All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
Rishi Sunak has u-turned on his leadership campaign promise to repeal thousands of retained EU laws at a stroke. A written statement – always the preferred vehicle for awkward government news – from Kemi Badenoch this afternoon confirmed that the government will in fact only scrap around 600 laws in the Retained EU Law Bill
While most of the country thinks we should be cracking down on crime, former prime minister Sir John Major has been busy telling the world this week that in the UK we lock up too many prisoners. In a speech at the Old Bailey for the Prison Reform Trust, Major has made the case for
It is widely expected that Justin Welby, having now screwed the crown on Charles III’s head, will shortly retire as Archbishop of Canterbury and put himself out to grass. If so, he is not going quietly. This afternoon, in the House of Lords, he launched a wholesale attack on the government’s Illegal Migration Bill, which
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James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Stephen Bush about the Lord’s debate on the Illegal Migration Bill. Now in its third reading, will the government face substantive amendments to the legislation?
Sir Keir’s gag-writers were on good form at PMQs. Last week, the Tories lowered expectations by predicting a loss of 1,000 seats at the local election. And this worst-case scenario came true. ‘At last,’ crowed Sir Keir, ‘a Tory promise they haven’t actually broken.’ He also took aim at Rishi’s democratic illegitimacy. In last year’s
Today in parliament has been dominated by the Upper House, where peers are scrutinising the Illegal Migration Bill at its second reading. The debate is only halfway through but the legislation has been subject to something resembling a turkey shoot as noble lord after noble lord has queued up to attack the government’s proposals. The
If you get your news on the Middle East from the BBC, every so often Israel appears to go mad and begins lustily bombing Palestinian civilians. No rhyme or reason. Jerusalem is simply pummelling Gaza for the hell of it. This impression is often created by the BBC’s approach to reporting on Israel and terrorism.
We learned very little from Prime Minister’s Questions today. Both Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak used attack lines from previous weeks – ones that they will probably repeat until the next general election – and didn’t stray into any new areas. The Leader of the Opposition wanted to mock the Tory performance in last week’s
Could one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies in Europe soon flip to become one of the most sceptical nations in the West when it comes to military and political aid? That question is troubling Kyiv and the EU, as a political crisis in Slovakia leaves the door wide open for a party to take over which
Four months after losing the Tory whip, Andrew Bridgen finally has a new party. The maverick member for North West Leicestershire has today joined Laurence Fox’s Reclaim party as their first MP. In a Westminster press conference – held in the same room in which Douglas Carswell defected to Ukip – Bridgen hailed his new
What is it with Humza Yousaf? Scotland’s First Minister has plenty on his plate: police are investigating the SNP’s financial affairs, feminists are pushing back against his plans for gender recognition reform and now lawyers are boycotting the pilot scheme for jury-less rape trials that he has vocally championed. At some point, this stops being
If it wasn’t for bad luck, Humza Yousaf would have no luck. After hobbling over the line in a brutal SNP leadership election, his tenure was instantly plunged into chaos by a police probe into the party’s finances. Raids on Nicola Sturgeon’s home and SNP HQ were followed by the arrests of Peter Murrell, Sturgeon’s
‘Men wanted for hazardous journey… Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.’ Ernest Shackleton’s supposed plea for explorers on his Antarctic expedition would nicely double up as the job advert for the Tory London mayoral candidate. CCHQ formally opened applications yesterday but there seems to be a lack of early frontrunners. Indeed,
Tuesday was ‘Europe Day’, or as the European Union proclaimed on its website, the occasion to ‘celebrate peace and unity’ and give thanks to Robert Schuman. It was the French statesman’s declaration on 9 May 1950 that put in place the framework ‘for a new form of political cooperation in Europe’. No leader in Europe
The saga of Imran Khan’s political career rumbles on. While on his way to the High Court in Islamabad yesterday to defend himself against trumped-up charges of political corruption, Khan was ambushed inside the judicial compound by enforcement paramilitaries known as the Pakistani Rangers. After Khan and his lawyers were allegedly beaten up, he was
Can a man who has been found ‘civilly liable’ for sexual abuse in court be elected president of the United States? In a normal world, such a verdict might reasonably be expected to torpedo any candidate’s ambitions. But American politics today is the opposite of normal. A Manhattan jury yesterday ordered Donald Trump to pay
The Met Police has expressed ‘regret’ over the arrests of six anti-monarchy protesters on coronation day. Officers even apologised in person to Graham Smith, the leader of the anti-Monarchy group Republic. But so far, no-one has said sorry to me. I’m a middle-aged dad, and not much of a rebel, but feel strongly about wanting
Oh dear. It seems that James O’Brien has slipped up again in his ceaseless quest for truth. The hard-of-thinking LBC star is always able to spot a winner and now, having so spectacularly lost the arguments on Brexit and Covid classroom closures, he has turned his attentions to Labour, riding high in the polls after
There is something oddly Christmassy about the scene: a night-time city bathed, festooned in twinkling white lights, the smoke around them almost luminous. A shower of brilliant sparks falls calmly from the air, lighting up the dark sky – the town below seeming to celebrate something, over and over, with a spectacular firework display: flares,
A New York federal jury has found Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation against the author E. Jean Carroll. The jury ordered the former president to pay Carroll $5 million (£4 million) in compensatory and punitive damages. Trump was not found liable for the more serious charge of rape leveled against him by
The SNP has spent a lot of time and energy in recent years telling voters in Scotland there’s no difference between the Labour and Conservative parties. Arrant nonsense, of course, but there’s a market for that sort of thing among the nationalists’ more excitable supporters, many of whom happily buy into the idea of Labour
There is such a thing as governing for too long. After about ten years in post, politicians’ once natural feel for the nation’s pulse instead starts to rub the electorate the wrong way. Thatcher, Blair and de Gaulle all saw their time run out. What about Recep Tayyip Erdoğan? He has led Turkey since 2003
Two things are buzzing about in the air at the moment: decline and artificial intelligence. Douglas Murray and Louise Perry have written recently in these pages about social desuetude: Murray on the five million or so Britons who seem to have opted out altogether of economic activity; Perry on the worrying lack of new humans
‘I am immensely proud of the exceptional work of our officers who prevented criminal disruption, damage and danger destroying such a unique occasion,’ said Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner. He was talking of course about the coronation amid the controversy that has swirled around the Met since reports emerged that people were wrongfully
With gains of 643 councillors and 22 authorities, Labour clearly had a good result in Thursday’s local elections. Yet with the BBC and Sky both publishing vote share projections which show the party falling short of an overall majority – winning just shy of 300 seats rather than the necessary 326 – the spectre of
The Middle East, etched into the Western psyche as a region prone to conflict, economic malaise and geopolitical rivalry, is now awash in a frenzy of diplomatic activity. Much of the action is springing from an unlikely source: Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS). The young, ambitious Saudi crown prince is making quite a personal transformation—and it’s
Humza Yousaf has already stoked a right royal row with his party’s hardliners by ditching a pro-independence rally to attend the coronation. And now he’s really gone and done it by leading the Scottish Parliament in a celebration of the event. The SNP leader tabled a motion showering praise on the King and Queen: That the Parliament
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James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Isabel Hardman about the fallout from the local elections, some of the arrests made during the Coronation and Rishi Sunak’s plans to give powers to the pharmacies.
The Spectator is looking for a freelance newsletter assistant for early-morning morning shifts (which can be done at home) for our Lunchtime Espresso newsletter. The lunchtime email goes out to more than 120,000 people: one of our most-read, and one of the most influential newsletters in Britain. It should reflect the same ethos as the
I would like to go back to disagreeing with Joanna Cherry, thank you very much. Not so long ago, it was easy enough. She was an SNP MP, beloved by the party’s grassroots, and one of the most articulate advocates for Scottish independence. She was also a lawyer, and I really don’t think that sort
High street pharmacists in England will, for the first time, be able to prescribe medication, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced today. Minor conditions that require simple treatments may no longer involve prolonged waits at the GP – and patients requiring routine checks, like blood pressure measurements, will also be able to access these at their
As Vladimir Putin rounded off his Victory Day speech with a resounding ‘Hurrah!’ to Russia, the contrast between the celebrations of this year and last could not be starker. Putin was a president in a hurry: he spoke for just nine minutes, the parade was wrapped up in under 25 minutes. ‘A real war has once again broken out against our
Last month Michael Gove suggested changing the law in England to allow tourist hotspots to force homeowners to seek planning permission before they can rent out holiday lets. Planning laws aimed at preserving the character of a locality are entirely consistent with conservative principles It didn’t go down well. Some on his own side, including hard hitters like
Is there a greater weapon of financial mass destruction than the 100 per cent mortgage? Take out a loan equivalent to the full value of your home and it only takes one bad month for the Halifax house price index to land you in negative equity. If you have bought a new home, you will almost