All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
19 min listen
While both Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch are quick to talk down speculation of a pact between the Tories and Reform, listeners may be surprised to hear that around Westminster such conversations are already taking place. With every new poll, Conservative MPs grow a little more anxious that by the time they go to the
The mood of Keir Starmer’s foreign policy advisers was funereal as they contemplated the return of Donald Trump. The weeks since Trump’s inauguration have shown that the government doesn’t know what to do with an American president who is hostile, capricious and, let’s face it, more than a little mad, except humour him as one
Things are currently looking choppy for Kemi Badenoch. Polls last weekend were bad enough, seven of them showing Reform leading the Conservatives by a point. But now it seems this gap may have widened dramatically. A poll on Thursday showed Reform pushing the Tories in to third place, with Farage’s party on 25 per cent
Well, well, well. Rachel Reeves has spent much of her seven months in power banging on about budget blackholes and spending cuts, vowing to use the Treasury’s ongoing spending review to find more ways to cut costs. The Chancellor has asked government departments to find 5 per cent ‘efficiency savings’ to help set their budgets
The West may like to convince itself that it is, in the words of one American diplomat, ‘strangling the Russian foreign ministry’, but it ought to look south for a rather different perspective. On Tuesday, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was in expansive mood as he announced the formation of a brand-new Department of Partnership with
The newspapers’ front page photograph of David and Victoria Beckham entering Buckingham Palace’s State Dining Room was a publicity triumph for England’s global icon. Beaming with pride, Posh – wearing one of her own designs – and Beckham in a specially tailored white tie and tails – had worked hard to secure the invitation last
The government has unveiled its new ‘AI Opportunities Action Plan’ – a ten-syllable, fifty-point proposal to grow the UK’s AI industry. Among the only memorable points of the fifty unveiled last month was the creation of ‘AI growth zones’, clusters of AI expertise dotted around the country. The only growth zone named in the plan
Some of us switch off when we hear a ‘loony left’ story. We might cock an eyebrow at the latest tale of progressive idiocy but that’s about it. They’re at it again, we think, and move on. But there are reports this morning of some truly perverse behaviour among the activist classes and we cannot
In theory, the Kursk salient is one of the most militarily insignificant fronts of Putin’s war on Ukraine. However, war is ultimately all about politics, and the presence of Ukrainian troops on Russian soil is sufficiently problematic for President Vladimir Putin that Kyiv has decided to deploy more troops in a bid to reverse the
On 1 February, a young man walked into a military enlistment office in Rivne with a bomb in his backpack. Moments later, it detonated, killing him instantly and injuring eight Ukrainian service members. He was just 21, recruited online by Russian intelligence operatives who offered quick cash for sneaking the bomb inside. This attack was
Donald Trump has this week shown that he cares more about economic interests over inherited commitments – even to allies. By contrast, Keir Starmer’s handling of the Chagos Islands dispute reveals an entirely different approach to power – prioritising diplomatic acclaim over strategic imperatives. His decision to cede sovereignty of the islands has been framed as
23 min listen
This week saw the publication of Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund’s new book Get In: The Inside Story of Labour Under Starmer. It’s the second in their tell-all series of books on the Labour Party’s ups and downs and has caused quite a stir in Westminster. From the revelations about Keir Starmer’s voice coach causing a
Soap bombshells are nothing new, but the land of light TV entertainment was rocked by some real-life drama this week: ITV announced that Coronation Street and Emmerdale will be cutting back on episodes permanently next year. It was also revealed that viewing figures for EastEnders have plummeted from 30 million at its 1980s peak, to just four million. As one of
To Scotland, where the SNP is hard at work vetting its candidates for the 2026 Holyrood poll. But in typical Nat fashion, the rather non-transparent process has prompted questions about how thorough the whole thing really is – after it emerged via party insiders that both Nicola Sturgeon and Colin Beattie of Operation Branchform fame
Donald Trump’s decision to impose sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) could sound the death knell of this important judicial body. The US president condemned the Court’s ‘illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.’ Trump’s response came after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu last November over alleged
Another day, another Labour U-turn. Now it’s Ed Miliband in the spotlight, after the Energy Secretary appeared to row back on his Heathrow runway stance this morning. Speaking on the Beeb’s Radio 4 Today programme, Miliband has now insisted that the new development would not come at the expense of his precious net zero targets
To the surprise of millions of children today, and to their parents who loved the toy when they were youngsters themselves, it turns out that Lego can be homophobic. This is the conclusion of a self-guided tour of the Science Museum in London. The tour, which explores ‘stories of queer communities, experiences and identities’, warns
No matter how many times it is vanquished or decisively discredited, ‘Palestinianism’ persists as an ideology unwilling to die. Rooted in Muslim Arab nationalism, it remains fundamentally opposed to the very existence of Israel – a Jewish, liberal, and free state. Hamas, one of its most notorious champions, has in recent weeks orchestrated a carefully
If a week is a long time in politics then eight years is an eternity. Just ask Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron. Back in 2017 the two newly-elected presidents met for the first time in Brussels. They shook hands for the cameras, and kept shaking for several seconds, a game of machismo that tickled the
The death of Marianne Faithfull last week at the age of 78 has got me thinking again about female beauty. The obituaries were full of descriptions of the singer and actress, who was, as the Daily Mail put it, “the poster girl for the Swinging Sixties” and “the sixties angel with big tits”. The Daily Telegraph flagged a quote from her
12 min listen
The Bank of England has cut interest rates for the third time since the inflation crisis, taking the base rate to 4.5 per cent. The Monetary Policy Committee voted by seven to two to further reduce rates by 0.25 percentage points – a move that was widely expected by markets, but had been put into
Nigel Farage’s Reform party are now out in front at the top of The Spectator data hub’s poll tracker. The latest update to our poll of polls puts Reform one point above Labour – on average – at 25 per cent of the vote with the Tories in third place at 22 per cent. A flurry of
Now that the Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been sentenced for his horrific crimes, we can try to understand how he was free to kill, and what can be done to stop crimes like this in the future. Between 2019 and 2021, this young man was referred three times to Prevent, the counter-extremism programme. On
Since becoming Conservative leader in November, Kemi Badenoch has taken a restrained approach to saying what she’d do if she wins the next election. Given the slapdash ‘policy by press release’ approach of recent Conservative governments, it’s easy to see why Badenoch has been keen to avoid making careless policy announcements. But four years of
Back to the assisted dying bill, which has been at the centre of controversy since it came into being. As Mr S noted this week, its committee stage was rather odd – with one Australian MP witness even using the evidence session to argue that ‘voluntary assisted dying is a form of suicide prevention’. Er,
I thought Donald Trump was a woman-hater? The Guardian told us he’s a ‘far-right misogynist’ whose return to the White House would strike ‘visceral horror’ into the hearts of women everywhere. He’s the ‘misogynist in chief’, said CNN. Perhaps someone could explain, then, why he just signed an executive order in favour of women’s rights
The Bank of England has cut interest rates for the third time since the inflation crisis, taking the base rate to 4.5 per cent. The Monetary Policy Committee voted by seven to two to further reduce rates by 0.25 percentage points – a move that was widely expected by markets, but had been put into doubt
I’ve yet to meet an oncologist, thank God. But if I did turn up to be told I had cancer I wouldn’t expect him to start treating me with a chainsaw. That was my thought this morning when I read that our national counter-terrorism chief had described the effect of exposing kids to violent content
TikTok’s success provides a striking example of Western complacency towards its own survival. After a decade shaped by the disruptive influence of American social media behemoths such as X and Facebook, our governments have permitted the stratospheric growth of a China-owned platform with an even greater capacity for malign influence. With Beijing’s intentions for global
I am sure that Nigel Farage would love the opportunity to embarrass Labour and the Tories as much as he can in May’s local elections. But sorry, Angela Rayner is right – for once – to delay local elections for a year in some areas so that local government can be reorganised and many councils
Oh dear. It seems that the new Labour government is rapidly developing a reputation for rudeness. Whether it’s Bridget Phillipson’s charm offensive backfiring or Angela Rayner enraging Grenfell survivors, few in the cabinet appear to be winning friends across the spectrum. And now Mr S brings news of another instance involving one of Keir Starmer’s