All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, a peculiar phenomenon has re-emerged: the casket caveat. Instead of simply condemning the dreadful murder of a young man, many eulogies to Kirk are laced with qualifications. Clods of faint praise scattered over a fresh grave. ‘It’s regrettable that he was shot, no matter how much of a
How do you solve a problem like B Johnson? It has troubled the Conservative party since his departure, not least as they presumably do not relish the idea of him going down in history as the last person ever to win them a majority. Interestingly, Labour rarely mentions him, preferring to resurrect Liz Truss again and
It will at least give the cabbies something to genuinely complain about. Amid all the wheezes that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is plotting to fix the ‘black hole’ in the public finances, she is now considering a ‘taxi tax’. Ahead of November’s Budget, it has been floated that VAT may well be applied on all cab
When it comes to major decisions certain to anger Donald Trump and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, seeking safety in numbers is a wise idea. For that’s what the joint decision by Britain, Australia and Canada to recognise a state of Palestine actually is. It isn’t a bloc of Anglosphere nations showing a united front
Who does Keir Starmer think he’s kidding? There he is in that glossy video imperiously decreeing there should be a State of Palestine, yet he can’t even hold the British state together. Under his half-hearted purview our borders have become more porous, our state machinery has become more enfeebled, and the country has become the
Political Islam is a powerful global force. Wahhabism, the Muslim Brotherhood and Shia theocracy are different yet successful strands of the same impulse to govern according to the will of Allah. Political Christianity, by contrast, has in recent decades, even centuries, taken a back seat when it comes to public affairs. With some exceptions, Christians have
Charlie Kirk’s status as a martyr was sealed at his packed memorial on Sunday evening, when an estimated 100,000 people showed up to honour him. Among the crowd was Joseph Moulton, a young right-wing activist from York. He was not far behind President Trump and members of his administration. Moulton is a founding member of
Royalist or republican, you have to feel some sympathy for King Charles. In the past ten days alone, not only has he been largely responsible for ensuring that the first part of Donald Trump’s unprecedented second state visit went smoothly but before that, he had an audience with his hitherto estranged son, Prince Harry. It
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Nigel Farage has unveiled his most radical immigration plan yet – scrapping indefinite leave to remain for migrants – in a move designed to reverse the so-called ‘Boriswave.’ James Heale explains how this would affect hundreds of thousands already living in the UK, why the party claims it could save £250 billion, and whether any
Labour might have recognised Palestinian statehood and green-lighted a new Gatwick runway, but Nigel Farage has once again managed to steal the show. This morning the Reform UK leader held a London press conference in which he announced his plans to abolish indefinite leave to remain, make foreign nationals ineligible to claim benefits and introduce
Many people have been warning for some time about the perilous consequences of introducing an official definition of ‘Islamophobia’ to this country, specifically in regard to its potential to curtail free speech and reintroduce de facto blasphemy laws. But it’s taken a leading KC – an adviser to the Attorney General, Lord Hermer, no less
How refreshing to hear transport secretary Heidi Alexander approve plans for a second working runway at Gatwick Airport, taking on the ‘eco warriors’ she has previously attacked for blocking airport expansion. Just the one thing, though. Does she really think she has heard the last from them? If she thinks she is going to drive
Keir Starmer has justified Britain’s declaration of Palestinian statehood by insisting that it will keep open the path to a two‑state solution and ultimately lead to peace. He has emphasised that Hamas could play no role in such a state, and seems to assume the move would position Britain as a key player in shaping
This morning Nigel Farage will unveil Reform’s latest policy. The party plans to abolish the status known as indefinite leave to remain (ILR), which allows those who have lived here for more than five years to receive benefits and apply for citizenship. All migrants with permanent residency will have to reapply for visas under stricter
In an exhilarating, often exhausting and unprecedented moment in American history, thousands of mourners gathered in an Arizona football stadium on Sunday afternoon to honour slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Attendees included dozens of members of Congress, half the cabinet, President Donald Trump, Vice-President J.D. Vance and the former shadow president, Elon Musk. They remembered
France will today officially recognise the state of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. In justifying his decision, Emmanuel Macron said that recognition ‘is the best way to isolate Hamas’, adding: ‘Now is the time to act – not tomorrow, not in ten years. If we don’t move, the conflict will
Britain has formally recognised a Palestinian state for the first time. The Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his announcement yesterday keeps ‘alive the possibility of peace’. Given Britain’s history in the region the move is deeply symbolic, even if it is unlikely to change the reality on the ground. Britain will recognise a country with
Those in charge of Sicily have at last swung into action after a quarter of a century of inactivity to cleanse the tiny volcanic island of Stromboli in the Ionian Sea of its plague of goats. There are well over 2,000 extremely agile, stubborn and aggressive, semi-wild goats on Stromboli (human population 500) whose active
This afternoon, Keir Starmer declared that the UK now formally recognises a Palestinian state. In a six-minute video, posted on X, the Prime Minister took the step that many of his colleagues have wanted him to do for months. ‘We are acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and a two-state solution’, said Starmer.
Liberal Democrat party conference – four words which turn the blood of any lobby journalist cold. Yes, it is that time of year again: the annual five-day bonanza in which the perennial third party of British politics desperately tries to find some relevance. In his never-ending quest for headlines, Sir Ed Davey – the clown
Keir Starmer is set to announce the UK’s official recognition of Palestinian statehood later today. In July, the Prime Minister had said that the UK would recognise the state of Palestine if Israel did not improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza and commit to a long-term peace process. Speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sky News this
Unicef has confirmed it in black and white: armed men in Gaza hijacked aid trucks at gunpoint, stealing ready-to-use therapeutic food meant for thousands of severely malnourished infants. According to the UN, at least 2,700 children have been deprived of life-saving nutrition as a result. And yet, the world barely blinked. When Israel takes military action, the
Parents must be ‘front and centre’ in their children’s education, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has told schools. Her upcoming white paper will introduce clear expectations around parental engagement with schools. The idea, presumably, is that parents have the confidence and know-how to oversee their children, allowing teachers to focus on teaching rather than on being a
Mahsa Amini was killed by Iran’s morality police on 16 September 2022. Her only ‘crime’ was wearing ‘improper hijab’. The 22-year-old Kurdish woman’s death galvanised the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ protests that shook the Iranian regime. Three years on, the anger behind the protests remains. On the anniversary of Amini’s death, residents of Tehran chanted ‘Death
Sir Keir Starmer will recognise Palestine as a country despite objections from both the US and Israel. Yet when it came to independence for Scotland, the three main parties at Westminster were against the idea at the 2014 referendum, and none have called for a similar vote in Wales. How, then, to decide which ‘two-state
It comes without warning. A black shape shearing out of the sky, a clap of wings like a sail breaking. The foal has no time to startle. Talons hit, the ground shakes, and in the next breath it is gone, dragged upward into the light. Rewilding is the countryside’s answer to cosplay This summer on South
‘Small but mighty,’ is how Baroness Casey described Bedfordshire Police when she released her report on grooming gangs over the summer. She told MPs that most forces had failed to properly record child abuse. ‘A bloody disaster, frankly’. But Bedfordshire is different. They’re using artificial intelligence so police can spend more time hunting criminals. ‘I didn’t know about Louise
London is often held up as the jewel in Britain’s crown. Yet beneath the city’s gleaming skyline lies a less celebrated reality: ‘temporary housing’ that is anything but. Across the capital, families in need are housed by local councils in hotels, hostels and B&Bs at extraordinary expense. What is meant to be a short-term emergency
There was a palpable feeling of euphoria across my home city of Manchester when the Gallagher brothers finally buried years of ferocious feuding and reunited Oasis. After all, we Mancunians are nothing if not effusive in both pride and ownership when success blooms in our own back yard. We feel it personally. So, as Keir
There was a grain or two of truth in what Donald Trump said last week about migration. A polity is indeed vulnerable to being eaten from the inside by the entry of large numbers of people from very different backgrounds who are not inclined to embrace its culture in preference to their own. But the
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The government is expected to press ahead with recognition of Palestinian statehood, before a formal declaration at the United Nations. Prime Minister Keir Starmer set out plans earlier this year to recognise Palestine – but what does this actually mean? And what does the move actually achieve; is it driven by principle, by politics –
Whatever the weather, there will be sandals and socks aplenty in Bournemouth this weekend, as the Lib Dems descend on the coastal town for their party conference. It’s a chance for them to get their voice heard and make an impact, something that has not happened much in the 14 months since a hugely successful
Netflix’s film of The Thursday Murder Club has all the makings of a British export hit: a cosy crime plot, a cast of national treasures, a backdrop steeped in English eccentricity. And then comes Bogdan Jankowski, a Polish labourer with a confiscated passport – a character who could have been lifted straight from a tabloid cartoon. The
Robert Jenrick has warned that he is ‘absolutely terrified’ Britain is heading for a debt crisis ‘unless Rachel Reeves changes course very quickly’. ‘That will be a financial crisis of a scale akin to what we experienced in 2008,’ he warned. ‘That will mean tens of thousands of homeowners potentially facing the repossession of their
