Politics

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

Monday

2 Oct 2023

Why won’t Jeremy Hunt talk about HS2?

Despite the excitement outside the Tory conference hall in Manchester about Rishi Sunak deciding he would indeed scrap the Manchester leg of HS2, Jeremy Hunt didn’t mention it in his speech. He talked about the need to reduce costs long-term and said that public spending needed to come down. But the contribution of the high speed rail line to that public spending bill wasn’t something he covered at all. So the mystery and leaks continue. What Hunt did want to say, and very early on in his rather short speech, was that ‘the level of tax is too high’. This was the line he needed to offer to rebellious Tory

James Heale

Liz Truss’s ‘growth’ rally upstages Jeremy Hunt

It says something about the standing of the current Tory leadership that, away from the party’s half-empty conference hall, some 250 Conservatives packed into a room to attend the ‘Great British Growth Rally’. Headlined by Liz Truss, the former PM was joined on stage by three former cabinet members: Ranil Jayawardena, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel. The reception was a marked contrast with the gloom that many activists in Manchester say they are currently feeling. Jeremy Hunt’s speech later this afternoon is unlikely to garner similar cheers. The ‘fab four’ delivered speeches along familiar themes: the state is too big, Brits are too taxed The ‘fab four’ delivered speeches along

Steerpike

‘Stop Brexit Man’ Steve Bray gets into a scrap at Tory conference

Fresh from mingling with Bully XL owners, ‘Stop Brexit Man’ Steve Bray has popped up again – this time at a conference fringe event asking ‘Can the Tories win?’. Mr S thinks he knows what Bray’s answer to that question might be. During the event, Bray stood up to unveil his ‘Stop The Tories’ top. But before he could yell ‘BREXIT’, one of the crowd decided to take matters into his own hands. The delegate tackled Bray into the corner before attempting to wrestle him out of the room. ‘This is assault,’ screamed Bray as security rushed to intervene. ‘Losers!’ he bellowed as he was hustled from the room. ‘No,

Kate Andrews

Can the Tory party afford to keep delaying tax cuts?

The whispers going around last year’s party conference largely centred on the state of government – how it was deteriorating so quickly. This year’s whispers are about something that is by no means as dramatic, but possibly as existential to the future of the party: the prospect of tax cuts. The official line is simple: no tax cuts this year. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has spent his summer trying to quell expectations that his Autumn Statement next month will include any major changes to the tax burden, which is set to reach a post-war high by the time of the next election. This morning he said now is ‘not the right

Cindy Yu

Does China care what Britain thinks?

62 min listen

In 2010, David Cameron and George Osborne ushered in what they called ‘a golden era’ with China, the world’s rising superpower. They argued that Britain could be China’s best friend in the West. Thirteen years later, after a global pandemic, up to a million interned in Xinjiang, and a Communist Party General Secretary seemingly keen to roll back democratic progress in the mainland and in Hong Kong, that policy looks ill-thought-out, at best. But are we at risk of swinging the other direction now, going from ignorance to hysteria within a handful of years? Did we get China wrong, and do we keep getting China wrong? Is Britain now losing

Isabel Hardman

Mark Harper wants you to know how much he loves cars

Mark Harper is rebranding himself as the Secretary of State for Cars, rather than Transport. He didn’t even mention HS2 in his speech to Tory conference this morning: in fact, he barely talked about rail at all. He opened by congratulating his department on ending some of the industrial action on the railways, and linking the ongoing strikes from RMT and ASLEF to the Labour party. He had a brief line about being ‘proud to support our railways’ and the risk of following ‘Labour’s lazy, ideological approach of forking out yet more money from the public purse with no benefit to passengers’, but that was that for trains. Harper moved

John Connolly

James Cleverly defends his China policy

How should Britain handle its relationship with China? That’s an increasingly fraught question inside the Tory party lately, with several China hawks in government and on the backbenches keen to limit engagement while classifying the country as a security threat. Earlier this year, James Cleverly faced criticism after becoming the first UK Foreign Secretary to visit Beijing in five years – a trip he defended at the time as necessary for diplomacy, arguing that disengaging from the country was not ‘credible’. Speaking to Cindy Yu at conference today, for a special edition of the Chinese Whispers podcast, Cleverly defended his position again, saying: ‘Foreign secretary flies to foreign country to have

Matthew Lynn

Why Dame Sharon White failed at John Lewis

There are lots of plausible explanations for Dame Sharon White’s failure at the department store and grocery chain John Lewis. The retail environment was too tough. Her predecessor expanded too quickly. During a cost–of-living crisis and with the shift to online shopping it was always going to be a very tough gig. Yet once you look a little deeper, the real explanation is this: the quango-cracy, of which she was a leading member, is useless at running a real business. With her early resignation today, Dame Sharon has, to her credit, recognised a fact that was already painfully obvious to everyone else. Put simply, she was not up to the

Isabel Hardman

Coutinho’s election warm-up speech slams ‘short-term Starmer’

Claire Coutinho spent a lot of her conference speech as Energy Secretary attacking Labour and ‘short-term Starmer’, and the rest of it explaining why Rishi Sunak’s policy changes on net zero meant Britain could stay committed to its climate targets. The ‘short-term Starmer’ line is one we will hear a lot at this conference from ministers standing in front of a conference set bearing the slogan ‘long-term decisions for a brighter future’. Coutinho was as keen to talk about a former Labour leader who she said had ‘clearly radicalised’ Starmer: Ed Miliband. Miliband’s influence over the current leader has been a topic of debate in his own party for a

Isabel Hardman

How long will the Tories allow HS2 rumours to swirl?

Are the Tories going to spend all week in Manchester talking but not talking about HS2? Speculation that Rishi Sunak might chop a leg off the line has now been swirling for more than a week, but the Prime Minister and his ministers are refusing to offer any further details. Yesterday, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said he wanted to be asked about something else at a fringe, while Sunak himself said he wouldn’t comment on ‘speculation’. This never makes the questions go away, and they know it. Even with these pots of money, there isn’t enough tangible evidence that any sort of levelling up is happening There are some rumours

Lloyd Evans

What you won’t learn from Channel 4’s Partygate drama

Partygate has morphed from a half-forgotten scandal into a new drama-documentary which airs on Channel 4 tomorrow night. This rehash of old news depicts Boris Johnson as an amiable tyrant, played by Jon Culshaw, who presides over a gang of chaotic law-breakers as they hold riotous parties in Downing Street at the height of lockdown. The fizz of topicality has vanished from this story which came to an end last year when Boris was forced to relinquish the keys of Number Ten. So viewers already know whodunnit, why he dunnit, and what happened after he dunnit. Still, the show has a decent stab at dramatising the nitty-gritty details. To create

Ross Clark

Does Jeremy Hunt really want to make work pay?

Jeremy Hunt wants to make work pay. Few Conservatives will argue with that, nor with the idea of introducing sanctions for benefit claimants who refuse to look for work. Truth is he could and should go far further than threatening to cut the benefits of hardcore work-avoiders who refuse even to attend job interviews. A more radical approach would be to abolish unemployment benefits altogether and instead offer anyone who wants it three days a week guaranteed work at the National Living Wage. The government’s opponents would deride it as ‘US-style workfare’. But forcing people to turn up and do some work in return for their keep would ensure that

Isabel Hardman

How’s the mood at Tory conference?

9 min listen

It’s day two at Tory conference and the mood seems muted and lacking in energy. This is in direct contrast to Rishi Sunak who appeared to have fire in his belly in a tetchy interview over the weekend with Laura Kuenssberg. He will be hoping to use this conference as his reset moment, but will he be undermined by those in the cabinet with an eye on the leadership? In Manchester, Katy Balls and Isabel Hardman discuss.

Tom Goodenough

Is this year’s Tory conference slogan the worst ever?

Boris Johnson got plenty of things wrong as prime minister but he at least knew how to come up with a punchy slogan. ‘Get Brexit done’, was the tagline of his October 2019 Tory conference. It was a work of genius: both sides of the referendum, exhausted by infighting and frankly bored with Brexit, could get behind that sentiment. Its simplicity might have been deceptive but it summed up what people wanted: to move on. In a few more words, ‘invest in our NHS, schools and police’, it offered a winning idea. With hindsight, it’s no surprise that Boris won so decisively a few weeks later at the snap general

Steerpike

Does Rishi Sunak hate dogs?

Every world leader these days needs to have a pet. Joe Biden has a pair of out-of-control German Shepherds that are busily biting their way through the president’s secret service guards; Boris Johnson had Dilyn, a Jack Russell which was as well trained as its owner; and Rishi Sunak owns Nova, a Red Fox labrador. The Prime Minister has been pictured working hard while stroking the dog. But does Sunak actually like his pet? Comments made by the PM at a fringe event at Tory conference suggest not. The PM told a Women2Win event that after enlisting the help of his wife and kids to get him elected, he begrudgingly

Coffee House

Day two at Conservative conference 2023: The Spectator guide

It’s day two of the Conservative party conference in Manchester and attendees are shaking off last night’s merriment to get stuck into today’s agenda. Today’s highlights include speeches by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, while over on the fringe circuit there’s a range of interesting events covering themes from education, Ukraine and China. The Spectator kicks off its jam-packed programme of conference panel events. Main agenda: Morning session 11:00 – Speech by Energy and Net Zero Secretary, Claire Coutinho MP 11:15 – Speech by Transport Secretary, Mark Harper MP 11:30 – Speech by Culture Secretary, Lucy Frazer MP Afternoon session 14:00 – Speech by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt

Steerpike

Scottish Tory leader takes a pop at Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak is the talk of the Scottish Tory fringe at Conservative party conference — but perhaps not in the way the Prime Minister might hope. Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross wasted no time at all at making a dig at his boss — perhaps a sly retaliation to the fact Rishi Sunak wasn’t able to name even four members of Ross’s shadow cabinet this summer. How very awkward… ‘I am the final speaker before the Prime Minister comes,’ Ross announced to a gathering crowd, ‘so I have some small housekeeping duties to do…’ ‘As the Prime Minister will be coming up on the stage, I just need to sort

Sunday

1 Oct 2023

Steerpike

Rishi outlines Keir Starmer’s five ‘pledges’ in 1922 speech

Rishi Sunak’s first Conservative party conference as prime minister is off to a roaring start. Never one to miss a chance to stick it to his opponents, he marked the occasion by ribbing his opposite number Keir Starmer. This evening in Manchester Sunak was guest of honour at the 1922 committee and ConservativeHome’s drinks reception. Taking to the podium, the Prime Minister couldn’t resist the opportunity to poke fun at the Labour leader. Kicking off his speech, he said: It has been a busy year and we are making a difference, making the right long-term decisions to put our country on a better trajectory and delivering on our five priorities

Steerpike

Tory peer: stop funding the Conservatives

It’s the first night of the Conservative party conference and (so far) the drama is yet to live up to last year’s mini-Budget mayhem. But just down the road from the official venue in Manchester, rebel grassroots’ group the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO) tonight threw a black tie gala dinner. Some 300-odd attendees were in attendance, including Nigel Farage and around a dozen Conservative MPs including keynote speaker Priti Patel and deputy chairman Lee Anderson. Hopes of an appearance by Boris Johnson though, were sadly dashed. But while Patel gave a characteristically punchy speech that included lengthy praise of GB News, it was the performance of CDO President Lord Cruddas

Steerpike

Kemi Badenoch guns for Stonewall – and the charity sector

Kemi Badenoch’s war with Stonewall opened up on a new front this evening. Earlier this year, the business secretary incurred the wrath of the LGBTQ+ charity when she told government officials to withdraw from Stonewall’s top 100 employers’ scheme over the charity’s dubious positions on gender rights. Now, speaking this evening, she has raised the question of whether Stonewall and other charities should be receiving any public money at all. Speaking at an IEA and TaxPayers’ Alliance event at Tory party conference, Badenoch drew attention to the latter’s report on the public subsidies Stonewall receives, and argued that several charities should not be receiving public money to support ‘people’s hobby