Politics

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

Tuesday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Boris Johnson’s upbeat defence of labour shortages

Boris Johnson hadn’t been on the Today programme for two years. His interview this morning was, as so many of his interviews are, a testy affair. Johnson gave typically long answers, much to Nick Robinson’s frustration – at one point, he simply said ‘stop talking, Prime Minister’, a phrase that is bound to cause a row. Johnson at the end asked what the point was of him giving an interview if he couldn’t talk, but those listening will have known what Robinson meant. Johnson’s style is to bulldoze through questions by sheer weight of words. Johnson is determined to run with the current worker shortages, believing that they’ll lead to

Nick Cohen Nick Cohen

The fantasy world of Boris Johnson

In One Thousand and One Nights, Scheherazade must begin a new story every evening. She must make sure that the sultan is so eager to hear its conclusion he postpones his plans to execute her. On they go, month after month, year after year, a different story every day. I want you to imagine Boris Johnson as Scheherazade. He is taking the stage at the Conservative party conference dressed in diaphanous silk harem pants, a velvet top with chiffon sleeves, a veil to hide his true expression, and with pearls taken from the jewellery collection of a Russian oligarch’s wife laced through his hair. Johnson, too, knows he must come up with

Steerpike Steerpike

‘Prime Minister, stop talking’: Nick Robinson clashes with Boris

Boris Johnson made a rare appearance on the Today programme this morning to drum up support for his agenda ahead of his conference speech tomorrow. But while listeners may have been hoping to hear a serious discussion about the state of the country, petrol pumps and supply chain woes, the interview quickly became a scrap between the Prime Minister and the programme’s host, Nick Robinson. The interview got off to a tetchy start with Robinson chiding the prime minister for not appearing on Today for two years. The PM jovially replied that ‘time had flown’ and began declaiming on the current global energy crisis. Johnson then answered several questions, with

Steerpike Steerpike

Drink spiking hits Tory conference

It was party time last night at Tory conference. As ministers Ben Wallace and Liz Truss supped Roland Rudd’s champagne at the Finsbury reception, Australian High Commissioner George Brandis mingled with Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey at the inHouse Politico party. But elsewhere at the Conservative jamboree, the night did not end so well for one unfortunate young Tory after he was the victim of a drink spiking incident. Mr S understands that shortly before midnight an attendee at the Young Conservative reception passed out unconscious. One concerned source said that the man in question could not move when he came to, with an ambulance and a defibrillator being

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Wanted: an assistant online editor for The Spectator

The Spectator is growing fast. In the last few years, our sales have doubled and are now over 100,000. Most of our readers now turn to our website regularly, some several times a day, for analysis of the day’s events. What started out as a blog has now become a seven-day live digital comment operation and we’re recruiting accordingly. We have come far with a three-person digital team. We’re now looking for a fourth, full-time assistant online editor (to work with us here in 22 Old Queen Street) and also experienced journalists who may be available for shift work, either in the office or remotely. This is a brand new position

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Corbyn gatecrashes Tory conference

This year’s Tory party conference in Manchester is something of an inclusive affair. Labour’s Barry Gardiner has been spotted enjoying himself at a late-night drinks reception for Conservative MPs. And Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham has also been wooing delegates on the fringes. Last night, it was the turn of another unexpected face to make an appearance outside the conference centre: Piers Corbyn. The brother of the ex-Labour leader – and Boris’s favourite weatherman – was on hand to berate those heading into the conference centre. Piers blasted the Tories and the Labour party which he said was ‘totally pathetic’.  But it’s safe to say Corbyn’s words didn’t go down well with some

The Spectator

What’s on today at Conservative conference

It’s day three of four here in Manchester at the Conservative party conference. Expected highlights of the day include the recently demoted Dominic Raab making his first speech as Justice Secretary while Priti Patel and Sajid Javid will be well worth watching too. Elsewhere Raab’s axed predecessor Robert Buckland appears at Policy Exchange while The Spectator again has a full day of fringes events. Main agenda: 09:50 – Speech by the Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab MP 10:40 – Panel discussion with the Scotland Secretary, Alister Jack MP 11:20 – In conversation with the Environment Secretary, George Eustice MP 11:50 – Speech by the Home Secretary, Priti Patel MP 16:00 –

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Why Boris is losing his fight against Sturgeon

Gavin Barwell has made a good point, albeit inadvertently. Theresa May’s former chief of staff has a book out, imaginatively titled Chief of Staff, and in it he touches upon the question of Brexit and Scottish independence. Noting that Boris Johnson is unpopular north of the border, the now Baron Barwell of Croydon says: ‘The UK government is on strong ground arguing that it is not the right time for a second independence referendum — polls show Scottish voters want the immediate focus to be on recovery from the pandemic — but the democratic mandate for the question to be asked again at some point is clear.’ No. It. Is.

Monday

Steerpike Steerpike

WhatsApp collapse throws Tory plots into chaos

The world’s oldest democratic party has had a few problems with technology in recent years. Famously it was the 2018 Tory conference which saw a security breach where the official party app allowed anyone to access the private phone numbers of members of the Cabinet – or in the case of Boris Johnson change his profile picture to that of a pig. Once again, tech issues are plaguing Tory conference, with three of the world’s most popular apps – Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – all being offline since 4:30 p.m. today. The last of these is the favoured platform for disloyal backbenchers and scheming hacks to conspire mischievously to make life harder for long-suffering Tory

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Sajid Javid takes the fight to Sage

Are Covid restrictions coming back this autumn? It’s a far from settled question as we move into the colder, influenza-dominated months. But if there are those calling for tiers and lockdowns in winter, it seems increasingly likely that they’ll be coming up against, among others, the new health secretary. Gone are the days of the health secretary being in lock-step with Sage. In today’s Policy Exchange fringe event with Sajid Javid, chaired by The Spectator’s Fraser Nelson, the health secretary (now 100 days into the role) had short and sharp words for the scientific advisory committee, particularly when it came to its scenarios earlier this year – which overshot the

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The Tories have a new-found love for devolution

One of the big draws of this conference is Ben Houchen, the Tory Mayor of Tees Valley. His presence ensures a big audience at any fringe event. Michael Gove heaped praise on him in his speech. He argued that Teesside was where you could see what the Tories mean by levelling up in action. Interestingly, Gove’s praise for Houchen seems to presage a greater Tory shift towards devolution. Gove said that levelling up meant four things, the first of which was strengthening local leadership to deliver ‘real change’. This aspect of the agenda is one of the reasons for the Andy Burnham–Michael Gove bromance. Burnham, who is about to speak

Cindy Yu Cindy Yu

George Eustice hits back at farmers’ labour shortage claims

Pig farmers are protesting, joining the ranks of climate activists and Remainiac Steve Bray outside Conservative Party Conference. The Prime Minister’s seeming dismissal of the imminent cull of 120,000 pigs as ‘just what happens’, has riled up farmers across the country who say that the cull is a result of the same sort of labour shortages we’ve seen in petrol delivery and hospitality. But today, the Secretary of State for Defra seemed to disagree with that analysis, blaming, instead, butchers who are importing cheaper pork from the continent. On a fringe panel on levelling up the rural economy, hosted by the think tank Onward, George Eustice suggested that processing plants were

Gus Carter Gus Carter

Richard Tice is a rebel without a cause

The vaccines make you magnetic, didn’t you know? And Covid is a form of biological warfare, released by the Chinese to weaken the West. New 5G technology is melting people’s brains and the Bank of England is owned by the Rothschilds. I am listening to three delegates from Reform UK’s first party conference, held in parallel to the Tories’ much larger jamboree just down the road. They are outside chaining cigarettes and they’re fired up. At last, they feel they can talk about this stuff without being shut down. I nod along. I’m not a scientist, I explain, and I don’t really know how central banks work. But why, I ask,

Steerpike Steerpike

Iain Duncan Smith assaulted at Tory conference

It’s day two of the Conservative party conference and there have been several ugly scenes already. Yesterday saw a banner quoting the IRA’s words in the aftermath of the Brighton bomb hung by a nearby bridge close to the conference arena. Today Jacob Rees-Mogg was pursued by hecklers chanting that he was ‘scum.’ And now Iain Duncan Smith, the former leader of the Conservative party, has been assaulted by a group of men on his route to an event at the Mercure hotel.  Duncan Smith arrived at a Brexit panel with Cabinet office minister Lord Frost, only to disappear midway through to discuss the incident with a police officer who

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

LIVE at Conservative Party Conference

54 min listen

Katy Balls, James Forsyth, Isabel Hardman and Fraser Nelson are joined by special guest, the American pollster Frank Luntz, in this episode of Coffee House Shots, recorded in front of a live audience at Conservative Party Conference. They discuss what it means to be a Conservative these days, whether ‘levelling up’ means anything and who should be the next Tory party leader.

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Why did Trump’s CIA want Assange killed?

26 min listen

On the 15th anniversary of Wikileaks, Freddy Gray speaks to its Editor in Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson about the recent Yahoo article that exposed the fact that the Trump Administration along with the CIA was working on plans to either kidnap or kill Julian Assange while he was still in hiding at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Tom Goodenough Tom Goodenough

How do the Tories solve a problem like net zero?

‘There’s a huge prize there if we get it right,’ says Tory MP Lee Rowley of the move to net zero. But there’s a big question mark hanging over this mission: how to get there without alienating voters and damaging the economy? Andrew Griffith, Boris Johnson’s ex-chief business advisor and the government’s net zero champion, warns that the path to switching away from carbon-based energy won’t be easy. ‘We’re going to unplumb the world economy,’ he says, pointing out that throughout the history of human progress burning fossil fuels has, until now, powered the engines of growth. If the last industrial revolution was disruptive, there’s no reason to think this

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Jacob Rees-Mogg called ‘scum’ by protesters

Greeted by a throng of angry protesters outside Tory conference, some of the party’s MPs are taking the easy option – and choosing to walk a different way. But not Jacob Rees-Mogg.  After leaving the conference centre, Mogg – dressed immaculately, as usual, in his buttoned-up suit – walked straight into the thick of it. He might have regretted his decision.  Mogg was booed loudly and heckled by demonstrators, with one calling him ‘scum’. Here’s the video: Having headed through the crowd of demonstrators, Mogg then turned back and ran the gauntlet again – only this time to be confronted by an angry protester who blamed the Tories for not being

John Connolly John Connolly

Red Wall Tories hit out at cost of net zero

One of the government’s flagship priorities this parliament has been its pledge for Britain to reach ‘net zero’ carbon emissions by 2050, with the commitment taking on increasing importance ahead of the COP26 climate summit later this month. But while the policy has wide support across the party, a far more controversial question is how much the change will cost – and if the bill will end up particularly hurting communities in the north. So far ‘Red Wall’ Tory MPs have been supportive of the government’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions, seeing it as a way to create new green jobs in parts of the country which were hit hard

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Rishi takes inspiration from Thatcher – with one key difference

There are two Tory conferences simultaneously taking place in Manchester, within the same conference hall and inside the same fringe events. One is attended by elated activists, who are revelling in the December 2019 victory they never got to celebrate at party conference last year. The other is attended by increasingly agitated grass root faithfuls, who are up in arms about their party hiking taxes: especially the National Insurance rise on workers and employers, set to kick in next year. Unsurprisingly, most ministers are tapping into the mood of the first group. They hail the success of the party on fringe panels and at drinks receptions. Yesterday evening, Michael Gove