Politics

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

Wednesday

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

The frightening bigotry of the French left

France’s most infamous antisemite is back in the headlines. At the weekend, the president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, declared in an interview that he didn’t believe Jean-Marie Le Pen was an antisemite. This came as a surprise to many given that the 95-year-old Le Pen, who founded the National Front in 1972, has been condemned on six occasions by French courts for just such bigotry.  Le Pen’s most notorious declaration was during a television interview in 1987 when, discussing the gas chambers, he said that although he didn’t deny their existence they were nonetheless a ‘small point of detail in the second world war’. The remark caused uproar

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Will more Labour frontbenchers resign over Gaza?

Overnight, Keir Starmer suffered his first shadow minister resignation over his position on Gaza. Imran Hussain has quit as shadow minister for the New Deal for Working People over his desire to ‘strongly advocate for a ceasefire’ in Gaza. While Hussain used a statement to insist that he remains committed to Labour’s agenda more generally, he said that his view on what is currently happening in Gaza differs ‘substantially’ from the Labour leader’s position. He wants to now be a ‘strong advocate’ for calling for a ceasefire: ‘It is clear that I cannot sufficiently, in all good conscience, do this from the front bench given its current position’. Labour MPs

Sean Rayment

To destroy Hamas, Israel must continue bombing Gaza

Israel has no other choice but to carry on bombing Gaza if it wants to destroy Hamas. Its campaign of relentless air strikes and long range artillery barrages has so far been effective at eroding Hamas’ military capability and limiting the Islamist group’s capacity to kill more Israelis. Hamas has been unable to respond in any meaningful way since Israel’s offensive began. It has been limited to hit and run attacks, inflicting only relatively light casualties. Israel’s unrelenting bombardments, combined with the internet and mobile phone outages, will have caused chaos within Hamas’ command structure. Palestinians are dying because Hamas attacked Israel and killed without mercy But the bombing campaign

Andrew Tettenborn

Do churches and cricket clubs really need anti-terrorism training?

One problem clearly emerged after an Islamist fanatic blew himself up at a major pop concert in the Manchester Arena in 2017, killing 22 other people. This was that no one there had a clue about how to react to events of this sort. The government promised action. Action we now have, in the form of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill announced in the King’s speech. Unfortunately, as with many well-intentioned ‘something must be done’ measures, this Bill, aimed at requiring a degree of terrorism preparedness at events like this, could well go too far the other way. If enacted as suggested, the cure could end up being worse

Jim Lawley

Spaniards are horrified by an amnesty for separatists

When has a government ever offered an amnesty to fugitives from justice in order to stay in office? That’s what’s happening in Spain at the moment. Following July’s general election the only way in which the caretaker prime minister, the socialist Pedro Sánchez, can cling to power is by cutting a deal with a hodgepodge of small parties, including two Catalan separatist groups. Their price includes a general amnesty for those indicted for their involvement in the illegal referendum on independence for Catalonia in 2017 and the subsequent unilateral declaration of independence. In July’s election Sánchez’s left-wing party, PSOE, won just 121 seats. The support of the radical left party

Constantin Eckner

Will Germany’s ‘Rwanda-style’ migrant plan ever materialise?

Germany’s chancellor is cracking down on asylum seekers – but he is not doing so willingly. The country’s federal government is weighing up a system – similar to the UK’s mooted ‘Rwanda plan’ – for asylum applications to be processed abroad. But Olaf Scholz, who was essentially cornered into the announcement following a marathon session with regional leaders from Germany’s 16 state governments, is sceptical. ‘There are…a whole series of legal questions,’ Scholz said after emerging in the early hours of Tuesday morning from an acrimonious meeting with state leaders. The plan, a 17-page agreement, is an attempt to counter the rise of far-right parties like Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).

Tuesday

Steerpike Steerpike

Starmer loses his first frontbencher over Gaza

Oh dear. Just hours after Keir Starmer was touting Labour as a government-in-waiting, he lost his first frontbencher over the ongoing Gaza conflict. Imran Hussain last night quit as Shadow Minister for the New Deal for Working People, after eight years serving as a party spokesman. Hussain was one of fifteen Labour frontbenchers who have called for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine. Will others now follow suit? In his resignation letter to Starmer, Hussain said: ‘Over recent weeks, it has become clear that my view on the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza differs substantially from the position you have adopted… I believe the party needs to go further and

Steerpike Steerpike

Eddie Lister’s intriguing inquiry evidence

Shock, horror! Something surprising happened today at the Covid Inquiry. Thus far, much of what we have heard has been predictable or even mundane. Simon Case made a fool of himself? Stop the presses. The civil service thought No. 10 was a shambles? Halt the front page. Nobody liked Matt Hancock? Quick, get the editor. But the appearance today of Lord Udny-Lister – the artist formerly known as Eddie Lister – brought with it some intriguing revelations. Unlike Cummings or Helen MacNamara, Lister does not have an obvious axe to grind. Since quitting as Boris Johnson’s chief strategic adviser, the onetime City Hall aide has largely kept his own counsel

Steerpike Steerpike

Carole Cadwalladr loses for the final time

Oh dear. It seems after repeatedly trying (and failing) to defeat Arron Banks in court, Carole Cadwalladr has now lost for the final time. For the Supreme Court today refused the Observer journalist’s application for permission to appeal the Court of Appeal’s costs ruling in the libel case of Banks v Cadwalladr. Leaving her with a hefty bill to pay… To recap: back in February, the Brexit-backing Banks won a partially-successful appeal of an earlier libel ruling from June 2022 over Cadwalladr’s TedTalk claims that he had a ‘covert relationship with Russia.’ In May, the Court of Appeal subsequently ordered that Cadwalladr had to pay 60 per cent of Banks’

Katy Balls Katy Balls

What did King Charles say?

12 min listen

It was the King’s speech today. King Charles announced that the government would introduce new laws to, among other things, force criminals to attend their sentencing hearings, scrap most jail sentences of less than a year, and sell all new houses as freehold properties. Is it enough for the Tories to turn around their deficit in the polls? Katy Balls speaks to James Heale and Isabel Hardman.

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

All Sunak wants to do is attack Labour

Rishi Sunak wants voters to see the Conservatives as taking difficult, ambitious choices, including on net zero and transport. He told MPs: ‘This King’s Speech is about what this government is about, taking long-term decisions to build a brighter future for our country. It builds on foundations that are far stronger than they were just a year ago.’ He said that the impact for the British people would be ‘more jobs, more investment, and higher growth, more police on the streets with stronger powers to keep us safe, places people are proud to call home, a country strong at home, confident abroad and with a better future ahead for all

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

After 13 years of Tory rule, is this it?

There were no big surprises in the King’s Speech today. That’s a shame. Rishi Sunak and his ministers like to insist their agenda for the next year is an ambitious one. They’re making ‘difficult but necessary long-term decisions to change this country for the better’, as read out by the King to parliament. Yet the legislation put forward seems miles away from the priorities of voters – not to mention the many problems facing the country. Some of those issues were mentioned at the start of the speech. Lip service was paid to ‘increasing economic growth’ and taking ‘action to bring down inflation’, two of the Prime Minister’s pledges set

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Tory MP jokes about Boris and Carrie

From the Lords to the Commons: the state opening of parliament is truly a bicameral affair. Fresh from diadem-spotting in the Upper House, Mr S headed down to the other place after lunch, to hear the Loyal Address. This is the parliamentary procedure used to formally open the debate on the King’s Speech, with the proposer typically a eminent grandee/crusty old windbag and the seconder a rising star/ambitious young so-and-so (delete as appropriate). Today the honour of proposing the first Loyal Address of King Charles’s reign fell to Sir Robert Goodwill, the long-serving, long-suffering Member for Scarborough. In an entertaining speech, Sir Robert told the House of the ups and

James Heale James Heale

Every bill announced in today’s King’s Speech

King Charles has just finished taking part in the state opening of parliament for the first time as monarch. The purpose of today’s King’s Speech was to set out the government’s priorities for the coming parliamentary session, which will be the final one before the next general election. This was Sunak’s chance to draw political dividing lines with Labour, but there were few surprises. It was the longest statement read out by a monarch since 2005 but contained the fewest bills since 2014. Below is a rundown of the 21 planned bills announced today. Criminal Justice Bill This bill will force criminals to attend their sentencing hearings, following the Lucy

Alexander Larman

Charles’s debut King’s Speech was a triumph

The King’s speech was a damp squib – but for that we should blame Rishi Sunak rather than Charles III. Most of the announcements – from tougher prison sentences to cracking down on smoking – were already known about. But while the Prime Minister’s agenda was far from inspiring, today’s pomp and ceremony did give some cause for optimism: Charles’s speech showed that Britain’s monarch is doing a good job in his role. Even before he said a single word today, Charles looked thoroughly at home in the surroundings. It’s hard to believe that this was the first speech that Charles has delivered as ruler, so established does he now

Emma Revell

Why Scunthorpe steelworks needs saving

Scunthorpe is an industrial garden town, or so the signs welcoming you to the town say. It’s written beneath the town’s crest, with a blast furnace on top and the town motto: Refulget labores nostros coelum. The heavens reflect our labours. If, like me, you grew up in Scunthorpe you can easily ignore the steelworks. Visitors might be surprised by the noise or alarmed if the clouds on the east of the town sometimes seem a dusky red but we’re used to it. The steelworks have been there longer than any of us after all. But on your first visit, they are hard to ignore. What sticks in the craw

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

The King’s Speech was all about the next election

‘My ministers’ focus is on increasing economic growth and safeguarding the health and security of the British people for generations to come.’ The King read these opening words, written for him, which set out the government’s final legislative agenda before a general election. Of course, that agenda is being interpreted as a ‘starting gun’ for the election campaign. And the centre of that campaign on the basis of today is going to be security: both economic and for criminal justice.  Presumably the next Conservative manifesto is going to be rather meatier than the content of that speech. It wasn’t a particularly heavy agenda: around 16 bills were in the list

Hina Husain

Why isn’t Canada cracking down on this Indian student visa scam?

Canada’s rift with India continues. It’s been almost two months since Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau accused ‘agents of the government of India’ of assassinating Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Nijjar. The two countries have been in a diplomatic stand-off ever since, with trade talks suspended and Ottawa failing to provide any concrete proof behind its claim that Nijjar was killed under direction from Modi. But the possibility that Nijjar’s death was a result of gang activity between warring factions of criminal Sikh gang members in Canada has put a spotlight on the country’s growing Punjabi community and highlighted questions over Canada’s international student visa and immigration fraud. It’s no secret

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Sunak is right to push ahead with new North Sea oil licenses

The green lobby has found another way of attacking the government for giving the go-ahead for new oil and gas licences in the North Sea. They are claiming that Britain doesn’t have enough refinery capacity to turn the crude oil into finished products.  The climate pressure group Global Witness claims that most of the new oil which will come out of the North Sea will be ‘heavy’ – while Britain’s refineries are geared up to handle lighter crude oils. Therefore, the group contends, it is pointless drilling for new oil in the North Sea because it can’t help provide for our own needs in terms of finished products such as petrol,