Politics Archives

Monday

13 May 2024

The Harvard man who became Xi Jinping’s favourite academic

Xi Jinping is a busy man. He holds down three jobs. As General Secretary of the Chinese Communist party (CCP), he rules 1.4 billion people and disciplines 100 million party members; as Chairman of the Military Commission, he commands and reforms the world’s largest army; and as president, he glad-hands a succession of Beijing-bound heads of states. In his spare time he has also authored ten books. So you can be sure that when he carves out time for a separate meeting with a hitherto unremarkable American academic, it is not without purpose. Graham Allison, in case you have not heard of him, is an historian with a chair at

Steerpike

Labour frontbencher squirms over Elphicke defection

Five days have passed since Keir Starmer’s masterstroke of getting Natalie Elphicke to defect from the Tories and join the Labour party. Yet in Starmer’s rush to secure a defective Tory, no-one in the Leader’s Office (Loto) seems to have wondered whether the Labour party would actually welcome into its ranks a scandal-prone, hardline Eurosceptic with a history of rubbishing sexual assault victims. Surprise, surprise, they hadn’t. Labour MP Jess Phillips, union boss Matt Wrack and, er, Lord Cameron are among those lining up to criticise Elphicke for her dodgy comments, anti-strike rhetoric and naked perfidy. Trebles all round! A floundering McKinnell suggested that no such investigation is possible Starmer’s

Sam Leith

The Elphicke affair has made Starmer look incompetent and unprincipled

The defection of Natalie Elphicke to Labour was, no doubt about it, a political coup de theatre. What wasn’t immediately clear, but is becoming clearer now the curtain is up and the players are stumbling around the footlights yelping and tripping over bits of the set, is what sort of theatre: farce. Elphicke looks like the gift nobody wants to find under their Christmas tree Natalie Elphicke was delivered to Keir Starmer, that sobersides opponent of what he calls ‘gimmicks’, in the manner of a gift-wrapped present. He and his team, in the least gimmicky way imaginable, timed the opening of this present deliberately to ambush the Prime Minister ahead of PMQs. More fool him. He opened the present and, boom: Looney Tunes-style, he ended up with eyes blinking white in a soot-blackened face, hair frizzed

Mark Galeotti

What the Shoigu reshuffle means for Putin’s war machine

There was an expectation that the appointment of Vladimir Putin’s new government would see some change in the Russian security apparatus, but few predicted that Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu would be replaced by an economist, Andrey Belousov, with Shoigu becoming secretary of the Security Council. With an economist taking over the defence ministry, and the old minister taking up a policy and advisory role, the technocrats are in the ascendant. The goal though is not peace, but a more efficient war. The technocrats are in the ascendant. The goal though is not peace, but a more efficient war Much has been made in some quarters about the fact that Belousov

Connor Allen

Working in Brussels, I saw the dark side of the EU

To this day, many Remainers see the vote to leave the EU as an entirely self-inflicted wound. But is that truly the case? Senior European politicians are starting to reflect and acknowledge Europe’s own hand in Brexit – and the damage Brussels may have caused after the referendum result. During my time working in the European Parliament in the Brexit period, for two different Remain-leaning MEPs in the ECR and Renew Europe groups, I saw this darker side of Brussels first hand. Friedrich Merz, leader of the German CDU, stated this week that he ‘remember[s] that David Cameron asked for changes to EU social policy and came back to London empty-handed. The

Sunday

12 May 2024

Lisa Haseldine

Sergei Shoigu out as Russia’s defence minister

It’s reshuffle time in Moscow and it seems that Sergei Shoigu, who has served as Vladimir Putin’s defence minister for the last 12 years, is out. He’s being replaced with Andrei Belousov, an academic economist who has been advising Putin for 20 years and spent the last four as deputy prime minister. It’s a surprise appointment given Belousov’s lack of military experience. Sergei Lavrov, 74, stays as foreign minister, as does Valery Gerasimov, 68, head of the army. Rumours had been swirling about the demotion of Shoigu, 68, for some time, especially after one of his deputies and close allies, Timur Ivanov, was last month thrown in jail pending trial for

Joe Bedell-Brill

Sunday shows round-up: Labour’s newest MP embroiled in controversy

Natalie Elphicke’s dramatic defection to Labour had already caused some controversy this week, with many in Labour feeling she should not have been welcome given her history on the right of the Tory party. Now there could be more trouble for Keir Starmer after the Sunday Times reported that Elphicke may have lobbied Justice Secretary Robert Buckland over her husband’s forthcoming trial on sexual assault charges in 2020. Speaking to Labour frontbencher Jonathan Ashworth on the BBC, Laura Kuenssberg asked if Elphicke should be investigated. Ashworth told Kuenssberg he ‘wasn’t there’ at the meeting in 2020, but said that Elphicke insisted the allegations were ‘nonsense’. He also asked why the

Jawad Iqbal

The dignity of Eden Golan

Two questions dominated last night’s Eurovision Song Contest final in Malmo, Sweden. First, whether 20-year-old Eden Golan, Israel’s entrant, would defy the odds and actually win. And secondly, whether some kind of security breach involving pro-Palestinian protesters would result in the final being disrupted. In the end, proceedings passed off relatively peacefully. The eventual winner was Switzerland’s Nemo with ‘The Code’, a song mixing rap, pop and opera. A huge public vote helped lift Golan’s entry ‘Hurricane’ into fifth place. The winning song will be forgotten soon enough, suffering the same fate as the vast majority of entries into the Eurovision Song Contest – a competition that has always been

Euan McColm

The legacy of devolution – 25 years on

Winnie Ewing, SNP royalty – Madame Écosse to those who had served alongside her in the European Parliament – opened proceedings with a song in her voice and a twinkle in her eye. ‘The Scottish Parliament,’ said the oldest of its new members, ‘adjourned on 25th day of March in the year 1707, is hereby reconvened’. Applause rang out across the debating chamber. The sense of optimism, and possibility, was palpable on the morning of Wednesday, May 12, 1999. On the 25th anniversary of devolution, the mood is very different. Holyrood was supposed to be home to a new kind of politics but, of course, there is no such thing. Today,

Katy Balls

Natalie Elphicke row deepens

Was Keir Starmer’s decision to welcome the Tory right wing MP Natalie Elphicke to the Labour party a genius strategic move by a ruthless leader ready for power or an unforced error? The calculation in the Leader’s Office was that the opportunity to have an MP in a key seat on small boats (Elphicke represents Dover) back Starmer was too good to pass up. Given Labour have often been attacked for being soft on immigration, having the right wing Elphicke cross the floor and say Starmer has the best policy is a strong message for wavering voters. Starmer wasted no time in trying to capitalise on this endorsement with a

Susan Hall

I’m proud of my mayoral campaign

In 18 months of campaigning to win the battle to be mayor of London – spoiler: I didn’t win – I met many thousands of people. One of the most frequent things said to me was, ‘You’re not like a Conservative’ or something similar. Comments like these baffled me from the first to the last. If I’m not a Conservative, then who is? David Cameron used to say that it didn’t matter where you came from; it is where you are going. True. But values matter, too. When I repeated case studies of Londoners struggling to pay the £12.50 Ulez charge, I was dubbed a ‘Flat Earther’. Policies are built on

Lloyd Evans

The Arts Council wastes money – and is bad news for art

‘You’re gay.’ That was the first tip I got from a friend who writes applications for Arts Council grants. He was helping me bid for £15,000 to fund my new play on the London fringe. ‘I’m not gay,’ I said. ‘So what?’ he told me. ‘The Arts Council wants you gay. So be gay.’ My dealings with the Arts Council introduced me to the crazy world of bureaucratic salesmanship and I was amazed by what I learned. My friend charges £250 a day to help people like me snaffle free dosh. And he’s not unique. Thousands of freelancers like him are busy angling for a slice of the £116.8 million

Ian Williams

Chinese society is rapidly militarising

The reports in China’s state media speak about ‘advancing national defence education in the new era’, teaching students to be ‘disciplined’, and ‘promoting the spirit of hard work and inspiring patriotism’. But behind the stultifying Communist party jargon is a new law that will force school children to undergo miliary training and which marks another step towards a militarisation of Chinese society on a scale not seen since the days of Mao Zedong. The revised ‘law on national defence education’, now before China’s rubber-stamp parliament, proposes mandatory military drills for middle school pupils aged 12 to 15 and says that defence should be studied even at primary school. Ritualised military-style

Saturday

11 May 2024

Fraser Nelson

Why Israel is crucial to Eurovision

Eden Golan has qualified for the final of tonight’s Eurovision Song Contest and will represent Israel in the world’s most-watched cultural event. How she’ll get there is another issue: the pro-Palestinian crowds outside the venue (including Greta Thunberg) are so formidable that at one point yesterday Golan’s security team said it was not safe for her to leave the hotel. Yet again, the Eurovision final has become a collision of politics, music and culture. To many Brits, Eurovision is a concert of bad musical taste and a festival of camp trash. The BBC, which chooses the UK entry, certainly seems to see it that way which is why our competitors

Matthew Lynn

The FTSE 100 hits a new high – but don’t celebrate yet

Another day, another all time high. As the week closed, the FTSE 100 index hit 8,433 — the highest level it has ever reached — and this is turning into a regular occurrence. The FTSE has now hit 11 all-time-highs over the last month, and it is close to equalling the record set way back in 1984 of 12 all-time-highs within a single four-week period. Add in a mega-bid and better than expected growth figures and it may look as if the UK is booming again. Well, perhaps. In reality, however, all that is happening is that the FTSE 100 is finally recovering from two decades of miserable under-performance —

James Heale

Can John Swinney turn it around for the SNP?

John Swinney, newly inaugurated First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the SNP, has been in the job for a week. What have we learnt since he took up the job, and can he turn things around for the party in time for a general election? James Heale speaks to Lucy Dunn and Fergus Mutch, former SNP adviser. Produced by Megan McElroy.

Jonathan Miller

The bizarre sexual politics of the French

‘More sex please, we’re French,’ declared, in effect, France’s president Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, demanding that his compatriots counteract a catastrophically collapsing birth rate. France’s fertility is at its lowest level since the end of World War II — perhaps ironically, since the French consider themselves the world’s greatest lovers. Macron has announced a ‘demographic rearmament’ for the country including free fertility checks for young people and a new paid maternity and paternity allowance. New parents, including fathers, will be able to take three months off and be paid half their salary up to €1,900 which could cumulate to a baby bonus of €11,400 per family. Will it really make much difference?

Steerpike

Five suspended from Labour in candidate crackdown

Oh dear. It’s not just Reform UK that has had trouble with party candidates in recent weeks — the Labour party is facing issues of its own. Candidates for both the local and general elections have been found to have made and shared some rather inappropriate views — which are now coming back to bite them. Only yesterday, one prospective parliamentary candidate was dropped by Labour after being investigated over her social media activity while just last month a Labour councillor quit the party when her Twitter came under scrutiny. When will they learn? Find the list – so far – here: Wilma Brown The Scottish Labour candidate for Cowdenbeath

Cindy Yu

Slavoj Zizek, Angus Colwell, Svitlana Morenets, Cindy Yu, and Philip Hensher

32 min listen

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Philosopher Slavoj Zizek takes us through his diary including his Britney Spears Theory of Action (1:08); Angus Colwell reports from the front line of the pro-Palestinian student protests (8:09); Svitlana Morenets provides an update on what’s going on in Georgia, where tensions between pro-EU and pro-Russian factions are heading to a crunch point (13:51); Cindy Yu analyses President Xi’s visit to Europe and asks whether the Chinese leader can keep his few European allies on side (20:52); and, Philip Hensher proposes banning fun runs as a potential vote winner (26:01). Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

Alexander Kolyandr

Why is Russia’s economy booming despite sanctions?

Over two years on from the invasion of Ukraine, Russia is the most sanctioned nation in the world. And yet the country’s economy is set to grow faster than any G7 democracy this year. How is this possible? Back in 2022, Boris Johnson vowed to ‘squeeze Russia from the global economy piece by piece, day by day and week by week’. President Joe Biden promised that sanctions would ‘impose a severe cost on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time’. Russians are spending more on restaurants, white goods, and even property – they have never had it so good Yet these dire warnings never materialised: Russia’s economy has proved resilient in the