Politics

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

Wednesday

Michael Karam

Is this the end for Hezbollah?

The recent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is a war that’s not yet officially a war, initiated by a political party without a mandate that takes its orders from Tehran, in support of a Palestinian party that few Lebanese care about. Hezbollah was the jewel in the Mullah’s turban It is a decades-old conflict, an exhausting, deadly stalemate, but this recent escalation could prove to be decisive. There’s a chance Israel could finally deliver a dagger blow to Hezbollah. This would be a staggering achievement because the Iranian-backed Shia militant group controls many, if not all, of the levers of power in Lebanon, and has been a constant irritant to

Eliot Wilson

Evacuating Lebanon would test Starmer’s mettle

As the security situation in Lebanon deteriorates, the British government is accelerating plans to evacuate its civilians. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has advised British nationals in the country to leave while commercial flights were still operating. It also said that British nationals should have an evacuation plan, and warned that they should ‘not rely on FCDO being able to evacuate you in an emergency’. It is believed there may still be 10,000 British nationals in Lebanon. As things stand, most major airlines have now cancelled or suspended services to Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport, and many of the remaining flights have sold out. Sir Keir Starmer has said bluntly:

Ian Williams Ian Williams

While Xi reigns, China’s economy is unreformable

It was presented as a bold stimulus to boost China’s ailing economy – but while it excited stock markets in Asia, Western economists were underwhelmed. At a rare press conference in Beijing on Tuesday, the usually gnomic governor of the People’s Bank of China, Pan Gongsheng, unveiled a range of measures designed to ‘support the stable growth of China’s economy’ and see that it hits this year’s target of five per cent growth. There was a time when such measures, which included an interest rate cut and more funds to support the stock and property markets, would have quickened the pulse of investors. But this is unlikely to reverse their

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Would scrapping the monarchy really save us money?

Britain’s republicans won’t give up. In spite of trying to use the coronation of Charles III as an opportunity to push their campaign to abolish the monarchy, support for the institution has remained stubbornly high. It is our elected politicians – on both sides of the political divide – who seem to have lost support rather than the new King.       Not to be put off, however, the campaign group Republic has this week published its latest Royal Finances Report, claiming that the royal family is really costing us £510 million a year, nearly five times as much as the sovereign grant.      How does it arrive at such a figure? It claims

Tuesday

Steerpike Steerpike

Reform exodus continues in professionalisation drive

The ravens really are leaving the tower. In recent months, Reform has been turbo-charging its professionalisation drive, working to set up branches across the country as part of their efforts to elect enough MPs to form the next government. There’s been a big back office clear-out and tonight it sounds like there has been another casualty: this time one of the fledgling party’s best-known faces. Gawain Towler – the last great amateur in British politics – has been fired from Reform after two decades spinning for its previous iterations Ukip and the Brexit party. Towler is a long-standing veteran of the Eurosceptic movement and is a familiar face to anyone

Katy Balls Katy Balls

What did we learn from Keir Starmer’s speech?

14 min listen

Sir Keir Starmer has declared ‘change has begun’ in Liverpool. He defended the cuts to the winter fuel payments, announced a Hillsborough Law, and saw off a heckler. But did we learn anything from the speech in terms of policy? Is he leaving conference in a better or worse position than he entered? Isabel Hardman is joined by James Heale and Katy Balls. 

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Joe Biden’s dishonest farewell tour

‘Some things are more important than staying in power,’ Joe Biden just told the United Nations, and the General Assembly broke into sustained applause. Biden left the stage clasping his hand to his chest, so touched that he had so touched the crowd.  ‘It’s your people that matter the most,’ said Biden. ‘Never forget we are here to serve the people. Not the other way around.’ It says quite a lot about the state of modern political leadership that such remarks are construed as moving insight.  Let’s try to put aside how bogus Biden’s departing shtick is. The truth, which we all know, is that he spent the best part

Sam Leith Sam Leith

Trump could teach Starmer a thing or two about speeches

The standout line from Sir Keir Starmer’s first speech to conference as prime minister – the one that will be quoted far and wide – will not have been what he planned. With his most serious, most pained expression, Sir Keir called for ‘an immediate ceasefire in Gaza’ and… ‘the return of the sausages’. He corrected himself immediately, of course – he meant to say hostages – but at that point he was (forgive me) cooked.   While the faces of his front bench colleagues were effortfully composed in the hopes of pretending that their leader hadn’t just said what he just said, you know that their minds were feverishly

Patrick O’Flynn Patrick O'Flynn

Keir Starmer has shown why the Tories will struggle against him

Keir Starmer gave a formidable speech to the Labour conference today. It was easily good enough to inspire the party’s natural supporters to cut him some slack over the bumpy months ahead. In doing so, the Prime Minister also clawed back some of the ground lost through the needless mistakes that have afflicted his rookie administration and shifted the dial just a bit from doom-mongering and towards hope for the future. Starmer’s spirit of doggedness may be the key to explaining how far he has got in life without exhibiting any sign of natural brilliance While he will never be a Boris Johnson-level natural communicator, Starmer nonetheless has improved his

James Heale James Heale

Keir Starmer is in the mood to fight

Keir Starmer’s first conference speech as Prime Minister neatly embodied the past three days in Liverpool: patchy, uninspiring, with a strong finish and the promise of better tidings tomorrow. Starmer took to the stage today after a conference that feels more muted than Labour’s landslide victory might suggest. His speech was accordingly light on policy but heavy on warnings about what is likely to lie ahead. This fits with the broad theme of new Labour premiers meeting their party after taking power. Much like Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson and Tony Blair in 1946, 1964 and 1997, Keir Starmer chose to use his first speech to be honest with his party.

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Starmer heckled by pro-Gaza protestor

It’s day three of Labour conference, and Sir Keir’s has just delivered his much anticipated keynote speech. The Prime Minister lauded his party’s general election success, warned delegates of more ‘unpopular’ decisions to come and insisted that ‘taking back control is a Labour argument’. The Labour leader received multiple standing ovations and even elicited a chuckle from his audience with a Lake District anecdote – in which he described how he was politely informed by an elderly cottage-owner: ‘If I’d known you were a politician, I’d have pushed you down the stairs when I had the chance!’ Charming! But it didn’t completely run to plan. Before Sir Keir wrapped up,

Keir Starmer

Full text: Keir Starmer’s Labour conference speech

Thank you, Conference. And I do mean that from the bottom of my heart. Thank you, Conference for everything you have done to fulfil the basic duty of this party – our clause one – so we can return this great nation to the service of working people. Thank you, Conference. People said we couldn’t do it, but we did. And we did it together. And look at this now, a record-breaking conference. The biggest attendance ever in our history. And such a far cry from my first conference speech to a live audience of one – the camera man. Socially distanced, in an arts centre in Doncaster. Remember that?

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Why is Labour so puritanical?

Can you be a progressive without being po-faced? I wonder sometimes, especially when I read that public health minister Andrew Gwynne is considering ‘tightening up the hours of operation’ for pubs. The Telegraph reports that Gwynne told Labour conference that changes had to be contemplated because of ‘concerns that people are drinking too much’. After 12 weeks of this government too much is nowhere near enough. It follows the suggestion earlier this month that ministers could ban smoking in beer gardens and other areas outside pubs. Not only would either of these measures send hundreds more licensed establishments to the wall, they give an early indication of the kind of

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Starmer calls for the return of ‘the sausages’ from Gaza

Oops. After his first Labour conference as Prime Minister was overshadowed by power struggles in No. 10 and the growing scandal over wardrobe-gate, Keir Starmer was hoping to send a message of confidence and competence with his conference speech today.  Unfortunately, the PM appeared to make an excruciating verbal slip when discussing the war in Gaza.  After demanding an immediate ceasefire in the region, to large applause in the room, the PM then called for the return of ‘the sausages’ from Gaza. The Labour leader was forced to quickly correct himself, and say the ‘hostages’ taken by Hamas instead. Watch here: “A return of the sausages…” pic.twitter.com/1UYlN1m95q — Tom Harwood

Tom Slater Tom Slater

Surprise, surprise, Dale Vince wants vegan schools

Socialism, wrote George Orwell, has often had a habit of attracting posh cranks. He witheringly described the ‘sandal-wearers and bearded fruit-juice drinkers who come knocking towards the smell of “progress” like bluebottles to a dead cat’.  Even though Starmer’s Labour has all but dropped the s-word, fully embracing its role as the party of the new elites, its electoral triumph certainly has been a boon to scolds and irritants. All the worst, most meddlesome factions in British public life appear to have been emboldened by this government. Woke censors? Tick. Nanny statists? Alarmingly so. And of course there’s the environmentalists, who clearly see in Labour their best chance for eco-immiseration in

Steerpike Steerpike

Pat McFadden’s bizarre Reform rant

Ahead of the Prime Minister’s address a number of Cabinet ministers are savouring the last full day of their party conference. Pat McFadden – Labour’s campaign co-ordinator and now the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – was in conversation with the Guardian’s Pippa Crerar this morning, enthusiastically recounting election night, lamenting the loss of Labour colleagues who lost their seats and talking political strategy. McFadden lauded the support of his wife, the deputy campaign director, throughout the election campaign – ‘without her it wouldn’t have happened – before describing his reaction to the exit poll. ‘Relief was the word,’ he admitted. ‘I didn’t jump around the kitchen or anything

Steerpike Steerpike

Is Labour sidelining Keir Starmer’s oracy drive?

Back in September last year, Labour leader Keir Starmer unveiled his party’s flagship education policy: a drive for oracy, or public speaking, to be at the centre of the national curriculum. As Starmer said at the time, his government would put confident speaking ‘at the heart of’ teaching in schools, with these skills potentially making the difference between young people getting and not getting a job later on in life. It was clear at the time that the main driver of the policy was Starmer himself, who was apparently keen to smash the ‘class ceiling’.  Is his oracy hobby horse now being stabled though? Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson spoke to

Danny Shaw

British policing needs a total rethink

If you started again with a clean slate, a blank sheet of paper, you would never design a system of policing like this.  It’s a system – in England and Wales – where there are 43 ‘territorial’ forces. No matter how big or small, each force has its own leadership structure, specialist units and support functions, such as finance, vetting and human resources. For instance, there’s Warwickshire constabulary with just 1,126 officers, and neighbouring West Midlands Police, with 8,000. They work together at times, but they are led, managed and organised in separate ways.  The most glaring discrepancies are in the capital. The Metropolitan Police, which has 34,315 officers, is 34 times larger in

Ed West Ed West

Donald Trump is still the funniest politician of our age

Donald Trump is arguably the most unsuitable candidate of any major western political party in living memory, let alone leader of its most powerful state. Brazenly dishonest at times, fond of extreme and reckless rhetoric and disdainful of most political conventions, he’s also the funniest politician in decades.  The two things are not unconnected. Comedy as an art form has come under a great deal of strain in the past decade, a result of western society’s new moralisation. Comedians have increasingly sought to be ethical figures on the right side of a great moral struggle, ignoring the fact that funny people don’t have to be good people; indeed, some of the

Christopher Snowdon

What is Chris Whitty up to?

There was a period during the pandemic in 2020 when the pubs were open but you could only go to one if you sat on your own and had a meal. You were allowed to buy an alcoholic drink but once you had finished your meal you could not buy another one. There was also a 10 p.m. curfew when the pub had to close and everyone had to go straight home. Whether this did much to stop the spread of Covid is debatable (there were reports of a lot of house parties starting just after 10 p.m.), but it allowed the ‘public health’ establishment to turn pubs into what