Politics

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

Wednesday

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

The Tories must share the blame for Labour’s illiberal smoking ban

When Rishi Sunak called a summer election, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill didn’t make the pile of ‘wash up’ legislation to be rushed through Parliament. His plans for a generational smoking ban, and a crackdown on vapes, were paused. But this was never going to be more than a brief delay. Labour has used the King’s Speech today to confirm that it will see Sunak’s smoking ban through. Or rather, the party might argue that it’s reclaiming the idea. It was Labour, after all, that floated the policy before the Tories adopted it at their party conference last year.  One day, a 63-year-old will be able to purchase a tobacco

Gavin Haynes

JD Vance has some weird influences

JD Vance, at 39, would be the first millennial vice president. But not only is he a new generation, he might also be the first American vice president to take his intellectual armoury from the extremely online world of the New Right.  Vance says he is ‘plugged into a lot of weird, right-wing subcultures’. He draws from a whole new political lexicon, one that would seem baffling to his more starched colleagues in the Congress. Even someone like Alexandra Ocasio Cortez – 34 years old – is taking her cues from a more orthodox political tradition.  The New Right is a tag that has been worn by many radically different

Matthew Lynn

Labour will regret making the OBR all powerful

It might seem like smart politics. And it will reassure the markets. The legislation in the King’s Speech today to ensure all Budgets are assessed by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) no doubt seems like a good idea right now. And yet, there is a catch. The incoming Labour government has now completed the job started by Gordon Brown as chancellor back in 1997, and completely outsourced economic policy to ‘independent experts’. At some point, it is going to regret that decision. It is not hard to understand why the powers of the OBR have been increased in the King’s Speech unveiled today. It will allow Labour to keep

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Europe should prepare for president Vance

Foreign policy will have been low on Donald Trump’s list of considerations when deciding to anoint JD Vance as his running mate. The Ohio senator, a former detractor turned loyalist of the Republican nominee, is now close with Team Trump, and Team Trump rewards loyalty above all else. Vance is also a populist and speaks to the very voters (white, non-graduate, rust belt) Trump must attract if he is to return to the Oval Office. Vance’s relationship with Trumpism has been a complicated one but his selection can be seen as a legacy pick that consolidates the Maga agenda’s hold on the Republican party for several more election cycles. The

Alexander Horne

Labour’s plan for the Lords looks unwise

Labour’s plans for Lords reform, announced during the King’s Speech this morning, do not come as a great surprise. It promised measures to ‘modernise the constitution’ and ‘remove the right of hereditary peers’ to sit and vote in the Lords via a House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill. These plans were heralded in the Labour party manifesto, which pledged ‘immediate reform of the House of Lords’. They are, nonetheless, both unambitious and in some respects unwise. These changes will not bring Labour much credit The reforms proposed in the manifesto included the removal of the remaining 92 hereditary peers; the introduction of a compulsory retirement age; a revised participation requirement

Alexander Larman

What did Charles make of his King’s Speech?

The protesters were out, as usual, but nobody was paying them a lot of attention. For all the angry bellowing and sign-waving of ‘Not my King!’ and ‘Down with the Crown’, most observers were not focusing on a small, disaffected rabble outside parliament, but instead on the constitutional and historical significance of the occasion. The first monarch’s speech setting out the agenda of a Labour government for nearly 15 years; the first King’s Speech in eight decades; the first time that a king had delivered a speech for a new – and, allegedly, transformative – Labour administration since 1945. It was an occasion rich in ceremonial and political symbolism alike,

Steerpike Steerpike

Green leader opposes green pylon plan

Good heavens. Now it seems that Green co-leader Adrian Ramsay has forgotten his own party’s raison d’être. Today the MP for Waveney Valley has confirmed he will oppose new electricity pylons in his East Anglian constituency – pylons that would be used to transport, er, green energy from offshore wind farms to the grid. How interesting… Ramsay first hinted that he was planning to oppose the 100-mile corridor of pylons at the start of the month in a conversation with the Beeb – and today his justification for his decision is that the route is unpopular locally and he’s a ‘constituency MP’ first. It’s certainly not the first time that the

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Everything you need to know about the King’s Speech

The big theme of today’s King’s Speech is ‘mission-led’ government, with economic growth, house building, workers’ rights and devolution the key elements. King Charles told the House of Lords that ‘taken together these policies will enhance Britain’s position as a leading industrial nation and enable the country to take advantage of new opportunities that can promote growth and wealth creation’. There are six bills designed to deliver these plans. One of the things about a King’s Speech is that what follows in the parliamentary session often bears little resemblance to what the monarch has said The Budget Responsibility Bill will force every fiscal event to be subject to an independent

Susanne Mundschenk Susanne Mundschenk

France is in limbo as its politicians continue to battle it out

France’s Gabriel Attal has resigned as prime minister. President Emmanuel Macron even made a ceremony out of it. And yet, here we are: still with Attal as prime minister in a caretaker role. They say this is likely to continue until September, or perhaps even longer. No government proposal has emerged since the elections. The left-wing alliance cannot agree over whom to nominate as prime minister and when. Forget the feverish haste after the elections. The left is now taking its time. Did they miss the moment, and will it be too late for them? The left-wing alliance cannot agree over whom to nominate as prime minister During the ten

Katy Balls Katy Balls

The race to replace Rishi as Tory leader is about to begin

Who will lead the Conservative party in opposition? By Tory party conference, we should have the answer. After much debate about the rules and timing of the contest to succeed Rishi Sunak, a timetable is expected to be announced later this week when the party board meets. There are two options being discussed at present: one in which the contest finishes just before party conference, this year held in Birmingham at the end of September; and another whereby the contest is completed at the event. Under this second scenario, the final hustings could take place on the Sunday night, voting close on the Monday, a winner announced by the Tuesday

Eliot Wilson

Starmer’s ‘defence review’ is much-needed

While this new government’s approach to many issues – the NHS, prisons, China policy – seems to start with a ‘review’, a re-examination of defence policy seems reasonable. New Labour launched a Strategic Defence Review shortly after taking office in 1997. The coalition did a defence review in 2010, and David Cameron’s Conservative government undertook a review in 2015. On 16 July, the Ministry of Defence announced the details of the latest Strategic Defence Review. The headline is that, for the first time, it will be conducted by outsiders rather than government officials. Three eminent defence and security policy experts will lead the process: supported by former US National Security Council director

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Labour’s war on nimbys won’t work

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has promised the ‘most ambitious programme of devolution this country has ever seen’, with new powers for local councils and more directly-elected mayors. But this will not apply, it seems, when it comes to planning. On the contrary, the centrepiece of the King’s speech today will be planning reforms aimed at reducing the powers of local communities to block housing and infrastructure developments. Powers will be centralised, with central government taking it upon itself to rule on more housing and infrastructure projects deemed to be in the national interest – just as Energy Secretary Ed Miliband did last week when he approved three large solar farms

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Don’t blame Taylor Swift for stubborn inflation

The UK’s inflation rate is comfortably back to target: inflation held at 2 per cent in the 12 months leading up to June, the Office for National Statistics confirmed this morning. This rate is unchanged from last month. Yet this morning’s news is stirring up doubts that the Bank of England will go for its first rate cut in August. This is because, while the headline rate is back to the Bank’s target, the services annual rate remains sticky, unchanged from 5.7 per cent. Big reductions in clothing and footwear – which slowed to 1.6 per cent in the year to June, down from 3 per cent in the year

Andrew Tettenborn

Have the Republicans resolved their abortion dilemma?

The botched assassination attempt on Donald Trump could well generate a wave of sympathy that helps waft him into the White House in November. Another indirect result of those same events may contribute further to this effect. Until the Republican National Convention opened in Milwaukee this week, the GOP had a potentially awkward problem over its stance on abortion rights. Following the attempt on Trump’s life, this has now disappeared. The abandonment of the old hard-line position removes an intellectual difficulty for the Republicans Since the right-leaning Supreme Court a couple of years ago overturned Roe v Wade, suppressed the judge-made constitutional right to abortion that had existed since 1973 and

Matthew Lesh

Is Starmer’s King’s Speech really a recipe for growth?

Labour’s first King’s Speech in almost 15 years is expected to be quite meaty. According to reports, His Majesty’s new government will propose 35 parliamentary bills for the coming year.  Labour is proposing dozens of red tape measures that will put the breaks on businesses To be entirely realistic, many of these will fall by the wayside. Parliamentary time is limited, and there are always unexpected events that derail existing legislative plans and call for new ones. Nevertheless, the King’s Speech will be quite revealing about the new government. What they choose to include – and not – sends a signal about early priorities and dispositions. Prime Minister Keir Starmer

Tuesday

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

The National is a paper in need of help

Since its launch in Scotland in 2014, the National newspaper has made a name for itself for several reasons, none of them particularly good. It is not merely partisan in the way many British newspapers are, strongly supportive of one party and editorialising thunderously from the front page through to the opinion pages. At the height of Nicola Sturgeon’s premiership, the National was closer to a hymnal such was the reverence with which the SNP leader, her government and its policies were recorded. Back then, it was hard to distinguish the paper’s news articles from SNP press releases, except that press releases were slightly less sycophantic. And less Photoshopped, since

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Marjorie Taylor Greene turns on Times Radio

What is it with Marjorie Taylor Greene and the Brits? First, she advised the-then Foreign Secretary David Cameron to ‘kiss my ass.’ Then, she told ex-BBC star Emily Maitlis to ‘go f**k off’. And now she has pinned the blame for the Trump assassination attempt on, er, British broadcasters at Times Radio. Clearly the spirit of 1776 is alive and well with this one… In an interview with Times Radio reporter Jo Crawford at the Republican National Convention, Greene bristled at criticism of Trump’s pick for vice-president, JD Vance. After Crawford asked about Vance previously likening Trump to Hitler, Greene snapped and suggested that the reason ‘I have some of

Steerpike Steerpike

Boris reunites with Trump at Republican jamboree

The great and the not-so-good of the international conservative movement have descended on Wisconsin this week. Liz Truss and Nigel Farage are among the Brits jetting in to toast President Trump’s formal nomination at the Republican National Convention. But what of the man they once called ‘Britain’s Trump?’ Boris Johnson yesterday made a rather low-key appearance at the conference, appearing at vaping panel that was remarkable only for its poor turn-out. But Johnson, it seems, has been busy behind the scenes. It turns out that the former prime minister has actually met with Trump, away from the glare of the cameras, to discuss a subject close to his heart –

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Britain’s economy is growing faster, but not fast enough

Another day, another small piece of good economic news. Today the International Monetary Fund has produced its World Outlook report for July, which revises UK growth for 2024 upwards, from 0.5 per cent to 0.7 per cent. This news follows on from last week’s monthly GDP update, which showed growth in May at 0.4 per cent – notably above economists’ predictions.  These are still not numbers to boast about. The IMF’s revision is still slightly below the 0.8 per cent the Office for Budget Responsibility predicted at the last Budget. But it shows the IMF’s downgrade for 2024 growth in April was too negative (it held its 2025 forecast for

Tim Stanley

JD Vance appeals to trad America

I’m meant to maintain some air of objectivity at Trump’s selection of JD Vance for vice president, but I can’t be bothered. It’s just excellent. By appointing him, Trump guarantees that the Republican party will never go back to being neo-con warmongers run by Wall Street. To channel Kamala Harris, I believe Vance shows us what the Republican party could be, unburdened by what it has been. The biography is well versed – white trash made good, author of Hillbilly Elegy, convert to Trump – but the philosophy is under-appreciated. The first thing to know is that he has a philosophy. How rare is that?! Most politicians ride into office on