Politics Archives

Sunday

15 Jun 2025

Grooming gangs inquiry is welcome, but too late

The announcement that there will, after all, be a statutory inquiry into the child rape and pimping gang scandal – euphemistically referred to as ‘grooming gangs’ – should be welcomed. The words ‘euphemism’, ‘whitewashing’ and ‘cover-up’ apply to more than just the language used to describe this phenomenon. I first investigated the scandal back in the early 2000s, and published the very first piece exposing it in the national media in 2007. A quarter of a century later, little has changed. A small number of victims have had compensation from local authorities and public apologies from police. But the vast majority of victims have never received support, compensation or validation. They struggle to get on with their lives while their perpetrators, often considered pillars of the community, continue living amongst them. The cowards and the deniers who for so long refused to accept the harm being done to children by violent exploiters are going to have

Zoe Strimpel

Saudi Arabia’s soft power art attack

From roughly the 1970s to the mid-2010s, Saudi Arabia was the stuff of nightmares, referred to now, with understatement, as ‘the dark period’. Governed by the austere, brutal credo of the cleric Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, an 18th century Quran literalist who divided the world into true Muslims (Salafis/Wahhabis) and their mortal enemies, Saudi life was ruled by fear of the omnipresent religious police. Executions were commonplace, TV was banned, women were essentially locked up, and most foreigners and outward travel were blocked. Wahhabiism has been softened a great deal since then. Since 2017, when the frenetic moderniser Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) became Crown Prince, a thousand laws have been dropped, and suddenly women, while still second-class

Lana Hempsall

Motability won’t give up its lucrative business without a fight

Motability, the scheme set up to provide vehicles, scooters and powered wheelchairs to disabled people, has become something of a monster. By the end of 2024, Motability supported a staggering 815,000 vehicles, up by 200,000 in the last two years alone. It is clear that the scheme has extended way beyond its original purpose and is in dire need of reform. But Motability is determined not to give up its lucrative business model without a fight. Only five per cent of Motability cars are adapted for those with physical disabilities Andrew Miller, the scheme’s chief executive, has hit back at criticism of Motability. ‘We’ve been a business all along. Any sense

James Ray

How to be a better father

Children in this country are desperate for fathers to rise to the occasion. All the research indicates that a key determinant of a child’s ability to flourish – to make a success of growing up – is having a father actively involved in his or her life. Having a decent dad in the picture is vital. The affection of a father can prove one of the most authoritative things in a child’s life. A million British children have no meaningful relationship or regular contact with their fathers We mustn’t give up on that ideal. But nor should we ignore reality. A million British children have no meaningful relationship or regular

Saturday

14 Jun 2025

Isabel Hardman

Starmer agrees to grooming gangs inquiry

This evening, Keir Starmer has announced he does want a national inquiry on grooming gangs after all. The Prime Minister had tasked Baroness Casey to conduct a rapid review of the evidence available on the scale of these crimes committed by gangs – and her review is expected to conclude on Monday that there needs to be a full public inquiry. Starmer said today that Casey had also changed her mind on whether such an investigation was necessary, arguing: ‘She’s come to the view there should be a national inquiry on the basis of what she’s seen. I’ve read every single word of her report, and I’m going to accept

James Heale

The British right is embracing direct action

First, it was Robert Jenrick tackling fare dodgers. Then it was Gareth Davies pursuing a thief. You might be forgiven for thinking that copies of Marvel’s Avengers were circulating in Portcullis House. But among elements of the British right there is a renewed appreciation of the benefits of direct action. Shut out of office until at least 2029, Tory and Reform politicians are finding ways to channel their frustrations into novel, low-cost, forms of protest. Nigel Farage’s aides have embraced humorous stunts such as beaming their membership numbers onto CCHQ and handing out blank books to journalists titled Highlights from my first 100 days, by Kemi Badenoch. Others, like Jenrick, try to think

Steerpike

Phillipson visits zero private schools in 11 months

It’s been quite the year for Bridget Phillipson. The under fire Education Secretary is now regularly tipped as one of the ministers most likely to be moved at the next reshuffle. Her Schools Bill has been lambasted for its impact on academies while her private school tax raid is hitting the state school sector too. Yet despite dire warnings about the impact of putting VAT on independent school fees, Phillipson seems indifferent to their fate. For a Freedom of Information request by Steerpike has confirmed that she is yet to visit a single one in nearly a year in office. According to the Department for Education: Minister Morgan and Minister

Yossi Melman

Is Israel ready for a long war with Iran?

The spectacular Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear, missile and military sites and their commanders and scientists astonished the Israeli public as well as the world. It was a combination of accurate intelligence and brilliant execution by the Israeli Air Force and Mossad operatives. The intelligence preparations for this operation, codenamed‘ Rising Lion’, lasted more than a year. Mossad agents infiltrated Iran and created a network of agents, assistants, safe houses, workshops, vehicles, forged documents and cover stories – alongside advanced technologies. They also smuggled drone components into Iran, before assembling and hiding them there. These drones took part in the attack. In a sense the attack was reminiscent of the

Limor Simhony Philpott

Netanyahu wants to topple the Iranian regime

Last night, the Middle East witnessed its fiercest clash yet as Israel and Iran traded blows. A daring Israeli operation, orchestrated by Mossad and the Israeli Air Force (IAF), obliterated Iran’s top military commanders, including IRGC leaders, and struck ballistic missile sites and nuclear facilities. Iran initially retaliated with a barrage of drones, all of which were shot down. It then escalated its attack, firing over 200 ballistic missiles targeting civilians. Several missiles hit the densely populated cities of Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, and Rishon Lezion, killing three civilians and wounding over 75. Unlike Iran’s barrages last year, which inflicted minor damage, this assault overwhelmed Israel’s defences. A lot less

Michael Simmons

Paul Johnson: The spending review was ‘incomprehensible’

Rachel Reeves’s spending review was the ‘most incomprehensible speech I’ve ever heard from a chancellor’, according to Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He spoke to me on today’s edition of Coffee House Shots. In this special episode, I was also joined by Ruth Curtice, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, to take a wider look at Britain’s fiscal and economic problems. Why, despite record tax levels, do our public services feel as if they’re in managed decline? Why do voters’ expectations of the state seem so out of whack with what we actually deliver? We discussed whether Ruth’s predecessor, Torston Bell, was right to claim Labour has ended

Jonathan Sacerdoti

Iranian rockets will not dim Israel’s resolve

Tel Aviv, Israel Israelis last night once again found themselves seeking shelter as the Islamic Revolutionary forces in Iran launched their long-anticipated retaliation for Israel’s 15-hour offensive against their nuclear and ballistic missile facilities. The Israeli strikes themselves had come as something of a surprise, not entirely unforeseen, but unexpected in their timing. Perhaps as part of an elaborate decoy, or perhaps as an unfortunate casualty of circumstance, the annual Tel Aviv Pride parade – whose stages, tents and other facilities had been installed and tested throughout Thursday – was dismantled on Friday before the event could take place. Caitlyn Jenner, perhaps the world’s most famous ‘trans’ activist, had flown

Chas Newkey-Burden

David Beckham deserves his knighthood

Leonardo DiCaprio got his Oscar after 23 years. King Charles was crowned after 70 years. And now David Beckham will finally get his knighthood. Good things come to those who wait – and how Beckham has waited. It’s no secret that Goldenballs has been gasping for a knighthood for a long time, nor that the former England captain has worked tirelessly for one, but he’s not lacking in stamina or focus. As a teenager, he stayed behind on his own for hours after training to continue working on his technique. That attitude served him well in his epic quest for a knighthood. Beckham was first put forward in 2011 after

Jim Lawley

The post-Brexit Gibraltar deal is going down badly in Spain

Conservative and Reform politicians have denounced this week’s post-Brexit Gibraltar deal as a betrayal. ‘Gibraltar is British, and given Labour’s record of surrendering our territory and paying for the privilege, we will be reviewing carefully all the details of any agreement that is reached,’ Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said. Meanwhile, describing Labour as ‘the worst negotiators in history’, Nigel Farage called the agreement ‘yet another surrender’. Vox declared that ‘Gibraltar is a territory illegally colonised by the UK’ But Spain’s right-wing parties have, if possible, been even more damning. José Manuel García-Margallo, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, described the agreement as ‘total surrender’, the ‘absolute renunciation’

Robert Taylor

Can Starmer be trusted not to give away the Falkland Islands?

No sooner had the Chagos deal been struck than attention turned to the Falklands. Would Keir Starmer support the Islands as steadfastly as his predecessors? Would he seek some sort of grubby compromise with Argentina? Can we trust him with British overseas interests? As the Islands celebrate their liberation day today, marking 43 years since the end of Argentina’s military occupation during the Falklands War, these questions seem particularly poignant. Many asking those questions, however, care not a jot for the people of the Falklands and are still less inclined to bother asking them what they actually think. And that’s a shame, because if they did, they might be surprised

Fleur Elizabeth Meston

The danger of Stella Creasy’s abortion amendment

‘Do I think some women were born with penises? Yes,’ declared Stella Creasy in 2022, in a moment of characteristic defiance against biological common sense. The Walthamstow MP has built a career on provocation, ideology, and showmanship, but her latest crusade is more than just performance. Creasy is seeking to remove all legal deterrents to abortion up to and including during birth, even if the baby is capable of surviving outside the womb. Creasy’s latest campaign to ‘decriminalise’ abortion is not about minor tweaks or supposed modernisation. Her amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill would tear up what little remains of Britain’s ethical red lines on abortion. She wants

Michael Simmons

Why is Britain’s economy so unhealthy?

20 min listen

The Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons is joined by the outgoing boss of the Institute for Fiscal Studies Paul Johnson and the CEO of the Resolution Foundation Ruth Curtice to understand why Britain’s economy is in such a bad place. Given it feels like we are often in a doom loop of discussion about tax rises, does this point to a structural problem with the British economy? And why are the public’s expectations so out of line with the state’s capabilities? Michael, Paul and Ruth talk about whether it’s fair for Labour to claim they’ve been ending austerity, the extent to which the effects of the covid-19 pandemic are still

Friday

13 Jun 2025

Patrick Gibbons

Israel strikes Iran – how will Iran retaliate?

14 min listen

Israel struck military and nuclear targets in Iran overnight in a major escalation of hostilities in the Middle East has begun further strikes on Friday. Iran has vowed retaliation though President Trump has warned Iran and encouraged the Iranians to continue negotiations over their nuclear programme. Further talks had been due to take place this weekend. What’s Israel’s objective? And does this underline the unpredictability of geopolitics, at a time when the UK has pledged significantly more money for defence? Patrick Gibbons speaks to James Heale and Michael Stephens, associate fellow at RUSI. Plus: updates on assisted dying and the government’s plans for welfare. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Svitlana Morenets

Russian forces break into yet another Ukrainian region

Vladimir Putin’s summer offensive is fully under way: all day and night, Russian infantrymen run at Ukrainian positions in endless waves. Even when struck, the survivors don’t retreat or take cover but keep running forward, until there are so many of them that no amount of drones or shells can stop them. That’s how Russian troops have broken into yet another Ukrainian region: the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Turning another Ukrainian region into a war zone strengthens Moscow’s hand at the negotiating table The push came near the village of Horikhove, on the border between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions, as the Kremlin declared a new phase in its ‘denazification’ campaign. Dmitry

Madeline Grant

Tim Farron, the last of the old-school liberals

Today the Assisted Suicide Bill returned to the House of Commons. Amid its many flaws and complications, perhaps most important is that it marks a landmark change in the state’s attitude to the sick, the weak and the vulnerable. Leading the charge for the Bill are many wealthy, privileged liberals in the Esther Rantzen mould who, as they reach the end of lifetimes of total autonomy, cannot countenance the idea that the all-too-human world of pain, inconvenience and constraint might apply to them. The assisted suicide debate has only highlighted Farron’s distance from this thought-world This is a problem for one party in particular. Many Liberal Democrats in parliament and

Steerpike

Labour MP’s migrants claim contradicted by own government data

Uh oh. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones has found himself in a tight spot after his Question Time appearance on Thursday night. The Labour MP for Bristol North West told the BBC audience on the issue of Britain’s borders that ‘the majority of the people in these boats are children, babies and women’. But it appears that data published by, er, his own government contradicts that claim… The government’s official statistics for irregular migration to the UK state in black and white that ‘since January 2018, 70 per cent of people detected arriving irregularly have been adult males ages 18 and over’. The document notes that in the