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All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
Friday
Is Corbyn really closing in on May?
Corbyn is closing in on May, the Times reports this morning, as a poll from YouGov shows the gap between the two parties is down to just five points with less than two weeks to go until election day. The latest numbers show the Conservatives have, once again, seen their support drop: this time by
Watch: Andrew Neil’s This Week monologue – ‘the time for rhetoric is over’
In the aftermath of recent terrorist attacks in Paris and Nice, the BBC’s This Week has kicked off with a speech from Andrew Neil on the tragedies — and the ‘jihadi johnnies’ responsible. Last night, in the wake of the Manchester Arena terror attack which left 22 people dead, Andrew Neil adopted a different tone —
Terrorism does divide society – but not in the way some might think
What does Isis want? As Douglas Murray writes in this week’s cover piece, jihadis are quite clear on the subject – but we just aren’t listening. The question that never seems to be asked, however, is: what do we want? That is the core of my objection when our politicians tell us to continue as normal
Thursday
Corbyn: British foreign policy leads to terrorism here at home
One might have expected the general election campaign to resume in a softly-softly fashion following the Manchester bombing. But Jeremy Corbyn’s speech tomorrow morning will lead to some of the most vigorous political debate we have seen in recent times. Corbyn will say ‘Many experts, including professionals in our intelligence and security services, have pointed
Your enemy’s enemy isn’t always your friend when it comes to refugees
For those who argue that Britain should blindly accept refugees, the family history of Salman Abedi must make somewhat uncomfortable reading. Salman was born in Britain in 1994 to a couple who had newly arrived as refugees from Libya. At the time, such people were welcomed with open arms because they were opponents of President
Will Corbyn’s supporters blame their election defeat on the Manchester attack?
The Manchester murders have given British politics its first conspiracy theory with a grain of truth in it. It may sound ghoulish to discuss the political consequences of an atrocity. But terrorism is a political crime, and we are in a general election campaign. Everyone is thinking that the Manchester attack passes the advantage to
Ukip spare the beekeeper
Ukip has vowed to ban the burka if it ever comes to power and in its manifesto – which it launched today – the party calls on people to show ‘your face in a public place’. But there’s a problem: in the same document in which the party unveiled its policy, there was one person who could
Today’s GDP data reveals one thing: Mark Carney should have kept his cool after Brexit
Inflation is rising. Real wages are stagnant, and GDP is being revised downwards, putting us down there with the likes of Italy. If Theresa May had a script for the final fortnight of the election campaign it probably didn’t include figures like those. Today’s revision of the quarterly GDP number, down to a sluggish-looking 0.2
The Spectator Podcast: The Islamist worldview
On this week’s episode, we reflect on the tragic events in Manchester and what can be done to prevent similar attacks in the future. We also look at the emergence of political courts in America, Russia, France and beyond, and tip which constituencies to have a flutter on in next month’s election. First, we took a
Ukip’s tough talk on terror comes with a big risk
Ukip’s success in pursuing the Tories over Brexit will be remembered for a long time. Now, the party thinks it has a new bone of contention with which to go after the government: keeping Britain safe. In the wake of Monday’s night’s attack, Ukip wants to paint itself as the only party serious about rooting out
Economic growth revised down as inflation puts squeeze on consumer spending
Is Brexit finally starting to bite? New figures released this morning show that consumer spending increased at the slowest pace since the end of 2014, forcing down the official economic growth rate to 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of this year. The news surprised economists and analysts. According to Reuters, only one of 42 expected
Gary Lineker to the rescue
Last month, Rachel Johnson managed to create a mini furore when it transpired that she had joined the Liberal Democrats. Given that the Mail on Sunday columnist has only ever voted Conservative in elections, the news came as a surprise to many — not least her brother Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary. But has Rachel
How to finance home improvements with a mortgage
A property should have two bathrooms for every three bedrooms to maximise its value and desirability. That’s according to 70 per cent of real estate experts from across the UK who were quizzed by Direct Line Home Insurance. On average, they estimated an extra bathroom could add just under 7 per cent to the £174,340
Police stop sharing information with the US after Manchester bomb leaks
Yesterday morning, Home Secretary Amber Rudd warned the US government to stop leaking details from the investigation into the Manchester bombing. Her words appear to have fallen on deaf ears: last night, photographs taken at the scene of the blast, showing a possible detonator used by the bomber, appeared on the New York Times website.
How Libya became a breeding ground for jihadists
In August 2011, I was in Sabratha, the latest city on the road to Tripoli to fall to the rebels. After months of fighting, there was now a clear sense that the endgame was approaching in Libya’s bloody civil war: the trap was closing around Muammar Gaddafi. While admiring an ancient basilica in Sabratha, a
Wednesday
Are older borrowers being punished for their age?
Imagine having an immaculate credit record and a secure income, only to be locked out of some of the most competitive mortgage deals. Some older borrowers have been facing just this scenario. ‘Many have felt excluded from the mortgage market, as the criteria have tightened and lenders have typically imposed a maximum age of 70
The election campaign resumes on Friday – in defiance of those who seek to destroy democracy
The election campaign will resume on Friday, with both Labour and the Tory national campaigns re-staring. This is welcome news. The decision to pause the campaign in the light of this horrific terrorist attack was understandable. But the danger, with only 15 days to go until polling day, was that a prolonged pause would have
The strange similarity between Donald Trump and Pope Francis
Donald Trump’s verdict on his audience with Pope Francis – ‘fantastic meeting’, ‘honor of a lifetime’ – may disappoint those who were expecting a showdown. The Pope is supposed to be Trump’s ‘antithesis’, ‘the anti-Trump’, his ‘polar opposite’ and so on and so on. But in the end the meeting was merely awkward, to judge
Corbyn supporter led away by police outside Downing Street
Today Labour have announced that the party will re-commence its general election national campaign on Friday, after all campaigning was put on pause following Monday’s terrorist attack, which left 22 dead. Alas this memo has failed to reach one of Jeremy Corbyn’s ardent supporters. Although all campaigning is meant to be on hold, this afternoon a woman by the name
Pope Francis’s liberal fan club visibly upset after he hits it off with Trump
Pope Francis met President Trump this morning and they appear to have hit it off. After a 30-minute meeting in the Vatican, the president emerged beaming, describing the private audience as ‘the honour of a lifetime’. The Pope, too, was described as ‘grinning from ear to ear’. We don’t know if the two men discussed
Should there be troops on the streets?
In the wake of terrorist outrages such as Monday’s bombing, the British public tends to keep calm and carry on. We saw it in London after the Westminster attack in March; we saw it yesterday on the streets of Manchester – a stirring sight. That calmness in the face of evil is an attitude that
Why Islamists are obsessed with controlling young girls
When the pictures of the dead came in, it was hard to take, even from a distance. There was Georgina Callander, 18, a bespectacled Ariana Grande ‘superfan’ who had tweeted that she was ‘so excited’ to go to the concert in Manchester Arena. There was Saffie Roussos, aged 8 and still at primary school, who
Islamists are very clear about what they want – we just aren’t listening
The meeting place of the two worlds could not have been more sharply defined. In Manchester Arena, thousands of young women had spent the night singing and dancing at a show in Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman tour. Songs such as the hit ‘Side To Side’ were performed: ‘Tonight I’m making deals with the devil /
The Manchester bombing: what the papers say
The ‘cruel’ attack in Manchester is ‘more proof’ that the ‘liberal West shelters hate-filled enemies set on destroying our way of life’, says the Daily Mail. The bombing, in which 22 people lost their lives, was the worst since 7/7. And while our thoughts are now with the victims and their families, says the paper,
Mark Carney falls victim to a hoax
For weeks now, an email hoaxer has been trying to catch bank officials out online. After the prankster tricked Barclays boss Jes Staley, they set their sights on a new target: the governor of the Bank of England. Claiming to be Anthony Habgood, chairman of the court of the Bank of England, the hoaxer emailed
Manchester terror attack: what we know so far
What we know so far: Police are hunting a ‘network’ in connection with the Manchester bombing, as they confirmed that the bomber was Salman Abedi, 22, who was born in Manchester to Libyan parents Six people – including a woman – have so far been arrested in connection with the attack. One of those held by police
Tuesday
UK terror threat level raised to ‘critical’, soldiers deployed to the streets
In her second statement of the day, Theresa May has announced that the national terror threat level has been raised from “severe” to the highest level,”critical”. She added that she has also deployed the military to help armed police by triggering Operation Temperer, a protocol that sends troops to help police with security at airports, rail networks, harbours etc. This is
We must come together – and repeat the mantra ‘hope not hate’
We must all come together. Hope, not hate. Nothing to do with Islam. Nothing to do with Muslims. Just a rogue individual, possibly in the employ of some mysterious foreign agency. Just terrorism, bad people. Unaligned wickedness. Nothing to do with religion. We must all come together. And show love. And solidarity. Hope not hate.
There’s a reason why Isis targets gigs: music is the enemy of fundamentalism
Until last night Ariana Grande’s fans, predominantly tweens and teens, were more preoccupied with the concept of friendship than the ripple effect of international politics. I witnessed this first hand when I was working at MTV and oversaw a Twitter Q&A with Grande, where she spent an hour or so answering questions sent in by fans. As
The Manchester attack is especially vile but we must go on
The first victim named was from Lancashire, the second an eight-year old girl. Two girls from the isle of Barra in the Western Isles are among those still unaccounted for. A reminder, if it were needed, that though this was an attack in Manchester, the chains of personal connections to the horror stretch all across
Isis issues warning after claiming Manchester attack
The police haven’t yet said anything about the identity of the Manchester suicide bomber, but the Islamic State has claimed responsibility. Here’s the statement. This is the same layout as the statement released on social media after the Bataclan attacks, complete with the bizarre “breaking news” box on the top left and references to the murdered young girls as
Don’t let cyber criminals steal your money – take steps to protect your finances
It’s the modern malaise: online fraud. In a world where so many of our transactions happen over the internet, it’s little wonder that fraudsters have descended on the web in droves. The latest statistics paint a bleak picture. According to the Office for National Statistics, there were 11.5 million incidents of crime relating to computer misuse
Theresa May condemns ‘callous’ Manchester attack, full statement
I have just chaired a meeting of the government’s emergency committee COBR, where we discussed the details of – and the response to – the appalling events in Manchester last night. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the families and friends of all those affected. It is now beyond doubt that the