All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
As soon as Channel 4 announced Benedict Cumberbatch had been cast as Dominic Cummings in its Brexit film, a hatchet job was expected. Some might still see it this way. I found it balanced, gripping, and at times funny, even moving. Plenty will be written about which parts were accurate and which not, but this
Today’s NHS 10-year plan is the health service’s response to the £20.5 billion funding boost announced by ministers last year. The Prime Minister is unveiling further details of the plan this morning, with NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens doing his own broadcast tour to sell it. He argues that the plan ‘tackles head-on the
It starts with a balding weirdo locked in a cupboard ranting about mythological abstractions. This is Dominic Cummings, the key figure in Channel 4’s Brexit film, The Uncivil War, and the opening scene is designed to overcome a major hurdle. How to make the audience – half of whom loathe Brexit – feel sympathy for
Imagine looking at a photo of a stranger and feeling in response, quite naturally, the sort of happy affection you might feel towards a spouse. Well, it’s weird. In July this year, when Benedict Cumberbatch was filming Channel 4’s upcoming Brexit film (Brexit: The Uncivil War) a friend sent me some photos by text message,
Happy Christmas…what’s left of it. That’s right. It’s the Epiphany, the twelfth day of Christmas, the one when my true love sent to me twelve drummers drumming, to go with the lords a leaping and ladies dancing, and the rest of the frankly inconvenient gifts for the Birth of Christ. Last night was Twelfth Night
As MPs prepare to return to Westminster following the Christmas recess, the Prime Minister has given her first TV interview of the new year. With the deadline for Brexit fast approaching, Theresa May again put the case for her Brexit deal, on which she postponed a crucial Commons vote in December. Andrew Marr asked her
Theresa May doesn’t yet have anything concrete to offer MPs who have concerns about her Brexit deal. On Marr this morning, May repeatedly talked about how she was seeking ‘assurances’ on the backstop. But she clearly hasn’t got them yet. Interestingly, May indicated that the assurances she’s looking for are around a start date for
With Theresa May promising MPs that she will not lead the party into another election (so long as it’s not imminent), the race is on to be her successor. Numerous ministers have been accused of being on manouvres in recent weeks – and playing up to the Tory base. One such politician is Jeremy Hunt.
This week, humanity made first contact with the dark side of the moon, thanks to China. A Chinese unmanned spacecraft, Chang’e-4, has been able to send back visuals of just what it looks like: Chinese media exploded in a burst of pride. Given this is the first time any human contact has been made with
Your new year’s challenge was to supply an anthem to usher in 2019, starting with the first line of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and continuing in your own way. ‘Is not the Scotch phrase “Auld lang syne” exceedingly expressive?’ wrote Robert Burns to his friend Frances Dunlop in 1788, referring to the words of an old
James Forsyth’s comment (Politics, 15 December) that most of the blame for the Brexit mess lies with Parliament for holding a referendum ‘without thinking through the consequences’ is an understatement. Only 53 MPs voted against the proposal and the decision of Conservative and Labour MPs to vote en masse in favour of it appears to
As we move into 2019, two big elections could shake up the rest of the year. In May, the European elections could see an unprecedented eurosceptic populist surge. Across the continent, politicians like Marine Le Pen and parties like Germany’s AfD are receiving more support. Fredrik Erixon also writes in this week’s cover that, notably, the
The Prime Minister does have a strategy to prevent what she sees as the chaos of a no-deal Brexit. The flaw in it is that the strategy probably has a shelf life of just over one week. Because her strategy is to persuade MPs to back her version of leaving the EU in a vote
On any other day of the week the Guardian is – with some justification – complaining about a housing crisis, with millions of young people priced-out of ever owning – or even renting – a decent home. Now, however, it seems to be treating with alarm news that prices are stagnating. ‘UK house prices take
This is a story about two people going to jail and the countries sending them there. Both are Palestinians and were sentenced on Monday in courts separated by an hour’s drive. Jamil Tamimi was sent down for 18 years at Jerusalem district court, in Israel, for the murder of British student Hannah Bladon. Bladon, a
Jeremy Corbyn has a message for the people of Milton Keynes: I condemn you. The Labour leader delivered his criticism at an event in 2011 after voters in the town booted out pro-Palestinian Labour MP Phyllis Starkey. He told the audience: ‘I condemn the people of Milton Keynes for the mistakes that they made in
Where ever one looks in France at the start of 2019 one sees only ominous signs. In his New Year’s message to his people Emmanuel Macron issued a robust warning to the gilets jaunes, elements of which he described as ‘a hate-filled crowd’. Accusing them of having attacked the police, the media, Jews and homosexuals, the
On 14 January Theresa May will resume the uphill task of getting her Brexit agreement with the European Union through the House of Commons. So far, things are not looking good for the PM. Before the Christmas break, over one hundred Tory MPs publicly pledged to vote against her deal, and the ferocious backlash it
For Angela Merkel, the chief guardian of Europe’s centrist politics, 2018 was a year of tribulation – and she admits it. In her New Year’s speech, the German chancellor acknowledged the hardship of the last twelve months while begging her countrymen to unite in the year ahead. “We will only master the challenges of our
When Conservative MPs tabled a no confidence vote against Theresa May last month, the Prime Minister had to make a number of big promises in order to survive it. She pledged not to fight the next election, to find a legally binding solution to the Irish backstop – and to get the DUP back on
Imagine sending a snowflake to fight Isis. Imagine packing off the kind of people who shake and weep when they encounter an idea they don’t like to wage war on Islamist militants who kill people for fun. Imagine calling upon a generation that has been brought up to think that mere words can be crimes
Jeremy Corbyn has come under pressure this week to back a second referendum after a YouGov poll found that seven in ten Labour members wish for it to be party policy. So far, Corbyn has resisted such calls for a so-called People’s Vote. In this week’s Spectator, I explain why the Labour leader is reluctant
There have been a number of signs already this year that the government, after months of dragging its feet, may now be struggling with its preparations to get Britain ready for a potential no-deal Brexit in March. Last week, the hapless transport secretary Chris Grayling came under fire for giving a contract to provide extra
If you want proof that the world is getting better all the time, look no further than the Greggs vegan sausage roll. I did not queue up early this morning to get one. I can’t comment on the taste, the texture, or the quality. I haven’t tried it, and I’m not sure I plan to. I’m also not
Few things can kill the Christmas spirit as effectively as news about rail fare rises. This was demonstrated again this week as an annual announcement, which feels more predictable than some of my local trains, revealed that the average cost of tickets is up 3.1 per cent. The news has already generated countless vox pops
Is Mitt Romney the mouse that roared? Or does he pose a real threat to President Trump? In his Washington Post op-ed, Romney bludgeons Trump: ‘the president has not risen to the mantle of his office.’ Move over Elizabeth Warren. It looks like the real civil war will be in the Republican, not the Democratic, party. Romney
IN ASSOCIATION WITH Over the past ten years, few industries have faced changes as dramatic as retail – and, in particular, the British high street. While the high street itself remains a much-loved institution, it seems that hardly a week passes without another reminder of the unprecedented changes – from consumer habits to technology –
For Silicon Valley, 2018 was defined by one impossible question: should there be limits to free speech on the internet? The first amendment is hardwired into the (American) CEOs of the big three social media sites: Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. Each platform grew its user-base with a “words can never hurt me” attitude. Back in
Westminster conversation about Brexit often suffers a time lag. MPs frequently speak with surprise about things that actually happened months ago and which are regarded as old, established facts in Brussels and policy wonk-world. The backstop is the best example: outlined in the December 2017 Joint Report of the UK and EU negotiators, its meaning and
It’s the New Year, which must mean that railway fares are up again – this time by an average of 3.1 per cent. Jeremy Corbyn has said the latest price hike is a ‘disgrace’, and commuters forced to shell out more for their journeys are likely to agree. No one – not even Chris Grayling
Britain is, of course, in a Brexit-driven recession of its own making, while other EU countries are powering on ahead without us. Or so we keep being told. The ideas is that we are distancing ourselves from European markets – and concerned manufacturers will move production to factories elsewhere in the EU. While this gloomy
It’s a new year, a new dawn, a new day – and for many Brits a fresh start. Unless you’re Theresa May. The Prime Minister begins 2019 with things much the same as they were in 2018. Her party is at war over Brexit, she still has a hugely unpopular piece of legislation to pass
Even by his usual standards of self-satire, Jean-Claude Juncker was on top form to open the new year. As he uncorked his final bottle of wine for the year, the president of the European Commission found time to blast out a tweet celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the launch of the euro. It has, according
None of us can predict the potential fallout from Brexit, good and bad. What began as a vote of confidence in our institutions has shown them to be dangerously fallible. A country where people usually rub along together is now marked by a cultural and emotional rift. If Brexit does continue to dominate our politics
