Politics

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

Monday

Mark Galeotti Mark Galeotti

Has Putin picked up the phone to Donald Trump?

So, did they speak? How often? What about? The very coyness around the question of whether Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone – Trump says so, maybe more than once, while the Kremlin is neither confirming nor denying – suggests that pre-discussion discussions on the war in Ukraine are indeed already taking place. General Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for the war, has stated that no peace plan will be unveiled at next weekend’s Munich Security Conference (the Davos of the security set). But in some ways that is disingenuous. As one Foreign Office staffer suggested, ‘It’s not necessarily the time and place for a public reveal,

Ian O’Doherty

Why won’t Ireland take in Palestinian refugees?

Oh, what a tangled web we weave. When Donald Trump made his rather provocative claim that the US would expel all Palestinians from Gaza and turn the region into the ‘Riviera of the Middle East’, international condemnation came thick and fast – matched only by the confusion of world leaders. Did the President of the United States really mean that he wanted to create his very own Mar-a-Gaza, complete with luxurious golf courses and tatty tourist shops, or was there a method to his madness?  Egypt has already insisted that it won’t take a single Palestinian refugee, Jordan has warned the United States that it would consider any such plans an

James Heale James Heale

Have Kemi Badenoch’s first 100 days been a success?

Leader of the opposition is regarded by many as the worst job in British politics. Peter Hennessy called the post ‘a transit camp – to either glory or oblivion’; Denis Healey quoted The Odyssey, saying it was better to be the ‘meanest swine heard on earth’ than ‘king of all the shadows’. Denied Whitehall’s legions of functionaries, they must work on a shoestring, painfully aware that historical odds suggest their efforts are likely to fail. Yet few holders of the role have faced a more awesome challenge than Kemi Badenoch. Today she marks 100 days as party leader, with the Conservatives facing a fight for survival. Her task is harder

Matthew Lynn

Trump’s tariffs could kill Europe’s steel industry

So, it seems that Donald Trump wasn’t bluffing after all. On his way to the Superbowl, the president made time to impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports into the United States, ramping up a trade war that has been looming ever since he moved into the White House last month. Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump said he would slap the tariffs on “everybody”. “If they charge us, we charge them,” he said. These measures will hit Australia, Mexico, and East Asian manufacturers hard. But it will deliver a terminal blow to the European steel industry, unless it finally abandons Net Zero targets that were already

Jonathan Sacerdoti

How Hamas used starvation as a weapon of war

We asked for proof of deliberate starvation in Gaza. On Saturday, we received it. The images of Eli Sharabi, Or Levy, and Ohad Ben Ami – three hostages released by Hamas after 491 days in captivity – were haunting. Frail, skeletal, barely able to stand, they bore the unmistakable marks of prolonged deprivation. The sight evoked painful historical echoes: men whose suffering was etched into their hollowed faces and emaciated bodies, a vision chillingly reminiscent of Holocaust survivors. This was not incidental malnutrition. It was something far worse: starvation as a weapon, inflicted with intent. It was a vision chillingly reminiscent of Holocaust survivors For months, famine in Gaza had

Jake Wallis Simons Jake Wallis Simons

What happened to William Dalrymple?

At first impression, William Dalrymple is flying high. This patrician historian of British-Indian relations, who celebrates his sixtieth birthday this year, presides over his own literary festival in Jaipur and has amassed more than a million followers on X (many of them hailing from the subcontinent). In recent years, he has grown to become a totem of centrist dads everywhere. This month, he announced that his Empire Podcast – produced by Gary Lineker’s production company – had surpassed 55 million downloads. Dalrymple’s outbursts can be venomous towards those who do not share his repugnance for the Middle East’s only democracy Increasingly, however, questions are being asked both about the Scottish

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

Is a ‘Trump tornado’ about to tear through Europe?

There is a wind of change blowing through the West. It emanates from Washington DC, where Donald Trump continues to dash off executive orders; more than fifty by the end of last week, the highest number in a president’s first 100 days in four decades. The liberal mainstream media is rattled. The New York Times magazine ran a piece at the weekend in which it described Trump as ‘the leading light of a spate of illiberal leaders and parties flourishing in democracies around the world’. The paper namechecked some of them: Poland, Holland, India, France, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Hungary and Russia. What unites and motivates these ‘illiberal’ parties is their

Felicity Gillespie

A baby phone ban is long overdue

Crucial brain development in the first few years of life depends on the ‘serve and return’ interaction with parents and carers; baby talk, storytime and games. Sitting in front of a screen is one-way traffic: a child is only in receive mode. Maybe that’s why we are seeing the terrible impact of excessive screen time on pre-school children at the start of Reception. According to Kindred’s latest school readiness report, a third of children starting Reception can’t dress themselves or communicate their needs to an adult; 45 per cent are reported to be unable to sit still for a short time. Up to a quarter of children who begin Reception are

Sunday

Jenny Lindsay

In defence of Sandie Peggie

A few days ago I was alerted to a new mental health campaign video for the NHS service Mind To Mind. ‘Life is full of ups and downs,’ the clip started. Cut to a middle-aged woman looking out of her window, a little fraught, but then resiliently donning a colourful bobble hat before leaving her house. ‘So we need to look after our heads,’ she smiled to the camera. This 60-second social media film was posted by NHS Fife on 4 February, urging people to take care of their mental health by connecting with others experiencing the same difficulties. I became aware of it thanks to X’s algorithm repeatedly catapulting

Joe Bedell-Brill

Sunday shows round-up: Andrew Gwynne’s messages condemned

Health Minister Andrew Gwynne has been sacked after he was found to have sent offensive messages in a Whatsapp group with other Labour figures. Gwynne had joked about hoping a constituent would soon be dead, and made sexist and racist comments about Angela Rayner and Diane Abbott. On Sky News, housing minister Matthew Pennycook denounced Gwynne’s comments, and told Trevor Phillips that Keir Starmer had ‘acted decisively’ to ‘uphold the highest standards of public office’. Phillips asked if other Labour politicians in the same Whatsapp group would be suspended. Pennycook said an investigation was taking place, and that if any other Labour MP was found to have fallen short of

Alexander Larman

Donald Trump is right to pity Prince Harry

Say what you like about President Trump – and people very much do – but there is little doubt that, at the outset of his second term, The Donald has behaved like a man in a hurry. Not a day seems to go past without a blizzard of executive orders closing this and shuttering that, and generally attempting to Make America Great Again. Yet amidst all the threatened deportations of the undesirable, there is one particular high-profile resident alien whom the President has decided to allow to remain in the country: none other than everyone’s favourite Montecito dweller, Prince Harry. Few would disagree with Trump’s comments on Meghan There had

Edward Howell

Does a ‘new golden age’ beckon for the US and Japan?

Perhaps the first thing on everyone’s minds was just how low Ishiba Shigeru, Japan’s Prime Minister (who prefers warships to golf clubs) could go on a round at the Trump International Golf Club. After all, following Trump’s victory last November, Ishiba’s South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk Yeol, was seen sharpening up his golf swing in preparation for 18 holes. But what Ishiba’s speedy one-day sojourn to Washington on Friday makes clear is that no matter how transactional leaders may be, in international relations, alliances matter – particularly during a time of ‘polycrisis’. Relations between Tokyo and Washington have not always been hurdle-free. But this bilateral alliance, enshrined in a security

Nigel Jones

Why does Labour loathe ordinary people?

The jaw-dropping contempt dripping from the reply suggested by Labour’s sacked health minister Andrew Gwynne to a 72-year-old lady in Manchester who had complained about her bin collections may seem shocking but is scarcely surprising. In a WhatsApp chat with Labour councillors, Gwynne proposed to respond with: ‘Dear resident, F*** your bins. I’m re-elected and without your vote. Screw you. PS: Hopefully you’ll have croaked it by the all-outs.’ This is entirely symptomatic of the way that ‘the people’s party’ now regard those who elect them. The ‘let them eat cake’ attitude by Labour’s finest towards ordinary voters first came to widespread public attention during the 2010 general election. It

Patrick O’Flynn Patrick O'Flynn

Labour is doomed under Keir Starmer

Voters simply haven’t taken to the party leader and that’s becoming impossible to ignore. Presenting the public at the next election with a figure they don’t like, rate or agree with would be madness. So at some stage a new leader will have to be installed. There are certainly some mutterings to this effect in Tory circles, about Kemi Badenoch. But the die is not cast on that. Instead, we must look across the aisle to find the leader who has reached the point of no return. Cold, aloof, po-faced and priggish, the PM has set about alienating vast swathes of the electorate at breakneck pace Perhaps this sounds counterintuitive given

Saturday

Steerpike Steerpike

Labour minister sacked for vile WhatsApps

Congratulations to Andrew Gwynne who wins the ministerial sack race of 2025. The Labour MP for Gorton & Denton was tonight sacked as a health minister after the Mail on Sunday revealed his vile WhatsApps. After a 72-year-old local resident got in touch with Gwynne’s constituency party to complain about her bin collection, the MP wrote a suggested response: ‘Dear resident, Fuck your bins. I’m re-elected and without your vote. Screw you. PS: Hopefully you’ll have croaked it by the all-outs.’ Charming. The messages were exchanged in a group called ‘Trigger Me Timbers’, which Gwynne shares with more than a dozen Labour councillors, party officials and at least one other MP, all based

James Tidmarsh

Keir Starmer’s flimsy excuse for the Chagos deal

The government has defended its controversial decision to relinquish control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius with an excuse so far-fetched it could be mistaken for a plot from a spy novel gone wrong. According to reports in the Telegraph, Starmer’s administration claims that the deal is necessary to secure the viability of the military base on Diego Garcia, citing potential disruptions in telecommunications due to ‘legal uncertainty’ over the islands’ sovereignty. The Telegraph claimed that one of the Prime Minister’s closest friends, Philippe Sands KC, who has represented Mauritius in the dispute, was the original source of these ‘national security’ claims. The UK is reportedly trying to give away the islands to Mauritius

Stewart McDonald

Ukraine’s security depends on Europe’s courage

If anything was going to make Donald Trump come around to supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia, ‘rare earth minerals’ – an issue of increasing geopolitical importance in the global competition with China – would not have made it to the top of most lists. Yet the US president has hinted this could be the key to the continuation of US investment in the nation as Russia’s war rages on. The proposal hasn’t impressed everyone – German chancellor Olaf Scholz has called the plan to make money from the war ‘selfish’ – but President Zelensky is open to the idea.   Europe cannot afford to outsource our security to the

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Trump’s ICC sanctions will test an outdated institution

Once you get beyond trade and maritime borders, you will find that much of international law is, pace Clausewitz, the continuation of policy by other means. The International Criminal Court (ICC) was continuing policy by other means when it issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. The two stand accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes over Operation Swords of Iron, Jerusalem’s response to the Palestinian invasion of its territory and mass murder of its citizens on 7 October 2023. Israel has protested the Court’s actions, which were prompted by chief prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan, as a one-sided interference in the military actions of

Oscar Edmondson

Will there be a Tory/Reform pact?

19 min listen

While both Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch are quick to talk down speculation of a pact between the Tories and Reform, listeners may be surprised to hear that around Westminster such conversations are already taking place. With every new poll, Conservative MPs grow a little more anxious that by the time they go to the polls, they will have little claim to being the main opposition – and so some sort of agreement starts to make sense. That agreement could be anything from a non-aggression pact to bringing the two warring parties of the right under one leader. How likely is it? Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and Gawain

Nick Cohen Nick Cohen

Keir Starmer is caught in a Trump trap

The mood of Keir Starmer’s foreign policy advisers was funereal as they contemplated the return of Donald Trump. The weeks since Trump’s inauguration have shown that the government doesn’t know what to do with an American president who is hostile, capricious and, let’s face it, more than a little mad, except humour him as one might humour a screaming toddler. Labour cannot attack Farage’s Trump worship for fear of alienating Washington Who knows? Maybe that will work. Maybe all Starmer needs to do is flatter Trump, toss in a visit to Buckingham Palace and a banquet with the King, and the rheumy Eye of Sauron will move away from Britain