Politics

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

Monday

Lee Cohen

Mandelson is the wrong man, at the wrong time

Donald Trump’s campaign manager Chris LaCivita hardly minced his words on hearing that Peter Mandelson had been appointed as the British ambassador to the United States. Mandelson is an ‘absolute moron’, he said. While one might have chosen an alternative rhetorical style, there is no denying that Mandelson’s appointment at this particular moment in history is deeply problematic – it is emblematic of an out-of-touch Labour party incapable of deviating from the ideological misfortunes that have made it unpopular in such short order. The Starmer government’s decision to send this Blair disciple to Washington is extraordinary, at a time when a Trump administration poised for lift off. To add insult to injury, Mandelson

Sam Leith Sam Leith

Should AI be allowed to train itself off this column?

If you’re a writer, should AI companies be allowed to use your work to train their models without your permission? This is a matter of concern for many writers – as it is for artists, musicians, and anyone whose work is being harvested by the industry and spewed out as AI glop. It’s not just that it’s a bit galling to think that our work is being ripped off for free: it’s that, in the medium to long term, these large language models, if they can, will put writers out of jobs. (It’s Christmas – feel free to make the obvious jokes in the comments.) At present, AI companies have

Justin Brierley

The surprising truth about the West’s Christian revival

When weeping Parisians watched Notre Dame, the city’s beloved 800-year-old cathedral, being consumed by a devastating fire in 2019, it served as a sad symbol of the decimation of churchgoing itself in France. Ever since revolutionaries began decapitating priests and nuns in the 1790s, a precipitous decline in Catholic faith has been underway in the country. The ‘Last Supper’ debacle of last summer’s Olympic opening ceremony only served to cement the country’s famously secular reputation. In 2023, the number of people attending Church of England services increased by 5 per cent However, against all odds, the bells of Notre Dame will be ringing out again in time for Christmas Day.

Glynn Harrison

Come all ye unfaithful: why do we still go to carol services at Christmas?

This year, Christmas carol services are expected to draw their largest congregations since the pandemic. As numbers attending carol services swell, one central London church has appealed to its regular congregation to donate 12,000 mince pies to give away. Even in the wake of shocking revelations of religious abuse in recent years, those who rarely engage with faith may still find themselves stepping into cathedrals and parish churches this Christmas season. But why will we go? What are we looking for? Can all this sentimentalised longing really be good for us? The sights and sounds of Christmas stir emotions of altruism and goodwill, of warmth and cosiness, of well-being and

Robin Ashenden

Keir Starmer, the Christmas Grinch

If someone were to read the runes, this first Labour Christmas would not augur well. Not only have we had Keir Starmer’s excruciating ‘illuminations countdown’ in Downing Street – a joyless event if ever there was one – but also the cut-price Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square – perhaps the mangiest conifer the Norwegians, in their gratitude, have ever been able to dump on us. A Hampshire priest has been savaged for telling children that Santa Claus doesn’t exist and now, we’re informed, Gen Z have declared an outright hostility to turkey and trimmings. Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, a hoohah has sprung up about the

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

Is this Emmanuel Macron’s last Christmas as president?

Emmanuel Macron will deliver his traditional New Year’s Eve message to France next week, an event that one imagines is testing the skills of his speech writers. What to say after a year of unmitigated disaster? What is there for the French to look forward to 2025 other than more uncertainty, more insecurity and more economic woe? On Friday, the National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) announced that France’s public debt has risen again. It now stands at €3.3 trillion (£2.7 trillion) at end of the third quarter of 2024, equating to 113.7 per cent of GDP. There are signs that the pressure is getting to Macron Macron

Sunday

Steerpike Steerpike

Reform aim to overtake Tory membership in five weeks

It’s been a pretty good year for Nigel Farage. At the beginning of 2024, he was out of politics and fresh out of the jungle, having returned from I’m A Celeb… with no imminent plans of a comeback. Now, fast forward 12 months, he is an MP, party leader and beating Keir Starmer as a more popular choice of PM. Oh, and his bestie is back in the White House too. It might be a difficult act to top all that in 2025. Still, those eager beavers in Reform UK are nevertheless doing their damnedest to make life miserable for Kemi Badenoch and the Tories. Fresh from their Mayfair Xmas bash

Druin Burch

Lucy Letby and the killer nurse I worked with

Most of those commenting on the guilt or innocence of Lucy Letby – the nurse who is serving 15 whole-life jail terms for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others – don’t know what it’s like to work alongside a killer nurse. I do. Benjamin Geen, whom I worked with at Horton General Hospital in Banbury, Oxfordshire, took the lives of at least two patients during his time there. Something in the nature of our interest in murderers has a habit of making us forget logic Geen’s case has, like Letby’s, become popular with conspiracy theorists. Public fascination has been far greater with Letby. But the two cases share an attraction

Andrew Tettenborn

The EU can detect weakness in its dealings with Keir Starmer

Labour’s election promise to respect Brexit and at the same time reset our relations with the EU was easy to make. Keir Starmer must have realised that riding both these horses at the same time might be troublesome, but with an election to win he doubtless hoped for the best.  If so, he has been quickly disabused. Following tentative approaches to Brussels, it is clear that the Prime Minister faces a bleak choice: either come back with not much to show, or agree to a return of Euro-control over large swathes of UK life which the electorate will see for precisely for what it is; in name, if not in

Saturday

Katja Hoyer Katja Hoyer

How the Magdeburg Christmas market attack will change Germany

More than 200 people were injured and at least five lost their lives after a man ploughed a car into crowds at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg last night. Among those who were indiscriminately murdered was a small child. Like many Germans, I felt a deep, burning anger rising in me when I heard about the incident. It immediately brought back sickening memories of the 2016 Christmas market attack in Berlin in which 13 people were killed and dozens injured. My sister worked very closely nearby that day. I remember texting ‘Are you okay?’ with a shaky hand and waiting agonising minutes before her reply finally

Svitlana Morenets Svitlana Morenets

Is the Kursk operation still worth the cost?

Gruesome images of dead North Korean soldiers sprawled in the mud and snow have flooded military Telegram channels this week. Pyongyang’s troops joined the battle for Russia’s Kursk region, but so far haven’t been able to evade the Ukrainian drones. South Korean intelligence claimed that at least 100 North Korean soldiers have been killed and 1,000 wounded this month as Vladimir Putin races to strip Volodymyr Zelensky of his only bargaining chip before Donald Trump takes office in the US next month. Since November, Russia has deployed around 12,000 North Korean troops to reclaim the Kursk region from Ukrainians. The language barrier and difficulties with integration into Russian military ranks

Cindy Yu Cindy Yu

Year in Review 2024 with Michael Gove, Quentin Letts and Katy Balls

28 min listen

It’s been a historic year in British politics. At the start of 2024, the UK had a different Prime Minister, the Tories had a different leader, and The Spectator had a different editor! Michael Gove, Katy Balls, and Quentin Letts join Cindy Yu to review the biggest political stories of 2024. On the podcast, the panel discuss the rise of Reform UK and Nigel Farage as a political force, Labour’s adjustment to government, and Michael reveals his reaction to Rishi telling Cabinet that he was going for a summer election. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Megan McElroy.

Andrew Watts

Christmas II: Andrews Watts, Marcus Walker, Ali Kefford, Roger Lewis, Ayaan Hirsh Ali and Christopher Howse

48 min listen

On this week’s Christmas Out Loud – part two: Andrew Watts goes to santa school (1:11); Marcus Walker reads his priest’s notebook (7:20); Ali Kefford spends Christmas on patrol with submariners (12:34); Roger Lewis says good riddance to 2024, voiced by the actor Robert Bathurst (20:57); Ayaan Hirsh Ali argues that there is a Christian revival under way (32:41); and Christopher Howse reveals the weirdness behind Christmas carols (38:34).  Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Lisa Haseldine Lisa Haseldine

Five dead after German Christmas market attack

Five days before Christmas, Germany has again been plunged into grief. Just after 7 p.m. local time yesterday in the city of Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, a black BMW ploughed through a Christmas market, killing at least five and injuring more than 200. Hundreds of locals were enjoying the festive market at the time, buying gifts and enjoying the festivities with friends and family. A man has been arrested in connection with the attack. For many Germans, yesterday’s attack will bring back painful memories The alleged perpetrator is a 50-year-old psychotherapist originally from Saudi Arabia who had been legally living in Germany since 2006. As of this morning, his motive remained unclear,

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

Who is the worst political commentator?

We are approaching the deadline for the prestigious ‘Most Odious Political Commentator of the Year’ award. Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart’s joint bid is so far out in front of the pack, that the result is surely a foregone conclusion. But this should not deter us from running through some of the other noble contenders.  Owen Jones has had a quietish year, for which we should all be grateful I am keeping my eye on Newsnight’s Nick Watt as a dark horse. Frequently seen gracing Watt’s programme (and on which he was a staffer) is the ghastly Lewis Knowall, who plies his trade now with the shriekingly right-on Emily Maitlis on something

Kristina Murkett

Labour’s axing of Latin lessons is an act of cultural vandalism

The Labour government seems determined to undermine excellence in schools. The Department for Education has announced that from February it will be terminating its Latin Excellence Programme, which taught Latin to over 5,000 pupils, as part of a cost-saving measure. The cutback comes a month after an external review suggested ‘middle-class bias’ should be removed from the curriculum and that ‘high-brow pursuits’, such as ‘visits to museums, theatres and art galleries’, might be replaced with more ‘relatable’ activities such as graffiti workshops. This retrograde decision is deeply frustrating because it makes the so-called elitism surrounding Latin a self-fulfilling prophecy The decision to effectively end Latin lessons in some state schools is particularly

Patrick O’Flynn Patrick O'Flynn

The Trump effect will benefit Farage – and cost the Tories

At the start of a roller-coaster ride, a motorised chain pulls the carriages up to the highest point of the circuit, emitting a clanking sound as a ratchet takes effect. When the clanking stops those in the cars know they are about to go over the top. The canniest politicians across the western world are hearing such a clanking sound right now. In just a month’s time, the second term of President Donald Trump will get underway and those with the closest connections to it are promising us all a wild ride. According to Steve Bannon, Trump’s former senior adviser and continued confidant, we are going to see ‘as aggressive

Eliot Wilson

Is training troops in Ukraine a risk worth taking?

Defence Secretary John Healey has raised the possibility that British military personnel could be deployed to Ukraine to carry out training missions. On a visit to Kyiv this week, he spoke about a five-point plan for increasing the United Kingdom’s support for its beleaguered ally, one aspect of which would be to ‘make the training a better fit for what the Ukrainians need’. When he was asked whether that could encompass undertaking the mission in Ukraine rather than the UK, he was careful not to rule it out: ‘We will look wherever we can to respond to what the Ukrainians want. They are the ones fighting.’ Unfortunately, it’s not quite

Friday

Steerpike Steerpike

Labour councillor torches Starmer for by election loss

Another day and another thumping defeat for Keir Starmer. This time, it’s for one of three seats in the previously safe ward of Brockmoor and Pensnett in Dudley. Labour previously won here in July with almost 64 per cent of the vote. But, this morning, it transpires that they have now slumped to third in the West Midlands, winning just 28.9 per cent of ballots cast. The party’s candidate, Karen Jordan, finished beneath both Reform’s Richard Tasker and the Tories’ Alex Dale, who won on 35.4 per cent. Talk about a three-way split. Such is the anger of the local Labour group at the loss of this seat that one

Toby Young Toby Young

Should I become Lord Young of Loftus Road?

When the editor of this magazine called to congratulate me on being given a peerage, he said: ‘It’s QPR’s first win this season.’ Not quite right – we’ve actually won four games this season – but not far off. He touched a nerve because I’ve been thinking about what to call myself to maximise my chances of being appointed to QPR’s board. Would Lord Young of Loftus Road be too obvious? The other joke Michael made is that it shows Keir Starmer isn’t completely opposed to hereditary peers, given that my father was also a life peer. I hoped to be the first son of a life peer to be