James Heale is The Spectator’s political correspondent.
British politics in recent years has sometimes resembled a waltz. Both main parties show little compunction in mirroring each other’s plans, stealing their opponents’ popular policies and playing down the differences which characterised the Corbyn years. So it was striking to see Labour’s reticence this week to sign up to Sunak’s much-vaunted plan to increase
Rishi Sunak’s good week in politics just came to an end. Buoyed by a successful defence spending announcement and the passage of the Rwanda Bill, there had been rumours that the run-up to Thursday’s local elections would see the announcement of the general election date. But in a shock move, Tory backbencher Dan Poulter this
After eight hours of debate on the Rwanda Bill, peers finally threw in the towel shortly after midnight. The two chambers have been engaged in a mammoth game of ping-pong for the past week, culminating in yesterday’s showdown on two final amendments. On the first of these – Lord Browne’s exemption for Afghan interpreters –
Chris Cash, the parliamentary aide accused of spying for China, is to be charged with espionage offences, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said today. Nick Price, the head of the CPS special crime and counter-terrorism division, confirmed that it has has now ‘authorised the Metropolitan police to charge two men with espionage offences’. Price said
The Rwanda Bill should become law today – and the government is ready for when it does. That was Rishi Sunak’s message at a No. 10 press conference this morning, ahead of what could be an all-night showdown of parliamentary ping-pong. The House of Lords last week mounted a tougher-than-expected resistance to Sunak’s flagship legislation,
Better late than never. In Washington, the House of Representatives last night voted to approve £49 billion funding in aid for Ukraine by 311 votes to 112. It came after months of wrangling in the Republican party, with the situation in Kyiv continuing to deteriorate. The extent to which the GOP is split was shown
Rishi Sunak has returned to one of his pet bugbears: getting the unemployed back into work. His speech to the Centre for Social Justice this morning was peppered with his favourite facts about the post-pandemic welfare crisis embroiling Britain. The number on long-term sickness benefits has jumped by a third since Covid and now stands
You’ve got to feel for Rishi Sunak. He spends his days slaving around the clock to shave half a percentage point off inflation, only to find one of his MPs making lurid headlines, again. Today, the Tory boat has been rocked by Mark Menzies, who lost the whip following claims that he had misused campaign
A fag-end measure for a fag-end government? That’s how Labour are keen to present Rishi Sunak’s plans to stop young people born after 2008 from ever being legally allowed to smoke. The Commons will tonight debate the second reading of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, with Tory MPs being granted a rare free vote. With
She’s back. Liz Truss is in the headlines once more this week ahead of tomorrow’s publication of her book Ten Years to Save the West. Part memoir, part cri de coeur, it tells the tale of her ten years in government and the lessons she learned about being, in her words, ‘the only conservative in
Parliament’s return from recess this week means the Rwanda Bill is now back in the Commons for the final game of ping pong. Rwanda has previously dominated the news agenda whenever it is debated in parliament. But this week it is expected – by both supporters and opponents of the scheme – to feature far
Graham Stuart has this afternoon quit the government, saying he wishes to focus on local issues after service in various ministerial posts. The Yorkshire MP has spent seven of the last eight years in office, including as energy minister since September 2022. But in a letter today to Rishi Sunak, he says that ‘I have
The great schism on the right of British politics was aptly displayed last week. On Wednesday night, as the Prime Minister attended a ‘pretty downbeat’ drinks reception at the Carlton Club, across town the real action was happening at the Boisdale restaurant in Canary Wharf. Some 300-odd journalists, MPs and donors flocked there to pay
Six days after his involvement in the honeytrap sexting scandal was revealed, Will Wragg has now resigned the Tory whip. It follows his decision on Monday night to quit his roles as vice chairman of the 1922 committee and the public administration select committee. Wragg had previously announced in late 2022 that he would be
‘I come here with no intention to lecture anybody’. David Cameron’s line mid-press conference summed up the Foreign Secretary’s approach on his trip stateside. Appearing alongside his counterpart Anthony Blinken, Cameron emphasised the extent to which Britain and America are acting in lockstep on Ukraine, Gaza and other various crises. ‘In a time of danger
Will Wragg has now resigned as both vice-chairman of the 1922 committee and chairman of the public administration select committee. It follows last week’s revelation that he was the source responsible for passing on phone numbers to a source who subsequently tried to ‘honey trap’ them over text messages. The circle of those caught up
Richard Tice spent this morning fulfilling a role well-known to leaders of smaller parties: defending their vetting procedures amid criticism of unsuitable candidates. The Reform leader was grilled by journalists at a Westminster briefing over the suspension or ditching of at least a dozen election candidates over their social media posts. ‘If you’re going to
Who else was caught up in the sexting honeytrap? That’s the question Westminster is asking today. It follows last night’s revelation that William Wragg, vice chair of the 1922 committee, was the source responsible for passing on MPs’ phone numbers to a man he met on the gay dating app Grindr. This man then used the numbers
With Labour 20 points ahead in the national polls, a lot of Tories have already written off next month’s mayoral contest in the capital. London, they maintain, is a Labour city that occasionally votes Conservative. But supporters of Sadiq Khan and his Tory challenger Susan Hall agree: it’s going to be closer than many think.
The death of three British citizens in an Israeli strike has prompted fierce condemnation from the UK government. In a phone call on Tuesday night, Rishi Sunak told his counterpart told Benjamin Netanyahu that he was ‘appalled’ by the attack, which killed seven aid workers in a World Central Kitchen convoy. Sunak said that ‘far
