Politics

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

Sunday

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Boris hits vaccine target – what happens next?

The government has good news to shout about on Sunday with ministers reaching their target of offering a first dose vaccine to the top four priority groups. In total, 15 million first injections have been offered to the most vulnerable in society. This is two days ahead of the government’s target.  Announcing the news, Boris Johnson said ‘we have reached a significant milestone in the United Kingdom’s national vaccination programme’. So far the programme has exceeded expectations with the UK one of the fastest countries in the world on vaccinations. This is down to a number of factors including a lot of work on manufacturing and supply chains which took place last year.  The

Steerpike Steerpike

Vaccine passports for internal use are ‘under consideration’, says Raab

Only last week, vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi assured us that the government is not looking at vaccine passports as they would be discriminatory and un-British. So imagine Mr S’s astonishment when Dominic Raab admitted that they are indeed being considered in Britain – for internal and external use. When asked on LBC whether a domestic vaccine passport – ‘where you have to show a bit of paper to go into a supermarket’ – could be brought in, Raab confirmed: ‘It’s something that hasn’t been ruled out and is under consideration, but of course you’ve got to make it workable.’ The Foreign Secretary continued: ‘You’ve got to know that the document

Matthew Taylor

Sunday shows roundup: No. 10 won’t set an ‘arbitrary target’ for lifting lockdown

With the vaccine rollout exceeding expectations, the government now faces pressure from its own side of the House to lift the current lockdown as fast as possible. The Covid Recovery Group, chaired by the former chief whip Mark Harper, has sent a letter to the PM which has been endorsed by 63 MPs calling for all restrictions to be lifted after the nine designated vulnerable groups have received their vaccines – which is forecast for the end of April. Appearing on Sophy Ridge on Sunday, foreign secretary Dominic Raab set out the government’s position: DR: I don’t think you can set an arbitrary target, and not be evidence led… which is

Tim Lang

The missing ingredient: Brexit Britain’s food problems

The announcement of the Brexit deal at the end of 2020 alleviated concerns over food supplies to the relief of many, not least the government. But while it is clear that food will continue to appear on shop shelves, what has been less clear, however, is how we want to feed ourselves now that we are no longer confined by European Union membership. It has been three years since Michael Gove brought Henry Dimbleby into the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to work on food policy. His report in July 2020 urged action on food poverty. But it was sidelined until footballer Marcus Rashford said the same

Saturday

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

What Trump’s acquittal means for the future of American politics

Former President Donald Trump was acquitted by the Senate today, in what has turned out to be the shortest impeachment trial in American history, after the House of Representatives voted to impeach him last month after the riot at the Capitol building. Despite being the first president impeached twice during his time in office – this time charged with inciting insurrection – the Senate once again failed to secure two-thirds majority to convict him. When Trump was first impeached in 2019, the Senate voted along near-partisan lines – only Utah senator and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney broke party lines. This time, seven Republicans broke rank to vote with the Democrats

Andrew Dunlop

Why Boris Johnson must say no to a second Scottish referendum

It’s hard to believe in these early weeks of 2021, when the country is grappling with an unprecedented national health and economic crisis, that anyone could contemplate willingly throwing into the mix a constitutional crisis. Issuing a clarion call to break apart, when it could not be clearer we need to pull together. Yet that appears to be the course on which the SNP Government in Edinburgh is set with its 11-point plan for independence. For the UK Government to reject a demand to hold any time soon another referendum on Scottish independence is not, as Nicola Sturgeon would have it, ‘a denial of democracy’; it’s plain common-sense and the

Patrick O’Flynn Patrick O'Flynn

Labour’s lightweight shadow cabinet

Being at the launch of the 1997 Labour manifesto and watching the shadow cabinet take to the stage is one of my abiding memories from more than 20 years spent as a lobby journalist. Even setting aside the star-turn Tony Blair, it was a veritable march of the big beasts — Gordon Brown, Robin Cook, Jack Straw, David Blunkett, John Prescott, Mo Mowlam. All of these people were major players with large followings and massive public profiles. The less central figures also passed muster, including George Robertson (later a fine Nato secretary general), the ever-popular Donald Dewar, the clever and well-spoken Alistair Darling, suave Jack Cunningham, Margaret Beckett and Ann

Friday

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Will we ever get to the truth in the Salmond inquiry?

The Spectator’s legal action in the Alex Salmond affair has prompted the Holyrood inquiry to rethink its approach. The magazine went to court to argue the media’s right to publish and the public’s right to read evidence from Salmond which the inquiry is refusing to publish.  A redacted version has already appeared on The Spectator website. Lady Dorrian agreed yesterday to amend an order against reporting information relating to the criminal trial against Salmond, which cleared him of 13 charges of sexual assault. The Sturgeon government’s separate sexual harassment probe into the former First Minister has previously been ruled ‘unlawful’ and ‘tainted by apparent bias’ by a Scottish court. Salmond

Steerpike Steerpike

Nicola Sturgeon’s impossible achievement

Earlier this week, the Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon boasted that 99.9 per cent of older people in care homes had been vaccinated. An impressive figure, one that she deserves to boast about — providing, of course, she acknowledges the successful vaccine drive has been thanks to the whole United Kingdom.  Now though it seems the saintly Sturgeon has gone a step further — managing to vaccinate over 100 per cent of all care home residents.  Perhaps it might be worth the Edinburgh government updating their official metrics so they include a more accurate estimate. Truly the Scottish National Party’s glorious endeavours know no bounds…

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The Northern Ireland conundrum

The purpose of the Northern Ireland protocol was meant to be to square the circles of simultaneously protecting the single market and stability in Northern Ireland. But, as I write in the magazine this week, there are signs it is beginning to undermine stability there. The fundamental problem is that Unionists are increasingly against it. The First Minister and DUP leader Arlene Foster tweeted this morning that Northern Ireland must be ‘freed from the protocol’. We could be in a nightmare situation where direct rule from London had to be imposed to fully implement the protocol Now, the EU can say that the checks the Unionists are objecting to are

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Will the economy bounce back after lockdown?

18 min listen

Despite the GDP figures from the ONS today, the Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane has written an optimistic commentary today, arguing why he thinks the British economy will bounce back after Covid restrictions end. Katy Balls talks to Kate Andrews, the Spectator’s Economics Correspondent, and James Forsyth about that possibility.

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Tory nerves are growing over Boris Johnson’s Covid strategy

When the third lockdown was voted on in the House of Commons last month, there was a smaller Tory rebellion than the previous two votes. A combination of the arrival of an exit strategy through vaccines, the new Kent variant and the sharp increase in hospital admissions meant that many MPs previously critical of lockdown as a tool against coronavirus, supported the measures. However, with Boris Johnson due to set out a roadmap later this month on the path out of lockdown, the mood is now beginning to change. Tensions increased this week when Matt Hancock announced new border measures. Controversially, this included a potential ten year prison sentence for those who lied

Matthew Lynn

KPMG’s boss was right to tell staff to stop moaning

You have to navigate the tricky etiquette of what to wear for Zoom meetings. That little black box in the corner has to be rebooted from time to time when the wi-fi goes wonky. You have to make your own sandwiches instead of popping out to Pret. And there is a severe risk of hand strain if you don’t have the right kind of ergonomic equipment while perched on the laptop in the kitchen.  There have, of course, been some challenges for the white collar classes as they make their way through lockdown. But, you know, all things considered, it is just possible that it hasn’t been that bad. The

Nick Tyrone Nick Tyrone

Has Starmer’s Labour found the Tories’ weak spot?

A leaked email from Keir Starmer’s director of policy that hit the headlines this week contained an interesting line: that Labour must become ‘unashamedly pro-business’ in order to ‘be the party of working people and their communities’. This has caused predictable outrage on the left of the party. At the other end of the political spectrum, the Tories have been quick to mock the whole idea. At this week’s PMQs, Boris reminded Starmer that at the last election Labour wanted to dismantle capitalism – now it wants to be the party of business? Really? But the Tories need to be careful about how hard they laugh at this one. While

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

What a record GDP slump means for economic recovery

It’s been no mystery that the UK economy took a severe beating in 2020: two lockdowns, a host of circuit-breakers and fire-breakers, Christmas cancelled for millions of people. The experience of an economy forced to hibernate for months on end last year is reflected in today’s GDP update from the Office for National Statistics, showing the economy contracted 9.9 per cent last year — the ‘largest yearly fall on record’ and biggest contraction in 300 years. The fall isn’t quite as stark as the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast alongside the Chancellor’s spending review last November (an estimated 11.3 per cent), but it still represents one of the largest economic

Thursday

Cindy Yu Cindy Yu

Are Tory lockdown-sceptics returning in force?

18 min listen

After a brief winter hibernation, it seems that the lockdown-sceptic wing of the Conservative party is returning in force. Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth about the increasing clamour to reopen society and whether the government really has shifted the goalposts for easing lockdown.

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Why The Spectator went to court

Among the Scottish parliament’s many crucial roles, there is none more important than its ability to scrutinise government and hold it to account. The same is true of a free press. Both are at their best when they hold power to account on behalf of the public. But neither can do this essential duty when crucial documents are withheld during important inquiries. The Holyrood inquiry into the Scottish government’s handling of the Alex Salmond affair decided last week that it would not publish crucial submissions, including Mr Salmond’s, apparently on the basis that to do so would contravene reporting restrictions rightly introduced to protect the identity of complainants. We have

Gerard Lyons

No, Amsterdam hasn’t overtaken the City

London is Europe’s major financial centre and one of the world’s two leading financial hubs. This is unlikely to change following Brexit. Its main competition is with New York, Singapore, Hong Kong and other centres like Shanghai that will emerge in the coming years. However, the headline of today’s main story in the Financial Times proclaimed, ‘Amsterdam ousts London as Europe’s top share trading hub’. The article correctly reported that more shares were traded last month on ‘Euronext, Amsterdam and the Dutch arms of CBOE Europe and Turquoise in January’ than ‘in London’. While the data in this story is naturally correct, it needs to be put within context in order to