Politics Archives

Friday

8 Sep 2023

Could Corbyn thwart Sadiq’s mayoral bid?

Is next year’s London mayoral contest a done deal? When the Tories first started the process of candidate selection, the general sense was that they had little chance of taking the mayoralty from Sadiq Khan. However, as the Labour mayor has faced a voter backlash over his support for Ulez (the ultra low emission zone), the race looks closer than previously thought. What’s more, there is one man who could decide it. Step forward Jeremy Corbyn. The former Labour leader – who is currently banned from standing as a candidate for the party – could deny Khan a third term as London mayor if he decides to run as an

Ian Acheson

Who’s really to blame for the Wandsworth jailbreak?

There’s fevered speculation about inside jobs or state actors involved in the HMP Wandsworth prison break by terror suspect Daniel Khalife. But as police close in on Richmond park, whether he’s found cowering in a ditch or at a press conference in Tehran, this dramatic escape reveals just how close we are to a full blown crisis across our prison system. Wandsworth has been failing in plain sight in front of helpless officials at the Ministry of Justice for years. Repeated inspections have revealed squalor, overcrowding and chronic staff retention problems with young, inexperienced officers out of their depth. Writing about another filthy jail recently, Chief Inspector Charlie Taylor, rapidly

Steerpike

BBC disinformation correspondent accused of embellishing her CV

Oh dear. Could things get any worse for the fledgling BBC Verify, launched to combat the scourge of fake news? The fact-checking service has already faced criticism for failing to spot the BBC’s own blunders – such as the Corporation’s misfired reporting on Nigel Farage and Coutts. Now though it looks like the service’s star reporter could be in a bit of hot water. According to the New European, the BBC’s disinformation correspondent Marianna Spring was allegedly caught embellishing her CV when applying for a job in 2018. The paper alleges that five years ago Spring wanted to work as a Moscow stringer for the US-based outlet Coda Story and wrote on her CV: ‘June

Gavin Mortimer

Why Macron wants to put French schoolkids back in uniform

The details of King Charles’ state visit to France later this month were announced on Wednesday. His Majesty’s deputy private secretary, Chris Fitzgerald said that the occasion state will celebrate the countries’ ‘shared histories, culture and values’. One thing France and Britain haven’t shared for many years is the same view on school uniform. We wear it, they don’t, although they might be about to change. In an interview on Monday, Emmanuel Macron agreed that school uniform may be the best way to avoid any future controversies about what children wear to schools in France. He was referring to the furore that erupted last week when his new Minister of

Alexander Larman

When will Elizabeth II get the memorial she deserves?

After the public grief that greeted the death of our longest-serving monarch Elizabeth II a year ago today, it might be expected that there would be a similar display of commemoration to mark the first anniversary of her passing. Instead, the Royal Family have let it be known that there will be no public event to remember her. The King and Queen will hold a private family ceremony at Balmoral Castle, to which all the senior members of ‘the Firm’ will be invited – save, perhaps inevitably, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The Prince and Princess of Wales will make an appearance in public, but are not expected to issue

Thursday

7 Sep 2023

William Moore

Broken Britain: what went wrong?

34 min listen

On the podcast: In her cover piece for the magazine, The Spectator’s economics editor Kate Andrews writes that political short termism has broken Britain. She joins the podcast alongside Giles Wilkes, former number 10 advisor and senior fellow at the Institute for Government, to ask what went wrong? (01:12) Also this week: In his column Douglas Murray writes about Burning Man, the festival which has left Silicon Valley’s finest stuck in the mud. He is joined by David Willis, who has been covering the festival this year for the BBC, to discuss the schadenfreude of Burning Man. (14:41) And finally: Travel writer Sean Thomas argues in The Spectator that having a pet is far

Oscar Edmondson

Tories face ninth by-election – are they ruined?

13 min listen

The Conservative MP Chris Pincher has resigned following the Commons decision to refuse his suspension appeal. Follow Nadine Dorries’s most recent resignation, this means the government faces their 9th by-election since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister – can they come back from this? Also on the podcast, Oscar Edmondson speaks to James Heale and Isabel Hardman about Rishi Sunak’s move to rejoin the EU Horizon Project and the latest on the UK-India trade deal.

Tom Slater

Why eco zealots love to hate Ryanair

There are many reasons why someone might want to throw a cream pie at Michael O’Leary, the motormouth boss of budget airline Ryanair. Usually, the only satisfying thing about a Ryanair flight is the price. (And even then prices have been going up.) Then there’s his one-note Remoanerism, his contemptuous comments over the years about Brexit-voting Brits. And his contempt for some of his own workers. But that’s not why O’Leary was pied by some activists in Brussels today, as he handed in a petition to the European Commission, calling for flights over Europe to be better protected from air-traffic-control strikes. No, they’re angry – apparently – that his firm exists at all. ‘Stop the

Freddy Gray

Is Joe Biden really running again?

Will President Joe Biden be on the ballot in the presidential election of 2024? It’s a question that Biden seemed to answer four months ago when he announced, in an online video, that he would be running for re-election next year. ‘Let’s finish this job,’ he said. ‘Because I know we can.’ Three-quarters of Americans say they’re ‘seriously concerned’ about Biden’s mental and physical competence to do the job Team Biden must have hoped that, after making that announcement, the doubts surrounding his bid for re-election would go away. As the polls increasingly show Donald Trump cruising towards a re-nomination for the Republican ticket, America appears then to be heading

Madeleine Teahan

Why are so many Catholic schools affected by the Raac crisis?

We now know the names of the 156 schools across the country with crumbling reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) inside their buildings, resulting in partial or full closure for 104 of those listed. What struck me as I glanced down the list of schools is the frequency of the word ‘Saint’ which, more often than not, means that the school in question is Catholic. A quick count showed that 30 Catholic schools are listed in total — which amounts to about a fifth of schools affected. Given that only 9 per cent of state funded schools and academies in the UK are Catholic, that seems alarmingly high and begs the

Debbie Hayton

When will the Tories clear up the transgender confusion?

Schools are back but teachers are still waiting for the government’s guidance on transgender pupils. Back in March, Rishi Sunak promised that it would be in our hands ‘for the summer term’. Well it’s now autumn and another round of teacher training days – and the summer holidays – have come and gone, and still we are no nearer to any answers. In the mean time, teachers and trans pupils remain in limbo. They are not alone: doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital have reportedly been advised to ‘stop using gendered language’ such as boy or girl. Without any clear line from the government on this issue, it’s no wonder

Steerpike

Blundering mandarins forget £3.6 billion

Oh dear. It seems that Sir Humphrey has messed up again. Perusing parliament’s records this morning, Mr S was struck by a written ministerial statement put down by Kemi Badenoch’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT). The nearly-created ministry came to life back in February, when the old Department for International Trade (DIT) was combined with Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The merger went off without a hitch at the time but it appears that no-one remembered to check the books. Among DBT’s responsibilities is guaranteeing Covid loan guarantees. But according to its statement today: Following routine review, it has been noted that at the Department for Business and

Steerpike

Tory MP Chris Pincher quits and triggers another by-election

To no-one’s surprise, Chris Pincher has now quit as a Tory MP, preferring to resign now rather than drag out a recall petition over the coming months. For more than a year, everyone could see this coming since the infamous evening at the Carlton Club. Everyone that is, except Tory high command. Pincher lost the party whip back in July 2022, with a by-election likely ever since the Standards Commissioner began an investigation. So who did the good Tories of the Tamworth Association select to replace Pincher? Eddie Hughes, the incumbent MP for Walsall North. That selection raised the possibility of a scenario whereby Hughes won the Tamworth by-election but

Steerpike

Fact check: has Scotland’s NHS improved as much as Yousaf claims?

There might be a health crisis but at least the SNP aren’t short on rose-tinted spectacles. It was always going to be interesting to see how Humza Yousaf approached the health service in his new programme for government – given the massive decline in performance on his watch. But rather than adopt a solemn approach (or even, gasp, apologise for the health service failings), Yousaf struck a somewhat triumphant tone. ‘The National Health Service is already making progress in recovering from the pandemic,’ he declared. ‘We have the best-performing accident and emergency departments in the UK!’ He continued: ‘In the last year, the number of people waiting more than 18

Jawad Iqbal

It would be madness for Modi to change India’s name

India’s rulers are apparently unhappy with the country’s name and appear determined to do away with it altogether. They would prefer it if everyone – not just in India but across the rest of the world – used the name ‘Bharat’ when referring to it. Changing India’s name is political madness, amounting to nothing more than a divisive ploy dreamt up by Hindu nationalists for short term gain. Rumours of an imminent name change have been flying after official invites for the G20 summit asked leaders to join the ‘president of Bharat’ for dinner. Officials also used the term in a handbook – called ‘Bharat, The Mother of Democracy’ –

Steerpike

Gillian Keegan defies the press critics

To Smith Square: scene of Tory triumphs of the recent past. And tonight it was the turn of Gillian Keegan to produce her own bravura display. Amid speculation that the under-fire Education Secretary might not show, Keegan – the much-touted speaker at tonight’s Women2Win event for Tories in Communications – arrived at the inHouse offices to deliver a defiant retort to her critics in the Fourth Estate. ‘One of the very first people who helped me in the media was inHouse Communications’ said Keegan, before pausing and adding: ‘I think I might need another session’ and after laughter: ‘I don’t want to learn how to stop swearing but maybe the

Wednesday

6 Sep 2023

Lucy Dunn

Is Sturgeon’s Holyrood return a help or hindrance to Humza?

Nicola Sturgeon’s first speech back in Holyrood was a nostalgic return to the past. It felt natural to see the former first minister holding court again, speaking with a presence a leader would. So natural, in fact, that even the Presiding Officer couldn’t help herself from referring to Sturgeon as ‘First Minister’ – to much amusement in the chamber. Widely expected to focus on childcare, Sturgeon’s speech verged more into the philosophical. She mused about the nature of modern political discourse, admitting that she herself had played a role in creating division. ‘I accept my share of responsibility,’ she told parliament. Urging parties to debate constructively, she went on: ‘Polarisation

Kate Andrews

Is the Bank of England done with raising rates?

Is the UK set for its 15th consecutive interest rate hike later this month? Markets expect that rates will peak closer to 6 per cent – up from 5.25 per cent now – but this might not happen immediately – or at all. Speaking at today’s Treasury Select Committee, the Bank’s governor Andrew Bailey suggested rate hikes were no longer a matter of certainty, as the headline rate of inflation is now back on track with the Bank’s projections for a significant fall by the end of the year. Speaking to MPs this afternoon, Bailey said that the UK had moved on ‘from a period … where it was clear rates needed

Steerpike

Watch: Nicola Sturgeon makes her Scottish parliament comeback

Nicola Sturgeon is back. The former SNP leader, who stood down as First Minister in March, popped up in the Scottish parliament today to issue a warning on the state of ‘political discourse’. It was Sturgeon’s first appearance in the chamber since she was arrested as part of a probe into SNP finances. Sturgeon, who was released without charge and denies any wrongdoing, called for politicians to engage in a more ‘mature debate’. She also insisted that ‘things look(ed) a bit clearer’ from the backbenches. She told MSPs: ‘Let me say that I accept my share of responsibility for the state of our political discourse. But if anything that makes

Jane Haynes

The Birmingham council disaster was entirely preventable

Last month, in the heart of Birmingham’s Grand Central station, a mechanical bull called Ozzy was unveiled to great fanfare, led by local politicians. With nostrils flared and red eyes shining, the bull had been transformed from a 2022 Commonwealth Games prop into a lasting, virulent symbol of this vital, diverse, brilliant city. Among those lined up for the photo op were West Midlands mayor Andy Street and Birmingham City Council leader John Cotton, recently promoted to the top job after a Labour party coup. ‘Brand perception of Birmingham has moved forward dramatically since the Games,’ boomed Street, the Conservatives’ local poster boy. The reality is that everywhere you look