All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
The dramatic jump in UK coronavirus cases from 7,000 reported on Friday, to just under 13,000 on Saturday, to a fraction below 23,000 on Sunday is not a dire as it seems – though it is not good news. What has inflated the numbers for Sunday and Saturday are a staggering 15,841 cases where the
Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s set-piece speech is big billing of the day. With this autumn’s budget overboard and the UK heading into some seriously choppy economic waters, expect the Treasury captain to chart a tight course between Boris Johnson’s levelling up agenda and more massive state spending to bail us out. Those who can’t withhold their
‘How is the president feeling?’ shouldn’t be a difficult question to answer. And yet over the last 24 hours, nobody could say with any clarity that Donald Trump was ill, on the mend, or perfectly fine. Even reporters with impeccable sources in the White House bubble were left flabbergasted as completely contradictory accounts emerged from
‘I don’t want a Home Secretary who can’t pronounce a G at the end of a word,’ said Alastair Campbell earlier this month after listening to Priti Patel. Today it was the Home Secretary’s turn to hit back at Tony Blair’s former spin doctor. In her speech at Tory conference, Patel had a message for
Boris Johnson – People must behave ‘fearlessly but with common sense’ The Prime Minister joined Andrew Marr this morning, and inevitably the interview began with a focus on Covid-19 and the government’s efforts to suppress the virus. Johnson’s key message for the public was one of stoicism, saying that the virus would still be hovering
Cineworld is to close its 128 cinemas – saying that the Covid restrictions have made its business “unviable”. It’s terrible to see that word applied to the cinema industry – and even worse to think of the 5,500 jobs this will impact. But the truth is that many businesses can’t survive what will be a year’s worth of restrictions –
What’s the most important part of this developing Trump-has-Covid story? Is it ‘how sick is the President?’ Or is it ‘look at journalists trying to find out how sick the President is?’ It can be hard to tell. Yesterday was the day of the ‘mixed messages’. At a press briefing, the physicians delivered what was
As Conservative party conference gets underway online, Boris Johnson used an appearance on the Andrew Marr show to warn of the difficult months ahead. With over ten million people currently under local lockdown restrictions, the Prime Minister said that while he is aware people are ‘furious’ with his government, things are not about to get better. Johnson
The recent warnings of exponential growth of Covid-19 cases, inevitably followed by a rise in hospital admissions, is one focus of the Government’s Covid messaging. Jeremy Hunt described this spike in admissions as a ‘wake-up call’ for the Government. But while this year the disease is newly identified, warnings of a winter crisis in the
A few weeks ago, Nigel Farage enjoyed a get together with a very senior Conservative party figure. Brexit was, naturally, at the heart of the conversation. As he departed from the convivial rendezvous he delivered a line that lowered the temperature in the room and is likely to concentrate Tory minds: ‘If you screw it
Nothing irks Tory party members like a big new development on their patch, so the interview with Robert Jenrick should be an interesting watch. Let’s hope someone asks him about the growing cladding scandal, covered by The Spectator here. Other sessions to look out for include Priti Patel’s keynote speech — expect more hardline rhetoric on
Douglas Ross’s speech to the Conservative and Unionist Party conference was uncanny for being both conservative and unionist. The Scottish Tory leader pitched up to his podium and launched into an awkward conversation with colleagues south of the border. His theme was ‘putting an end to defeatism and disinterest’ and both he blamed on the
21 min listen
The SNP has had a torrid week as the inquiry into Alex Salmond’s trial came to a head, topped off with MP Margaret Ferrier’s Covid breach. But Nicola Sturgeon has not sustained damage – so is there still any hope for Unionism? Katy Balls talks to Fraser Nelson and Stephen Daisley, with a cameo appearance
Michel Barnier has very politely confirmed that the EU will be suing the UK in a respectful manner. That has all the validity of a child using his younger brother’s arm to hit his own face while stating, ‘why are you hitting yourself?’. Passive aggression is still aggression. Suing someone is an aggressive act. Now,
Donald Trump was making modern political history even before he fell ill in the final stretch of his election campaign. By suggesting the result could be fraudulent — and therefore invalid — the incumbent President was menacing the fragile framework that, for more than 200 years, has eased the transition from one administration to another.
Donald Trump has confronted a long list of adversaries and weathered an even longer list of scandals in his nearly four years as President of the United States. In 2017, there was FBI director James Comey, special counsel Robert Mueller, and the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville. In 2018, there was the felony convictions of
This week in the Commons, the Government introduced the Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Bill. It’s a technical bit of legislation that will allow ministers to increase the state pension next year, keeping the ‘Triple Lock’ promise that pensions will rise in line with wages, inflation or 2.5 per cent, depending on which is highest.
By the time I got to Mohrenstrasse, the protesters and their BLM placards were long gone. The only thing they’d left behind was some red paint, splattered on the sign above the subway station. I guess this was meant to imply that by naming this U-Bahn station Mohrenstrasse, Berlin’s public transport bigwigs had blood on
Only after I signed the lease on my house for my final year at university was I told that, this year, all my seminars will be online. As well as all my lectures. Which when you throw in the new ‘Rule of Six’, puts a bit of a downer on clubs and societies and the
This year’s party conference won’t be quite the same. Gone is the warm white wine at ugly hotel bars, instead replaced by ministers desperately trying to unmute themselves on Zoom. That being said, Michael Gove’s ‘fireside chat’ will certainly be one to watch, as will Matt Hancock’s talk on the future of the NHS. Here are the
Hopes of agreeing a Brexit deal have increased among ministers in recent weeks, but today the UK’s chief negotiator Sir David Frost offered a reality check. In a statement following the latest round of talks, Frost said that while ‘progress has been possible’ there remained ‘familiar differences’ on level playing field clauses, state aid and – notably –
15 min listen
Margaret Ferrier has admitted that she travelled across the country despite having tested positive for Covid. Given that the SNP has had some of the strictest rules on lockdown, has this threatened the party’s reputation? Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.
An event where multiple generations gather indoors, exchange gifts and drink alcohol having travelled from far and wide sounds like a nightmare in coronavirus terms. On this basis, Christmas is one event that should definitely be cancelled. But, as I say in the Times today, regardless of whether they are hawks or doves when it comes
Britain’s Jewish community has been hit hard by Covid-19. Three more British Jews were laid to rest last week after dying from coronavirus, the highest number in a single week for several months. This brings the UK Jewish death toll from the disease to more than 500. It’s clear that our small community of 280,000 or so has suffered greatly during
When is the EU going to take action against Belarus, the Soviet dictatorship crumbling away on its eastern edge? Dominic Raab has announced that the UK will unilaterally impose ‘Magnitsky-like’ sanctions against Belarussian officials, blocking those complicit in the mass incarceration of protesters from operating within the UK. Meanwhile, at a Foreign Affairs Council meeting last month, Cyprus
You have probably never heard of MindGeek, the huge tech company that owns Pornhub: the world’s most popular porn site. Pornhub, which has 42 billion visits per year, is currently under fire for its apparent lack of safeguarding checks. Six million videos a year are posted on the site; some, according to anti-porn campaigners, depicting
Two days ago, the Prime Minister told us we are at a critical point in the Covid-19 crisis as a second wave threatened to engulf us. He warned of a second national lockdown. Yesterday, in spite of evidence from Imperial College of a declining R number, Matt Hancock introduced new restrictions in Liverpool and Teeside.
The first rule of Scottish politics is: the SNP always wins, even when it loses. If you’re wondering why the Nationalists were so swift to remove the whip from Margaret Ferrier — once the story that she had travelled on a train after testing positive for Covid became public, that is — be under no illusion that
The second day of October is a red-letter day in the Indian calendar. It’s the birthday of Mohandas Gandhi, better known as Mahatma or ‘great soul’. The man who with non-violence and non-cooperation brought British rule in India to its knees. The anniversary of Gandhi’s birth is a national holiday in India; a day of celebration and remembrance.
Things have gone from bad to pretty much as grim as things can get for an MP — isolating back in Scotland, Margaret Ferrier has been told to resign from parliament by her (now former) party leader Nicola Sturgeon. The interjection comes following a torrid night for the Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP. Yesterday evening she
President William Henry Harrison died, famously, after giving the longest inauguration speech in history. On a bitterly cold winter day in 1841, Harrison spoke for an hour and 45 minutes — to prove what a man he was. Then he fell ill with pneumonia and died after just 32 days in office. He tried not
Thank God for comedians. We need them more than ever in these miserable times to cheer us up. But they also play a more vital role: in the fight for free speech. John Cleese is the latest comedian to join the battle. During a debate on the controversial Scottish hate crime bill, Cleese said it would be
Another day, another Zoom missive from the Duke and Duchess of Woke. Hot on the heels of their thinly-veiled intervention in the US election, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have called for an ‘end to structural racism’ in the UK, via a new initiative they’ve launched in collaboration with the Evening Standard. To mark the
