Politics

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

Wednesday

Philip Patrick Philip Patrick

The real reason female footballers aren’t on birthday cards

Oh dear… it appears that birthday and greetings cards are sexist. This is, at least, the claim of a group of MPs who have submitted an EDM (Early Day Motion) calling for more representation of female footballers on such items by their manufacturers. The motion was tabled by Liberal Democrat MP for Epsom and Ewell, Helen Maguire, who told the BBC that the greeting card industry was ‘not moving with the times’.  Perhaps it is not the companies who are sexist then but the public? I certainly am Poor Ms Maguire explained how she had been motivated by the trauma of searching for a card for her ‘massive football fan’ office manager

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

This was Badenoch’s best PMQs yet

Kemi Badenoch had her best Prime Minister’s Questions yet today. She alighted on a topic that Keir Starmer really struggled to answer questions on and which should blow up as a row further in the coming weeks. The Tory leader devoted her six questions to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, and specifically the reforms that legislation contains on academy freedoms, standards and teacher pay. She called it an ‘act of vandalism that is wrecking a cross party consensus’ by reversing the improvements that led to English school children topping the league tables.  What was interesting was that while the Prime Minister repeatedly insisted throughout the session that his party

Steerpike Steerpike

Starmer’s academies U-turn

Today’s PMQs won’t go down in history as Sir Keir Starmer’s finest half hour, with the PM losing marks over his performance on education. It seems the Labour politician has reverted to his old ways, with yet another Starmer U-turn making an appearance at today’s session. Quelle surprise… Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch went in hard on the schools bill, blasting the Labour lot for wanting to row back on measures that propelled English schools to the top of Western league tables. ‘This bill is an act of vandalism,’ Badenoch declared. Pulling no punches, the Tory leader went on: It is wrecking a cross-party consensus that lasted for decades… This bill

Ian Leslie

Classical music is worth the effort

Last week I attended a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No.3 at the Barbican Centre in the City of London. Gustavo Dudamel conducted his former orchestra, which he nurtured to global fame: the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra from Venezuela. It was a special night, as pretty much every performance of this symphony is. Mahler’s third is gigantic in every sense. His level of ambition for it was insane. He set out to do nothing less than capture the whole world: the creation of the earth, mountains and valleys, flora and fauna; all of music, high and low: the village band, church choir and Romantic orchestra; and all of humanity: joy and nostalgia and

Oscar Edmondson

Should Rachel Reeves be at Davos?

12 min listen

It’s Davos day two, and Rachel Reeves has touched down in Switzerland to continue her hunt for growth. On the agenda today was a fireside chat with the Business Secretary on ‘The Year Ahead for the UK’, and she will also be attending a series of meetings with business leaders. The party line is that ‘the time to invest in Britain is now’; however, she will be doing this from the sidelines, having not been given one of the headline speaking slots. Can she bring home the bacon? And why is Davos so important? Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and Rupert Harrison, former chief of staff to George Osborne.

James Hanson

How Donald Trump could really help Ukraine

There was surprisingly little in Donald Trump’s inaugural address about Russia and Ukraine, aside from a vague pledge to ‘stop all wars’. There was certainly no repeat of his campaign trail promise to end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office.  But, while answering reporters’ questions in the Oval Office as he signed a flurry of executive orders, Trump did comment on Zelensky and Putin – the two men he wants to bring to the negotiating table. ‘Zelensky wants to make a deal’ said Trump. He ‘didn’t know’ if Putin does too, but ‘he should’. And then the returning president said something far more revealing: he claimed Putin was

Steerpike Steerpike

Five failings of the assisted dying committee

Back in November, MPs waved through Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill by 330 votes to 275. Some of those who backed it at second reading claimed they were not yet convinced about the merits of the measure, suggesting they would need more time to scrutinise the legislation. Supporters oozed assurances: there would be ample scope at the committee stage. So, with the 23-man committee now up and running, Mr S thought he would check in on how it is all going. Sadly, it seems the pro-euthanasia lobby is not exactly playing Marquess of Queensbury rules. With MPs due to start hearing evidence and debating amendments next week, Mr S has

Steerpike Steerpike

BBC under fire over Trump coverage

Uh oh. The Beeb’s back in the spotlight – and this time it’s over some rather interesting reporting on the inauguration of Donald Trump. A new row over BBC bias has broken out after part of its coverage suggested the Republican’s election victory was built on ‘fear’. Er, right. The corporation’s senior North America correspondent John Sudworth told viewers on Monday that ‘it was fear that gave Mr Trump his mandate’, adding: On the campaign trail, Donald Trump drove his message of fear all the way to the White House but it was based on a misconception. Rather than an invasion, America has long been dependent on the work of

Alexander Larman

Prince Harry has won a Pyrrhic victory over the Sun

So, in the end, Prince Harry folded. His much-ballyhooed case about News Group Newspapers, publishers of the Sun, which was due to begin in the High Court today and last for eight weeks, has concluded. The writing was on the wall yesterday, when Harry’s lawyer David Sherborne and News Group Newspapers’ barrister Anthony Hudson appeared to be inching towards a settlement, which has now duly occurred. The Duke has avoided litigation in favour of a lucrative settlement The no doubt considerable financial terms have not been disclosed. But as part of the agreement, NGN has issued a series of “full and unequivocal” apologies to the Duke of Sussex for “the

David Shipley

Are we missing the point about the ‘Amazon killer’ Axel Rudakubana?

‘The Amazon Killer’, screams the Sun front page today. ‘Total disgrace he was able to buy knife on Amazon,’ says the Daily Mirror. The backlash to the news that Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana brought his weapon online has been swift. But blaming Amazon for what happened on that horrific day last summer is missing the point. Rudakubana admitted to carrying a knife ten times Rudakubana, who was 17 when he attacked a group of children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July, was a troubled individual who had a history of carrying knives. His guilty plea this week has meant that details of his case – and the shocking

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Rachel Reeves’ tinkering won’t rescue Britain’s economy

The news just seems to get worse for Rachel Reeves. After the slight relief of last week’s inflation and GDP figures, this morning brings headlines that are even grimmer than economists expected. The government was forced to borrow £17.8 billion in December, more than twice the £6.7 billion which Rishi Sunak’s government borrowed in December 2023. In just one month, taxpayers had to spend £8.3 billion to service the government’s debt. Interest payments are now consuming over 8 per cent of government expenditure – more than is spent on education or defence – and very nearly as much as the welfare bill, which is itself ballooning. The Chancellor’s immediate problem is that

Charles Lipson

Donald Trump is a president in a hurry

“The First Hundred Days” was the iconic phrase for Franklin Roosevelt’s rapid-fire acts as the new president. Donald Trump intends to top that with “The First Hundred Hours.” Three months is far too slow for the new president. He made that clear by signing some 200 executive orders on his first day back in office. The media has focused on the substance of those orders, and understandably so. But their substantive content, on the border, birthright citizenship, DEI (Diversity, equity, and inclusion) and more, is only half the story. The other half is the swift, decisive process. Trump had those orders prepared during the weeks between his election in early

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Nine reasons why Trump means business this time

Since Franklin D. Roosevelt, every new US administration has been judged on its first hundred days, but it is in the first 24 hours, with a flurry of executive orders and memorandums, that a president sets the tone for the coming four years. The first 24 hours hint at nine themes that will define Donald Trump’s second administration. Trump is determined to settle scores Theme one: Trump II will see ‘America First’ placed at the heart of White House policy even more so than during Trump I. Among the memorandums issued from the Oval Office after noon on Monday was one outlining an ‘America First trade policy’, a revival of

Jawad Iqbal

Is Starmer right about the ‘new’ terror threat?

Sir Keir Starmer was explicit in his response to the Southport attack: Britain faces a new terror threat from “loners, misfits (and) young men in their bedroom(s)” radicalised by online violence. There is to be a public inquiry into the state failures that allowed Axel Rudakubana to murder three young girls in Southport in one of the worst attacks on children in UK history. The Prime Minister said the horrific attack last year must be “a line in the sand”. He vowed to change terror laws to deal with lone killers, to ensure that perpetrators like Rudakubana could be charged with terror offences despite having no coherent ideology. The phenomenon

Tuesday

Steerpike Steerpike

SNP minister admits misleading parliament over Limogate

Well, well, well. Just when the Scottish government thought it had steadied the SNP ship after two rather tumultuous years, another scandal has hit the party. Health Secretary Neil Gray is in the spotlight after it transpired that he had been using taxpayer-funded ministerial cars to take him to sports matches in the latest ‘Limogate’ development. Gray had initially claimed he attended matches in a work capacity and had minutes for every meeting – but this evening the SNP minister has now admitted to inadvertently misleading MSPs over the matter. Between 2022 and 2024, Gray attended nine football matches involving Aberdeen or Scotland using taxpayer-funded, chauffeur-driven cars. His attendance at the 2023

James Kirkup James Kirkup

Southport and the problem with judge-led inquiries

Sir Keir Starmer has promised an inquiry into the events around the Southport murders committed by Axel Rudakubana, saying there are questions about the ‘Westminster system’. ‘I’m angry about it,’ the Prime Minister says. ‘Nothing will be off the table in this inquiry.’ It is not yet clear who will run that inquiry, or how. There will no doubt be an assumption that the inquiry must be on a statutory footing and led by a judge. Such inquiries are generally seen as the gold standard; anything that isn’t a statutory inquiry led by a judge will likely lead to political trouble for the Prime Minister. But is appointing a judge

Steerpike Steerpike

Will Trump deport Prince Harry?

To the US, where President Trump is busy making the most of his return to the top job. At his inauguration on Monday, the Republican president was keen to hammer home just how much he wants to change during his time in office – even signing a number of executive orders during the event, to the delight of adoring crowds. From leaving the World Health Organisation to renaming the Gulf of Mexico, President Trump has made it clear he’s here to shake things up. And this could spell trouble for one particular Prince. The monarch of Montecito could end up Trump’s next target – after the US President vowed to

Matt Ridley

Why has Biden pardoned Anthony Fauci?

Joe Biden left it until the last minute to issue a pre-emptive pardon of Anthony Fauci for any offence committed since 2014 in his work on ‘the White House Coronavirus Task Force or the White House Covid-19 Response Team, or as Chief Medical Advisor to the President.’ Yet surely Covid began in 2019, not 2014? The significance of 2014 is that this was when the Obama administration responded to anxiety among some scientists about a series of experiments that made influenza viruses potentially more dangerous to people – by banning federal funding for any such gain-of-function experiments. Yet from June 2014 money flowed from Fauci’s National Institute for Allergy and

Steerpike Steerpike

What Rishi Sunak did next

It wasn’t so long ago that political commentators and Tory MPs alike were confidently predicting that Rishi Sunak would leave No. 10 and head straight for California to start a new life. In his final appearance at the despatch box for Prime Minister’s Questions, Sunak made light of the rumours as he teased MPs that he was ‘happy to confirm reports that I will now be spending more time in the greatest place on Earth’… before going on to clarify that he’d be in his constituency in Yorkshire. Today there are more details of how Sunak really plans to spend his time on the backbenches. In a statement from ‘The

James Heale James Heale

Can Reeves get Heathrow’s third runway off the ground?

After last week’s bond market jitters, the Chancellor pledged to go ‘further and faster’ to improve the UK’s anaemic economic growth. An early test of that resolve looks now to be looming in the familiar form of a third runway at Heathrow airport. As I reported earlier this month, Reeves is poised to make a swathe of announcements intended to increase economic growth in a speech later this month. Among them includes giving a political green light to Heathrow’s third runway and an expansion of Gatwick and Luton airports, according to Bloomberg. Successive governments – of various stripes – have ducked Heathrow expansion for decades, with the airport’s last remaining