Politics

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

Monday

Iain Macwhirter

The final tragedy of ‘Humza the Brief’

The resignation of Humza Yousaf as First Minister of Scotland marks not just the beginning of the end for him, nor simply for the 17-year long SNP government, but for any hopes of Scottish independence happening in the lifetime of most SNP members. Yousaf might even take devolution with him since the Scottish public are at their wits’ end with the behaviour of the politicians – all of them – who have occupied the Scottish parliament like student activists taking over the university court. The SNP has gone from landslide victory to pariah status in less than a decade Yousaf was always a hopeless case politically. Nice guy – shame about the

Niall Gooch

Count Binface just isn’t funny

On British general election nights, I like to watch Dish and Dishonesty, the first episode of the third series of Blackadder. It pokes some gentle fun at the conventions of election night TV, including the tradition of ‘silly’ candidates. In the episode, Ivor ‘Jest Ye Not, Madam’ Biggun of the Standing at the Back Dressed Stupidly and Looking Stupid party is among the challengers to replace the late Sir Talbot Buxomly. It all feels very tired. Exhausted, even Mr Biggun – whose policies of compulsory asparagus for breakfast and free corsets for the under-fives will doubtless be in the next Lib Dem manifesto – is an unsubtle parody of the Monster Raving

Sunday

James Heale James Heale

Why Labour won’t be bounced by Sunak’s defence plans

British politics in recent years has sometimes resembled a waltz. Both main parties show little compunction in mirroring each other’s plans, stealing their opponents’ popular policies and playing down the differences which characterised the Corbyn years. So it was striking to see Labour’s reticence this week to sign up to Sunak’s much-vaunted plan to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030. Both Keir Starmer and John Healey, the Shadow Defence Secretary, have invested much time and effort over the past four years in trying to nullify the Tories’ traditional lead in this area. At the last election barely one in ten voters trusted their party on

Mark Galeotti Mark Galeotti

Why Russia’s ‘king of the kickback’ was arrested

The universal corruption of the Russian elite suits Vladimir Putin. When everyone has a skeleton in their closet, power rests with whoever decides which closets get searched. The arrest on corruption charges of Timur Ivanov, deputy minister of defence, is noteworthy not because he was infamously corrupt, but because it raises the question: why him, why now? This could be the start of a ‘ditch Shoigu’ campaign by his enemies Ivanov was well known for his lavish lifestyle and his reputation as the ‘king of the kickback.’ Since 2016, he had been in charge of the Defence Ministry’s property portfolio, construction projects and medical services. To put it another way,

Joe Bedell-Brill

Sunday shows round-up: Sunak refuses to rule out summer election

The Tories are expected to lose around half their councillors in the upcoming local elections on 4 May. Trevor Phillips interviewed the prime minister on Sky News, asking him whether a general election could take place as early as July. A frustrated and bullish Sunak claimed he did not get distracted by his diminished approval ratings, and repeatedly refused to confirm or deny the possibility of a July general election, telling Phillips: ‘you’re going to try and draw whatever conclusion you want from what I say’.  Conservative defector Dan Poulter: Tories now resemble a ‘nationalist party’ The Conservatives suffered another humiliation this week after MP Dr Dan Poulter quit his

Steerpike Steerpike

Truss book becomes a bestseller

Much has been made of Liz Truss’s book since its publication a fortnight ago. Jeering critics were quick to mock but Mr S was among the first to note that Amazon actually sold out of copies within 72 hours, such was the demand from punters. And today’s Sunday Times confirms that there is a still keen public interest in what the former premier has to say. For Truss is now number three on the newspaper’s highly-prized bestseller list for general hardbacks, taking the bronze medal behind Salman Rushdie’s harrowing tale of his 2022 assault and, er, RuPaul’s autobiography. The Sunday Times boasts that its list is regarded as the ‘most

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Coleman Hughes on neo-racism, US election, and The View

47 min listen

Freddy Gray speaks to writer, podcaster and musician Coleman Hughes. His latest book The End of Race Politics, The: Arguments for a Colorblind America promotes Martin Luther King’s teachings for a colourblind society. On the podcast they discuss Coleman’s recent appearance on The View; whether Coleman thinks Trump is racist and how the Israel-Gaza war exposed the failings of US universities. 

David Abulafia

Trinity College Cambridge has rushed to judgement on Captain Cook

Cambridge has made a mistake in returning to the tribe that made them some spears collected by Captain Cook’s men in 1770. It is always dispiriting to write something and then discover that no one with the power to act has paid any attention. Last year, I complained on Coffee House that Trinity College, Cambridge and the Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology were about to make an ill-conceived mistake by repatriating these spears. It seems no one was listening. The truth is that these spears – which were presented to Trinity in 1771 – would not have survived had they not been kept safe in Cambridge. These were

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

What France’s celebrities don’t understand about Le Pen voters

Since 2012, the French actor Omar Sy has lived in Los Angeles. One of his houses has included a sprawling villa with five bedrooms, six bathrooms, an outdoor pool and a jacuzzi. With luxury like that perhaps it’s not surprising that Sy – known to British audiences for his role in X-Men, Jurassic World and Lupin – rarely returns to the Republic. But he’s in town this week to promote a book, and has been using his time in television studios to warn the good folk of France about the danger of voting for the ‘extreme right’. First, however, as befits a millionaire actor who lives in a very big

Jawad Iqbal

India is becoming a chess superpower

The Indian chess prodigy Dommaraju Gukesh has made history by becoming the youngest challenger ever for the world chess title. His shot at the world championship comes after a sensational victory at the prestigious men’s Candidates chess tournament in Toronto last weekend. ‘I am so relieved and so happy’, he told reporters in his trademark calm and understated manner. The 17-year-old will play China’s Ding Liren, the reigning champion, for the world title later this year. The face-off between the two will be the latest twist in a growing geopolitical rivalry: a longstanding border dispute (that led to war in 1962) came to a head again four years ago, when

Saturday

Steerpike Steerpike

Tory MPs savage Poulter in the group chat

So. Farewell then Dan Poulter. The Central Suffolk MP has today switched from the Conservatives to join the Starmer army, firing off a double-barrelled blast at his former party’s handling of the NHS. The Tories, Poulter says, are now little more than a ‘nationalist party’ who have abandoned ‘compassion’ as part of an increasingly ‘rightward drift.’ Ouch. One place where there is certainly little compassion for Poulter today is in the Tory MPs’ WhatsApp chat where his onetime colleagues are reacting with a mixture of mockery and fury. ‘Didn’t he step down in 2019?’ asked Alex Stafford, labelling Poulter ‘A nobody trying to be a somebody.’ ‘I didn’t even know

James Heale James Heale

Tory MP Dan Poulter defects to Labour

Rishi Sunak’s good week in politics just came to an end. Buoyed by a successful defence spending announcement and the passage of the Rwanda Bill, there had been rumours that the run-up to Thursday’s local elections would see the announcement of the general election date. But in a shock move, Tory backbencher Dan Poulter this afternoon announced that he is defecting to Labour, citing the depleted state of the health service. The MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich previously said he was standing down at the next election but will now sit for the Labour party until parliament is dissolved. In an interview with the BBC, the former health

Steerpike Steerpike

Humza Yousaf’s five worst moments as First Minister

Scotland’s beleaguered First Minister Humza Yousaf is reportedly considering his position this morning, despite insisting on Friday that he would not resign from the post and intended ‘to win the vote of no confidence’. Hapless Yousaf made his bed on Wednesday morning by U-turning on the Bute House Agreement and ditching his coalition partners – after first U-turning on a key government climate target. Has he been swapping notes with Sir Keir Starmer?  The First Minister left in his wake a rather furious septet of eco-activists who now plan to form an unlikely alliance with the Tories, backing Douglas Ross’s no confidence motion in Yousaf. Meanwhile, the Scottish Labour party

Ian Williams Ian Williams

Why was Blinken’s China visit so underwhelming?

It had been billed as an electrifying encounter – the US Secretary of State preparing to confront Beijing with a catalogue of global misdemeanours, ranging from stepped up support for Russian aggression against Ukraine to the intimidation of ships in the South China Sea belonging to US treaty ally, the Philippines, and the systematic breaking of world trade rules by flooding the market with heavily subsidised electric vehicles (EVs) and other renewable tech. ‘Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China’s support,’ Antony Blinken said on Friday, at the end of a three-day trip that included meetings with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and with President Xi

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Can Starmer do patriotism?

13 min listen

It was St George’s Day this week, and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he has ‘no time’ for those who ‘flinch’ at the St George’s flag. But how authentic is his patriotism? Katy Balls speaks to Tom Baldwin, former Labour Party adviser and author of new book England: Seven Myths That Changed a Country – and How to Set Them Straight. Produced by Megan McElroy. 

Lionel Shriver Lionel Shriver

Douglas Murray, Lionel Shriver, Mark Mason and Graeme Thomson

29 min listen

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: reporting from St Helena, Douglas Murray reflects on the inhabitants he has met and the history of the British Overseas Territory (1:12); Lionel Shriver opines on the debate around transgender care (9:08); following a boyhood dream to visit the country to watch cricket, Mark Mason reads his letter from India as he travels with his son (17:54); and, Graeme Thomson reviews Taylor Swift’s new album (22:41). Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Patrick O’Flynn Patrick O'Flynn

Whisper it, but Rishi Sunak has had a good week

If you have been doing as badly as Rishi Sunak has as prime minister, then it doesn’t take much to register a notable improvement. Yet there is no point in his detractors denying that over the past week he has done just that. First, he got stuck into the issue of Britain’s burgeoning ‘sick note culture’. Left-wing brickbats predictably followed. Lib Dem leader Ed Davey accused him of ‘attempting to blame the British people for his own government’s failures’, while Labour’s Matthew Pennycook complained that he was pursuing a ‘cheap headline’. But headlines are headlines and if they are cheap then so much the better in these cash-strapped days. Most

Michael Evans

How Ukraine will use American aid

The Kyiv government will need to rush to make use of the new batch of American weapons coming to Ukraine. With the much-delayed aid available at last, Ukraine will have to build up its defences to withstand a Russian offensive in the summer, and make enough headway to prove to the US – and in particular a sceptical Donald Trump – that all this taxpayers’ money is being well spent. US officials say the objectives have not changed. But there is less talk of victory for Kyiv But whether the money and weapons will buy victory for Kyiv remains doubtful. Russia’s invading force has been making limited but steady territorial

Friday

Steerpike Steerpike

Listen: Scottish Green MSP sobs on radio over coalition collapse

If the Scottish Greens are good at anything, it’s making every issue about themselves. While the First Minister of Scotland faces two votes of no confidence next week — one in his own leadership and another in the SNP government — his party’s former coalition partners continue to vent their anger at the breakdown of the Bute House Agreement on the airwaves. As though a scorned lover, Patrick Harvie’s barmy army has used most of the last 36 hours to release embittered statements about their abrupt exit from government. After Yousaf tore apart the coalition deal on Thursday morning, Scottish Green co-leader Lorna Slater told reporters that hapless Humza’s decision

Alexander Larman

The King’s improving health is a relief for the country

Today it was announced that, after a very positive response to his treatment for cancer, King Charles will resume public-facing duties next week. The statement went on to say that both he and the Queen will be making a joint visit to a cancer treatment centre next Tuesday, in a conscious nod to the help that he has been receiving over the most recent months in his illness. He will also be hosting the Emperor and Empress of Japan for a state visit in June, all being well. It concluded that ‘as the first anniversary of the coronation approaches, Their Majesties remain deeply grateful for the many kindnesses and good