All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
Next year’s general election could either be a 1992 or a 1997, commentators have speculated: a slender Tory win or a Labour landslide. Last weekend David Blunkett suggested it is more likely to be a 1964 – the narrowest of Labour wins leading to a much bigger majority in another election called a couple of
Drivers could soon be prosecuted for travelling 1 mph over the speed limit, at least if some MPs get their way. The all-party parliamentary group on walking and cycling (APPGWC) also proposes stiffer penalties for drivers of heavy cars like SUVs involved in accidents, and an invariable requirement for a fresh driving test for anyone
A parliamentary researcher has just been arrested on suspicion of espionage. A man in his late twenties, with reported links to the security minister and the chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, is accused of spying for China and may have had access to sensitive secret documents. A second suspect has been collared in
Vindication, at last. For seven years, we have been told that the civil service is a bastion of impartiality, that the Foreign Office was utterly without agenda and that anyone who dared question this was a dangerous, Trumpite populist. But now Lord McDonald – the very model of a modern major mandarin – has given
That China is spying on us is hardly the revelation of the century. The Sunday Times broke the story that police have arrested two men amid allegations that a parliamentary researcher was spying for China. The spy, working on international policy, had alleged links to senior Tory MPs with sensitive information. He had previously lived and worked
The Times has today named the parliamentary researcher who has been arrested under the Official Secrets Act, on suspicion that he was spying for China. The man in question had links to several senior Tory MPs who were privy to classified or highly sensitive information include Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, and Alicia Kearns, who
The niece of Jonny Kitagawa, founder of the Japanese talent agency Jonny & Associates, stepped down this week from her role as president, acknowledging the decades long sexual abuse of the company’s young clients by its founder (who died in 1999). In a typically Japanese scene of corporate self-abasement, Julie Keiko Fujishima apologised to the victims and
Life expectancy in Spain is 83 years – amongst the highest in the world. Deep, trusting relationships with family and friends surely contribute to this longevity. Orwell emphasised the ‘essential decency’ of the Spanish people, ‘above all, their straightforwardness and generosity. A Spaniard’s generosity, in the ordinary sense of the word, is at times almost embarrassing
Justice Secretary: ‘The relevant security protocols were in place’ The escape of Daniel Khalife from HMP Wandsworth this week has shone a spotlight on the government’s prison record. Over 60 per cent of prisons in the UK are overcrowded, and there are severe staff shortages. Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told Laura Kuenssberg that the relevant
Ever since Alastair Campbell’s declaration that ‘we don’t do God’, no prime minister – and almost no politician – has discussed their faith. David Cameron said his Christianity came in and out ‘like MagicFM in the Chilterns’, a line he borrowed from Boris Johnson who self-defined as ‘a kind of very, very bad Christian’. But
First it was Nadine Dorries, then it was Theresa May. Now Liz Truss has become the latest female Tory MP to announce that they’re writing a book. Britain’s shortest-serving premier has today revealed details of her forthcoming work, titled Ten Years to Save the West. It is set be published next April by Biteback in
The slow-grinding Ukrainian offensive in the country’s south has forced many to accept that the war against Russia might turn out to be a prolonged conflict. But while military experts debate whether or not Ukraine can win this war, and how such a victory could be achieved, the focus on military hardware and territory has
Emmanuel Macron is not happy. He would love to run for a third term as president but the French constitution precludes such a prospect. Last week, he described the rules as ‘bloody disastrous’, a declaration that earned the president a reprimand from Nicolas Sarkozy in a television interview on Wednesday. The former president has been
Oh dear. The Sunday Times is tonight reporting that a Westminster parliamentary researcher has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China. The male suspect, who is in his late twenties, is reported to be linked to a number of senior Tory MPs, including several who are privy to classified or highly sensitive information. Among them are
To Shoreditch, unlikely terrain for this year’s Tory Reform Group conference. The last such shindig happened in pre-Covid times, with the One Nation Conservatives keen to make up for lost time. Damian Green, Maria Miller and Tom Tugendhat were among a succession of MPs who appeared before the activists, proudly extolling the virtues of the
Daniel Khalife has been on the run for three days. There’s a £20,000 reward for information leading to his capture and police have spent a night disturbing Richmond Park’s deer. As of Saturday morning reported sightings suggest he fled the lorry and has made his way to the Chiswick area. Rightly, many questions have been
Stop the presses: common sense has broken out in parliament. On Thursday, Suella Braverman delivered an update on the anti-terror programme Prevent, following a review into its effectiveness by Sir William Shawcross in February. Among Shawcross’s findings was his criticism about Prevent’s work on supposed ‘right-wing extremism’. An analysis done by Prevent’s ‘Research Information and
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James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Lucy Dunn for the latest update on Scottish politics. Humza Yousaf has been on a ‘reset’. But critics claim the Scottish First Minister is simply rehashing Nicola Stugeon’s policies. Also on the podcast, will Labour take the Scotland by-election from the SNP? And what happened at the Holyrood
You know it’s bad when the rugby fans are booing you. Poor Emmanuel Macron had his big moment upstaged last night as the World Cup kicked off in Paris. Ahead of the first game between the hosts and New Zealand, the embattled President had to delay his welcome speech from a lectern on the pitch,
Rishi Sunak, the first British leader of Indian descent, has to walk an unenviable political tightrope at this weekend’s G20 Summit in India. It is Sunak’s first visit to the country as prime minister, and Indians have given him the kind of welcome usually reserved for an all-conquering hero returning home. Sunak himself acknowledged that
French healthcare has its problems but it makes the NHS look like Bedlam. Recently my GP here thought it would be a good idea for me to visit the radiologist to take a look at my non-performing thyroid gland. I made the booking online using an app called Doctolib. An appointment was available in a
A butcher who has killed the most famous wild bear in Italy is now unable to leave his house for fear of being killed himself. The tragedy calls into question, once again, the wisdom of the ever more fashionable quest by people in cities to rewild the countryside with dangerous animals such as bears and
Old soldiers never die, the song goes, they just fade away. Next year, General Sir Patrick Sanders, Chief of the General Staff and the professional head of the British Army, will step down after less than two years in post. He is 57, and will have served for 40 years. But he is not fading
Dear oh dear. It appears Fergus Ewing has exposed one painful truth too many. The nationalist veteran is expected to have the whip removed within days after the party’s leadership decided that his backbench criticisms have gone unpunished too long. Ewing — who is rumoured to be the only Spectator subscriber on the SNP benches — will
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Rishi Sunak has landed in Delhi ahead of the G20 summit this weekend. He will be hoping to smooth the way for a new free trade deal with India. What does a good result look like for the prime minister? Will the new deal result in increased immigration? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and
Harvard, consistently ranked as one of the world’s best universities, has just been rated the worst for free speech in the United States. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (Fire), which compiled the rankings, described the state of free speech at Harvard as ‘abysmal’. This news is surprising, since in April over fifty Harvard academics formed
Martin Selmayr, the so-called Beast of the Berlaymont, is no stranger to controversy. During his time as head of European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker’s cabinet and as secretary-general of the Commission, Selmayr became something of a bete noire of Brexiteers, having been accused of wanting to ‘punish’ the UK for leaving the EU. Despite, or perhaps because, of
Of all the smug, bitter things the Guardian has published over the years, its review of Róisín Murphy’s new album has got to be one of the worst. Ms Murphy is a musical genius but a wicked woman, the review essentially says. Why? Because she committed the blasphemy of criticising puberty blockers. Switch off her
Is next year’s London mayoral contest a done deal? When the Tories first started the process of candidate selection, the general sense was that they had little chance of taking the mayoralty from Sadiq Khan. However, as the Labour mayor has faced a voter backlash over his support for Ulez (the ultra low emission zone),
There’s fevered speculation about inside jobs or state actors involved in the HMP Wandsworth prison break by terror suspect Daniel Khalife. But as police close in on Richmond park, whether he’s found cowering in a ditch or at a press conference in Tehran, this dramatic escape reveals just how close we are to a full
Oh dear. Could things get any worse for the fledgling BBC Verify, launched to combat the scourge of fake news? The fact-checking service has already faced criticism for failing to spot the BBC’s own blunders – such as the Corporation’s misfired reporting on Nigel Farage and Coutts. Now though it looks like the service’s star reporter
Not all fans of Newcastle United are prepared to turn a blind eye to the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s takeover of the club. The campaign group, NUFC Fans Against Sportswashing (NUFCFAS), plans to stage a protest outside St James’ Park in Newcastle ahead of Saudi Arabia’s friendly against Costa Rica tonight. It wants to prick the
Queen Elizabeth II, who died a year ago today, has left an unfillable void – not least for the many Americans like myself who so deeply admired Her Majesty. Though the United States rejected monarchy in 1776, Queen Elizabeth was to many of us a living reminder of the noble, just, and humane principles central