Politics

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

Monday

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Boris to face confidence vote tonight

After months of anonymous threats and speculation, Boris Johnson will face a confidence vote by Tory MPs this evening. Announcing the news this morning, the chair of the 1922 committee Sir Graham Brady said in a statement: ‘The threshold of the 15% of the parliamentary party seeking a vote of confidence in the leader of the Conservative Party has been exceeded. The vote presents a moment of peril for Johnson. In accordance with the rules, a ballot will be held between 18:00 and 20:00 today MONDAY 6th JUNE – details to be confirmed.’ So, what comes next? No. 10 have chosen to move quickly – as Theresa May did when she

Jesse Norman

Why I can no longer support Boris Johnson

Dear Boris, As you know, I have supported you throughout your career in politics: for Mayor of London in 2008 and 2012, and for Leader in 2016 and 2019. As Prime Minister, you have been dealt a very difficult hand with Covid and Ukraine, and you deserve great credit for much of the way in which the Government has handled these twin crises. Your recent visit to Kyiv was a conspicuous act of leadership. When I stepped down from the Treasury last September, you raised the topic of the next reshuffle, and we discussed the potential for me to run a department of state. I have always been deeply committed

Sunday

Steerpike Steerpike

Will a Jubilee coup topple Boris?

Long to reign over us? That’s the question Conservative MPs are pondering this weekend about their leader Boris Johnson. The boos and jeers that greeted him at St Paul’s on Friday were in stark contrast to the warmth and affection exhibited towards the Queen all week. It’s prompted several nervy Tories to consider putting in their letter of no-confidence to Sir Graham Brady – the chairman of the 1922 committee – amid much talk about whether the magic threshold of 54 letters has finally been reached. It has previously been suggested that Sir Graham would not make such an announcement until after the Jubilee festivities had concluded. Will tomorrow be

Liam Duffy

Prevent and the problem of ‘political correctness’

Britain is reviewing its cornerstone anti-terror programme. As the name implies, Prevent is a strategy designed to stop radicalisation before it metastasises into killer intent. But how well is it working? There have been accusations that Prevent is discriminatory. Groups such as Liberty and the Muslim Council of Britain have criticised the anti-terror strategy for targetting Muslims, arguing that it has caused hurt to Britain’s Islamic communities. But there are also criticisms that, even on its own terms, the Home Office programme isn’t working as well as it should. Dame Sara Khan, the social cohesion tsar, last week warned that efforts to tackle Islamist extremism are being hampered by ‘political

Patrick O’Flynn Patrick O'Flynn

Is the fall of Boris inevitable?

A funny thing happened on the way to the cathedral for the service of thanksgiving to the Queen on Friday. It wasn’t just that Boris Johnson got booed, it was also that Sadiq Khan got cheered. GB News solemnly reported that the Mayor of London ‘received extensive cheers from members of the public who were adorned with Union Jack hats and flags’. So who were these royalist admirers of Mr Khan and detractors of Mr Johnson? I don’t know and neither do you. Given that the mayor secured an underwhelming vote share last year and is one of Labour’s most partisan figures, it seems a stretch to think of him

Matthew Taylor

Sunday shows round-up: Boris would win confidence vote

Out to bat for the government this morning was Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. The BBC’s Sophie Raworth asked Shapps about Boris Johnson’s St Paul’s visit as part of the Jubilee weekend Friday. As the Prime Minister and his wife ascended the steps to the cathedral, they were met with a chorus of boos from the awaiting crowd. Raworth asked Shapps for his reaction: PM would win a vote of confidence Raworth questioned what the personal unpopularity of the Prime Minister might mean, firstly for the upcoming by-elections in Tiverton and Wakefield, and secondly, if that could mean a vote of confidence was on the cards: Holidays ‘absolutely mustn’t’ be ruined by

Terry Barnes

Why did the new Australian PM insult the Queen?

Timing is everything in politics. This week in Canberra a new junior minister, an obscure Australian Labor Party MP named Matt Thistlethwaite, was sworn in by the Queen’s representative, Governor-General David Hurley. His portfolio: Assistant Minister for the Republic. A minister of the Crown sworn to bring about the demise of the Crown in Australia. When Australia’s new strongly left-wing prime minister and admiring friend of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Anthony Albanese, announced his government would include a minister dedicated to making Australia a republic, his timing was calculated and deliberate. Albanese’s appointment is disrespectful, distasteful and poorly judged The Labor party which has been fervently republican ever since a

Saturday

Benedict Rogers

What the Tiananmen Square massacre teaches us about Xi’s China

As millions of Brits celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, others will be gathering outside the Chinese Embassy in London to mark a different event: the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Beijing has done its best to wipe this day from the history books, but it’s vital we don’t forget an event that has foreshadowed the direction the Chinese Communist Party has taken in the years since. 33 years ago on the streets of China’s capital, we saw the true nature of the Chinese regime as it turned its guns and tanks on thousands of peaceful protesters. ‘They were shooting, people were running, and people tried to rescue others,’ said Jan Wong,

Julian Jessop

Are we heading for a Platinum Jubilee recession?

Occasionally I despair of my own profession. Even economists should be able to enjoy a long weekend. Yet some of us are stuck debunking commentary on the economic impact of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations – much of which justifies the old tag of the ‘dismal science’. The long Jubilee weekend will indeed mean that economic activity, as usually assessed, is lower than it would otherwise have been. The output and income lost due to the temporary shutdown of most businesses will only partially be offset by increased spending in other areas, or recouped later. We have, of course, been here before. The monthly measure of UK gross domestic product

Friday

Steerpike Steerpike

Boris booed at Queen’s celebrations

Tory plotters have been keen to stress that any plans to oust Boris Johnson as Prime Minister are strictly on hold during the Platinum Jubilee weekend. But that doesn’t mean Johnson’s political woes are going away. The great and the good were at St Paul’s Cathedral for the Queen’s Jubilee Thanksgiving service this morning. While the Monarch herself was unable to attend, Priti Patel, in a bright pink dress and hat, Keir Starmer, in his usual blue lounge suit, and Sadiq Khan, in tow with his wife, were among those in attendance. The event, though, was not exactly the smooth operation that organisers had hoped for. Five Royal Air Force

Steerpike Steerpike

Parly passholders splash £10k a week on booze

After the lean years of Covid, there were fears for the future of the parliamentary bars in Westminster. Would they ever return to their former greatness as the social hubs of SW1? Fortunately, the removal of all restrictions from the end of January and the resumption of full-time service has prompted a roaring trade in the half-a-dozen fleshpots of parliament. For in the first eight weeks of normalcy, the Commons cash-registers recorded an impressive £82,000 worth of sales between February to March to 2022. More than £10,000 a week was made flogging everything from pints of the ultra-popular guest ale and Guinness – which boasted £8,376 and £6,582 worth of

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

How are five million Brits without work?

Last week, I came across a figure so staggering that I was convinced it was wrong: 5.3 million Brits (almost the population of Scotland) are on out-of-work benefits. How could this be, with ministers so regularly boasting that unemployment stands at a 40-year low? How could it be, when a national shortage of workers has been declared – and the aviation industry has been begging the government to relax immigration rules, saying that we’re out of workers? I’ve spent this week looking into it, with the help of my brilliant colleagues in The Spectator data team, and look at this in my Daily Telegraph column today. What is an “out-of-work”

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

The Queen is one Brit Macron can warm to

He may not have much respect for the ‘Clown’, but when it comes to the Queen Emmanuel Macron is as smitten as his compatriots. With political relations between France and Britain at their coldest for decades, and Macron reportedly regarding Prime Minister Boris Johnson as more suitable for the circus, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee has provided the French president with an opportunity to warm up his rhetoric. In a video address to Her Majesty published on Thursday, Macron praised the constancy of the Queen’s Francophilia throughout her 70 years on the throne. ‘Times have changed, Europe has evolved, our continent is again experiencing war,’ said Macron. ‘Through these transformations, your

Nigel Jones

Boris looks doomed, but can he escape the inevitable?

Is Boris Johnson’s government about to fall apart? Twice since World War Two, Tory governments have broken up after a prolonged period of rule. They have died not because of a single crisis, but slowly expired due to sheer exhaustion, disunity, and lack of purpose or ideas. Now Boris’s regime, after another lengthy Tory period in power, looks as though it may be heading towards a similar exit. But can it avoid its fate? The parallels between today’s events and those of 1963 and 1992-7 are inescapable. In all three cases we have a tired team of Tories bereft of ideas simply running out of steam. In all three we

Wolfgang Münchau Wolfgang Münchau

What makes the EU think it can run an army?

The German political economist Benjamin Braun recently made an astute observation about the editorial position of a German newspaper – in fact, it is an observation about the German policy consensus in general. “Eurobond? Never, it’ll kill us all. Eurobomb? Bring it on.” Incomprehensibly, the EU is now discussing yet another field of political integration: a defence union. But the big task it set itself 20 years ago remains (to put it politely) incomplete. Amongst other things agreed in the recent two-day EU summit was the need to press ahead with defence strategic procurement and coordinating capability. There is a ‘Strategic Compass’ plan for an ‘EU Rapid Deployment Capacity of

Thursday

Steerpike Steerpike

Tories pay tribute to our Queen

The economy may be tanking and Boris in peril but MPs were grateful this week for a four day respite to mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee. Many chose to flee Westminster for home pastures elsewhere: Brandon Lewis got to press the flesh at Hillsborough Castle while his backbench colleague Laura Farris snapped pics in Newbury with a Churchill impersonator. But a fair few decided to remain in London to pay tribute to our long-suffering monarch at the Trooping of the Colour on Horseguard’s Parade. Somehow Mr S blagged a ticket – they let anyone in these days – and enjoyed the chance to see our elected Tory masters pay tribute

Cindy Yu Cindy Yu

Politics and the monarchy: a look back at the Queen’s reign

17 min listen

As this week marks the Queen’s platinum jubilee, we take a look back at her greatest political achievements in her role as head of state. How important was the relationship between the monarch and the Prime Minister? ‘I think there’s been this restraining act on the behaviour of Prime Ministers, that they will have to explain themselves to the Queen at some point – James Forsyth. Since her reign, she has served 14 Prime Ministers, one of whom was Margaret Thatcher. What was her relationship like with the Iron Lady? Lord Charles Moore, former editor of The Spectator who also wrote a biography on Mrs Thatcher spoke of the mutual respect the

Steerpike Steerpike

Will Sadiq make a Commons comeback?

Fresh from their impressive gains in last month’s elections, attention in London Labour circles has now turned towards the future intentions of Sadiq Khan. The capital’s mayor won re-election last year and is due to see his term expire at the beginning of May 2024. But after two terms in office, will he be running for a third? In January he told James O’Brien on LBC that he was ‘looking forward’ to standing again for the mayoralty and said he ‘doesn’t want’ Sir Keir Starmer’s job. But such claims have not dampened speculation that Khan could return to the Commons, depending on the date of the next election. If, as

Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

Is Shakespeare racist?

Shakespeare’s Globe has a new wheeze to popularise its shows. The latest production, Henry VIII, is supported by a seminar about racism in this late play which the Bard co-wrote with John Fletcher. The online event, hosted by the Globe’s Dr Will Tosh, features dramatist-in-residence, Hannah Khalil, and Mira Kafantaris, a critical race theorist from the US. Both these experts proclaim their status as migrants and they examine Shakespeare through the lens of racist exploitation. At first glance it seems tricky to link racism with Henry VIII who was born four years before Columbus sailed for the Caribbean. But racism is everywhere, it seems. ‘Anne Boleyn’, explains Kafantaris, ‘was foreign born,

Dalibor Rohac

How Poland came back from the brink

Poland is back. Not so long ago, the country was seen as an effigy of democratic backsliding, rather than a post-communist success story. In 2017, the European Commission made its first use of the Article 7 procedure against Poland over concerns about eroding separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary. On the campaign trail in 2020, Joe Biden warned about ‘what’s happening from Belarus through Poland and Hungary and the rise of totalitarian regimes in the world’. In doing so, he placed the Polish government in the company of some of the worst dictators on the planet. But within days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland managed to