Politics

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

Friday

Charlotte Henry

Ed Davey needs to grow up

Sir Ed Davey has released a Christmas single. No, really. Called ‘Love is Enough’, it is, of course, all in aid of a good cause. The Lib Dem leader has joined forces with the Bath Philharmonia’s Young Carers’ Choir to raise awareness of the difficulties encountered by young carers – something Sir Ed has personal experience of. You’ll forgive me for not reviewing the track itself because, as a heavy metal fan, I barely made it through the first 90 seconds. The issue, though, is not the lack of shredding guitar riffs but the ongoing lack of seriousness from a man who now leads the third-biggest party in the House

James Heale James Heale

Assisted dying bill passes second reading – what next?

14 min listen

The controversial assisted dying bill has passed its second reading in the House of Commons with a majority of 55 after just hours of debate. It now heads to committee stage for further scrutiny. What does the bill’s passing at this stage mean for its likelihood of eventually becoming law? And will Labour’s front bench unify behind the bill given the deep-seated opposition from figures such as Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood? James Heale discusses with Katy Balls and Michael Gove. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Cindy Yu.

Steerpike Steerpike

New MPs were more likely to back assisted dying

Does wisdom come with age? MPs have just voted by a margin of 55 to back a bill to legalise assisted suicide. In what was the first Commons vote on assisted death for a decade, MPs voted 330 to 275 in favour of the bill.  The new intake of parliamentarians – those first elected in 2024 or returning after an enforced absence – were nearly twice as likely to back assisted suicide than any other intake. You might think this is just because most of the new MPs sit on Labour’s benches. Well, perhaps. But this was a free vote on an issue of conscience so we wouldn’t necessarily expect

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Will the assisted dying bill become law?

The assisted dying bill has passed its second reading. After an emotionally charged debate, MPs have voted 330 to 275 in support of private members bill – a majority of 55. It means that Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater will now take her bill to committee stage for further scrutiny as parliament edges closer to giving some terminally ill people the right to end their lives in England and Wales. This comes after weeks of debate and criticism, including within Keir Starmer’s own cabinet – with both the Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood voicing concerns over the bill, which would allow those with just six months to

Coffee House

Full list: how the cabinet voted on assisted dying

This afternoon the House of Commons voted to support assisted dying for the first time. By a majority of 55, MPs decided to back Kim Leadbeater’s Private Members’ Bill, with 330 recorded ‘Aye’ votes against 275 ‘Nays.’ More than a third of the cabinet were against the move which the Prime Minister, Chancellor and Home Secretary all decided to support. Some 234 Labour MPs voted for the measure, with 147 against. By contrast, 92 Tories voted against it, with 23 – including Rishi Sunak – backing the measure. The party most in favour was the Liberal Democrats, with 61 of their 72 MPs supporting Leadbeater’s legislation and just 11 against.

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

MPs back assisted dying, but was the debate long enough?

The debate on assisted dying, which culminated in a victory for those in favour, hasn’t been long enough – we knew that from the start – but it has been a very good one. There have been some very powerful arguments on both sides. There has also been a division between those who think that voting for the legislation at this stage is merely a qualified agreement to let it receive further scrutiny, and those who see it as an endorsement, both of the principle and of the detail.  A number of MPs who spoke in favour, including David Davis and Liz Saville-Roberts, nonetheless raised concerns with the drafting, with

Alexander Kolyandr

Russia’s tanking ruble spells trouble for Putin

Russia’s ruble is in trouble. The currency has plunged to its lowest rate against the dollar since the weeks after the outbreak of war against Ukraine. On Wednesday, the ruble hit 110 against the dollar for the first time since 16 March 2022. The currency has recovered slightly, to 108 against the dollar this morning, but in Moscow people are worried. There are no good remedies for the Russian economy’s malaise apart from ending the war Russians who lived through the tumultuous years after the collapse of the Soviet Union know all about the dangers of currency devaluation. While, clearly, things aren’t as bad as they were in the 1990s,

Barry O’Halloran

Ireland has been living beyond its means for far too long

Today, an Irish election takes place which has seen parties from the left, right, and centre seek to outbid each other in making extravagant electoral promises.  While Irish government over-spending on vanity projects is nothing new, recently public service profligacy has risen to entirely new heights. €350,000 was forked out on a bicycle shed for parliamentarians. It seems it won’t even protect their bicycles from that most common form of Irish weather: rain.  Irish political leaders are extremely concerned that the incoming US President could kill the golden goose A children’s hospital that was scheduled to cost €650,000 is now running at €2.2 billion, and it’s still not finished. And the daddy

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Are MPs rising to the assisted dying debate?

What are MPs actually debating today? Some of them seem a bit confused. We have had two hours so far of the debate on the second reading of Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, and a number of them seem to be talking about entirely different  things. Some are poring over the detail of the legislation, with Leadbeater pointing to the safeguards she has had written into it, and Danny Kruger arguing that some of the definitions of the people who can act as a proxy for patient are too loose, meaning that there is still a risk of abuse of the legislation. But then, there have been others who have wanted

Ross Clark Ross Clark

What if assisted dying turned out to save lives?

Who would envy being an MP today when called upon to vote on a matter of conscience: the assisted dying bill? The issue cuts across party lines, and so whichever way they vote they will offend a good proportion of their own voters. But on the other hand, for once they are being trusted to use their own judgement rather than hiding behind party whips. That, surely, must be liberating. Might the comfort of knowing that assisted suicide were available at a later date dissuade able people from taking their lives? And which of us can say we haven’t found ourselves feeling that we must come down on one side or the other? I

Michael Simmons Michael Simmons

Does anyone know how many people live in Britain?

Can Britain trust its economic statistics? The nation’s arbiters of numerical truth, the Office for National Statistics, yesterday released what on the face of it was good news for the Home Office and a vindication of the previous Conservative government’s policies to reduce worker visas and the number of dependants of migrants arriving in the UK. But in truth – and in the same data dump – the previous year’s figure had been revised up so much (by 307,000) that had it not been, the net migration figure published yesterday would have matched the previous record high. These revisions matter. Douglas McWilliams, founder of the Centre for Economics and Business

James Heale James Heale

Louise Haigh’s resignation raises questions for Keir Starmer

11 min listen

In the small hours of this morning Louise Haigh resigned as Transport Secretary following the revelation that she had pleaded guilty to a criminal offence in 2014. Haigh admitted fraud by false representation at a magistrates’ court after she incorrectly told the police that a work mobile had been stolen in 2013. She was then convicted and received a conditional discharge. The incident occurred six months before she became an MP. Haigh had been in hot water just a month ago after her comments nearly cost the government a one billion-pound investment deal with P&O. Is her resignation a little too convenient for the Prime Minister?  James Heale speaks to

Polly Billington

Why I voted against the assisted dying bill

Why would anyone vote to prolong the suffering of others? That is the question that bears heavily on me and my colleagues as we prepare to vote on the private members bill to legalise assisted suicide today. It is with a heavy heart as a progressive that I will be voting against the bill. Reducing suffering is part of the reason people take part in public life. This is especially the case, if you believe as I do, in enabling people to have more control and autonomy over their lives.  This is not just about those with loving families and friends – we also have to protect the vulnerable from bad

Steerpike Steerpike

Tories take poll lead over Starmer’s Labour

Kemi Badenoch’s Tories have overtaken Labour for the first time in three years on The Spectator Data Hub’s poll tracker. This morning’s update gives the Conservatives a one-point lead over Keir Starmer’s Labour after a steady upward trend since July’s election. Steerpike wonders how much is down to Rishi Sunak’s surprisingly successful stint as leader of the opposition, Badenoch’s first few weeks in the job or Starmer’s ever sinking satisfaction ratings. The leftie leader now finds himself with more than half the country seeing him ‘unfavourably’ and with a net satisfaction rating of -29. Meanwhile, Mr S’s gambling friends note that both Badenoch and Starmer only have 50/50 odds at

Lucy Dunn

Will Ireland’s fed-up voters punish the Taoiseach in the snap election?

Will the elections taking place across Ireland today result in a whole new government? Not really, is the conclusion most Irish citizens seem to be coming to. ‘It’ll be the same two main parties in government – nothing will change,’ one hospitality manager notes reluctantly, nodding to the current three-party coalition in the Dáil of the centre-right Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil with the left-wing Greens. ‘Ireland likes a moderate government,’ another voter added. ‘Anything that’s not radical.’  Fine Gael has suffered an exodus of longstanding politicians The current Taoiseach, Fine Gael’s Simon Harris, saw his popularity soar by 17 points to 55 per cent just months after he replaced

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Kate Andrews, Mark Galeotti, Adrian Pascu-Tulbure, Michael Hann and Olivia Potts

31 min listen

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Kate Andrews examines the appointment of Scott Bessent as US Treasury Secretary (1:20); Mark Galeotti highlights Putin’s shadow campaign across Europe (7:10); Adrian Pascu-Tulbure reports on the surprising rise of Romania’s Calin Georgescu (15:45); Michael Hann reviews Irish bands Kneecap and Fontaines D.C. (22:54); and Olivia Potts provides her notes on London’s Smithfield Market, following the news it may close (27:28).  Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Louise Haigh’s resignation raises questions for Keir Starmer

Keir Starmer is one cabinet minister down. This morning Louise Haigh resigned as Transport Secretary following the revelation that she had pleaded guilty to a criminal offence in 2014. Haigh admitted fraud by false representation at a magistrates’ court after she incorrectly told the police that a work mobile had been stolen in 2013. She was then convicted and received a conditional discharge. The incident occurred six months before she became an MP. Starmer knew about the conviction prior to the press reports on Thursday Announcing her resignation this morning in a letter to the Prime Minister, Haigh said she remained ‘totally committed to our political project’ but had concluded

Brendan O’Neill Brendan O’Neill

There’s nothing radical about flying the Palestine flag

I have a confession to make: when those Maccabi Tel Aviv fans tore down a Palestine flag in Amsterdam a few weeks back, I let out a little cheer. Yes, I know the boisterous lads did other things in the Dutch capital that were definitely bad. The left never tires of telling us what thugs and brutes these young Israelis allegedly are. But that one act, that tiny revolt against the omnipresence of the Palestine colours in the cities of Europe – that I welcomed. If you want to be radical, wave the Israel flag For two reasons. First, because it made perfect sense to me that Israelis might feel

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

France is still fighting the tyranny of Islamophobia

It is almost ten years since I and two million Parisians walked through the French capital on a cold Sunday in January 2015. On our minds were the staff of Charlie Hebdo, murdered four days earlier by two Islamic extremists; in our hands were pens, crayons and pencils, brandished to demonstrate our faith in free speech. World leaders attended and the global unity was uplifting; but it turned out to be largely ephemeral, nowhere more than in Britain. Has Britain’s heart ever really been in the fight for free speech in the past decade? As Allison Pearson of the Daily Telegraph recently discovered, Essex Police no longer uphold the spirit

Thursday

James Heale James Heale

Transport Secretary admits to fraud conviction

In recent years, Labour has made great political hay out of allegations of rule-breaking. The party was never slow to criticise Boris Johnson’s government for breaches of lockdown, with Sir Keir keen to depict himself as ‘Mr Rules.’ So it is sub-optimal, to say the least, that a senior minister has tonight admitted pleading guilty to an offence connected with misleading the police while she was a parliamentary candidate. Louise Haigh, the Transport Secretary, appeared at Camberwell Green Magistrates’ Court six months before the 2015 general election, after making a false report to officers that her mobile phone had been stolen. Haigh claimed that she was ‘mugged while on a