Uk politics

In this world nothing can be said to be certain except for death, taxes, and Ken Livingstone banging on about Hitler. The former London Mayor rang up Talk radio this morning to discuss anti-Semitism in Labour, but couldn’t help bring up the German dictator at the first opportunity. He told a visibly exasperated Julia Hartley-Brewer: ‘I still get people come up to me on the street and say, ‘I’m Jewish why did you say Hitler was a Zionist?’ and I point out, of course I never said that, that’s all just this fake news’ Ken Livingstone: "I still get people come up to me and ask 'why did you say

It can be hard adjusting to life after high office. One minute you’re one of the most powerful people in the country, the next, people are struggling to even remember your name. It’s not something that usually affects Boris Johnson, who is accustomed to spending time in the limelight even after he’s left high-profile positions. But it appears his stardom outside the UK might already be waning. Despite Boris visiting the country only last year, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta is already struggling to remember who he is. In a press conference alongside Theresa May this afternoon he recalled the visit, saying: ‘Last year, if you recall, the Foreign Secretary then,

I truly love the SNP and the wider independence movement in Scotland. They have been the defining commitment of my life. But today I have written to the National Secretary of the party resigning my membership. I read carefully Nicola Sturgeon’s statement on Sunday and watched her television interview of a couple of days ago. She made it clear that the SNP have never received a single complaint about my personal conduct in my many decades of membership. And the Scottish Government have confirmed that they did not have any such complaint before this January, more than three years after I left office as first minister. That is the record

Theresa May’s visit to Africa has helped to remind voters just what type of leader the Prime Minister is – a rather awkward one. First, May won attention for dancing out of step with South African school children. Now, she has given an iconic Maybot interview to ITV News. Here’s what the Prime Minister had to say: On her dancing this morning: ITV: If you were a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, how would you score your dancing this morning? TM: I suspect my dancing this morning might not make it on to Strictly. On BoJo: ITV: Have you noticed how much Boris Johnson wants your job? TM: I was

After a weekend of politicians feuding over the merits of a second referendum, Barry Gardiner, Andy Burnham and Conor Burns have become the latest politicians to criticise the People’s Vote campaign to do just this. Meanwhile the BBC reports of a leaked memo which shows that the group has its eye on changing Labour policy – encouraging MPs and activists to submit a motion at Labour conference next month. As I reveal in this week’s Spectator, the People’s Vote campaign – which argues the public should have a say on the final deal – has a three-point Parliamentary strategy when it comes to bringing about a second referendum. Although the

When the Liberal Democrats unveiled their new slogan – ‘Demand better’ –earlier this month, critics were quick to point out that it might not have the desired effect. One Lib Dem source soon snarked to Mr S that many Lib Dems do want to demand better – at least, of their lacklustre leader Sir Vince Cable. So with party conference now just weeks away and the prospect of Cable having to stand next to a lectern which reads ‘demand better’ nearing, it appears Cable may have taken the message to heart. Reports are swirling that the Lib Dem leader will signal next month that he plans to step aside before

Any local reporter would be pleased to hear a leading politician stand up for public interest journalism. Jeremy Corbyn did just that in his speech on media reform yesterday. But let’s not forget that Labour – and Corbyn himself – are adamant supporters of Leveson 2. Make no mistake: this is a dangerous attempt to muzzle local newspapers and expose reporters like me to crippling and needless law-suits. The most worrying aspect of Leveson 2 is Section 40, which would force papers to pay legal costs for people suing them regardless of whether they won their case. This would make the work of journalists much more difficult. After all, many of

The government was always onto a loser whether or not it published the 24 technical notices laying out what would happen in the event of a no-deal Brexit. If it didn’t publish them it would be accused of a cover up. If it did and they were terrifying it would provide ammunition for the Remain brigade. And if it published them and they weren’t terribly frightening? Then Remainers would accuse ministers of having their heads in the sand. The latter scenario is pretty much where we are today. There are few stand-out headlines from the 24 documents for anti-Brexit commentators to get their teeth into. The Financial Times website has