Politics

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

Wednesday

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Labour MP calls for blasphemy law

Oh dear. Tahir Ali is at it again. It was only ten months ago that he had to apologise after claiming at PMQs that Rishi Sunak had ‘the blood of thousands of innocent people on his hands’. But the controversies of the past don’t seem to have blunted the Honourable Member for Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley. For the Labour MP has today asked whether, er, he might consider the reintroduction of blasphemy laws. So much for a politics that treads more gently on people’s lives… Ali asked Starmer ‘Will the Prime Minister commit to introducing measures to prohibit the desecration of all religious texts and the prophets of the

Michael Simmons Michael Simmons

Who should Labour target to ‘get Britain working’?

Labour talks of having the ‘bold ambition of an 80 per cent employment rate’. But who should they target to get there? The government published its white paper this week on ‘getting Britain working’ and tackling the growing health and disability benefits bill, which is forecast to hit £120 billion.  Figures slipped out by the Office for National Statistics today give more insight on which groups could perhaps be better targeted. These figures split out employment rates by parental status, and show that already more than 80 per cent of married (or cohabiting) mothers and 93 per cent of married (or cohabiting) fathers with dependent children are working. This doesn’t leave a

Ian Leslie

The advert that radicalised me

This is one of a series of posters that adorn the walls of Westminster Underground station, through which many MPs and aides travel to work. On Friday, MPs will be voting on whether or not to legalise assisted dying. The posters, funded by a campaign group called Dignity In Dying, present a series of individuals happily contemplating the prospect of ending their own lives. The vibe is feel-good, joyful and glossy, somewhere between a cosmetics brand and Kamala Harris ‘24. I think they are the creepiest ads I’ve ever seen. When this bill was introduced a couple of months ago, I didn’t have much of an opinion on the issue. I’d read that

Jonathan Miller Jonathan Miller

Michel Barnier has brought France to the verge of collapse

A new Anglo-Saxon barbarism has entered the French political language: ‘government shutdown.’ There is excited talk of civil servants not being paid. Tax uncollected. The collapse of medical reimbursements. Supposedly this will bring France to its senses and voters will quietly accept increased taxes and cuts to public services.  The French government teeters on the verge of collapse. Prime Minister Michel Barnier, 73, acclaimed genius of the Brexit negotiations, had one job: to deliver a budget. He failed. His text isn’t acceptable to the National Assembly. He is now desperately threatening to force it through, under an emergency decree. But if he does he will be brought down in a

Neil Clark

There’s a simple explanation for Calin Georgescu’s ‘shock’ triumph in Romania

On a bus journey in Transylvania last summer, I got talking to a young Romanian man who works in Yorkshire and who had been back home visiting his relatives. He told me how hard it had become for Romanians, particularly elderly people like his grandmother, to make ends meet with inflation so high. He blamed the war in Ukraine for the massive spike in energy prices and said that the conflict ‘needs to end soon’. With times so hard, he told me that some people were becoming resentful of handouts to Ukrainian refugees. I thought of my bus conversation when I saw the BBC report that a ‘Far-right, pro-Russian candidate’ had taken

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Kamala’s bizarre farewell message

Farewell, Kamala Harris. It’s been a brutal fortnight for the outgoing Vice President. Following her devastating loss on 5 November, the failed nominee has been subjected to days of vicious briefing and revelations about her dreadful campaign. Whether it was spending millions on celebrity endorsements or getting rejected by the ‘Hot Ones’ podcast, the Democrat bid of 2024 will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. But for those who fear that Kamala’s loss means an end to her infamous gaffes: don’t despair! There are already reports that the defeated VP now plans to run for California Governor. Nixon, without the charm, if you will. Well, if anyone can make

Ross Clark Ross Clark

EV craze is killing our car industry

It is hard to see where all of Ed Miliband’s ‘green jobs’ are coming from, but we are certainly losing existing manufacturing jobs. Net zero has just claimed a very significant scalp. Stellantis, the parent company of Vauxhall, has said that it plans to close its plant at Luton, where it makes the Vivaro van, at the cost of 1,100 jobs (although some work will be transferred to its other UK plant at Ellesmere Port). This has been coming for months; Stellantis chief executive Carlos Tavares warned earlier this year that the Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate is making car-making unviable in Britain. Net zero has just claimed a very

Graham Tomlin

Why religion matters in the assisted dying debate

Some time ago, I found myself sitting at a dinner opposite a Labour peer. We chatted over various things as the evening proceeded. Just before we were getting up to leave a new topic came up. “I am a convinced campaigner for assisted dying,” she said. “As a bishop, I suspect you’re not. Why don’t you think we should do it?” Put on the spot, struggling to know what to say, and knowing I probably had one line to deliver as we stood up to leave, I said something like this: “Life is a gift from God. It’s not up to us to decide when it ends.” She looked across

Tuesday

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Why Scots are less angry than the English

The Scots have long been stereotyped as dour, miserable whingers, and we finally have proof that this is pure slander. Ailsa Henderson, a political scientist at Edinburgh University, has produced a presentation into political anger in the wake of the general election. She finds that the English are three times as angry about politics as the Scots, with 60 per cent fuming south of the border and just 20 per cent north of the Tweed. Voters for the two most anti-mainstream parties, Reform and the Greens, are the angriest, and while Liberal Democrats are the least angry there are still 53 per cent of them fit to be tied. Meanwhile,

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Why is Labour wavering on China and Israel?

Normally when MPs criticise the uncertainty around the government’s relationship with another country, they are referring to the constant chopping and changing around how to engage with China, not Israel. But where the UK stands on both countries is in flux at the moment, and today’s Foreign Office Questions in the Commons didn’t help much either. Priti Patel, who is now the shadow foreign secretary, used China as her main line of attack at topical questions, claiming that the current iteration of relations ‘appears to be all give and no take’. She asked the Foreign Secretary David Lammy to explain ‘what has been achieved with regard to advancing Britain’s interests

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

From Gabbard to Gaetz: Ambassador John Bolton on Trump’s ‘crackpot’ Cabinet

20 min listen

John Bolton has served under both Republican administrations of the 21st Century: first as US Ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush, and then under Donald Trump where he was – surprisingly – his longest serving National Security Advisor. In this episode of Americano, Freddy Gray discusses the incoming second Trump administration with Amb. Bolton. From Tulsi Gabbard to Elon Musk, what does he make of Trump’s appointments? How could U.S. foreign policy change? And what are the implications for Ukraine?  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Paul Wood

Will a ceasefire with Hezbollah last?

Peace is closer than ever in Lebanon – which is why we’ve seen more bloodshed this week.   As this is published, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is expected to announce his government has accepted a ceasefire with the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, on terms negotiated by US officials. That explains the surge in violence over the past week. Israel has been rushing to maximise its gains, destroying as much Hezbollah infrastructure as possible; Hezbollah has been desperately trying to increase its leverage while the final details of the truce are settled.  On Sunday, Hezbollah sent some 250 rockets into Israel. It was one of the largest attacks since the group

Steerpike Steerpike

Spectator investigation: the constituencies calling for an election

Since Steerpike first reported on the petition for another general election, another two million signatures have been added. (Not that Mr S is taking the credit.) While the petition is most popular in Tory and Reform-held seats – especially in Essex, where almost one in ten of the electorate have signed in some constituencies – MPs in Labour marginals should be taking note too. In Tamworth, Ribble Valley, Sittingbourne and Sheppey, Derbyshire Dales and North West Leicestershire, Labour MPs with majorities of fewer than 1,500 votes have at least 5,500 constituents who have signed the petition. Derbyshire Dales’s new boy John Whitby perhaps has the most to fear as his

Kristina Murkett

The hypocrisy of Labour’s plan to solve youth unemployment

The government has today announced a £45 million work drive, with proposed changes to the welfare and out-of-work support systems, in a bid to get more people back in work and off benefits. In particular, the government has said that it wants to tackle the statistic that one in eight young people aged between 18 and 24 not currently in employment, education or training. It plans to do so by offering skills training to teenagers with institutions such as the Premier League, Royal Shakespeare Company and Channel 4. There is no doubt that we need to get young people earning or learning again. Over three quarters of a million young

Gray Sergeant

Why is Labour so scared to talk about Taiwan?

Since Keir Starmer took office, Britain’s approach to Taiwan seems to have changed little from that of the previous Tory government – but is that really the case? Beneath the surface, there are worrying signs that Starmer’s government wants to dodge discussing the potential flashpoint of Taiwan’s sovereignty, lest it disrupt their attempt to reset relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) The previous government, in the 2023 Integrated Review Refresh, committed the United Kingdom to supporting stability across the strait. Rishi Sunak, when asked about arms sales to the island, was unequivocal: ‘We stand ready to support Taiwan’. Starmer’s government appears to have followed suit: as per the Foreign Office statement following last

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Can Keir Starmer get Britain back to work?

10 min listen

The government have announced their latest effort to get Britons back into work. A series of benefit changes intend to tackle the fact that Britain is the only major economy where the employment rate has fallen over the past five years, largely because more people are out of work due to long-term ill health. Why are the UK’s post-pandemic figures so much worse than other countries? And can Labour’s plans work? The Spectator’s data editor Michael Simmons joins Katy Balls and James Heale.

Jonathan Spyer

A ceasefire deal won’t finish off Hezbollah

Nothing is yet confirmed, but it appears that a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah is imminent. The fighting, which began on 8 October last year, has claimed thousands of lives and left the Israel-Lebanon border area decimated on both sides. But there is anger that Israel is rushing into an agreement that will not keep those who live near to the Lebanese border safe. Community leaders in Israel’s north have reacted with anger to the announcement of the proposed cessation in hostilities. They noted that while Hezbollah’s infrastructure along the border has been extensively damaged, the movement itself has not been destroyed. The proposed agreement also does not include

James Heale James Heale

Can Starmer’s jobs push get Britain back to work?

The UK isn’t working. That’s the official view of the government as Keir Starmer launches his latest effort to get Britons back into work. A series of benefit changes intend to tackle the fact that Britain is the only major economy where the employment rate has fallen over the past five years, largely because more people are out of work due to long-term ill health. The ‘Get Britain Working’ white paper was published this morning, prior to a statement by Liz Kendall in the Commons this afternoon. Kendall will have a tough time trying to get the UK back to work The statistics speak for themselves. A record 2.8 million

Katy Balls Katy Balls

The election petition reveals Starmer’s Achilles heel

Today the Prime Minister is attempting to get back on the front foot with the publication of an employment white paper, aimed at reducing unemployment in light of the soaring number of Britons out of work since the pandemic. Starmer has declared that his government inherited a country that ‘isn’t working’. However, the question many are asking this week is a slightly different one: is his government working? Keir Starmer has had to bat off questions over a petition – now signed by over two million – calling for an election. The petition says there ought to be an election as Labour have ‘gone back on their promises they laid

Matthew Lynn

Trump’s tariffs threats are going to cause chaos

It turns out it wasn’t just China after all. Mexico, and indeed Canada, are just as much in the firing line. President-Elect Trump announced last night that he will impose an immediate 25 per cent tariff on imports from both of the US’s two largest land neighbours, threatening huge disruption to their economies. Trump may think he is being clever by weaponising access to the American market, and in the short-term he may even by right. The trouble is, he is going to break the global trading system – and it will be very hard to put back together afterwards.  This is a recipe for constant market chaos It is