How much did Queen Elizabeth mean to Americans?
18 min listen
Freddy Gray speaks to Lee Cohen, senior fellow of The Bow Group and The Bruges Group, about how the death of Queen Elizabeth has been received in America.
Politics
Read about the latest UK political news, views and analysis.
Thursday
Liz Truss should scrap the sugar tax
In public health circles, it is considered terribly gauche to expect policies to work. You might think, for example, that a trailblazing intervention designed to reduce obesity would be considered a failure if obesity rates rise to record highs after it has been implemented. Not so with the sugar tax. Obesity among both children and adults has gone up since it was introduced in 2018, but the health lobby does not consider it to be a failure. Contrary to the evidence of your eyes, they say, it has actually been a success. The only failure is the failure of the government to do lots of other things in addition. This
On the front lines of Europe’s newest war
Sotk, Armenia A group of Armenian soldiers stand guard on the road towards the village. ‘It’s not safe to go ahead,’ one says, slinging his Kalashnikov across his shoulder and motioning for our van to pull over. ‘They were shelling the highway just 15 minutes ago.’ In the distance, there’s the unmistakable thunder of artillery and smoke rising from the side of the mountains. Beyond them is the border with Azerbaijan from where, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, a massive barrage was unleashed on towns and cities across Armenia. The offensive is the most dramatic escalation since the two former Soviet republics fought a brutal and bloody war
The New York Times’ royal derangement syndrome
First it was Brexit, now it’s the Queen. That the New York Times has a near-pathological loathing for Britain is nothing new at this point; but it seems that the motivating factor for the ‘Gray Lady’s’ Anglophobia has switched in recent days from the 2016 referendum result to the passing of our beloved monarch. Barely had the Queen’s death been announced then the NYT was furiously publishing opinion pieces denouncing the woman as a symbol of British imperialism. This was just hours after her death and ignored the salient facts that Elizabeth’s reign coincided with the end of the British Empire and that she loved the multi-racial Commonwealth. Even Cyclops
Has Sinn Féin really changed its spots?
In a week of solemn intonation and symbolic meaning, the sight of Sinn Féin’s leader Michelle O’Neill shaking hands with the King at Hillsborough Castle was yet another event to be dissected and extrapolated. Hushed tones providing narration from London fell over themselves to stress the meaning of this and repeated the article of faith: ‘How far we’ve come’. From the BBC to Sky, and even GB News, broadcasters were united on that front in their commentary. Others, especially those outriders for the so-called ‘New Ireland’ which would appear following any border poll, pointed triumphantly. This gesture showed that unionists had nothing to fear and that their traditions would be
Who will be at the Queen’s funeral?
15 min listen
Preparations are well under way for the Queen’s funeral next week, but which world leaders will be in attendance? Will they all be able to behave themselves? Also on the podcast, as the new Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng works quietly in the background, is his idea to scrap caps on banker’s bonuses a risk worth taking? Cindy Yu speaks with James Forsyth and Katy Balls. Produced by Cindy Yu and Oscar Edmondson.
Watch: rehearsals held for the Queen’s funeral
Preparations in Whitehall continue at pace ahead of Her Majesty’s funeral on Monday. And for a handful of hardy souls queuing overnight, they had the privilege of witnessing the rehearsals ahead of the great event. One organiser told Steerpike’s man on the spot that the run-through was meant to be conducted without a public audience but the lengthy queues to Westminster Hall meant such a crowd was unavoidable. Only a handful saw the practice ceremony, which involved all the Queen’s ceremonial bodyguards and equerries who will be surrounding her on Monday. They included the Guards of Honour and the Household Cavalry, with their arms reversed to pay respect. Let’s hope
It’s time to scrap the cap on bankers’ bonuses
Critics say that scrapping the cap on bankers’ bonus will encourage a return to excessive risk taking. It will provoke retaliation from the European Union, they warn. And perhaps, worst of all, it could prove fatal politically, rewarding a few rich Tory friends while the rest of the country struggles with the cost-of-living crisis. Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng will get lots of criticism if, as predicted, he does decide to bin the cap in his upcoming financial statement. Even so, he should ignore the naysayers. It will certainly be a controversial move. The controls on City bonuses were imposed right across the EU in the wake of the crash of 2008/2009. These
Why is the BBC using Paddington to remember Her Majesty?
Here comes Paddington – again. Earlier this year, to celebrate her platinum jubilee, the Queen agreed to be filmed taking tea with Paddington in a sketch whose final punchline was a joke about marmalade sandwiches. Her Majesty told the bear she always carries one in her handbag, just in case. On film she was excellent, unshowy, watchable but not predictable, with an obvious knack for comedy. The short film was doubtless inspired by the Queen’s acclaimed performance alongside Daniel Craig, as James Bond, during the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics. But there’s a big difference between a British spy and a Peruvian bear. The BBC has succumbed to bear-mania
More mad than Vlad: Russia’s ultra-nationalist threat
‘Russia without Putin!’ was the cry of Muscovites who turned out to protest against Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency for a third term in December 2011. Crowds 100,000 strong chanted their opposition on Moscow’s Academician Sakharov Prospect – as symbolically named a venue as you could wish for – as riot police stood calmly by. There was anger in the crowd. But there was hope, too, not least because the massive protest was officially sanctioned. One after another, prominent opposition politicians such as Ilya Yashin, Boris Nemtsov and Alexei Navalny denounced Putin from a stage provided by the city authorities. Today the memory of those protests seems to belong
A hereditary monarchy is good for politics
I suppose it was inevitable that with the death of HM the Queen certain floodgates would open. During her reign it often felt as though there were forces that she was single-handedly holding back. As Lionel Shriver has noted elsewhere, they have come in particularly malicious form from parts of the US. But there is one part of the republican critique of monarchy that has returned which is too little addressed, and which I have found myself countering in recent days. Not, I might add, from the sort of people who are simply hostile to our country and its past, but rather from people who wish us well but are
Parliament is on pause
Politics is in suspended animation. The only proceedings in parliament are the tens of thousands of mourners moving through Westminster Hall as the Queen lies in state. Party politics was always going to pause after the monarch’s death. But what the planning could not have anticipated was the moment at which the politics would halt. Parliament learned of the Queen’s declining health just as a new prime minister was announcing what may turn out to be the biggest single fiscal intervention in peacetime history. Liz Truss’s plan to cap average household energy bills at £2,500 for the next two years could cost more than £100 billion – equivalent to abolishing
Wednesday
Sweden’s new powerbrokers
Sweden may soon have a centre-right prime minister – an unusual turn of events for a country in which the Social Democrats have won 19 of the last 24 elections. Ulf Kristersson, leader of the Moderate party, is now set to take power. ‘I am now starting the work of forming a new, effective government,’ he said ‘A government for all of Sweden and all citizens.’ But it’s a government that is not really due to his success: his party, the Moderates, actually lost ground in the election and finished third for the first time in decades. He is preparing for power thanks to the success of another party: the
What will happen while the Queen lies in state?
12 min listen
The Queen’s coffin has been taken from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. Mourners will pay their respects for the next four days before the funeral on Monday. Also on the podcast, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson discuss the latest news in the Ukraine conflict.
Fact check: did Charles make Andrew a Counsellor of State?
What better way to mark the death of the monarch than via some good old royal disinformation? Twitter users have been in a strop today about Prince Andrew, the black sheep of the Windsor mob. Apparently, his brother, King Charles, has taken it up on himself to appoint the Duke of York as a ‘Counsellor of State’, to whom the monarch can delegate royal functions. That certainly was the view of the the Twitter handlers at ‘PoliticsJOE’when they claimed that Prince Andrew will ‘carry out Royal duties’ as a Counsellor of State; implying that he wasn’t one already, and that this appointment had been signed off by the new King.
Has Kadyrov turned on Putin?
Just how much of a grip does Vladimir Putin have on the situation currently unfolding in Ukraine? Over the weekend, the Ukrainian Army made a series of rapid advances, reportedly regaining control of as much as 3,000 square kilometres of formerly Russian-controlled territory. According to one Ukrainian commander, the counter-offensive had Russian soldiers fleeing for the border ‘like Olympic sprinters’. In a sign of just how dire a situation the Russian war effort looks to be in, Chechen leader and Putin loyalist Ramzan Kadyrov took to social media to criticise the campaign. In a rambling voice note on the messaging app Telegram, Kadyrov slammed the Russian retreat from the towns
The Grenadier Guards’ final duty for Queen Elizabeth
‘So it is come at last, the distinguished thing!’ exclaimed Henry James on his deathbed. Such a thought is reflected in funerals – always more powerful than a memorial service or ‘celebration’ – because the person’s body is present. When it comes at last to Elizabeth II on Monday, it will be the most distinguished of all the ceremonies. The Household Division is in charge. It is always and only the Grenadier Guards who make up the bearer party. By then, all serving Guards officers will have stood watch over the coffin for the lying-in-state. The Guards are so called because they must guard the Sovereign in life. Their last,
What Xi wants from Central Asia
President Xi Jinping hasn’t stepped outside his country since the pandemic began. For almost three years, China’s elderly leaders have been swaddled inside Beijing; journalists granted an audience with Xi have told me that they had to go through days of hotel quarantine before the meeting. Today Xi returns to the global stage. His first stop is Kazakhstan, a country rarely on the minds of western politicians. It goes to show how important China’s western backyard is to the country. Washington and London are attempting to pivot to the Indo-Pacific to respond to Chinese influence in the South and East China seas; what they’ve failed to focus on is Beijing’s
Biden is treating his political opponents like domestic terrorists
What is going on in America? A celebrity eccentric known as ‘the Pillow guy’, his real name is Mike Lindell, claimed yesterday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized his mobile telephone. Lindell, a former crack addict turned successful entrepreneur who is now a major supporter of the Trump movement, says he was returning from a hunting trip when ‘cars pulled up in front of us, to the side of us and behind us. I said, “those guys are either bad guys or the FBI.” It turns out they were the FBI.’ Lindell is a wacky guy, and his claims should be treated with scepticism. Yet there is growing evidence
Matt Hancock’s latest comeback wheeze
There’s a sad mood of mourning in Westminster at present so thank God for Matt Hancock’s ongoing efforts to become relevant again. The Casanova of the Commons has tried every trick in the book to mount a cabinet comeback since losing office in disgrace some 14 months ago. He’s signed a book deal, joined the Metaverse, done a podcast, championed polo necks and adopted a refugee in between fronting crypto, enraging the Serpentine, alienating the UN and acting as Boris Johnson’s human shield, all to no avail. Now though, our dashing hero has a new wheeze: potentially starring in the Channel 4 series Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. Hancock has been