All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
This afternoon Boris Johnson came close to losing a Commons vote for the first time since the election. Over 30 Tory MPs broke a three-line whip in order to protest over the government’s decision to allow the Chinese company Huawei to be involved in the UK’s 5G network. The government saw off the rebellion by
Scared about coronavirus as you go about your everyday life? Spare a thought for those living and working inside our battered prison system. In Italy yesterday the anxiety that underpins all incarceration suddenly exploded into violence. Rioting left six prisoners dead, staff were taken hostage, dozens escaped and one prison in Poggioreale near Naples was ‘completely
Here’s a thought experiment: Imagine there was a burgeoning global pandemic in a world in which there was also a universally accessible publishing platform without editors or regulation. Now, imagine some of the most influential contributors on that platform were spreading misinformation about the response to the contagion. Their conduct carries obvious risks: governments are
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Next week Andrew Bailey will walk into the Bank of England as Governor for the first time. In his office in Parlours, he will find an overflowing in-tray. Much of its contents will be problems inherited from his predecessor, such as the economic impact of Britain’s exit from the EU; fallout from the bank’s £435
Wolf-whistling isn’t a crime, but one Labour MP seems to think it should be. Stella Creasy clashed with Nick Ferrari on LBC this morning on the issue. Ferrari asked Creasy whether a builder should be criminalised for wolf-whistling at a woman. Here is her response: ‘I’d really hope in the same way if someone uses a
There is an old Westminster joke that says if you want to keep something secret, say it on the floor of the House of Commons. Day-to-day parliamentary business doesn’t often get the attention of national media outlets and thus the wider country. This is understandable but also a pity because we often end up missing
As much as it is a threat, Coronavirus is also an opportunity. This clear demonstration of the chaos that the unseen can cause both advanced and developing nations gives global leaders the chance to reset positions and behaviour. In Coronavirus and Sars, China has been at the epicentre of genuinely life-changing diseases. The circumstances in
Trevor Phillips’ suspension from the Labour party over allegations of ‘Islamophobia’ has been roundly condemned, but it should come as little surprise. After all, Phillips has been a high-profile opponent of the very definition that is now being weaponised against him. What has happened to him should serve as a warning to others who call out the
Ever since Super Tuesday, when Joe Biden pulled off upset wins in Texas, Massachusetts, and Minnesota on his way to ten state-wide wins, the tables have turned. It is now Bernie Sanders, the frontrunner only a few weeks ago, who needs a victory to breath new life into his campaign. The best, and likely only, shot
In the panic over coronavirus in Britain, we seem to have forgotten about China. There is a logic to that, of course. The argument goes that British and European cases are far closer to home. But if we were just a little more aware of what has been going on in China over the past
The UK will table a draft legal text for a UK / EU free trade agreement before the next round of trade negotiations, which start on the 18 March. This is a significant step by the UK. In the first round of the Brexit talks, the UK left itself vulnerable by barely submitting any legal text – leaving
I do not know enough to comment on the merits of the Labour party’s action against Trevor Phillips. But I know what the far left looks like when it is building a cover story to hide its wickedness, and everyone else looking at the Phillips case should know it too. In normal circumstances, you would
After the bitter battles over Brexit, during which the truth was stretched to breaking point by those on both sides of a profoundly emotive argument, to have someone in authority give a balanced, well-informed and non-hyperbolic account of the government’s handling of the biggest event of the moment comes as a huge relief. England’s Chief
Who was the victim when Jolyon Maugham killed a fox on Boxing Day? Not only the hapless animal, it would seem. The Remain-supporting lawyer – who was recently told by the RSPCA that it would not take any action over the incident – was not too impressed by Mishal Husain’s line of questioning on the Today programme. Husain rightly
Many of us suspected the Labour party was on a suicide mission. Now we know for sure. The party’s suspension of Trevor Phillips over allegations of Islamophobia feels like a turning point. It is surely one of the final nails in the coffin of irrelevance that has been enveloping this party for a few years now.
News broke this morning that the former head of the Equalities Commission Sir Trevor Phillips had been suspended from the Labour party over allegations of Islamophobia. Phillips has spent his career documenting the realities of race and integration in British life. The think tank Policy Exchange has now released the correspondence between Sir Trevor and
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Farewell tours tend to be the preserve of ageing rock stars. Royals, cut from the cloth of Elizabeth Windsor, are meant to keep going until they are six feet under. Harry and Meghan have torn up the script that he received at birth and she on her wedding day. In under two years, they’ve gone
International Women’s Day (IWD) is a great idea — in theory. Why not set aside a moment each year to highlight both the historical and present-day circumstances that impact women’s lives? If used properly, it could do some good. But the problem with international-anything-day is that the plights and progress of historically disenfranchised people vary
Rishi Sunak – We will give the NHS whatever it needs The Chancellor Rishi Sunak was the government’s representative across the TV studios today, ahead of his first Budget on Wednesday. Sunak remained tight lipped when asked about many of the specific measures he would be taking, but told Sky’s Sophy Ridge that the NHS
If there was any doubt still remaining that Rishi Sunak’s first Budget will be dominated by the coronavirus, the Chancellor’s Sunday media round ought to have put that to bed. With three days to go until the government’s first big fiscal event since winning an 80-seat majority, Sunak has been touring the broadcast studios of
The government is trying to get onshore windfarms going again, defying the damage they do to unique environments. I am perplexed by how its zero-carbon policies can be reconciled with its wider economic aims of ‘levelling up’ or of fostering a beautiful environment. It is an odd fact that Greens can be extremely hostile to
Internally, Boris Johnson has given short shrift to those who have suggested that he distance himself from the Home Secretary. There is a view in Downing Street that several of the most dramatic charges against her don’t stack up. Number 10 knows, though, that it has a fight on its hands to save Patel. One source
The Guardian is a great newspaper and it remains so even if, puzzlingly, more than a fifth of its workforce – both editorial and commercial – appear to think there is something appalling about working for a newspaper. That is the first and most glaring conclusion to be drawn from the extraordinary letter signed by 338 Guardian
Global system breakdown has defined all our lives for 13 years. From the banking system’s boom and bust to the rise of a new anti-globalisation, the populist generation of politician and political leader, to the mounting cost of global warming, to the exponentially charged proliferation of a jumping-the-species virus. There is definitely no sleep till
One of those at the heart of the government’s response to coronavirus predicts that the Budget might not even be the biggest story on Wednesday. Their view is that its spread over the coming weeks will be such that ‘nobody alive will have experienced anything like it’. Though, as I say in The Sun this
If Jeremy Clarkson had lived through the Wars of the Roses he would have been neither a Yorkist nor a Lancastrian. He would have lurked in his castle, reassuring each side of his unswerving loyalty, till the moment came when Richard III lost his crown. At this point Clarkson would make his position absolutely clear:
Donald Trump is in the soup again, this time for appearing to reject the World Health Organisation’s estimate for the death rate from coronavirus (Covid-19): 3.4 per cent. ‘I think the 3.4 per cent is really a false number,’ he said on Thursday before adding that he had a ‘hunch’ that the real death rate is
There is one thing Covid-19 has changed for the better. It’s persuaded No. 10 that Today’s seven million listeners do deserve to hear from a cabinet minister. The Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, was the first to appear since the election. The ministerial boycott has actually been welcomed by many, who say it’s made for a
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Does anyone really think the solution to the social care crisis will be found in cross-party talks? If you read the letter penned by Matt Hancock this afternoon, you might be forgiven for thinking that the Health Secretary is the one person who does. Hancock wrote to all MPs and peers ‘to begin the process of
Looming behind the Frost-Barnier negotiations is a battle between London and Paris as financial centres. After the June 2016 referendum, the French failed miserably to seduce City institutions away from the UK. There was no exodus from London, and of those few relocations to the continent, most avoided Paris, preferring to scatter widely from Dublin