All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
James Duddridge has chosen to take advantage of the run-up to the Prime Minister’s conference speech to announce that he’s sent a letter of no confidence in Theresa May to the chairman of the 1922 Committee Graham Brady. This is, to state the obvious, a stunt. I doubt it presages a more serious effort to
Poor old Theresa May. The Prime Minister hasn’t even got on stage to deliver her speech at Tory party conference and already things are not going quite to plan. Tory MP James Duddridge has announced this morning that he thinks it is time for Theresa May to step down – and that Boris’s speech was
One of the most beautiful things to happen in recent years was ‘the conceptual penis as a social construct.’ This was an academic paper which proposed that: ‘The penis vis-à-vis maleness is an incoherent construct. We argue that the conceptual penis is better understood not as an anatomical organ but as a gender-performative, highly fluid
According to a Vienna-based think tank, the World Data Lab, a remarkable milestone was reached this week – for the first time, half the world’s population can be classified as middle class. Obviously, there is wide room for interpretation as to what constitutes membership of the middle classes – the World Data Lab defines it
Today we’re in the baronial setting of Hampton Manor Hotel in Warwickshire — a long iron shot from Birmingham Airport, but happily out of earshot of the fractious Tory Party conference up the road. We’re here to meet the Midlands regional finalists for The Spectator’s Economic Disruptor of the Year Awards: our host is Mark
If you’re on the hunt for a mortgage, a fixed rate one will at least ensure that your repayments stay the same. Here are some of the best rates available for two-year fixed rate mortgages on the market at the moment, from data supplied by moneyfacts.co.uk.
Anyone who has followed the news over the past 18 months could be forgiven for thinking that, in our ongoing debate around Brexit, Dover is the only port currently operating within the UK. Its fate, it seems – and by implication, the fate of our other ports – is tied so closely to the outcome
I continue to be in two minds about Twitter outrages. The part of me that longs for an easy life wants to believe they are deeply stupid and ephemeral. The part of me that makes Eeyore look like the tears-of-laughter emoji suspects they are deeply stupid and important markers of changing cultural attitudes. If you
How does Theresa May plan to reinvigorate her party and send it out, united and happy, after this week’s conference? If the extracts of her speech that have been trailed tonight are anything to go by, it’s not clear that the Prime Minister knows how to answer that question, either. It’s either the case that
If Theresa May’s sole goal for the Tory conference is to survive it, then she’ll likely be less interested in what Boris Johnson was up to at his big ticket rally this afternoon, and more concerned about any comments made by the chairman of the 1922 Committee, Graham Brady. Brady is famously the man who
Boris Johnson’s speech attracted the largest crowd of any conference fringe event. But does Boris have the backing of party members? Mr Steerpike spoke to some activists to see what they made of the speech: Phoebe McCullough, 21, from Twickenham, a student at Sterling university, had this to say: John Bennet, 23, from Sterling, said
So much of this Conservative conference has felt like a holding line from the party leadership, as though having the event in Birmingham has been inconvenient timing and something to survive, rather than enjoy. Mind you, this is the theme of Theresa May’s leadership generally: not only has the Prime Minister survived against the odds
The Tory tradition of blue-on-blue attacks at the party’s conference continues. Today, it’s the turn of Anna Soubry to mock young Tory activists. When Telegraph journalist Christopher Hope said that the pictures of empty seats in the main conference hall didn’t tell the full story of what is happening in Birmingham and that many fringe
Much as I deplore the integration of the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law there are some battles which really aren’t worth fighting. Today, Theresa May announced that civil partnerships are to be made available to heterosexual couples for the first time. This follows a ruling by the Supreme Court in June that
One of the stories of this Conservative conference is the contrast between the crowd and atmosphere in the main conference hall, and the popularity of the fringes elsewhere. In previous years, the party has suffered stories about how corporate the whole event is, with members deciding not to bother with the expense of the whole
Boris Johnson’s fringe speech certainly went down well with members today, when a packed auditorium erupted in cheers as he rallied against the Chequers deal. But it looks like one person was less keen on Boris’s attempt to pitch his leadership. As the Sun’s Harry Cole pointed out, Boris’s brother Jo Johnson did not attend
Boris Johnson’s Brexit rally was everything that No 10 had been dreading. Queues for the event began three hours in advance and saw activists block stairways and corridors across the conference hall in a bid to see the former foreign secretary’s moment in the spotlight. Some members in the audience even dressed up for the
Good afternoon my friends and fellow ConHomers. It is great to be here in Birmingham where so many thoroughfares in the city are already named after our superb Conservative mayor. I know this conference is going to be a staggering success because just in the last couple of days about a dozen far left Momentum
The inquisition that has been launched by woke physicists against a physics professor for expressing some heretical ideas at Cern about why women are under-represented in the field is truly shocking. You would think physicists, of all people, would be wary of inquisitions. Following his presentation, Professor Strumia has now been suspended by Cern, where
Poor old Sajid Javid. While a huge queue of Tory activists were waiting to hear from Boris Johnson, there were empty seats in the main hall as the Home Secretary gave his speech. Things went from bad to worse for Sajid when he tripped over his words: ‘We will fight hope… hate… fight against hate,
It’s a huge privilege to be standing here as Home Secretary. Now I know the question on your mind. So let’s just deal with it upfront. Yes, I did watch Bodyguard. No, it wasn’t very realistic. For a start, my codename is not Lavender, and she didn’t even do the power stance! But let me
It’s been a rather dry affair inside the main hall at Conservative conference this year, as ministers struggle to come up with new policies and a vision for the country that can unite and inspire voters. Fortunately, things are much more fun outside the main hall. At the conference’s various fringe events, activists and members
Boris Johnson has arrived at Tory party conference and excitement among activists is building ahead of his big speech at 1pm. Already a queue of party members is snaking through the conference centre – nearly three hours before Boris is due to take to the stage. Here’s Mr Steerpike’s video of those waiting in line
As Boris Johnson and the accompanying media circus descend on conference today, pundits have been asking – is he the Heineken statesman of old, or more of a Marmite politician? Judging by his popularity among his Scottish colleagues in parliament, Mr S can confidently say he’s not an Irn Bru political figure. The deep loathing
Most politicians can only dream of having the cult following that Jacob Rees-Mogg is enjoying at Conservative party conference. His events are packed out an hour before they are due to start. Cries of ‘Mogg for PM’ have been heard. And when Rees-Mogg walked into the room at a Leave means Leave rally last night,
There was a time, back in the day, when cabinet ministers were the star attraction of the Conservative conference show. Attendees would queue round the block to hear from famous faces in the party and hear how they were going to tackle the biggest issues of the day. But those days are no more. Instead,
All eyes will be on Boris Johnson when he addresses the Tory fringes this afternoon. Expect the former foreign secretary to offer plenty of advice for the Prime Minister as she prepares for her keynote speech tomorrow. And on the main stage, Sajid Javid is the pick of the speakers: Conference listings: 10.00 – 12.30
Friends, it’s great to be back here in Birmingham. Seven years ago, I came to conference looking to lead the party north of the border. I promised you I would grow the Conservative family in Scotland. Well, never let it be said, I’m not a woman of my word. Conference, there are plenty of things I could
Liz, thank you for that introduction……and for tearing yourself away from your beloved Instagram account for a few minutes. And thank you too for being such a great Chief Secretary and stalwart defender of the public purse. My kids think I’m tight with money…but they haven’t met Liz Truss. And in a world obsessed with stories of
‘The morning had been golden; the noontide was bronze; and the evening lead.’ So said Churchill about the career of Lord Curzon. But these words could also summarise the leadership of Plaid Cymru by Leanne Wood – a leadership that came to an abrupt and rather humiliating end on Friday. Most observers of politics outside
I watched the Tory party conference on television this morning for as long as I could take it. Obviously I wouldn’t under normal circumstances – nobody sane would – but I’d been left in sole charge of a six-month old child (my son) and I wanted him to understand that life is very often pain.
It’s safe to say that Jacob Rees-Mogg isn’t keen on the Prime Minister’s Chequers plan. But Rees-Mogg has still stopped short of calling for Theresa May to go. Some other Brexit supporters don’t agree and think it is time for Tory Brexiteers to call an end to May’s time in office. One such activist made
Boris Johnson continues to be the target of attacks from fellow Tory MPs at the party’s conference in Birmingham, even though he’s not yet even arrived in town. Yesterday, it was Digby Jones and Philip Hammond who took a swipe at him. Today, it’s former deputy PM Damian Green. At a Spectator fringe event, Green
The great Quentin Blake, who illustrated the Roald Dahl books, has come up with some charming new illustrations for Matilda, the child prodigy who was so brainy she could make things move by sheer mind-power. For the 30th anniversary of the book, he speculates on what she might have become: there’s Matilda, world traveller, chief