Politics

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

Friday

Cindy Yu Cindy Yu

The Spectator Podcast: who are the real far right?

Is Europe overrun by fascists? To read some mainstream coverage of election results in Italy, the government in Austria, and the main opposition party in Germany, you might very well think so. Matteo Salvini, Sebastian Kurz, and the AfD are all among politicians who have been dubbed ‘far right’; and indeed, Britain’s own Jacob Rees-Mogg has had the Nazi label thrown at him, by fellow MP David Lammy, no less. But are these politicians really in a league with Hitler and Mussolini? If not, what is the far right, today? In this week’s cover article, Douglas Murray draws the red lines that should mark the true far right. There is

Thursday

The Spectator

Where’s Boris?

Before Boris Johnson became Prime Minister there was widespread expectation that his government would be chaotic. It was thought that he would be good at articulating the broad sweep of government policy, but that his administration would quickly sink into turmoil. In the event, the opposite has happened. Three weeks on, the government appears to be running with almost military precision. Preparations for no-deal Brexit seem to be well under control, to the alarm of Philip Hammond, who had thought the task impossible. Yet the Prime Minister himself seems to have gone underground. He is not on holiday — his government is working all hours. But he has not been

Peter Jones

Boris Augustus

The Tories, allegedly a ‘one-nation’ party, are currently imposing Brexit on a divided nation. As a result, some Tory MPs will vote against Brexit, effectively abandoning the party. This raises the question of political values – the question being, what happens after Brexit? Romans faced the same problem when the republic collapsed (27 bc) and Augustus became emperor. The Roman historian Tacitus, looking back at those events some 140 years later, summarised how Augustus achieved supreme power: he charmed the army with bonuses, the people with cheap corn, and everyone with the beguiling pleasures of peace. He then gradually took over the functions of the senate, the magistratus (officers of

Rachel Johnson

Diary – 15 August 2019

I lay low during the ‘season’ as I can’t think what to say to people any more. I went to only two summer parties, a personal worst for me: Lady Annabel Goldsmith’s annual gold-plater in Richmond, and Jenni Russell and Stephen Lambert’s Notting Hill do, where I found myself introducing David Cameron to Seumas Milne. ‘You were at Eton and you went to Winchester,’ I said, as if the pair were shy teenagers at the Feathers Ball before the snogging, ‘so you two should get on like a house on fire!’ Seumas tried to recruit me in 2017 but I never came across. ‘Which party should I enter as a

Bernard Connolly

How to make sense of Jeremy Corbyn’s pitch to Remainers

What is Jeremy Corbyn up to? The appeal in his letter to Remainers in the Commons to turf Boris Johnson out, and magically transform the Leader of the Opposition into an ‘interim’ Prime Minister – one who would block not just a no-deal Brexit but any Brexit at all, looks like something out of a Bulgakov novel. But there is a sensible – at least from Corbyn’s point of view – purpose behind it. Few of the various ex-Labour and ex-Conservative independent MPs are likely to support the appeal. Many Corbyn-despising Labour MPs will not back it. A couple of Tories might decide to end their parliamentary careers endorsing it.

Alexander Pelling-Bruce Alexander Pelling-Bruce

Why October 10th is Boris Johnson’s best bet for a snap election

Boris Johnson thrives on risk. His political life so far has consisted of a succession of gambles that have paid off: leaving the Commons to be Tory mayoral candidate in a Labour-voting city; choosing Leave in the referendum against the odds and the establishment; resigning as foreign secretary; and then becoming Prime Minister when many thought he was a busted flush. These decisions are the marks of a man from whom we ought to expect the unexpected. And there is good reason for him to now make the ultimate bet and call a snap election. It’s now widely assumed that Jeremy Corbyn will table a motion of no confidence soon

Steerpike Steerpike

Tory MP: PM Corbyn better than no-deal Brexit

When Jeremy Corbyn put forward his proposal to MPs to help him become prime minister in order to block a no-deal Brexit, the response from the Lib Dems was clear: no. But the Labour leader’s plan has had a warmer reception in an unlikely place – on the Tory backbenches. Guto Bebb told his fellow MPs that if they wanted to stop Britain leaving the EU without a deal, they should take Corbyn’s idea seriously: ‘I certainly take the view that a short-term Jeremy Corbyn government is less damaging than the generational damage that would be caused by a no-deal Brexit’ Mr S thinks Bebb might have some difficulty persuading

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Corbyn’s Brexit offer puts Jo Swinson under pressure

The recurring story of the summer recess is the plot to form a government of national unity in order to thwart any No. 10 plans for a no-deal Brexit. Anti no-deal MPs have discussed voting down Boris Johnson’s government when Parliament returns in September and then using the two week grace period that follows to form a government of national unity. There are several catches to this plan – one potentially big flaw is that people in No. 10 believe Johnson can simply refuse to stand down, wait the two weeks out and then decide the date of the election that would follow. However, the biggest problem is that to

Steerpike Steerpike

If Boris is Pericles, does that make Rees-Mogg Cato the Younger?

Who is Boris Johnson’s political hero? ‘Obviously Winston Churchill,’ said the Prime Minister yesterday. But Boris also named another figure from antiquity who has inspired him: Pericles of Athens. ‘He believed in the importance of the many, not the few,’ said Boris, helping himself to Labour’s slogan. Boris and Pericles have a few things in common, notes Mr S. Not least a love of speaking and having a younger girlfriend: Pericles’s partner was 25 years his junior, while Carrie and Boris Johnson have a 25-year age gap. So if Boris is Pericles, which other Greco-Roman figures are today’s politicians following in the footsteps of?  Priti Patel – Draco The Home Secretary has

Steerpike Steerpike

Sarah Wollaston’s convenient change of heart

Sarah Wollaston’s decision to take the Liberal Democrat whip is not altogether surprising. What might surprise her constituents, however, is the MP’s announcement that she will continue as their representative without seeking a second vote. After all, Wollaston’s voters at the 2017 general election didn’t have all the facts – they didn’t know what they were voting for. Asked if she might consider putting the decision back to the people, the Totnes MP told Sky News: ‘If I were to call a by-election at the moment, all that would happen would be that we would effectively be increasing the government’s majority over the period of a constitutional crisis. That’s not

William Cook

Alexander Waugh is the Brexit party’s most illustrious candidate

At the next General Election, the lucky constituents of Bridgwater and West Somerset will find an illustrious name on their ballot papers. The Brexit party have unveiled their latest prospective parliamentary candidates, and the candidate they’ve chosen to contest this seat is Alexander Waugh. Alexander Waugh is a first-rate writer – a shrewd critic, an astute biographer and an occasional contributor to The Spectator. He’s also the grandson of one of England’s greatest novelists, Evelyn Waugh, and the son of one of England’s finest journalists – the late, great Spectator columnist Auberon Waugh. Alexander’s writing invites comparison with his father’s writing, and his grandfather’s. His adoption as a Brexit party

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Taking back control

Every Friday at 6 p.m. government aides are summoned to No. 10 Downing Street for a meeting with Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s right-hand man. Here they are plied with alcoholic beverages, updated on the latest government messaging and given instructions for the week ahead. Such meetings seldom happened under the old Theresa May regime: Fridays were a bit of a non-event when ministers were in their constituencies and aides worked hard right up to lunchtime. The new end-of-week meeting register means that is no longer an option. At the most recent meeting, a handful of aides were singled out for good behaviour. Their achievement? Reporting the minister they work for

Douglas Murray

War of words | 15 August 2019

Italy is preparing to go back to the polls and this time Matteo Salvini looks set to return as the undisputed king of Italian politics. His Lega party (formerly the Northern League) has split with its coalition partner, the Five Star movement. For Salvini, the appeal of a general election is obvious: Five Star’s popularity has slumped during the 14-month government, but Lega’s has soared. It now boasts of being the biggest party not only in the north of Italy but — previously unimaginably — in the south. So Salvini can now ditch his coalition partner and seek his own majority. If he succeeds, this will cause fresh headaches for

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

An all-female cabinet? Insert your own joke here

I wonder what Jacques Derrida would have made of the new leader of the UK Independence party? In the philosopher’s typically readable and sensible tract On the Name, Derrida muses: ‘The name: What does one call thus? What does one understand under the name of name? And what occurs when one gives a name? What does one give then?’ All good questions, Jacques. The new leader of Ukip is called Dick Braine. I expect he will prefer, perhaps insist, upon being known as ‘Richard’. Or perhaps this is the way Ukip intends to continue, with its rapidly changing leaders henceforth each chosen for an apt and mildly offensive nomenclature: Bob

Martin Vander Weyer Martin Vander Weyer

If investors are fleeing to gold this is not the time to be smug

It came as no great surprise that the UK economy contracted by 0.2 per cent in the second quarter, following a first quarter in which growth had been artificially boosted to 0.5 per cent by stockpiling ahead of the original 29 March Brexit deadline. It’s fair to claim, as our editorial did two weeks ago, that the UK has performed better than expected for the past three years — particularly in terms of job numbers, which rose again in April to June despite the growth setback. True also that we’re in no worse shape than our European neighbours, and that our flexible, if painful, exchange rate will help us cope

Peter Oborne

India’s land grab

Frank Johnson, editor of The Spectator until cruelly sacked to make way for Boris Johnson, never wasted ideas. He liked to reuse them. Often. Every summer he would write the same column attacking the silly season. August, Mr Johnson maintained, was not silly at all. The first world war started in August. The Nazi-Soviet pact was signed in August. Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland in August. Saddam Hussein marched into Kuwait also in the horror month of August. Once again August has vindicated Mr Johnson — and not only because of Brexit. Darkness has descended on the former princely state of (British-controlled) Kashmir. Meanwhile freedom is dying in the

Wednesday

Richard Walton

How police can take back control of Britain’s streets

Boris Johnson’s pledge to fund an extra 20,000 police officers was a serious sign of intent, a game-changing moment for policing and a huge boost for law and order on Britain’s streets. But how can these new officers quickly reverse the spike in knife and violent crime that has plagued Britain? There are six pressing challenges that the new Home Secretary Priti Patel needs to address if she is to succeed in her strategy to crack down on crime: increasing crime levels, greater demands and reduced budgets for police; decline in neighbourhood officers; new national security threats; a disempowered police workforce and a policing model outpaced by technology. It is clear that neighbourhood policing

Steven Fielding

The real reason Corbynites turned on Caroline Lucas and the Greens

Caroline Lucas’s plan for an all-female emergency Cabinet to stop a no-deal Brexit is a fantasy, with no prospect of success. But if the plan is daft, it has provoked a revealing reaction from Jeremy Corbyn’s loyal outriders. Instead of laughing it off, many have taken it deadly seriously. Most have focused their attack on the ethnicity of the women Lucas chose to enlist: they were all white. Reasonably enough, they asked why shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, was overlooked. Recognising her mistake, Lucas apologised. But instead of giving Lucas – probably the most politically correct member of the Commons – the benefit of the doubt, the Corbynite response has been

Robert Peston Robert Peston

Jeremy Corbyn’s mystifying Brexit stance continues

A Labour party that goes into the looming general election campaigning for a new Brexit referendum, which Jeremy Corbyn says it will do, will delight Boris Johnson and fill EU leaders with despair. Because Johnson will think millions of British people will recoil at the idea of a general election followed by a referendum in quick succession. And Johnson will also be delighted that he would face a warring opposition, since Lib Dems, Greens, SNP and Plaid Cymru are clear the UK must stay in the EU, whereas Corbyn’s Labour isn’t sure. Also EU leaders will be despondent that the UK under Corbyn’s plan may still not have made up its

James Kirkup James Kirkup

A-levels vs BTECs is the story of British politics

Exam question: what percentage of 17 and 18-year-olds sit A-levels? The answer – I’ll come to it in a bit – might just be the most important fact in British politics that most people in British politics don’t know. I ask because this is A-level results week, the annual festival of photogenic teenagers jumping joyously to mark their results and annoying celebrities sharing think-positive truisms about failing your exams not being the end of the world. It’s all lovely and familiar and predictable and utterly missing the big picture. That big picture is this: A-level day caused Brexit, makes Britain a divided and unfair country, entrenches inequality, celebrates unfairness and