All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
Béziers It’s a book tour, mais pas comme des autres. Last night, Eric Zemmour, rising star of the French right and undeclared candidate for the presidency, rocked up in Béziers to promote La France n’a pas dit son dernier mot (France hasn’t yet had its final say), his book which has sold 250,000 copies in
Following the murder of Sir David Amess on Friday, there has been much discussion about the level of security for MPs and their staff. Amess was the second parliamentarian to be murdered in five years while out meeting constituents, following the assassination of Jo Cox in 2016, the attack on Stephen Timms MP in 2010 and the
Priti Patel – Sir David Amess ‘touched so many lives’ Tributes have continued to pour in this morning for the late Sir David Amess MP, who was murdered while hosting a constituency surgery in his Southend seat on Friday. The attack, which is being treated as a terrorist case, has shaken Westminster to its core,
It is no huge surprise Ali Harbi Ali, the man arrested on suspicion of the murder of David Amess, had reportedly been referred to the anti-terrorism ‘Prevent’ programme some years ago. We don’t yet know if he was a ‘lone wolf’ type made psychotic by cannabis use and then radicalised online, as the new generation
There’s a growing tension in the European bloc between those unhappy with Brussels’s increasing interventionism and by those who feel the EU does not intervene enough. The biggest casualty in this escalating conflict could well be the centre-right which, until now, has largely held the fractured bloc together. It’s been a tough few weeks for the
Being sanctimonious about foreigners and their cruelty to animals has long been a British tradition. The taste for dog meat in parts of Asia seems to incense many who perhaps should have matters closer to home to worry about – such as our collective addiction to cheap, factory farmed meat. When I was a child
I often joke that when I became an MP in 2019, after being a charity chief executive, I went from saint to sinner in the mind of the public. When you work for a charity, people assume you’re one of the good guys: honest, principled, in it for the right reasons. Too often politicians are
The news that Labour and the Liberal Democrats will not contest the by-election caused by David Amess’s murder is not a surprise; the Tories and the Liberal Democrats took the same approach in Batley and Spen in 2016. (It should give us all pause that there is recent precedent for how parties should behave in
On 12 October this year, Columbus Day, a statue of the Italian in Belgrave Square was vandalised by activists from Extinction Rebellion who described Columbus as ‘father of the slave trade’. Entirely ignorant of his life and ambitions, Columbus’s critics frequently turn to the searing denunciations of Bartolomé de Las Casas who excoriated the Spanish
Amongst the many appalling details from the murder of Sir David Amess, one detail jumped out at me in yesterday’s reports. Father Jeffrey Woolnough, a Roman Catholic priest, arrived at the police cordon stretching across Eastwood Road North offering to administer the Last Rites to the MP, whom he knew to be a practising Catholic. But
Sir David Amess’s backstory tells you much about his commitment to constituency politics that led to his cruel murder yesterday. He was born and grew up in a terraced house in London’s East End. There was little money. His dad was an electrician, his mother a tea lady and seamstress. In short they were not
17 min listen
As the temperature starts to fall, the question for the global economy is: how long will energy prices remain high? Industrial production has already started to feel the energy-related price pressures. Many more suppliers are unlikely to make it through the winter. But with the governement divided over bailing out businesses, who should be absorbing
When Pope Francis was asked last month how he was doing after surgery on his colon in July, he replied: ‘Still alive, even though some people wanted me to die. I know there were even meetings between prelates who thought the Pope’s condition was more serious than the official version. They were preparing for the
Picture German troops marching in front of the Reichstag in Berlin. Their polished black boots hit the ground in rhythm with the drums. Night has fallen and the soldiers are carrying burning torches that cast an eerie glow over the spectacle. But these aren’t Nazis. This ceremony was held last Wednesday in honour of Germany’s
Why does every government department and agency seem to feel it hasn’t done its job unless it has expressed some hysterical reaction to the threat of climate change? Launching the Environment Agency’s latest report on its plans to prepare for possible changes in England’s climate over the next century, its chair Emma Howard Boyd said:
I have often criticised BBC journalism on the issues of sex and gender because that journalism has often been quite bad. So it’s all the more important to for me to highlight instances when the Corporation does good journalism here. Stephen Nolan of the BBC has done that this week, and more. You might not
There are two ways Number 10 can look at new polling which shows only 14 per cent of Britons understand the slogan ‘levelling up’. The first: the government has utterly failed to communicate its signature policy. The second: at least they didn’t poll the Cabinet. The findings, which come in research by Redfield & Wilton
Sir David Amess was killed in the line of duty. He was doing one of the most important – and vulnerable – parts of an MP’s job, and he was killed while doing it. Most of the week, MPs go to work in a palace under armed guard. They live in houses with CCTV, panic
12 min listen
David Amess, the MP for Southend West, has died after being stabbed at his constituency surgery. Essex Police say that a 25-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Amess had been an MP since 1983, and represented Southend West since 1997. Fraser Nelson speaks James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman.
Sir David Amess has died at the age of 69 after being attacked with a knife at a constituency surgery meeting. He spent 38 years in the House of Commons, serving first for the constituency of Basildon between 1983 and 1997 and subsequently for the Southend West seat. Tributes have been pouring in for him ever
David Amess, the MP for Southend West, has died after being stabbed at his constituency surgery. Essex Police say that a 25-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Amess had been an MP since 1983, and represented Southend West since 1997. He was a genial parliamentarian, a diligent constituency MP and a doughty
14 min listen
With the R-number being higher than 1.0 for some days now, could we be seeing some of the least invasive covid restrictions being put back into place as winter approaches? Isabel Hardman is joined by Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth to discuss the figures, as well as the continuing labour shortages.
Emmanuel Macron’s Europe minister Clément Beaune is fast gaining a reputation for bashing all things British. ‘Stop telling us you do not need us anymore, stop being obsessed with us, stop believing we will solve your problems,’ he raged recently. ‘They made a mess of Brexit. It’s their choice and their failure, not ours.’ Beaune’s boss has much
As every pub-bore politico knows, betting markets tend to be more reliable indicators of election outcomes than the pundits and even the polls. That is why the latest odds on America’s 2024 presidential elections strike Mr S as worth noting. Donald J. Trump yesterday become favourite on Betfair to be the 2024 Presidential winner, with
Every time Insulate Britain takes to the streets, I feel a warm glow. I find myself feeling moved by the direct action that takes place. I’m not talking about the eco-muppets themselves, of course, and their tantrum-like gluing of themselves to motorways and busy London roads. I’m talking about the working classes who have started
The health secretary has announced more money for the National Health Service. It’s a story we’ve heard time and time again – but this time the details are different. Sajid Javid has committed an additional £250 million for GP health practices to assist them in expanding their hours and upping the number of face-to-face appointments
History suggests that when the state expands in a crisis, it doesn’t go back to its pre-crisis level once the emergency is over. After the first world war, the Lloyd George government extended unemployment insurance to most of the workforce, fixed wages for farm workers and introduced rent controls. The second world war led to
John Lewis has accidentally created a perfect depiction of everything wrong with our precious Little Emperors in Britain 2021. Their latest advertisement — now pulled by the company after a complaint from the Financial Conduct Authority — is a minute-long home insurance promotion that is dripping in entitlement and wokeness, starring a kid who has never
11 min listen
GPs have been promised £250 million to improve their services, but only if they increase face-to-face appointments. The Health Secretary must meet the demands of patients that want more face-to-face meetings. But he got a hostile reaction from doctors after a difficult two years for the healthcare service. Meanwhile, the Brexit row is still bubbling
It’s not just Glasgow currently overrun with rubbish. Down in Brighton, the right-on Green brigade there have found themselves in something of a bin-related disaster following industrial action by local refuse collectors. Streets are now overflowing with dozens of black sacks, with rats being spotted and horrendous smells reported as garbage piles up by the kerb.
Sir David Amess, the MP for Southend West, has been stabbed to death while holding a surgery in his constituency. Essex Police say that a 25-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. The news will shock parliament and the country: it is a reminder of the risks that MPs run every time they hold a
The National Trust culture war has just stepped up a gear. Ahead of the Trust’s AGM on 30 October, the Trust has launched an extraordinary attack. Its target appears to be Restore Trust, a new body trying to rein in the National Trust’s political obsessions. ‘Our founders set out to protect and promote places of historic interest