Politics

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

Thursday

8 Dec 2022

Steerpike

Five lowlights from Harry and Meghan’s Netflix flop

Is that it? For months now much ink has been spilled about the ‘explosive’ revelations promised in Harry and Meghan’s multi-million pound Netflix bonanza, a ‘tell all’ sensationalist documentary replete with truth bombs to tear the curtain back on the whole squalid royal cabal. And yet, having digested all three soporific hours of the first edition this morning, Mr S was left rubbing his eyelids and wondering what all the fuss was really about. Of course, there was innuendo aplenty; the ritual breast-beating and eyes watering. There was the full English of Hollywood tricks: dramatic music, sympathetic lighting, dramatic cuts and a smorgasbord of stylistic shenanigans. But in terms of

Stephen Daisley

Pete Wishart’s resignation letter is damning for the SNP

No matter how heavily it snows today nothing will be as frosty as Pete Wishart’s resignation letter. The senior SNP MP has exited the front bench following the coup that replaced Ian Blackford with relative newcomer Stephen Flynn. Blackford is an ally of Nicola Sturgeon and discontent had grown in the party’s Westminster group of MPs about his perceived lack of independence from the leadership in Scotland. Flynn, who at 34 only entered Parliament in 2019, is expected to put distance between his Westminster group and the SNP government in Edinburgh. As MP for Aberdeen South he is seen as less hostile to the North Sea oil and gas industry than Sturgeon,

Nigel Jones

The troubling truth about Germany’s failed coup

Germany is one of the world’s most successful liberal democracies. It is an unlikely place for a coup. Yet attempts to seize power – such as the far-right plot exposed by the country’s security services, that resulted in the arrest of 25 people this week – are more common in Europe than we might like to admit. Those held in custody in Germany are accused of plotting a putsch to overthrow the German government and replace it with a hereditary monarchy headed by an obscure prince. Three thousand police officers were involved in rounding up the suspects in this plot. Usually when such a swoop is mounted in Germany –

Michael Simmons

Are NHS failures making us poorer?

The NHS has a crisis every winter, but this year’s is on a different scale. Before a wave of strikes puts patients and care at risk, stats released by NHS England this morning show a health service already on the brink. Last month, the number of 12-hour waits in A&E departments in England exceeded 37,800, having hit almost 44,000 the month before: a decrease, but a worrying number still. Waiting lists for consultant-led treatment have grown by 74,000 cases and now stand at 7.2 million. Ambulance waiting times are still far higher than they should be too: now at 48 minutes. All of this before the going really gets tough.

Gavin Mortimer

Why can’t we call Moroccan football thugs hooligans?

One of my most delightful sporting experiences was watching the 2018 World Cup match between England and Tunisia in a Parisian bar. My English friend and I were heavily outnumbered by Tunisians but we were made to feel welcome in a festival of dancing and singing. Even when Harry Kane scored a late winner it didn’t dampen the spirits of the young Tunisians, many of whom were beer-drinking women. I imagine they celebrated long into the night last week when Tunisia beat France in the World Cup, a shock victory that was greeted with good-natured joy by Tunisians across France. Another North African nation has also been making its mark

James Heale

Senior Tory MP suspended after police complaint

Julian Knight was last night suspended as a Tory MP, following a complaint that was made to the Metropolitan Police on Wednesday evening. Details of the complaint are not yet known, with a spokesman for Chief Whip Simon Hart only confirming in a short statement that Knight no longer sits in the Commons as a Conservative MP: Following a complaint made to the Metropolitan Police this evening, we have removed the whip from Julian Knight MP with immediate effect. Both Hart’s spokeswoman and the Met have declined to provide any comment on the nature of the complaint. Knight, a senior backbencher, was elected to represent the West Midlands constituency of

Wednesday

7 Dec 2022

Katja Hoyer

Germany’s failed coup shows the danger of conspiracy theories

It was one of the biggest police raids modern Germany has ever seen. Early Wednesday morning, 3,000 officers, among them members of special units sent by both state and federal police forces, searched 130 properties in 11 of 16 states. They arrested 25 people on suspicion of being members or supporters of a terrorist organisation plotting to overthrow the government. It’s the latest indication that Germany’s political underbelly contains a worrying element of extremists who are ready to act on their conspiracy theories. The group is allegedly known as the ‘Patriotic Union’ with an inner circle known as the ‘Council’. In total, 52 men and women stand accused of being

Kate Andrews

Is it time to forgive Matt Hancock?

Over the past few months, Matt Hancock has been seeking forgiveness for his rule-breaking affair during the pandemic. And the former-health-secretary-turned-reality-TV-star has been pursuing redemption in some strange places. He’s been buried six feet underground with snakes; covered in slime, frogs and spiders; and dared to ask the harshest audience these days – the public – to ‘please forgive me’ in a sit-down interview with the Daily Mail ahead of the release of his new book. Hancock is not asking, but begging, to be forgiven. And today’s news is certainly his most serious plea to date. Writing to the Prime Minister (and TikToking), Hancock has announced he will be standing down at

Lloyd Evans

Starmer needs to work on his PMQs insults

A decent tussle today at PMQs. Sir Keir Starmer asked the Prime Minister why he’d ditched his pledge to build 300,000 new houses a year. Rishi Sunak, ever fleet of foot, replied with shameless effrontery. The PM claimed that dropping the target was a superb Tory achievement and that it aligned seamlessly with the government’s priorities: protecting the green-belt, heeding local communities, and handing power to people at the grassroots. He dared Sir Keir to stand against those noble aims. He added that the Labour leader had said on Monday: ‘Government should be giving people more power and control.’ And today is Wednesday; so why the change of heart, asked Sunak.

Andrew Tettenborn

Abortion clinic buffer zones are a step towards the end of free speech

There is nothing like abortion to make feelings run high. Termination of pregnancy has been lawful in Northern Ireland since 2020: this year, however, the Legislative Assembly in Belfast turned the screw and passed a further, remarkably authoritarian, Bill. This makes it illegal – anywhere within 100 metres of an abortion clinic – not only to impede access to it, but to do any act ’with the intent of, or reckless as to whether it has the effect of, influencing’ any visitor. In effect, this is the creation of large public zones where, on pain of a £500 fine, no-one is allowed to talk about abortion, hand out leaflets, or even

Steerpike

Whitehall left counting the cost of Covid

Speaking at last year’s Tory conference, Liz Truss mocked those ‘portents of doom’, the ‘people who say that it is inevitable that because of Covid we are going to have a permanently bigger state.’ But despite the insistence of Truss, Jacob Rees-Mogg and others, all signs suggest that an enlarged Whitehall will in fact be the pandemic’s legacy. A series of parliamentary questions by Philip Davies MP – no fan of big government himself – reveal that the total departmental headcount of eleven different ministries has risen by more than 15 per cent during the past two years. The total number of civil servants employed has risen from just over

Katy Balls

Is Rishi Sunak a blancmange Prime Minister?

12 min listen

Shots were fired at PMQs today as Keir Starmer referred to Rishi Sunak as a ‘blancmange Prime Minister’. The line came after Rishi Sunak conceded on the Tory rebellion over mandatory housing targets. Katy James and Fraser mull over this attack. Also on the podcast, with Stephen Fry elected as the SNP’s new Westminster leader, what could this mean for Sturgeon? Produced by Natasha Feroze.

Cindy Yu

China’s battle with Omicron is just beginning

Zero Covid seems to be ending in China. After three years of pushing this policy, the message from the state has now changed: each person’s health is now their own responsibility. State media is emphasising ‘new evidence’ showing that Omicron has a lighter viral load than previous strains. Meanwhile, testing sites across the country are being dismantled and new vaccination targets have been set to protect the most vulnerable. Some Chinese are bemused, asking themselves: ‘do protests work?’ The timing certainly suggests so – in the same week as student leaders were being rounded up, state media started talking about how Covid has no long term complications and quietly dropped

James Forsyth

Rishi Sunak is about to feel winter’s sting

During the Tory leadership contest this summer, it was frequently said that whoever won would face the most politically difficult winter in a generation. In the end, despite winning the contest, Liz Truss didn’t make it that far. But winter is about to sting her successor. After the collapse of the Truss premiership, Rishi Sunak needed to steady the ship in his first weeks in No. 10. This has gone reasonably well. The Autumn Statement was given a passing grade by the markets and there is no parliamentary rebellion against it. Westminster is no longer watching nervously to see how the City responds to every cough and splutter from Downing Street.

The Spectator

The devolution fallacy

It is easy to see why Labour leader Keir Starmer should find himself tempted into the idea of greater devolution. Electoral geometry indicates that he might end up having to negotiate with the SNP after the next election. It is harder to see why Gordon Brown’s advice should be sought, given how badly his own attempts at devolution have backfired. As Tony Blair’s shadow chancellor, Brown argued that a new parliament in Edinburgh would scotch the snake of independence. It was a view widely held by Labour at the time. In the words of the then shadow Scotland secretary, devolution would kill the SNP ‘stone dead’. This has not, to

James Snell

Why Germany’s far-right coup was doomed from the start

Twenty-five people have been arrested by German authorities on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government. A failed coup attempt – and a series of raids involving 3,000 officers – seems like the sort of story that might happen in a far-flung part of the world, not the largest economy in Europe. But early reporting indicates there was something fairly typical about this coup attempt: it involved a group of delusional far-rightists and ex-military officers. The false idea that if these men simply waltzed into parliament and placed politicians under arrest, the state would fold and they would get to run the place, seems to have been a factor in

The Spectator

Portrait of the week: Christmas rail strikes, Lady Hussey’s resignation and Indonesia’s sex ban

Home The RMT union decided to add a couple of rail strikes just before and after Christmas to those planned. Nurses, ambulance workers, driving test examiners, baggage handlers at Heathrow and bus drivers joined in. Postmen hoped to fit in another six strikes before the end of the month; Currys stopped using Royal Mail parcel delivery. ‘This is a time to come together and to send a very clear message to Mr Putin that we’re not going to be divided in this way,’ said Nadhim Zahawi, chairman of the Conservative party. ‘Our message to the unions is to say this is not a time to strike.’ Conor Burns had the

Steerpike

Matt Hancock to quit the Commons

It is a dark day for comedy indeed. After a dozen years of trying (and failing) to become PM, Matt Hancock has today announced he is quitting parliament and will stand down at the next election, just 24 hours after launching his ‘pandemic diaries’. Only nine days ago, his spokesman was furiously insisting to reporters that Hancock had ‘no intention of standing down or stepping away from politics.’ But now the lothario legislator suggests that his recent experiences on I’m a Celebrity have changed his views on politics, musing in his farewell letter to Rishi Sunak that ‘there was a time when I thought the only way to influence the

Isabel Hardman

Sunak and Starmer tussle over who is weaker at PMQs

Rishi Sunak will have suspected that Keir Starmer was going to bring up housebuilding at Prime Minister’s Questions today, and so he came prepared. The Labour leader has been using the Tory revolts on the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill to build his case that the Prime Minister is weak, and today he did indeed open on the latest U-turns on housing. He said Sunak had broken the manifesto promise to build 300,000 homes without consulting voters about it, asking: ‘What changed?’ Sunak was indeed well prepared. He suggested that Starmer hadn’t ‘taken the time to read the detail of what we’re doing’, before listing two of the measures that

Philip Patrick

Let’s kick penalties out of football

Spain crashed out of the World Cup on penalties last night, despite dominating possession against Morocco for two solid hours. Pretty much everyone bar Spaniards will be delighted by this giant-killing by Morocco, who are just the fourth African team to reach the quarter-finals in football history. But their penalty success is nothing to celebrate. Much as it would be great to see less-fancied nations do well at the World Cup, it would be better if this was achieved by scoring more goals, rather than parking the bus and running down the clock. Spain were the better team last night. While it’s fun for footballing giants to lose now and