All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
Oh dear. Sir Alan Duncan is at it again. Back in April the former Tory minister was investigated by the Tory party after claiming the Conservative Friends of Israel group was ‘doing the bidding’ of the Israeli prime minister. Amid accusations of antisemitism, he called for Lord Polak, CFI’s former head, to be ‘removed from
11 min listen
Who exactly are ‘working people’? The Labour party’s use of this phrase during the election raised questions over who they will really be levying taxes upon. With less than a week to go until the Budget, Labour in government is now again struggling to give a clear definition of what they mean. James Heale talks
Part of me wishes that disposable vapes had never been invented. Until they arrived, it seemed like the battle for tobacco harm reduction in Britain had been won. The kind of people who want to ban everything wanted to ban e-cigarettes, but most people could see that they were a relatively harmless substitute for cigarettes
Does Airbnb drive up crime in London? That’s the question posed of the world’s most successful short-term rental service in new research by the Cambridge Institute of Criminology. The UK’s holiday rental market is enormous, projected to reach £3.5 billion this year. Airbnb eats up a sizeable chunk of that revenue; millions on the move
The end is finally in sight. In a week’s time, the winner of the Conservative leadership contest will be announced. Within the Tory party, most MPs are braced for a Kemi Badenoch victory. Could the result be closer than currently expected? On Thursday night, there were rumours that the final ConservativeHome survey of members would
Remember Gordon Brown’s ‘golden rule’ – that over the course of the economic cycle the only net borrowing he would allow was to fund investment? As for current spending, he told us, he would pay down debt in the good times so that he could borrow in the bad. It sounded reassuring, until Brown started
It’s the question all of Westminster is asking. If Donald Trump wins, who will be our next man in Washington? One person definitely not in the running is Nigel Farage, longtime friend and ally of the Republican president. At The Spectator’s Americano event last night, the Clacton MP told host Freddy Gray that he definitely
In the annual queer calendar, which appears to operate at full capacity 365 days of the year, nothing is more auspicious or necessary than asexual awareness week, also known as Ace Week, which takes place this week. The aim is to ‘raise awareness, build community, and create change around the world.’ If you’re someone who suspects
For his first formal address as head of the Commonwealth, King Charles would probably have preferred to veer away from controversy. Unfortunately, delivering an anodyne and people pleasing speech was not on the agenda. Ever since it was announced that Samoa would be hosting a gathering of the 56 Commonwealth countries, it was inevitable that
Yesterday, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published its annual report on crime in England and Wales. This combines data on crimes reported to the police and the Crime Survey for England and Wales to produce the best estimate of how much crime is being committed. It makes for grim reading. While overall crime is up 10
Forget Nixon in China. That phrase needs renaming: Welby on sexuality. For it is now at last clear that he has shifted his position on homosexuality. Talking to The Rest is Politics podcast this week, he finally came out with it. He is not, as we all assumed, a conservative in the awkward position of presiding
Moldovans have voted ‘yes’ by a wafer-thin majority to joining the European Union in a referendum that was held amid ‘unprecedented interference’ by foreign powers. That is the view of the EU, whose spokesman, Peter Stano, accused Russia and its proxies of ‘aiming to destabilise the democratic processes in the Republic of Moldova’. The EU and its proxies
Rachel Reeves confirmed on her trip to Washington DC that she will be changing the government’s self-imposed fiscal rules, allowing the Chancellor to borrow up to £50 billion more for infrastructure investment in Britain. The change – which will take into account the government’s assets – will further loosen what are already quite loose rules
Archbishop Justin Welby’s appearance on The Rest is Politics has caused quite a stir in Anglican circles. For the most part, the Archbishop came across well and gave some very insightful answers when questioned, for example, about original sin and peace-making in war-torn nations. But these good things are inevitably going to be overshadowed by Welby’s answer
11 min listen
After Nigel Farage’s overture to Tory councillors to ‘defect’, one already has. Farage has also been on manoeuvres, piling on the criticism against Labour for its volunteers campaigning for the Democrats in the US. James Heale talks to Katy Balls and Freddy Gray about the latest. Tickets are still available to join Freddy Gray and
With just over a week until the victor of the Tory leadership race is announced, the contest is ramping up and endorsements are rolling in. Now the former Chancellor under David Cameron has offered his thoughts on who the next leader of the Conservative party should be on his Political Currency podcast today. Announcing his
The Commonwealth – whose 56 nations are meeting in the Pacific island nation of Samoa – looks set to defy Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer by putting slavery reparations on the agenda. The leaders of some Caribbean countries insist it is ‘only a matter of time’ until Britain bows to demands of handing over billions
When it rains for Sir Keir, it pours. It now transpires that the Labour leader has achieved a worse rating as Prime Minister than all of his recent predecessors – bar Liz Truss, who didn’t manage to last quite as long in the top job. It seems for Keir Starmer, things can only get, er,
The firearms officer Martyn Blake was cleared of murdering Chris Kaba this week. Kaba was a serious wrong ‘un: a violent gangland enforcer with a rap sheet as long as your arm going back to the age of 13. During the trial this information was kept under wraps, on the basis that Kaba’s past was irrelevant
To Westminster, where outside the Ministry of Justice more than 300 protestors have held a silent vigil this afternoon. Activists from a myriad of campaign groups – including Just Stop Oil, Palestine Action and Black Lives Matter – gathered in front of the department building for 90 minutes today to call for the release of
Well, well, well. Less than 24 hours after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wrote to Conservative councillors in a bid to persuade them to defect to his party, the first has defected. James McIvor, a councillor in Essex, has switched to the Farage-founded party – in a tweet that suggests more of his former colleagues
It would be a shame if Britain were forced to leave the Commonwealth, given the great work it has done over the decades – especially under the guardianship of the late Queen. But our departure is swiftly going to emerge as an option if grasping Caribbean governments continue with their threat to ambush Keir Starmer
‘Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world,’ Hugh Grant famously offered in the heartwarming opening scene of Love, Actually, ‘I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow airport.’ It’s just as well he doesn’t think about Dunedin airport in New Zealand. The airport’s chief executive, Daniel De Bono, seems not to be a fan
Wes Streeting informed backbenchers this week that he is voting against the assisted dying Bill on 29 November, saying that ‘end-of-life care is not good enough for patients to make an informed choice.’ Experience of an issue, and I have too much on this one, can both cloud and inform opinion. I’m glad I don’t
Austria’s mainstream politicians are combining to ensure that the winners of last month’s general elections, the far right Freedom party (FPO) are kept firmly out of power. The Alpine republic’s president, Alexander Van Den Bellen – aligned with the Green party – has invited the current chancellor, Karl Nehammer, whose centre right People’s party (OVP) came
Sir Keir Starmer’s lot have hardly had an easy start in government, what with the cronyism rows, freebie fiasco and frockgate. Now the Prime Minister is dealing with a backlash from one of the presidential candidates, after Labour activists flew stateside to canvas for Kamala Harris. This week, Donald Trump’s campaign even complained about the
Which party should be the most worried about next year’s local elections in May? Despite winning a large majority this year, they could prove tricky for Labour – with Keir Starmer seeing his personal ratings drop to -30 in his first 100 days. But Labour blues don’t necessarily translate into wins for the Conservatives. Instead,
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has declared war on Italy’s judges who are trying to kybosh at birth her much vaunted scheme to offshore illegal migrants to Albania. Last Friday, a court in Rome dealt Meloni’s Albania scheme a potentially fatal blow by ruling that the first migrants sent to Albania cannot be detained and
Ahead of the Budget on 30 October, Rachel Reeves is being bombarded by lobbyists urging her to loot their enemies. The New Economics Foundation wants a ‘jet-setter tax’ on frequent fliers of €100 per flight. Action on Smoking and Health wants a levy on tobacco companies. Greenpeace reckons it can raise at least £26 billion a year by
When you think of great naval engagements, the Battle of Leyte Gulf does not immediately spring to mind, despite it being the largest naval battle in modern history. Leyte Gulf, which celebrates its 80th anniversary today, took place in the Philippines in 1944. Even my well-educated American friends, the CEO of a major publishing company included,
16 min listen
Keir Starmer can’t even fly to Samoa without another international British embarrassment breaking out. The latest is an angry accusation from Donald Trump’s campaign that Labour is committing the crime of ‘election interference’ in the United States. ‘The British are coming!’ screamed a typically camp Trump-Vance official press release last night. The campaign denounced Britain’s
16 min listen
Donald Trump has made the extraordinary move to file an official complaint against the British Labour party for their volunteers campaigning for the Democrats. On this episode, James Heale talks to Katy Balls and the Financial Times’s Stephen Bush about what’s behind the Labour tradition of sending volunteers to other democracies, and why a second