are we thinking about Dame Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner whose officers have lately ‘taken a knee’ at unlawful protests, failed to prevent the defacing of cherished national monuments, been injured in their scores and chased out of London housing estates? Weak, woke and woeful, right? That was certainly my view. Indeed, I was one of many calling for her to be replaced by a more robust police leader. Until, that is, I found myself reading the full transcript of her appearance before the Commons home affairs select committee earlier this month. Now I have come to appreciate that, in reality, she is a capable and intelligent leader