Politics

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

Saturday

The Spectator

The government must be as ready to remove restrictions as it was to impose them

For days, the Prime Minister had been resisting the kind of measures which have placed many other countries into lockdown, confining their citizens largely to their homes. Civil servants had pointed to studies saying that many ‘social distancing’ strategies might do more harm than good. In the end, the trajectory of the virus — and the global response — meant the restrictions now in place were inevitable. But at every stage, the Prime Minister has made it clear he was acting with reluctance. While he has been criticised by those seeking a heavier-handed approach, opinion polls suggest most of the country is with him. Yet public opinion can be fickle.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

How will the ‘war’ on coronavirus change Britain?

In the past ten days we have seen the greatest expansion of state power in British history. The state has shut down huge swaths of the economy, taken on paying the bulk of the wages of millions of private sector workers, and told citizens that they can leave their homes only for a very limited number of approved activities. Boris Johnson likes to say that Britain is ‘at war’ with Covid-19. The parallel is hardly exact, but this expansion in state power is what you would expect in a war of national survival. It is worth remembering, as A.J.P Taylor wrote, that before ‘August 1914 a sensible, law-abiding Englishman could

Patrick O’Flynn Patrick O'Flynn

Boris’s coronavirus pragmatism is confounding his critics

If ever Britain has undergone a period of authoritarian socialism, then this is surely it. Massive state intervention in the economy is taking place alongside state direction of the activities of private citizens that is both intensive and extensive in nature. Yet there are few private sector tycoons to be found arguing not to receive state support or, for that matter, free enterprise economists claiming that the market will, left to its own devices, come up with an optimal solution to coronavirus. Meanwhile more than 90 per cent of us approve of the draconian limits placed on our individual freedom in pursuit of the collective good. And I say that

Katy Balls Katy Balls

William Hague: ‘We are heading for increased nationalism and socialism in the world’

What will the lasting impact of the coronavirus be in the UK? It’s a question William Hague attempts to help answer on this week’s The Edition podcast from The Spectator. The former foreign secretary joins James Forsyth to discuss the politics column in this week’s magazine. He says that any such forecast has to come with a very big caveat:  ‘It’s very hard to predict the longer term effects of a big change in world affairs – if we think of the end of the Cold War and the universal assumption that liberal democracy was going to triumph everywhere for the long term – well it didn’t work out that way’. However, Hague

Friday

Benedict Mcaleenan

The coronavirus crisis reveals the misery of ‘degrowth’

This is an economic horror show. According to YouGov, UK unemployment may have jumped five per cent in a matter of weeks. The consultancy CEBR estimates that global GDP may shrink by twice the rate seen in the Great Recession. This may be the worst hit to British people’s livelihoods since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Except one thing is different: this is a deliberate economic shutdown, made necessary to avoid a deeper, more human one. It isn’t that the economy is failing to work because the credit system has seized up as in 2008. We are actively contracting productive work in order to limit a tragedy. A recession it will

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

Boris can learn from Churchill as he battles coronavirus

As Boris Johnson self-isolates for seven days after testing positive for coronavirus, he must follow the example of his hero, Winston Churchill, in heeding the advice of his doctors. It was on the counsel of his chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, that the Prime Minister subjected himself to a test, which augurs well for the days ahead as he, in his own words ‘continues to lead the government’s response’ to coronavirus. In December 1943, Churchill’s physician, Sir Charles Wilson (Lord Moran), was quick to spot the signs that his friend of many years was not well. They had arrived in Cairo on December after an exhausting fortnight in which the

Steerpike Steerpike

Health Secretary Matt Hancock tests positive for coronavirus

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has just announced that he has also tested positive for coronavirus. Matt Hancock has tweeted out a video in which he says he has been suffering from mild symptoms of the disease and is now self-isolating at home.  His announcement follows the revelation by Boris Johnson that he has also contracted the disease. And, like his boss, Hancock will continue working from home to coordinate the government’s response.  The question now, though, is how many people in government also have coronavirus. Michael Gove’s wife Sarah Vine has said that her husband has not yet been tested because he’ is not displaying any of

Brendan O’Neill Brendan O’Neill

Derbyshire police should leave those dog walkers alone

The vast majority of Brits are behaving sensibly in this Covid-19 lockdown. It’s a shame the same can’t be said for some police forces. Some coppers are using this extraordinary emergency to throw their weight around and treat the public like aberrant schoolkids in need of a scolding. There’s a Stasi feel to some of the excessive policing of the lockdown. Consider Derbyshire police’s use of drones to spy on people walking in the Peak District. Like jumped-up busybodies, the Derbyshire force posted a tweet yesterday saying its drone unit had been flying over ‘beauty spots across the county’ capturing images of people taking a stroll. This is deeply sinister.

Katy Balls Katy Balls

What Boris Johnson’s coronavirus diagnosis means for the government

Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus. The Prime Minister took a test for the virus on Thursday at the advice of Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty after experiencing mild symptoms. As a result Johnson is now self-isolating in 10 Downing Street, a spokesman said: ‘After experiencing mild symptoms yesterday, the Prime Minister was tested for coronavirus on the personal advice of England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty. The test was carried out in No 10 by NHS staff and the result of the test was positive. In keeping with the guidance, the Prime Minister is self-isolating in Downing Street. He is continuing to lead the government’s response to coronavirus.’ So,

Katy Balls Katy Balls

The Lisa Nandy Edition

30 min listen

Lisa Nandy is the Labour MP for Wigan and former shadow energy secretary. She is one of the remaining three contenders for Labour leader. On the podcast, she talks to Katy about her childhood ambitions, cross-party friendships, and the worst advice she’s ever been given.

Anthony Browne

Corbyn is wrong to say coronavirus proves the need for socialism

Jeremy Corbyn’s claim that the Conservative government’s economic response to the coronavirus package shows that his policies were right proves what an astonishingly poor grasp of economics he has. The economic rescue package has involved a massive increase in spending and borrowing, and also a temporary part nationalisation of people’s wages – both things he has argued for. But the circumstances are totally different and what helps in an unprecedented crisis can be massively damaging if carried out in normal times. In medicine, some life-saving treatments can be life-threatening if inflicted on a healthy patient. If someone’s heart has stopped, it can be right to put electric pads on their

Thursday

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

The Chancellor’s warning about the state of Britain’s finances

The Chancellor’s emergency package for the self-employed is one of the most generous schemes to be offered worldwide so far, covering up to 95 per cent of the UK’s self-employed workforce. The details of the scheme, explained here, include a taxable grant worth up to 80 per cent of one’s profits over the past three years, capped at £2,500pm – notably on par with salaried workers who earn, on average, £340 more each month than self-employed workers. There were plenty of potential pitfalls and unnecessary giveaways the Treasury managed to dodge: wary of dishing out cash to super-wealthy contractors and consultants, the Chancellor has only opened the scheme to workers trading with profits up to

Kieran Mullan

The front line: how the NHS is preparing for battle

39 min listen

How prepared is the NHS for the coming battle with coronavirus (1:20)? Plus, what will Britain look like after the epidemic (12:20)? And last, just how are children so good at make-believe (29:25)? With Dr Max Pemberton, Dr Kieran Mullan, James Forsyth, William Hague, Mary Wakefield and Piers Torday. Presented by Cindy Yu and Katy Balls. Produced by Cindy Yu and Gus Carter.

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Rishi Sunak offers support for self-employed – but there could be a sting in the tail

After a week of speculation, the Chancellor used today’s coronavirus press conference to unveil the government package to help the self-employed. Announcing the new measures, Rishi Sunak said that the reason for the delay had been the sheer complexity of having to come up with a new payment system that could cover such a diverse workforce and not fall victim to fraud.  The new self-employed income support scheme means the self-employed can receive up to £2,500 per month in grants for three months. Sunak said the package covers 95 per cent people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment. Those who are not eligible include individuals with company profits over £50,000 and

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Two ways the coronavirus crisis will change Britain’s relationship with China

Coronavirus, and the response to it, is going to change a lot of things about UK politics. Perhaps, the biggest shift will come in this country’s attitude to China. I write in the magazine this week that the desire for supply chain security, and particularly for medical goods, will lead to a national policy aim of manufacturing more here. In the same way that policy makers wanted to achieve ‘food security’ after World War Two, coronavirus will lead to a desire for ‘medical security’: that’ll mean the ability to produce medical equipment, vaccines and drugs here. When I asked one influential government figure what the most significant change brought about by

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Surge in US welfare claims shows the devastating impact of Covid-19

No one has modelled an economic lockdown before: no one knows what to expect. But the daily data is shocking, and points to a huge economic effect. In Britain, nearly 500,000 people applied for welfare (Universal Credit) over the last nine days. In America, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits surged to an unprecedented three million last week.  What has yet to be calculated (but urgently needs to be) is the human cost of all this We simply have not seen anything like this before, not even during the financial crash: the Covid crash has led to 3,283,000 claims – quadruple the previous record-high of around 700,000 in 1982. This

John Keiger John Keiger

‘Germany will pay!’ is Macron’s coronavirus mantra

In his broadcast to the nation ten days ago, president Macron tub-thumped his war campaign on coronavirus. Six times he repeated the word ‘war’. Yesterday, he visited the front: Mulhouse in Alsace, on the Franco-German border, where France’s largest virus cluster is overwhelming the region’s hospitals. Live TV saw him, masked up, in an army field hospital, surrounded by soldiers in combat gear. From there he spoke again to the nation. France, he intoned, was at war in this region, a region scarred by past wars. By remaining united France would defeat the coronavirus enemy. And he launched military ‘Operation Résilience’ to take the combat further. Macron’s advisors have allegedly been

Joanna Rossiter Joanna Rossiter

What does coronavirus mean for the climate ‘crisis’?

A strange thing happened as coronavirus reached Europe’s shores. Concepts like ‘net zero’ and ‘climate crisis’ which had previously dominated the agenda vanished overnight.  While the vast majority of people have accepted this change of tack in the fight against the virus, there have been some environmentalists who seem to be put out at seeing their cause shunted down the list of political priorities. Only this week, photos surfaced on Twitter of posters attributed to Extinction Rebellion (which denies any connection to what it calls a ‘fake account’) claiming that Covid-19 was an effective tool in reducing the size of the human race. ‘Corona is the cure, humans are the disease’, the