All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
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It’s day three at Tory conference and the story that won’t go away is HS2. Rishi Sunak insisted in his media round this morning that a decision has not been made, meanwhile Downing Street sources are reporting that a decision has been made. Standing outside the Midland hotel, Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street
Lee Anderson isn’t one to shy away from controversy and his speech on Monday evening at a fringe event at Tory conference certainly did not disappoint. The party’s deputy chairman addressed a packed out room at a Manchester club. While recounting his life story, Anderson couldn’t resist taking a pop at Guardian journalists, Diane Abbott and, er, Margaret Thatcher.
It looks like the sniping has already begun here at Tory party conference. On Tuesday, Liz Truss decided to use the event as a vehicle to launch her ‘Great British Growth Rally’ – an attempt to push the party to reduce the size of the state. That has not gone down well though with some of
Who pays up to £242 for a member ticket to the Conservative party conference only to disrupt its events? You’d have to ask the young man who heckled the health secretary during his Q&A at Monday’s Health and Care reception… Barclay spent 15 minutes hinting at what the latest Tory plan to save the NHS
And just like that it’s day three of the Conservative party conference in Manchester! With one full day left, there’s plenty to get stuck into. Today’s highlights include speeches by Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove and Home Secretary Suella Braverman. Over on the fringe circuit there’s a range of interesting events and The Spectator hosts its
Is there a plot afoot to oust Giorgia Meloni as Prime Minister and replace her with someone more to the progressive left’s taste? There have been rumours in the European media that Meloni’s government is teetering and that it ‘could fall and make way for a technocrat government.’ The audacity of Germany is breathtaking In
When Boris Johnson won his eighty-seat majority, Labour looked to be destined to spend a decade or so in the political wilderness. But ‘Partygate’, the eventual defenestration of Boris plus the psychodrama of Truss and the fraught first year of Sunak meant that the tables turned. All of a sudden, dreary Keir Starmer – with
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Isabel Hardman and James Heale discuss day two of the Conservative party Conference. From Jeremy Hunt’s speech, to Mark Harper’s Hs2 dodge and a swelling support for Kemi Badenoch.
Well, it didn’t take long for Rishi Sunak’s conference to be derailed by the fate of the HS2 rail link. Today reports began to emerge that Rishi Sunak would officially announce at conference that the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the route would be scrapped – ending over a week of speculation about his plans for
Around the time my eldest son started secondary school, I had a worrying glimpse into his private life. We’d put him to bed at 9 p.m. but asked that he leave his mobile, one of my old iPhones, downstairs next to me. I was horrified to see the non-stop barrage of messages coming in as
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The Spectator’s Fraser Nelson, Katy Balls and Kate Andrews are joined by special guest Frank Luntz for a live recording of Coffee House Shots from Tory party conference. It was at this event two years ago that Frank first declared Liz Truss to be the next Tory leader. Who might succeed Rishi Sunak? And is a Labour
Despite the excitement outside the Tory conference hall in Manchester about Rishi Sunak deciding he would indeed scrap the Manchester leg of HS2, Jeremy Hunt didn’t mention it in his speech. He talked about the need to reduce costs long-term and said that public spending needed to come down. But the contribution of the high
It says something about the standing of the current Tory leadership that, away from the party’s half-empty conference hall, some 250 Conservatives packed into a room to attend the ‘Great British Growth Rally’. Headlined by Liz Truss, the former PM was joined on stage by three former cabinet members: Ranil Jayawardena, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti
Fresh from mingling with Bully XL owners, ‘Stop Brexit Man’ Steve Bray has popped up again – this time at a conference fringe event asking ‘Can the Tories win?’. Mr S thinks he knows what Bray’s answer to that question might be. During the event, Bray stood up to unveil his ‘Stop The Tories’ top.
The whispers going around last year’s party conference largely centred on the state of government – how it was deteriorating so quickly. This year’s whispers are about something that is by no means as dramatic, but possibly as existential to the future of the party: the prospect of tax cuts. The official line is simple:
Mark Harper is rebranding himself as the Secretary of State for Cars, rather than Transport. He didn’t even mention HS2 in his speech to Tory conference this morning: in fact, he barely talked about rail at all. He opened by congratulating his department on ending some of the industrial action on the railways, and linking
How should Britain handle its relationship with China? That’s an increasingly fraught question inside the Tory party lately, with several China hawks in government and on the backbenches keen to limit engagement while classifying the country as a security threat. Earlier this year, James Cleverly faced criticism after becoming the first UK Foreign Secretary to
There are lots of plausible explanations for Dame Sharon White’s failure at the department store and grocery chain John Lewis. The retail environment was too tough. Her predecessor expanded too quickly. During a cost–of-living crisis and with the shift to online shopping it was always going to be a very tough gig. Yet once you
Claire Coutinho spent a lot of her conference speech as Energy Secretary attacking Labour and ‘short-term Starmer’, and the rest of it explaining why Rishi Sunak’s policy changes on net zero meant Britain could stay committed to its climate targets. The ‘short-term Starmer’ line is one we will hear a lot at this conference from
Are the Tories going to spend all week in Manchester talking but not talking about HS2? Speculation that Rishi Sunak might chop a leg off the line has now been swirling for more than a week, but the Prime Minister and his ministers are refusing to offer any further details. Yesterday, Transport Secretary Mark Harper
Partygate has morphed from a half-forgotten scandal into a new drama-documentary which airs on Channel 4 tomorrow night. This rehash of old news depicts Boris Johnson as an amiable tyrant, played by Jon Culshaw, who presides over a gang of chaotic law-breakers as they hold riotous parties in Downing Street at the height of lockdown.
Jeremy Hunt wants to make work pay. Few Conservatives will argue with that, nor with the idea of introducing sanctions for benefit claimants who refuse to look for work. Truth is he could and should go far further than threatening to cut the benefits of hardcore work-avoiders who refuse even to attend job interviews. A
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It’s day two at Tory conference and the mood seems muted and lacking in energy. This is in direct contrast to Rishi Sunak who appeared to have fire in his belly in a tetchy interview over the weekend with Laura Kuenssberg. He will be hoping to use this conference as his reset moment, but will he
Boris Johnson got plenty of things wrong as prime minister but he at least knew how to come up with a punchy slogan. ‘Get Brexit done’, was the tagline of his October 2019 Tory conference. It was a work of genius: both sides of the referendum, exhausted by infighting and frankly bored with Brexit, could
Every world leader these days needs to have a pet. Joe Biden has a pair of out-of-control German Shepherds that are busily biting their way through the president’s secret service guards; Boris Johnson had Dilyn, a Jack Russell which was as well trained as its owner; and Rishi Sunak owns Nova, a Red Fox labrador.
It’s day two of the Conservative party conference in Manchester and attendees are shaking off last night’s merriment to get stuck into today’s agenda. Today’s highlights include speeches by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, while over on the fringe circuit there’s a range of interesting events covering themes from education, Ukraine and
An online ding-dong is like a full complement of condiments at lunch; you wouldn’t want to live off it, but it certainly adds spice. I haven’t had a decent one in ages, but last weekend I decided to have some sport with Billy Bragg, whose decline truly reflects the culture wars which shape our times.
Rishi Sunak is the talk of the Scottish Tory fringe at Conservative party conference — but perhaps not in the way the Prime Minister might hope. Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross wasted no time at all at making a dig at his boss — perhaps a sly retaliation to the fact Rishi Sunak wasn’t able
Rishi Sunak’s first Conservative party conference as prime minister is off to a roaring start. Never one to miss a chance to stick it to his opponents, he marked the occasion by ribbing his opposite number Keir Starmer. This evening in Manchester Sunak was guest of honour at the 1922 committee and ConservativeHome’s drinks reception.
It’s the first night of the Conservative party conference and (so far) the drama is yet to live up to last year’s mini-Budget mayhem. But just down the road from the official venue in Manchester, rebel grassroots’ group the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO) tonight threw a black tie gala dinner. Some 300-odd attendees were in
Kemi Badenoch’s war with Stonewall opened up on a new front this evening. Earlier this year, the business secretary incurred the wrath of the LGBTQ+ charity when she told government officials to withdraw from Stonewall’s top 100 employers’ scheme over the charity’s dubious positions on gender rights. Now, speaking this evening, she has raised the
It’s day one of the Conservative party conference and already Tory politicians are being probed on the tough questions. One of the hot topics in Manchester this afternoon was Kemi Badenoch’s declaration that leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) needs to be ‘on the table’ as an option for the UK. Among the first
A common complaint from traditional supporters of the Conservatives is that, after 13 years in power, their party has very little to show for it. There has been little roll-back of New Labour era legislation, or the Blair-Brown equalities agenda, or the expansion of the administrative state and taxpayer-funded third-sector organisations committed to progressive policy