All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
When it was reported that Liam Fox and Boris Johnson are already squabbling about who should be in charge of what in relation to Brexit, this was taken by some to be a feather in Theresa May’s cap. Isn’t she clever to have set Leavers against one another, was the thought. Downing Street sources were
The latest challenge called for limericks that might have been written by Boris Johnson in an attempt to smooth ruffled feathers on the international stage. Boris himself has said that ‘it would really take me too long to engage in a fully global itinerary of apology’ to all those who have taken offence at comments
I’ve never seen a National Treasure whose head I didn’t have a strong urge to shove down the nearest toilet. So when I read that Christopher Biggins had entered the latest Celebrity Big Brother house for a rumoured £150,000 – far, far less than what I was offered, to put it mildly – I fair hugged
It’s August 2016 and the best time in human history to be alive. Well, at least that’s according to Johan Norberg, who writes this week’s Spectator cover piece on the new golden age. Never, he says, has there been less war, disease, conflict, discrimination or poverty. So why do we find that so hard to
Don’t let off your celebratory party poppers just yet! Anjem Choudary may be facing jail, but he is a slippery man – an ex-lawyer always careful to push the boundaries of the law he despised without breaking it – so don’t think he won’t try to play a bad hand to his advantage. There’s a
Shortly before the referendum, Charles Moore emailed me with an idea: he’d always thought how worryingly easy it would be for someone like him, registered in two addresses, to vote twice. So he proposed to do so, and then write it up in the magazine – to flag up weaknesses in our system. As he writes
With just over a month to go until Labour party conference in Liverpool, the party ought to be turning its attention to setting the agenda for the year ahead. Instead, there are doubts over whether the event will even take place. Earlier this month, a leaked memo to Guido revealed that the party was facing
One of the many incorrect predictions about this year’s referendum was that those who voted for Brexit would soon regret it. The theory was that these deluded souls only intended to lodge a protest vote, and would be overcome with buyers’ remorse as Britain fell headlong into a deep recession. Two months after the referendum,
Does the Olympics medal table reflect more than just sporting prowess? If you take a look at which countries have won the most golds since the first modern games in 1896, it certainly looks that way. Without exception, the winning nations are either those running the planet – or the ones who were about to try. In fact,
It’s tough being a part of the Labour coup. Even though you’ve plotted behind the party leader’s back and are now supporting a challenger, it’s important to remain on civil terms. That must be why Jack Dromey cut an interview short about the need to replace Jeremy Corbyn to… greet Jeremy Corbyn. I'm interviewing @JackDromeyMP
As if things weren’t bad enough for savers, the months ahead are looking bleaker than ever. The repercussions of the EU referendum sent the markets into chaos and in turn led the Bank of England to drop the bank base rate to 0.25 per cent, the lowest level in more than 300 years. So where
Britain’s obsession with property has propelled the country’s net worth to an estimated £8.8 trillion, an increase of 6 per cent (£493 billion) compared with the end of 2014, The Guardian reports. A surge in house prices in 2015 offset the UK’s decline in savings, the slow recovery of the banking sector and the Government’s
Scotland is a small place. This has many advantages. There is an intimacy to Scottish public life that can, on occasion, be charming. It is a place where everyone knows everyone else and this helps foster a climate of relaxed informality. Politicians, even more than elsewhere, are known by their first names. So it’s Nicola
Can Jeremy Corbyn reach out to – and win over – Tory voters at a general election? It sounds like an unlikely prospect but that’s exactly what the Labour leader pledged to do in the party’s latest hustings last night. Corbyn said that his aim is to convince people ‘by the policies we put forward…(including)
With Labour’s list of all-male mayoral candidates announced last week, there has been some speculation that the potential loss of Andy Burnham to Manchester and Steve Rotheram to Liverpool will spell disaster for the Commons football team. While this of course hinges on both MPs being successful in their efforts, Mr S understands that should victory
Most people would say UKIP lends itself to comedy better than Denis Healey’s eyebrows lent themselves to tweezers – but not the people of Walton-on-the-Naze, as they live in the party’s only constituency. I’m a stand-up comic, and I was booked to play the town’s first comedy night this month. I don’t know if the
A-Level results are announced today, and with it the happy news that a record number of university places have been offered. About 42 per cent of 18-year-olds in England will go to university, but we’re still some way behind the world’s leader, South Korea, where two-thirds of young people achieve a degree. And how’s that
There are queues outside the money exchanges as we desperately try and swap our worthless pounds for euros. The Red Cross are flying in food parcels. The IMF is arranging an emergency aid package, whilst house prices are in freefall and interest rates are soaring. If you cast your mind back only a few weeks,
The Baltic states do not feel like a front line. I did not see a police officer in more than a week in Latvia, let alone a soldier. Somewhere out there were three NATO battalions, deployed to deter Putin from crossing the border. But if it wasn’t for the seediness that lingers like a bad
I thought I’d be a pretty cheap date on holiday abroad this summer. I’ve abstained from all alcohol for the past eight months, including my beloved Siglo rioja, as I get ready to become a mum. So I expected the savings we’d make by only one of us drinking while on our road trip through
It’s A level results day, the final hurdle for teenagers hoping to fly the coop and go to university next month. But new research suggests that parents with children approaching university years could find their youngsters living at home for years to come. Figures obtained by Aviva reveal that the number of students living with parents
It’s August 2016 and the best time in human history to be alive. Well, at least that’s according to Johan Norberg, who writes this week’s Spectator cover piece on the new golden age. Never, he says, has there been less war, disease, conflict, discrimination or poverty. So why do we find that so hard to
Jonathan Ray heads to north Wales and braves both Welsh rain and Welsh wine in search of the fabled Welsh salt marsh lamb. Portmeirion was as beguiling as ever and the Welsh summer weather as vile. My wife, Marina, and I and our two teenage boys are just back from spending a week in one
In recent months, Downing St has played court to a turf war between No.10’s chief mouser Larry and Palmerston, the Foreign Office’s top cat. Things are only set to get more complicated now that the Treasury has also welcomed a feline — by the name of Gladstone — and the Cabinet Office are in talks to do the same.
The news that Donald Trump’s new campaign manager is Steve Bannon, head of the right-wing media site Breitbart, has shocked a few commentators. It shouldn’t. For almost a year now, it’s been obvious to anybody who can be bothered to look that the Trump campaign and Breitbart fit together like hand in glove, though who is
When you vote in Britain, there is a relaxed feeling in the polling stations. This is a long-established part of our culture, the atmosphere seems to say, and you are trusted to follow its rules. But, as Sir Eric Pickles’s review of electoral fraud suggests, the ballot is not nearly as secure as it should
Victoria Derbyshire seemed very anxious as Labour’s two-hour-long hustings between Owen Smith and Jeremy Corbyn wore on this morning to move the debate away from the many internal messes that the party is in (Jewish members not feeling safe any more, online abuse, the chasm between the PLP and the membership: you name it, they
As acronyms go, it’s a good one. PANK. It stands for ‘Professional Aunt, No Kids’. I’m a fully paid-up member of this group, a 40-something professional woman with little interest in kids of my own but an overwhelming love for my sister’s four-year-old daughter. Now I can’t pass a newsagent without buying the latest Peppa
Banks and accountancy firms that help people to avoid tax face huge fines under proposals set out by the Treasury. A fine of up to 100 per cent of the tax that was avoided – including via off-shore havens – has been suggested in the new rules, published for consultation. Currently those who advise on tax face
Britain’s decision to leave the EU sent shockwaves crashing throughout the continent. As Europe struggled to interpret the outcome of the referendum, we heard calls for Brussels to drive a hard bargain with the UK in order to contain the ‘Brexit contagion’. The European Council President Donald Tusk’s warning that the UK must not be
There has been much speculation this week regarding rumours that Michael Gove has a beard. The former Justice Secretary was spotted on Tuesday in the Palace of Westminster with what appeared to be a new bout of facial hair. Today photos have emerged of Gove’s whiskers, as his wife Sarah Vine confirmed the news in Wednesday’s Daily
Anjem Choudary’s arrogance eventually led to his downfall. He was convinced he could stay one step ahead of the authorities by picking his words carefully. Until now, that is. The hate preacher finally came unstuck when he encouraged others to join Islamic State. Yet whilst his extremist rants were always marked with an alarming confidence, his manner
I was crammed into the narrow cupboard of the Alitalia Business Class lounge at John F. Kennedy airport, along with a young school teacher from Brighton, nervous almost to the point of tears, a middle-aged couple from the Midlands and a stoic model from Brooklyn. Outside, in the shadow of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner we
So farewell then Anjem Choudary. At least for a few years. Britain’s biggest loudmouth Islamist has finally been convicted in the UK for encouraging support for Isis. He now faces up to ten years in prison. There have been reporting restrictions on his conviction for several weeks now, as we waited for the conclusion of