Politics

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

Freddy Gray

Éric Zemmour: ‘I am not intending to conquer Europe’

Two years ago, Éric Zemmour was the most talked-about man in France and a serious contender to be the ninth president of the Fifth Republic. A controversial journalist turned incendiary politician, he vied with Marine Le Pen for second place behind Emmanuel Macron in the polls. Crucially, he seemed to have something she lacked – an ability still to appeal to the Catholic bourgeoisie while tapping into widespread anger at mass immigration. But then Russia attacked Ukraine, the mood of Europe changed, and Zemmour’s political fortunes sank as quickly as they had risen. He finished a distant fourth in the first round of the presidential election, with 7 per cent

James Heale

Keir Starmer’s Gaza gamble could cost him votes

Just before the last general election, the Muslim Council of Britain released research which calculated how many seats could be decided by Muslim votes. The answer was 31, enough to swing a tight election. It’s debatable how many of these voters would realistically switch party: traditionally, Muslims have been more likely to back Labour than almost any other electoral group. But it’s the kind of statistic that could make Keir Starmer nervous. In his quest to demonstrate that he has vanquished Corbynism, the Labour leader has been steadfast in his support for Israel, to the dismay of many within his own party. In November, he lost ten frontbenchers who protested

Katy Balls

Inside the plot to take down Rishi Sunak

Westminster and its drinking holes have always been a fertile ground for conspirators. There was the dead sheep coup against Margaret Thatcher, the curry house conspiracy against Tony Blair, the great goose plot against Gordon Brown and the pork pie putsch to oust Boris Johnson. Now that Rishi Sunak has the worst approval ratings of any prime minister in an election year, it’s inevitable he should be the target of a new plot. The Tories have become the party of regicide. The dispatching of Liz Truss was carried out with record-breaking speed. When things get bad, the Tories change leader. It’s the party’s natural reflex. ‘If you are working on

Isabel Hardman

Sunak should apologise, says Brianna Ghey’s father

Brianna Ghey’s father has called on Rishi Sunak to apologise for his ‘degrading’ comments at Prime Minister’s Questions. Peter Spooner told Sky News: For the Prime Minister of our country to come out with degrading comments like he did, regardless of them being in relation to discussions in parliament, they are absolutely dehumanising. Identities of people should not be used in that manner, and I personally feel shocked by his comments and feel he should apologise for his remarks. As reported earlier, Sunak didn’t edit his oft-used script about the number of things Keir Starmer has flip-flopped on at PMQs today, despite having just heard that Brianna Ghey’s mother Esther

James Heale

Is the prime minister gaffe-prone?

14 min listen

It has been a gaffe-filled week for Rishi Sunak. At PMQs today the prime minister was chastised by his opposite number for an ill-judged comment about transgender people with the mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey in parliament. This comes after being pictured embracing Sinn Fein leader Michelle O’Neill and then making a wager with Piers Morgan over his pledge to stop the boats. Is this a prime minister ready to fight a general election?  James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Stephen Bush, associate editor of the Financial Times.  Produced by Natasha Feroze and Oscar Edmondson. 

Lloyd Evans

Keir Starmer’s shameful behaviour at PMQs

‘Apologise!’ This was the bogus battle-cry that rang out repeatedly at today’s PMQs. Rishi Sunak was asked to genuflect to his enemies and show contrition for fictional sins. The trouble began when Sir Keir Starmer told us that the mother of Brianna Ghey, a transgender girl killed in February, was present in the public gallery. ‘As a father, I can’t even imagine the pain she’s going through,’ he said, strangely placing himself at the centre of somebody else’s nightmare. Sir Keir, unaware of what was about to transpire, then mounted a routine attack on Rishi’s unfulfilled pledges. The PM called this ‘a bit rich’ coming from a Labour leader who

Why are schools ‘off-rolling’ pupils?

Schools dramatically change a child’s life chances, as I’ve seen in my 24 years of teaching. How we measure their performance couldn’t be more important, but in recent years it’s gone wrong. The key metric that secondary schools in England are judged on is called ‘Progress 8’. It looks at the progress that students make across eight subjects from the end of primary school to GCSE, and then ranks schools against each other. It’s zero-sum: for every winner, there is a loser. Some school leaders treat ‘good’ scores with humility and caution. Others plaster their badge everywhere. However, it’s too easy to game the system and too many schools are

Stephen Daisley

Javier Milei is no populist

When Javier Milei visited Israel and announced that he would be moving Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem, I suppose that was terribly ‘populist’ of him. Try as I might, I can’t find it in me to be appalled by Milei’s pronouncement, and not because he already floated it during his election campaign. For one thing, it must be nice to have a government that decides its own foreign policy rather than contracting out such matters to the European Commission, the US State Department and the NGO sector. For another, Argentina’s president is taking a stand that Britain ought to have taken long ago. As The Spectator’s move-the-embassy-to-Jerusalem correspondent, I am by now a veteran of

Steerpike

Badenoch backs Sunak in PMQs trans row

Rishi Sunak’s transgender jibe at Prime Minister’s Questions has riled Labour and Lib Dems MPs. The PM mocked Keir Starmer for not knowing what a woman is, just moments before Esther Ghey, the mother of the murdered trans teen Brianna, came into the Commons. ‘Of all the weeks to say that when Brianna’s mother is in this chamber,’ said Starmer. Labour MP Liz Twist urged Sunak to ‘apologise to Brianna Ghey’s mother’. Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper MP said the prime minister was ‘sinking lower and lower’. Yet one MP leapt to Sunak’s defence: step forward Kemi Badenoch. The minister for women and equalities said it was in fact Keir Starmer who

Ross Clark

Fact check: Tim Spector’s frightening climate claims

The BBC just can’t seem to stop itself trying to frighten people over climate change. On Tuesday morning it was the turn of Radio 4’s Food for Life by King’s College London professor Tim Spector. The show began with an extraordinary claim: ‘Most predictions concur that if we don’t change our habits fast, by 2050 the Earth will have lost most of its trees and habitable areas.’ Really? I contacted Spector over where he sourced this claim and was told that the claims were ‘in the IPCC reports’. But are we really on course to lose most of our trees in just 26 years’ time? The IPCC’s latest Special Report on Climate Change

Israel cannot accept Hamas’s hostage deal

Following weeks of stagnation in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas over a deal for the release of Israeli hostages, Hamas has finally responded. Perhaps unsurprisingly though, the terms they have proposed are unacceptable to Israel. Hamas is demanding a long ceasefire, lasting four-and-a-half months, that would lead to a permanent truce. Their terms include the withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from Gaza and an end to the war, rehabilitating Gaza under Hamas’s continued governance, and the release of 1,500 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails with the guarantee that they will not be rearrested for the same offences. This would include 500 prisoners of Hamas’s choosing, whose offences are

Isabel Hardman

In praise of Elliot Colburn

All power to Elliot Colburn, who used today’s Prime Minister’s Questions to talk about surviving a suicide attempt in 2021. The Carshalton and Wallington MP told the chamber: In recent years, something like 6,500 people in the UK die due to suicide. And in 2021, I was nearly one of them. Luckily, my attempt failed, I was found by family members quickly, I received amazing care at St Helier and Springfield Hospitals, it didn’t do any permanent damage, and I was well looked after by the NHS in the months that followed. And I wanted to take this chance to say thank you to everyone who saved me, and sorry

Steerpike

‘Shame’: Starmer fury over PMQs gender dig

Today’s lethargic PMQs session was brought to life by a furious row over comments made by Rishi Sunak about transgender people. Labour leader Keir Starmer began the exchange by paying tribute to Esther Ghey, the mother of the murdered teenager Brianna. He then moved on to NHS waiting lists which Sunak had previously promised would come down on his watch. ‘Isn’t he glad he didn’t place a bet on it?’ he joked – a reference to the PM’s ill advised handshake with Piers Morgan. Sunak shot back by suggesting that Sir Keir would only place a bet if it was an ‘each way’ one. He remarked it was ‘a bit rich’

Isabel Hardman

Sunak makes ill-judged gender jibe at PMQs

Rishi Sunak’s £1,000 bet with Piers Morgan continues to cost him more than the wager itself. It dominated today’s PMQs, with both Keir Starmer and Stephen Flynn attacking him on it. The Labour leader also gave a striking retort to one of Sunak’s regular lines mocking him on not knowing what a woman is. When the PM trotted out that claim again, Starmer reacted with outrage, reminding the chamber that he had opened with a tribute to the murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey’s mother Esther, who was in parliament. He said: ‘Of all the weeks to say that, with Brianna’s mother in the gallery. Shame. Parading as a man of

Katy Balls

Starmer’s green spending problem is getting bigger

Once again Labour’s internal debate over its £28 billion green spending pledge is playing out publicly. On Friday there was some talk of clarity following a report that the headline figure would be ditched – with the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones then going out on the media where he appeared to confirm it. Jones said Labour would decide how much to spend on environmental programmes once in government, adding that ‘the number will move around just as a matter of fact’. But then Keir Starmer popped up on Monday to declare in an interview with Times Radio that the £28 billion a year on green spending

Steerpike

Will Holly Valance be Liz Truss’s secret weapon?

They say politics is show business for ugly people. But at yesterday’s right-wing rally, one celebrity singer managed to disprove that maxim and truly put the ‘pop’ in ‘PopCon’. For Holly Candy – formerly Holly Valance of Neighbours fame – was among those who rocked up to the shindig, alongside her husband, the billionaire property-developer Nick. Clearly she hasn’t had enough of soap operas… The Candys were among the crowd gathering to hear the likes of Liz Truss, Jacob Rees-Mogg and red wall Rottweiler Lee Anderson explain just how they can make conservatism popular again. And the actress even gave a short interview to GB News, reflecting on her own

Steerpike

Sadiq Khan scolded for ‘misleading’ Ulez advertising

Oh dear. Just when Sadiq Khan may have thought he could finally claim victory over the Ulez scheme he rammed through in London last year, his pet project appears to have landed him in hot water yet again. The London Mayor has been scolded by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) after Transport for London (TfL), which runs Ulez, ruled its advertising material for the scheme ‘misleading’. The ASA told off TfL, saying that in future it must make sure it can back up any claims it makes in marketing with evidence. Ouch. The advertising body took issue with three claims TfL made in advertising materials before Ulez was expanded last

It’s time to give Poland nuclear weapons

As Donald Trump marches towards the Republican nomination, a question hangs over Europe: how should the continent prepare for a world in which Nato becomes dead letters? For some, the answer is ‘strategic autonomy’; for others, it lies in procuring as much US-made kit as possible to buy goodwill with the future administration. One obvious response, however, has been left by the wayside: nuclear deterrence. When it comes to Trump-proofing the security of Eastern Europe, few measures would be as effective as arming the largest country of the region – Poland – with nuclear weapons. In a post-American world, a Polish nuclear umbrella could help secure Europe’s Eastern flank Even