Isabel Hardman is assistant editor of The Spectator and author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians. She also presents Radio 4’s Week in Westminster.
It’s not unusual that the left and right hands of government don’t know what the other is doing: despite being based in the same postcode, different departments are notoriously bad at communicating. They even stop speaking to one another occasionally, with secretaries of state blocking new policies at what is known as the ‘write-round’ stage
If there’s one thing you’d think the Tories might have learned over the past ten years in government, it’s that trying to reform the planning system will cause an almighty row. Under David Cameron, the party ended up in a bizarre fight with the Daily Telegraph and the National Trust over its plans to build
What should the British government do to help Lebanon recover from the Beirut explosion? Ministers say they are working to provide the Lebanese government with technical support and financial assistance, but they are coming under pressure from senior Conservative colleagues to use the disaster as a turning point in the way Britain approaches the Middle
The Tories are still coming under fire for failing to suspend the unnamed MP who was arrested at the weekend on suspicion of rape, sexual assault and coercive control. A group of charities and trade unions are the latest to criticise the decision, saying in a statement released yesterday that ‘we are still not confident
The number of people – particularly women – seeking help for domestic violence soared during the coronavirus lockdown. We’ve known that for a while. But there has been an assumption that as lockdown eases, so will the pressure for abuse victims. New figures from the charity Refuge suggest that this assumption is wrong. There has been
Boris Johnson hasn’t had as much authority over his MPs as he might have expected over the past few months. Tonight, after Number 10 failed to install Chris Grayling as its preferred, loyal, candidate as chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee, it has tried to offer a show of strength by removing the Tory
Long before he even ran for Mayor of London, Boris Johnson had developed an unusually strong political brand, to the extent that few bothered referring to him using his surname. Brand Boris inspires and infuriates in equal measure: his supporters have long argued he is able to reach parts of the electorate others can’t, while
Most people consider going for a walk or a run as a sort of optional leisure activity, something you get round to once you’ve been to the shops. But when the government announced its coronavirus restrictions, there it was in its own category of ‘essential activities’: daily exercise. Yes, there have been rows about whether
For years, ministers from successive governments have conducted drills for all kinds of pandemic scenarios. But they never imagined a lockdown. It’s a new tool, and its implications — and side effects — have never been properly tested. So no one really thought about the effect it would have on something like domestic abuse. Before
Matt Hancock has the air of a student who, having boasted about how great their final dissertation will be, has just realised that they have days to research and write the whole thing. When asked if he is going to meet his target of 100,000 daily tests for coronavirus by the end of the month,
Boris Johnson is still officially recuperating from coronavirus at Chequers and is ‘not doing government work’, according to No. 10. But he is starting to do some activities that sound distinctly work-related. He will be having an audience with the Queen over the phone this week, and will also be phoning President Trump on Tuesday
21 min listen
This week’s Audio Reads are from Matthew Parris, who writes about using coronavirus to support your own ideological cause; Isabel Hardman, who reveals the extent of domestic abuse during the crisis; and Toby Young, who is bonding with his new puppy.
For years, ministers from successive governments have conducted drills for all kinds of pandemic scenarios. But they never imagined a lockdown. It’s a new tool, and its implications — and side effects — have never been properly tested. So no one really thought about the effect it would have on something like domestic abuse. Before
One of the problems with the political news cycle, whether in normal times or now, is that politicians believe that making an announcement about a policy problem is all they need to do to tick it off their to-do list. The more complex the problem, the more tempting it is to make an announcement that
In the past few minutes, Priti Patel has launched a public awareness campaign called #YouAreNotAlone on domestic abuse in the lockdown, along with an extra £2 million for domestic abuse helplines and online support. Charities helping domestic abuse victims say the number of calls to their hotlines has risen by around 25 per cent –
After weeks of criticism that personal protection equipment isn’t reaching front line health and care workers, Matt Hancock today launched a ‘PPE plan’ to ensure that gloves, face masks and so on reach hospitals and care homes as quickly as possible. But alongside it, he also issued a curious warning: don’t use equipment you don’t
In times of crisis, we all need someone to direct our anger at. There are some new candidates during this coronavirus epidemic: people who sit down in parks, people who panic bought toilet roll, and police officers threatening to check shopping baskets. But the old staples remain, and top of that list are the selfish,
There are now daily examples of police forces either overstepping the regulations and guidance on social distancing to tell people off who are, for instance, in their own front gardens, or threatening to do so in the near future (see Northamptonshire police desperately trying to blame the media for writing up verbatim what its chief
The government is still refusing to give any details of whether, when and how the current coronavirus lockdown might lift. At this afternoon’s lobby briefing with journalists, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman repeated the line we have heard over the past few days that the government needs to be ‘focused relentlessly’ on ensuring that people
Boris Johnson has been stable overnight and is breathing without mechanical assistance, his official spokesman said this afternoon. He has received standard oxygen treatment and ‘remains in good spirits’. He does not have pneumonia. There have been questions over whether Downing Street had been overly reticent about quite how unwell the Prime Minister has been,
