Politics

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

Fraser Nelson

UK becomes first G20 country to halve its carbon emissions

A major milestone has just been passed: Britain has become the first major country to halve its carbon emissions. The rapid pace of UK environmental progress means that our output is now below 320 million tonnes – less than half the 652 million tonnes of our 1970 peak. This is in spite of Britain now having a far larger population than 50 years ago and an economy more than twice the size. Had things gone the other way – if our carbon emissions had doubled, for example – this would be front page news. But I’m not sure you can expect to read about this good news anywhere other than The Spectator.

The shameful legacy of Tony Blair’s Hunting Act

Most laws enacted nearly 20 years ago become uncontroversial with the passage of time. The Hunting Act, though, is not one of them. As hunts gather today for their traditional Boxing Day meet, the latest chapter in this ongoing story involves fresh claims about Labour and past ‘cash for commitments’. Central to these is the allegation that the pledge to ban hunting with hounds in the 1997 party manifesto was effectively purchased by a £1 million donation. Shortly before the election, the Labour party received that figure from Political Animal Lobby, now known as Animal Survival International. It has always been a fair assumption that such a large sum had

Has the West forgotten about Ukraine?

When Hamas murdered 1,200 people on October 7, I was in eastern Ukraine, researching a long piece for the Telegraph on how the summer’s counter-offensive had gone. The death toll in Israel’s 9/11 was equivalent to just a week or two’s heavy fighting in the Donbas. Yet immediately it was clear that the massacre 3,000 miles away would mark a new phase in Ukraine’s conflict: no longer would it be the sole international crisis in western leaders’ in-trays. Until now, one of things that has buoyed morale here is the sense that the world is cheering Ukraine on, and that despite the privations and bloodshed, a glorious Victory Day awaits.

Can Jilly Cooper wreck your life?

What do the names Octavia, Prudence, Harriet, and Imogen all have in common? If you don’t know the answer to that, you’re probably – unlike our current prime minister – not a fan of Jilly Cooper. Cooper has just published her latest bonkbuster Tackle, one of the doorstep-sized Rutshire Chronicles series that also includes Riders and Rivals. These books are set in a fictionalised Cotswolds and are as reliably comforting as a tin of Quality Streets. But in the good old, bad old days of the seventies and early eighties many of us came to this writer through her ‘name-books’ – six romantic novels (and one collection of short stories)

Is the West at war in the Red Sea?

Britain and the US are getting ever more drawn in to the conflict in the Red Sea, as Iran-backed Houthis fire missiles at commercial ships. The USS Carney has downed 14 attack drones launched from Houthi-controlled territory and the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond is also there shooting down missiles.  The Houthis are firing from Yemen, and the Iranian regime is reportedly sending them real-time intelligence and weaponry. The Houthis claim that they are only targeting ships headed to Israel, but evidence suggests otherwise. On Saturday a ship travelling from Saudi Arabia to India was struck. Christmas Eve was one of the busiest days yet: US Central Command said that

The King’s speech was more Christian than his mother had dared

King Charles has been a victim of his own success. His first Christmas broadcast last year, which was both affecting and socially conscious, attracted 10.6 million viewers, making it not only the most-watched monarch’s seasonal address since viewing records began, but also the most popular single programme to air over the festive period last year. The cynical might argue that its success was partly down to rubber-necking curiosity – would Charles mention his family’s rift with Prince Harry? – and partly because of the relative paucity of must-watch television in our increasingly bifurcated age. Still, it was a triumph both of presentation (the new monarch is a far more natural and

How I found the true meaning of Christmas in prison

What do prisoners eat on Christmas Day? Some tabloid reports might lead you to think ‘lags’ are ‘gorging’ themselves on turkey with all the trimmings. Even the official prison menus from the Ministry of Justice make lunch on 25 December sound appetising: inmates at HMP Manchester, a high-security jail, get ‘Traditional Turkey Dinner with stuffing, roast potatoes, boiled potatoes, vegetables (and) sausage wrapped in bacon & gravy’ served up with ‘Christmas pudding & white sauce and Christmas cake’. As you would imagine the reality is very different.  In a typical British prison this afternoon, inmates will be carrying flimsy blue plastic plates down to the servery to receive a slice

Stephen Daisley

Who will remind the Met Police of their duties?

On Saturday, according to the Daily Telegraph, pro-Palestinian protestors ‘brought Oxford Street to a standstill on one of the busiest shopping days of the Christmas period’. The organisers, Sisters Uncut, declared that ‘Christmas is cancelled’ while placards read ‘no shopping while bombs are dropping’ – a reference to Israel’s military response to the 7 October massacre in which Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 Jewish men, women and children. The Telegraph recorded that the marchers had ‘walked slowly’ along Oxford Street and ‘forced fashion retailers Zara and Puma to temporarily lock their doors’. They wrote that the demonstrators ‘made their way from Soho Square towards Oxford Circus, holding up buses and taxis’.

From illegal to ambassador – the incredible story of Uran Ferizi

The next Albanian ambassador to London will be Uran Ferizi. It is a remarkable appointment, not least because Dr Ferizi’s first encounter with Britain was when he arrived as an illegal immigrant in 1998. He was 17 years old, and he had nothing other than the clothes he stood up in. I first got to know Uran Ferizi over a decade ago, and learned about his story then. He told me he had been determined to get to Britain since he was 15. He decided he wanted to study at the University of Oxford – partly because his father had cited an Oxford education as an example of something his

Are the Pope’s allies funding people smugglers?

Some of Pope Francis’s closest allies in the Catholic Church are alleged to have secretly given more than €2 million to an Italian migrant rescue charity whose senior staff are charged with people smuggling. They include Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna, who is among other things the papal peace envoy to Ukraine, and Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg. These senior figures in the Church organised payment of the money, it is claimed, at the bequest of the Pope who had established a special rapport with the far-left founder of the charity. The payments were kept secret for fear of adverse publicity.  The disclosure has been made in internet chatroom conversations between

Steerpike

Cleverly apologises for drink-spiking comments

A month after ‘Stockton-gate‘, the Home Secretary is in the headlines again over reports of another verbal indiscretion. James Cleverly has tonight apologised for comments made at a Downing Street reception about spiking his wife’s drink with a date rape drug. Speaking to female reporters at the No. 10 lobby drinks on Monday, Cleverly said that ‘a little bit of Rohypnol in her drink every night’ was ‘not really illegal if it’s only a little bit’, according to the Sunday Mirror. The remarks came on the same day that the Home Office announced plans to crack down on spiking. Cleverly – who is often accompanied at such events by his

Steerpike

The ten most-read Steerpikes of 2023

So. Farewell then 2023. Twelve months of strikes, strife and struggle – though (mercifully) fewer occupants in No. 10. In Britain, the year ends as it began, with Rishi Sunak struggling in the polls. There is, however, a new King on the throne after the Coronation back in May. Abroad, the Ukraine war continued to rage, with the conflict over Gaza flaring up in October after the atrocities committed by Hamas. Joe Biden entertained and disappointed in equal measure with yet more gaffes and missteps, ahead of a likely rematch with Donald Trump in next year’s presidential contest. Below is a round-up of Steerpike’s most read articles from 2023, touching

Katy Balls

Inside Labour’s debate on its £28bn green pledge

Merry Christmas Keir Starmer. The Labour leader ends the year with a commanding lead in the polls and both business and media figures working on the assumption that by this time next year he will be in 10 Downing Street. In contrast, Rishi Sunak has little reason for cheer this December (even if he did tell The Spectator that despite everything he is enjoying the job). There is one area where the Tories still think they have an advantage over Labour and that’s Starmer’s green spending plan. ‘It’s how we will will the election,’ insists one optimistic government aide. Announced by Rachel Reeves in 2021 at Labour conference, the party

Will striking doctors bring down the NHS?

Doctors haven’t always been keen on the NHS. A former chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA) said in response to the 1946 National Health Service Act, that: ‘It looks to me uncommonly like the first step, and a big one, to National Socialism as practised in Germany.’ In 1948, the BMA claimed that only 4,734 doctors, just over 10 per cent of those polled, were in favour of such a system.  At one point, the Minister for Health and father of the NHS Aneurin Bevan described the BMA as a ‘small body of politically poisoned people’ who had decided to ‘fight the Act… and to stir up as much emotion

Patrick O'Flynn

Rishi’s rule will end with a whimper, not a bang

That best-selling 1970s toy Action Man proved the power of evolution. First, the painted hair on the initial models was superseded by ‘realistic’ flock hair and then came an ‘eagle eyes enhancement’ that allowed the eyeballs to be moved back and forth via a lever at the back of the head.   One is put in mind of this by the current photograph of Keir Starmer in combat fatigues standing in front of some especially fierce-looking British soldiers. Fixing the camera with a steely gaze and benefiting from his square jaw and Martin Sheen-style Hollywood hair, the Labour leader comes across as a later series commanding officer Action Man. I dare

When will the Premier League stop treating football fans with contempt?

The Premier League’s television paymasters, who plough billions into football, invariably get what they want. That is surely why the decision has been taken to schedule the Wolves-Chelsea match at Molineux stadium in the Midlands tomorrow, on Christmas Eve: so that it can be shown live on Sky Sports. The Premier League has made ‘special provisions’ to play the game at 1 p.m. – rather than the typical later kick-off time on a Sunday. Ostensibly this has been done to ease travel for supporters, in particular, Chelsea fans trying to get back to London in time for Christmas. But the bigwigs behind these decisions really don’t get it, do they? Without

Who wants Amsterdam’s mega brothel on their doorstep?

Amsterdam’s red light district is an uncomfortable place for a woman to walk at night. Drunk tourists from all around the world wander the streets, leering into the red-lit windows where prostitutes rent a space and ply for trade. Thanks to years of problems, the city’s residents are demanding action. The local government coalition was elected on a plan to roughly halve the number of sex worker windows, and to move them to an ‘erotic centre’. But there’s a problem: no one wants it on their doorstep. At the city’s NDSM Wharf on Monday evening, the letters EC (‘erotic centre’) were set on fire. This Docklands site in north Amsterdam had been shortlisted to

What’s the true cost of Britain’s biggest offshore wind farm?

The world’s largest offshore wind farm is coming to Britain but there will be only one winner from the scheme – and it isn’t electricity consumers. Wind energy giant Ørsted had raised doubts about the Hornsea 3 offshore project earlier this year. But after securing more generous subsidy arrangements from the government, the Danish firm is pressing ahead with the project. Soon, another 230 turbines will fill the North Sea due east of Hull. The news this week is being hailed as a boost for Britain’s net zero strategy but don’t be deceived: the true cost of this scheme will be enormous. Last year, Ørsted won a contract for difference – which is

Why was this Christian teacher hounded for her views on LGBT issues?

Who’d be a teacher these days? Until about 50 years ago, your outlook didn’t matter very much provided you were reasonably competent. Today the profession is coming close to saying that anyone who doesn’t profess progressive and morally relativistic views shouldn’t bother applying. Glawdys Leger, an experienced Catholic teacher in a Church of England state school, expressed her views on LGBT issues during a religious education lesson. Leger also raised objections to teaching LGBT material. She was sacked by Bishop Justus CofE School in Bromley, south London, in May 2022, but her troubles didn’t end there. Leger also had her case sent to the statutory teachers’ disciplinary body, the Teaching Regulation Agency