Politics

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

Tuesday

Ed McGuinness

Keir Starmer is dangerously naive about the army

Keir Starmer has vowed to create a ‘squaddies tsar’ if he wins the election. This ‘Armed Forces Commissioner’ would represent the military and their families and sit outside the military chain of command. But it’s here that the problems start. The Labour leader says this issue is personal to him because his uncle served aboard HMS Antelope in the Falklands War. But Starmer could do with turning to another military reference point – the 1998 film, Saving Private Ryan – to appreciate why such a ‘tsar’ could cause trouble. ‘I don’t gripe to you, Reiben,’ captain Miller explains as his soldiers traipse through the French bocage. ‘I’m a captain. There’s a

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

Is Macron having a Meloni makeover?

Emmanuel Macron never does anything by chance, so why did he allow himself to be filmed downing a beer in one on Saturday night? The clip, which has gone viral, has angered puritanical progressives. Green MP Sandrine Rousseau has branded Macron’s behaviour ‘toxic masculinity’.  The president of the French Republic slaked his thirst just before midnight in the dressing room of the Toulouse rugby team in the Stade de France. Toulouse had beaten La Rochelle to win the French rugby championship, an event at which Macron had been introduced to the players before kick-off. He ducked out of a similar invitation in April at the final of the French football

Gareth Roberts Gareth Roberts

Harry and Meghan may still have a bright podcasting future

After Spotify sacked/let go/‘mutually agreed to part ways’ with, in the words of one of its executives, those ‘f-ing grifters’ Harry and Meghan, there have much discussion about where it all went wrong for the podcasting pair. The general consensus is that the Sussexes may have overestimated public interest in anything they have to say beyond self-pitying tittle-tattle. Their recent statement that they’re not even going to do that any more makes you wonder what else they have stocked up in their ideas cupboard, and why the world would want to pay it their attention. The duff duo haven’t even been paid the full $20 million (£16 million) they signed

Monday

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Parliament votes to ban Boris

MPs have just voted 354 to 7 in favour of the Privileges Committee report’s finding that Boris Johnson deliberately misled parliament over partygate, and that he should be banned from having a former members’ pass. At some points in this evening’s lengthy debate, it appeared that there wasn’t going to be a vote, and even when there was one, there were significant absences as the Commons is on a one-line whip. But in the end, a division was forced in order to flush out how many supporters Johnson still had who thought it was worth going over the top. Johnson, meanwhile, is speaking at a dinner on democracy Most of

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Jacob Rees-Mogg backs up Boris

It was rare to find anyone willing to stand up and defend Boris Johnson in parliament this afternoon. But cometh the hour, cometh the Mogg as the Honourable Member for the eighteenth century arose to deliver his best defence of his former boss. Jacob Rees-Mogg described it as a ‘deliberate attempt to take the most unfavourable interpretation that the committee can of Mr Johnson’s activities.’ The Tory backbencher jested that the panel of MPs of acting like ‘an Elon Musk particle’ inserted into ‘Mr Johnson’s brain’ and ridiculed them for refusing to allow criticism in the chamber: For some reason the Privileges Committee thinks it’s in communist China, and that

John Ferry John Ferry

Humza Yousaf’s pound shop populism isn’t cutting through 

Have you opened a letter recently from your energy supplier and gasped at how much of your monthly budget is now going on electricity and gas? Are you living in constant pain or discomfort because you need an operation, but under the Scottish NHS you’ll have to wait years for treatment? Or do you live on one of Scotland’s islands and have been forced, for the first time in your life, to take to the streets in protest at the Scottish government’s failure to provide lifeline ferry services for your community? If Scotland ever does cut away from the UK, the split is many years away. This makes it all

Andrew Liddle

Will Labour’s green energy strategy convince Scottish voters?

The launch of the Labour party’s new green energy mission did not go to plan. The party had promised to ferry journalists to the venue in a hydrogen-powered bus, only for this to be quickly replaced with a diesel alternative on the day. To make matters worse, the bus driver then got lost on route, twisting and turning his way through the narrow streets of Leith. Only after several U-turns, and some helpful directions from a generous journalist, did the bus eventually chug its way – much delayed – to the location of Starmer’s great launch. As a metaphor for the Labour party’s energy policy, you would be hard pressed

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

The Tories can’t escape partygate

Is partygate all in the past? That’s what Rishi Sunak is hoping. He sent Penny Mordaunt to the Commons this afternoon to back the Privileges Committee report into Boris Johnson, while saying the vote on sanctions for Johnson himself ‘is a matter for individual members’. The chamber had far more opposition MPs in it than Conservatives. Sunak himself has packed his diary so he is unlikely to attend the Commons for the vote. Labour’s aim for the debate is to tie Johnson very firmly to the current administration. Shadow leader of the Commons Thangam Debbonaire gave a furious speech in which she accused Sunak of being too weak to take

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Theresa May lambasts Boris

They come not to praise Caesar but to bury him. Watching today’s debate on the Privileges Committee report into Boris Johnson, Mr S was struck by how many critics of the former PM were there to administer the last rites. Harriet Harman and Thangam Debbonaire were there for Labour; on the Tory benches David Davis, William Wragg and Tobias Ellwood were watching on eagerly. But this wouldn’t have been a proper parliamentary occasion without Theresa May. Lips pursed, pearls in place, Johnson’s predecessor – the woman he brought down – slowly stood to catch the Speaker’s eye. Speaking just after the SNP, May told the House that she would be

Melanie McDonagh Melanie McDonagh

In praise of Leo Varadkar

The number of abortions taking place in Ireland is more than 8,000 a year, up from the memorable figure of 6,666 abortions in the first year after the law legalising abortion came into force in January 2019. It’s all rather a far cry from the situation that abortion campaigners talked about during the referendum campaign, when it seemed that foetal abnormalities and pregnancies that threatened the life of the mother were the problem. There are, however, a couple of factors that mean that abortion is not quite as readily available in Ireland as the abortion lobby would like. One is that doctors don’t seem to like it much. A review

Coffee House

Full list: how will Tory MPs vote on the partygate report?

Today, MPs will get the chance to debate and vote on the Privileges Committee report on Boris Johnson. This will not be whipped by the government, allowing Tory MPs to vote how they wish. So far more than a dozen of Johnson’s supporters in parliament have expressed public criticism of the report but some stop short of saying that they will vote against the recommendations. Below is The Spectator’s list of MPs who are not abstaining on Monday: Voting against the report (5): Voting for the report (8):

Euan McColm

Is Scottish Labour really a threat to the SNP?

Members of the Scottish Labour party may be forgiven for feelings of jubilation following publication of a new poll. Sir Keir Starmer arrived in Leith near Edinburgh this morning to be met by comrades cheered by the suggestion their party is on course to defeat the SNP at a general election for the first time since 2010. A Panelbase poll for the Sunday Times has Labour winning 26 of Scotland’s 59 seats and the nationalists just 21. Given that Labour took only one seat in Scotland in 2019 while the SNP won 48, this would mark quite the reversal of fortunes. But Labour supporters who believe this poll signals the beginning

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Cameron tells Covid Inquiry to blame ‘groupthink’

Everyone giving evidence to the Covid Inquiry has their own corner to defend. And every ex-prime minister has a part of their premiership that they spend the rest of their life talking about and trying to justify. For David Cameron, it was his public spending cuts. Experts blame them for the health service being in very poor shape when the pandemic arrived. The former prime minister had his session before the inquiry this morning, and unsurprisingly he was keen to argue that these spending cuts weren’t just unavoidable, but essential to ensure the country’s economy was in a robust shape so it could afford to respond to crises including pandemics.

Cindy Yu Cindy Yu

Why Xi Jinping finally agreed to meet Antony Blinken

When Antony Blinken got on the plane to Beijing two days ago, the US Secretary of State didn’t even know if he’d be meeting with Xi Jinping. Blinken’s visit was originally planned for February before the US withdrew, at the last minute, after a Chinese spy balloon was spotted over Montana. Beijing has always insisted there was nothing untoward about the balloon, seeing the cancellation of Blinken’s visit as an overreaction. US-China relations have been frosty since. Despite this tension, the Secretary of State was granted an audience with the Chinese leader earlier today – but only with a few hours’ notice. The short meeting, which lasted only 30 minutes, is a sign that Beijing, like Washington, wants to

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Will there be another partygate investigation?

Any hope Rishi Sunak had to use Boris Johnson’s resignation to turn the page on partygate is dwindling fast. The Prime Minister is likely to miss the debate on the Privileges Committee report this afternoon and the hope in government is that a vote isn’t even called. But even if ministers get their wish, the story could remain in the news for some time. Over the weekend, new footage emerged of staff who worked for the London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey partying in 2020 despite strict Covid rules at the time. It went on to dominate the Sunday politics shows. Other reports the police are thought to be looking into

Steerpike Steerpike

Boris allies plan ‘widespread boycott’ of Privileges report

It’s crunch time in the Commons today. After five days of speculation, MPs today get the chance to approve the Privileges Committee report on Boris Johnson misleading the House. But will there even be a vote on it? Despite much talk of Boris backers lining up to defend their former leader, it seems there’s been a change of heart from the man himself. Johnson told his allies on Friday not to vote against the report, arguing that it had no ‘practical effect’ though a cynic might wonder whether such a vote would reveal a potential lack of supporters. Pro-Boris MPs have now heeded the message, with one telling Mr S

Matthew Lynn

Keir Starmer is clueless about energy security

It will create lots of well-paid jobs, especially in Scotland. It will reduce our electricity bills. And it will make sure the lights can still be switched on regardless of what is happening in the rest of the world. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has made a big pitch today for ‘energy security’, promising to rip up planning rules for onshore wind power and create a state-owned green energy giant that will provide all the power the UK needs, as well as hitting all our targets on climate change. But hold on. On closer inspection, it seems that Sir Keir knows barely anything about energy security. His backbenchers, and definitely

Philip Patrick Philip Patrick

Why Japan doesn’t do Pride

Want to avoid Pride month? Bit tired of the, almost literally, in your face, carnival of uninhibited sexual freedom we see on our streets throughout June? Then come to Japan. It’s not that Pride doesn’t happen here at all, just that the Japanese for various cultural and historic reasons, don’t make a song and dance – or a borderline street cabaret – out of it. Japan’s version ‘Rainbow Pride’ is held in April and lasts just two days. It was back on this year for the first time since 2019 and was apparently reasonably well-attended. I say ‘apparently’ because I saw no sign of it, nor watched or read a

Jason Pack and Guy Fiennes

Russia’s sexual health crisis just got militarised

As Ukraine pushes forward its long-anticipated counteroffensive, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu seems more concerned with reeling in his institutional rivals, not least the wildcard Wagner group. But internecine institutional tensions are not the only affliction plaguing Russian occupation forces. As temperatures rise and the Ukrainians press the frontline, infectious diseases remain another challenge for Russian forces. In Wagner’s assault on Bakhmut, the self-proclaimed ‘most powerful army in the world’ made a slow, eight-month advance and suffered soaring casualties, of which 90 per cent were reportedly prisoner recruits. One in five of the 50,000 Wagner prisoner recruits who made up the bulk of their assault on Bakhmut were HIV positive – and a staggering 80 per cent