Politics Archives

Monday

14 Nov 2022

Dumping Trump could backfire for the Republicans

The walls are closing in on Donald Trump. Again. But this time it’s different. Again. In the wake of the Republicans’ performance in the midterms, which ranges from lacklustre to biblically awful depending on how many drinks the GOP consultant you’re asking has had, Trump is taking all the blame. There are two problems with this. First, it’s not really true that it’s all Trump’s fault. And second, it is very likely to backfire and empower an otherwise somewhat floundering Donald. As to the issue of blame, yes, Trump promoted some primary stinkers. Dr. Oz and Don Bolduc in the Pennsylvania and New Hampshire Senate races respectively performed particularly odiously.

Sunday

13 Nov 2022

Matthew Taylor

Sunday shows round-up: Hunt says ‘everyone’ will be ‘paying more tax’

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt joined Laura Kuenssberg this morning ahead of the Autumn Statement, which will be held on Thursday. Fans of a good fiscal event will no doubt reflect on 2022 as a stellar year, but for most people the outlook will not be rosy. Embracing the possibility of a recession ahead, Hunt laid the groundwork for some unpopular choices: ‘We need to understand’ why people left the labour force Kuenssberg challenged Hunt over why the UK had not yet managed to grow the economy back to where it had been before the pandemic turned everything on its head: The NHS is in ‘a very very

Claire Fox

We must protect freedom to protest, even for those we despise

One of the trickiest challenges of being in politics is defending the rights of those we disagree with vehemently. That dilemma has never been truer than in deciding how to approach the Public Order Bill, now making its way through the House of Lords. How can I defend the right to protest when I have little sympathy for those protestors targeted by the Bill? Take Just Stop Oil. These catastrophising eco-warriors – whose nihilistic stunts are aimed at causing maximum chaos to the public – are a real menace. Their disdain for democratic change is evident in how little they care about hindering ordinary working people going about their daily lives. Alienating the public is the only thing they have achieved with their

Nicholas Sheppard

Is this the beginning of the end for Jacinda Ardern?

Many people envisage Jacinda Ardern’s 2017 electoral victory as a romp, a 1997 Tony Blair-esque sea change of optimism. In reality, in the months leading up to that election Ardern’s Labour party was by no means a sure bet. In a similarly blurred retrospect, Ardern’s first term as PM is thought of as unified and productive. People believe she was always going to coast to re-election before Covid hit. In fact, Ardern’s government may have been in a parlous enough state to lose, before being suddenly resuscitated and given focus with massive public backing in response to the pandemic. It was the 2020 election, set against the backdrop of Covid-19,

Freddy Gray

Is Nixon the most misunderstood president in history?

Has the reputation of any American statesman been more effectively trashed than that of Richard Milhous Nixon? Donald Trump’s, perhaps – certainly the forty-fifth president inspires loathing on a scale matched only by the thirty-seventh. Nixon and Trump have a few other points in common. Both men built coalitions through appeals to forgotten voters. They spoke to Americans who were frightened by rapid and destructive social and economic change. Both were denounced as fascists and standard bearers of the most reactionary forces in American life, yet in fact both governed with substantial moderation. Nixon and Trump prove the truth of Marx’s quip that history repeats itself first as tragedy, then

John Armstrong

The sinister attempts to ‘decolonise’ mathematics

Mathematicians in British universities are now being asked to ‘decolonise’ the curriculum. This autumn, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) – an independent charity which reviews university courses – launched a consultation that urged universities to teach a ‘decolonised view’ of mathematics. It is easy when you work at a university to roll your eyes at this sort of thing and play along. But as a mathematics academic, I felt it was my duty to challenge this unscientific proposal. This week I published an open letter to the QAA criticising their consultation and was delighted that a number of high-profile professors and mathematicians from minority groups agreed to add their signatures.

Saturday

12 Nov 2022

John Ferry

The SNP’s misinformation campaign on Scottish renewables

SNP MP Stephen Flynn was emphatic when he used a certain statistic in Parliament last month: ‘Scotland’s potential in this regard is huge – absolutely enormous… We have 25 per cent of Europe’s offshore wind capacity – 25 per cent!’ he told his audience. It is not the first time Flynn has used the statistic, and neither is he the only SNP MP, or MSP, to use it. ‘With more than 25 per cent of Europe’s capacity in wind energy, Scotland is set to become a massive producer and exporter of renewable energy,’ wrote Angus Robertson MSP, the SNP’s External Affairs and Culture Secretary at Holyrood, in a newspaper column in

Nigel Jones

Just how low can our political class sink?

Observe, this dark weekend, a contrast. On Whitehall, the centre of British government, the Royal Family and leaders of our political class gather to pay solemn tribute at the Cenotaph to those who gave their lives for their country in the two world wars and other conflicts since. In a year that has witnessed the death of our beloved longest reigning monarch and political turbulence involving the rapid turnover of three prime ministers, the annual ceremony is especially poignant and shows Britain at its best. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, in Australia’s Springbrook National Park, a party of ‘celebrities’ gathered to watch as Matt Hancock, the former

Natasha Feroze

Was Lord Wolfson right?

26 min listen

Natasha Feroze hosts as Fraser Nelson and Kate Andrews debate Lord Wolfson’s recent BBC interview in which he called for the UK to import more low skilled workers in order to fill the country’s job vacancies.

Isabel Hardman

Isabel Hardman, Matthew Parris, Graeme Thomson and Caroline Moore

21 min listen

This week: Isabel Hardman asks how Ed Miliband is the power behind Kier Starmer’s Labour (00:57), Matthew Parris says we’ve lost interest in our dependencies (05:03), Graeme Thomson mourns the loss of the B-side (11:57), and Caroline Moore reads her Notes on... war memorials (16:51). Produced and presented by Oscar Edmondson.

Colin Freeman

Meet the British soldiers fighting in Ukraine

At his base near the frontlines outside of Kherson, an ex-British soldier named JK shows me a video of what looks like a scene from the world war one film 1917. It shows him and two other volunteer fighters walking through a burning, smoking treeline, having spent two hours pinned down by artillery and sniper fire that killed three Ukrainian comrades. It was a grim, exhausting day – and, as soldiering experiences go, far more rewarding than life in the British army. ‘When I first signed up for the British army, there was drill and discipline, and if you were punished, your instructor would make you do press ups – that

Steerpike

Dominic Raab’s unhappy Whitehall return

Dominic Raab likes to refer his six-week spell away from the Ministry of Justice as a ‘sabbatical’ but for many of his staff it was more of a respite. The Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary (as he likes to be called) was restored to the MoJ last month by Rishi Sunak, after he was unceremoniously booted out of the department by Liz Truss at the beginning of September. But it seems that civil servants aren’t too pleased at Raab’s return, judging by the smorgasbord of stories that appear in today’s newspapers. The Guardian details how senior staff were offered a ‘route out’ of the ministry when he

Justin Bronk

Don’t write off the Russian air force

The Russian air force’s failure to establish air superiority over Ukraine – and the consequent inability of its fighter and bomber aircraft to meaningfully affect the course of the war – has been one of the defining features of the invasion so far. It has even become almost a given in policy and public discussion that Russian airpower is a busted flush. But recent research conducted by RUSI in Ukraine shows that in fact Russia conducted hundreds of strike sorties and fighter patrols deep inside Ukrainian airspace during the first three days of the invasion – which suggests it would be a dangerous mistake to underestimate Russian airpower as the war continues. In air-to-air

Patrick O’Flynn

The threat to Rishi from the right

Most dads will have been on a beach holiday where they helped their children build a sandcastle near the water’s edge and then waited for the tide to overrun it. Sometimes there are false alarms, when a rogue wave comes in a bit further than expected but then its successors return to the holding pattern and the castle stands proud and safe a while longer. Up until now this has also been true of the threat posed to Tory fortunes by Reform UK, the successor to the Brexit party, currently led by the property developer and broadcaster Richard Tice. Has a Reform tide started lapping up against the walls of

Friday

11 Nov 2022

Lloyd Evans

Matt Hancock: Star of the ‘I’m a Celeb’ jungle

Has Matt Hancock gone mad? Maybe not. His appearance in ‘I’m A Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here’ is part of a career move that could work well. Converting notoriety into fame pays dividends. Look at Ed Balls and Michael Portillo. Political failures, but they discovered gold on TV. A lot of observers loathe Hancock precisely because his plan may prosper. The balding Tarzan arrived in the jungle later than most of the celebs. And he was welcomed with a show of warmth and friendliness by his fellow castaways. Smiles and happy greetings all round. Someone called out ‘next slide please!’ and Hancock duly repeated his famous slogan. He

Freddy Gray

Could Georgia decide the midterms?

30 min listen

This week Freddy is joined by Matt McDonald, US managing editor of The Spectator, who is covering the midterms from Georgia. What will the result of the run-off be there and could this decide who takes control of the Senate?

Isabel Hardman

Is the UK on the brink of recession?

11 min listen

The ONS forecasts reveal that UK output fell by 0.2 per cent between July-September. Whilst not a recession yet, it is increasingly likely the next quarter will see another dip following a surge in interest rates. Will the government’s messaging change ahead of the Autumn Statement next week? Also on the podcast, Kate and James discuss Kwasi Kwarteng’s interview in The Times as he reflects on his short time as Chancellor. Isabel Hardman is joined by Kate Andrews and James Forsyth. Produced by Natasha Feroze.

James Forsyth

Was Kwasi Kwarteng to blame for the mini-Budget fallout?

Kwasi Kwarteng is clearly right about one thing in his interview with Talk TV: his departure hastened the end of Liz Truss’s premiership. Sacking a Chancellor is a dramatic, and risky, move for a Prime Minister at the best of times. But when the Prime Minister and the Chancellor are known to have been in lockstep, it is particularly risky. Truss could never answer the question of why, if Kwarteng had to go over the mini-Budget, she did not. What is also right is that Kwarteng was more prepared to talk about spending cuts than Truss was. If the mini-Budget had just been his, it would almost certainly have

Lucy Dunn

Scotland’s avoidable death rate is on the rise

Scotland is witnessing a concerning uptick in ‘avoidable’ deaths. With an increase of 4 per cent on the previous year, there were almost 18,000 preventable deaths in Scotland in 2021. As the rising pressures on the NHS continue to expose cracks, this week’s report on avoidable mortality from the National Records of Scotland does little to diffuse concerns. Things don’t look much rosier when Scotland is compared to the rest of the UK. Although no British data for avoidable deaths in 2021 has been made available yet, historically Scotland has seen the highest rates of avoidable mortality in the UK over the last 20 years. Using the latest comparable data

Svitlana Morenets

The last hours of the Russian occupation of Kherson

The only large Ukrainian city Russia has been able to capture since February’s invasion – Kherson – has now been liberated. But something else extraordinary happened: Russian reports emerged of thousands of troops being left on the right bank of the Dnipro river after the occupiers blew up the mile-long Antonivsky bridge. Moscow flatly denies this, saying: ‘Not a single unit of soldiers, military equipment and weapons was left on the right bank of the Dnipro.’ But pro-Kremlin military blogs are full of reports to the contrary, some saying that thousands of Russians have been left on the wrong side of the river. If even some are captured, they could be exchanged