Politics

Read about the latest political news, views and analysis

Friday

The Spectator

Boris Johnson leads tributes to Sir David Amess

Sir David Amess has died at the age of 69 after being attacked with a knife at a constituency surgery meeting. He spent 38 years in the House of Commons, serving first for the constituency of Basildon between 1983 and 1997 and subsequently for the Southend West seat. Tributes have been pouring in for him ever since. Below is a round-up of some of the messages posted by fellow MPs, politicians and long-time friends of Sir David. Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister: 'The reason people are so shocked and sad is above all he was one of the kindest, nicest, most gentle people in politics. He also had an outstanding record of passing laws to help the most vulnerable.' David Cameron, former Prime Minister: 'This is the most devastating, horrific and tragic news.

James Forsyth

David Amess 1952-2021

David Amess, the MP for Southend West, has died after being stabbed at his constituency surgery. Essex Police say that a 25-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.  Amess had been an MP since 1983, and represented Southend West since 1997. He was a genial parliamentarian, a diligent constituency MP and a doughty campaigner for city status for Southend, regularly asking about the matter at PMQs. Amess’s death after being attacked at his surgery is a tragic reminder of the risks that MPs run when they meet the public in this fashion. Five years ago, Jo Cox was murdered on her way to a constituency surgery in her seat of Batley and Spen. In 2010, Stephen Timms was stabbed at his surgery. A shockingly large number of MPs have received death threats.

Isabel Hardman

How concerned should we be about the rising Covid numbers?

14 min listen

With the R-number being higher than 1.0 for some days now, could we be seeing some of the least invasive covid restrictions being put back into place as winter approaches? Isabel Hardman is joined by Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth to discuss the figures, as well as the continuing labour shortages.

Steerpike

Trump now favourite to win 2024 election

As every pub-bore politico knows, betting markets tend to be more reliable indicators of election outcomes than the pundits and even the polls.  That is why the latest odds on America’s 2024 presidential elections strike Mr S as worth noting. Donald J. Trump yesterday become favourite on Betfair to be the 2024 Presidential winner, with his ‘shortest odds ever’. According to the betting exchange, Trump has a 21 per cent chance of winning. President Joe Biden, who is plummeting in the polls, has fallen to 19 per cent. Elsewhere, Vice President Kamala Harris has a 13 per cent chance of victory —which reflects the widespread theory that she will at some point take over from the doddery Commander-in-Chief.

Brendan O’Neill

In praise of the working-class revolt against Insulate Britain

Every time Insulate Britain takes to the streets, I feel a warm glow. I find myself feeling moved by the direct action that takes place. I’m not talking about the eco-muppets themselves, of course, and their tantrum-like gluing of themselves to motorways and busy London roads. I’m talking about the working classes who have started to rise up against these am-dram middle-class apocalypse-mongers. That’s the direct action we should be cheering. This is the revolt that should warm the cockles of progressive people everywhere, or just anyone who believes in reason.

Thursday

Kate Andrews

Sajid Javid is right to make the NHS more accountable

The health secretary has announced more money for the National Health Service. It’s a story we’ve heard time and time again – but this time the details are different. Sajid Javid has committed an additional £250 million for GP health practices to assist them in expanding their hours and upping the number of face-to-face appointments they offer. In-person appointments plummeted during lockdown and have never recovered: they are now hovering around 60 per cent, compared to 80 per cent pre-pandemic. So what’s new? In short, the money comes with more accountability. A league table is being created to rank surgeries on how many in-person appointments they offer.

James Forsyth

Why Covid means the big state is back

History suggests that when the state expands in a crisis, it doesn’t go back to its pre-crisis level once the emergency is over. After the first world war, the Lloyd George government extended unemployment insurance to most of the workforce, fixed wages for farm workers and introduced rent controls. The second world war led to Attlee's nationalisations, along with the creation of the NHS and the modern welfare state. In the magazine this week I ask if Covid will lead to a permanently bigger state. There is another danger in all this intervention: can the country afford it? Last year, state spending exceeded 50 per cent of GDP for the first time since the end of the war.

Lara Prendergast

Baby doomers: why are couples putting the planet ahead of parenthood?

38 min listen

In this week’s episode: Why are a growing number of people putting the planet before parenthood? Madeleine Kearns writes about this phenomenon in this week’s issue and thinks that some of these fears might be unfounded. Tom Woodman author of Future is one of these people that Madeleine’s piece talks about. Tom has very real worries about bringing a child into the world. It's not only the least green thing he could do but also that the standard of living for that child could be severely limited due to a climate catastrophe. (00:47)Also this week: Has Boris Johnson brought Conservatism full circle? That’s the argument Tim Stanley makes in this week’s Spectator. He joins Lara on the podcast along with one of the MPs mentioned in the piece, Steve Baker.

Isabel Hardman

Why is Sajid Javid picking a fight with the doctors?

11 min listen

GPs have been promised £250 million to improve their services, but only if they increase face-to-face appointments. The Health Secretary must meet the demands of patients that want more face-to-face meetings. But he got a hostile reaction from doctors after a difficult two years for the healthcare service. Meanwhile, the Brexit row is still bubbling away. Lord Frost received an olive branch from the EU towards a ‘new’ Northern Ireland Protocol. But will the British government even entertain these proposals?

Steerpike

Brighton gets a rubbish council (again)

It's not just Glasgow currently overrun with rubbish. Down in Brighton, the right-on Green brigade there have found themselves in something of a bin-related disaster following industrial action by local refuse collectors. Streets are now overflowing with dozens of black sacks, with rats being spotted and horrendous smells reported as garbage piles up by the kerb. The city's local newspaper even ran a picture of an abandoned sex doll on its front page story, urging those involved to 'stop the bin strike for her.' Talk about an issue blowing up... https://twitter.com/SteveNickSmith/status/1448610967571554305?

James Forsyth

Tory MP David Amess dies after constituency attack

Sir David Amess, the MP for Southend West, has been stabbed to death while holding a surgery in his constituency. Essex Police say that a 25-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. The news will shock parliament and the country: it is a reminder of the risks that MPs run every time they hold a constituency surgery. In 2010, Stephen Timms was attacked with a kitchen knife at one; and five years ago, Jo Cox was murdered on her way to a constituency surgery in her seat of Batley and Spen. In a statement, Essex Police said:  'A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was stabbed in Leigh-on-Sea. A 25-year-old man was quickly arrested after officers arrived at the scene on suspicion of murder and a knife was recovered.

Harry Mount

Why is the National Trust waging war against its members?

The National Trust culture war has just stepped up a gear. Ahead of the Trust’s AGM on 30 October, the Trust has launched an extraordinary attack. Its target appears to be Restore Trust, a new body trying to rein in the National Trust’s political obsessions. 'Our founders set out to protect and promote places of historic interest and natural beauty for the benefit of the nation. That means we are for everyone. Whether you’re black or white, straight or gay, right- or left-wing,' the National Trust has said. This implies that Restore Trust (of which I am a member) is against individuals from different backgrounds. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Isabel Hardman

Javid’s war with GPs is going to get nastier

Why is Sajid Javid picking a fight with GPs? The Health Secretary has announced a £250 million 'winter access fund' for practices to hire more staff – but only if they increase the number of face-to-face consultations. Practices that don't increase access will be listed in a league table. It's something many MPs say they get complaints about from constituents. But GPs are furious, saying they are seeing more patients while also trying to keep everyone safe. They've reported rising incidences of abuse against them from patients. Doctors were grimly amused this morning when Javid decided he couldn't see them face-to-face, either, pulling out of a planned appearance at the Royal College of GPs' annual conference.

Debbie Hayton

Cambridge’s transgender Terf wars have gone too far

What is a witch? How do we spot witches? And how might we drum up the courage to talk to a witch? Cambridge Students' Union Women’s Campaign has the answers. Their new pamphlet, How to Spot TERF Ideology, doesn’t call these people witches, of course. It calls them TERFs – but the sentiment is much the same. Women with minds of their own, experience of life, and the audacity to speak up for their rights are being subjected to appalling campaigns of intimidation and abuse. The TERF (which stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist) hunts are real and they are happening now. The baying mobs might not be demanding heads, but they appear to be on a mission to trash reputations and livelihoods.

James Forsyth

The legacy of Covid: a much bigger state

Covid transformed the role of the state. During the pandemic, the government did things it would never normally even contemplate. At the same time as it restricted civil liberties, it intervened in the economy to an extent never before seen in peacetime. Through the furlough scheme, close to £70 billion was spent on paying people’s wages. Other government economic interventions seem minor in comparison. What is a few hundred million here and there when the state has been spending billions so regularly? History suggests that when the state expands in a crisis, it doesn’t revert to its pre-crisis level once the emergency is over.

Steerpike

Why is YouTube censoring David Davis?

Oh dear. Today sees the resumption of hearings by a joint committee of MPs and peers into the Online Safety Bill to update regulate of social media companies. And, with exquisite timing, one of those Silicon Valley giants has created something of an online storm by censoring one of the most respected backbenchers in the House of Commons. The MP in question is David Davis – widely regarded across the House for his staunch support of civil liberties. Davis has been one of the most ardent critics of 'vaccine passports,' warning that they are unwarranted and unnecessary in the battle against Covid. Now a speech he made to the pressure group Big Brother Watch has been removed by YouTube on the grounds that it 'contradicts expert consensus' – whatever that means.

Nick Cohen

The mendacity of Priti Patel’s immigration Bill

You are a journalist, a satirist, a campaigner, an opposition politician. For years you work to create the flash of light, the moment of revelation, when the veil falls and the world can see the wickedness you have fought in all its ugliness. And then… Nothing. You think you have exposed lies and corruption. You expect society will turn on the powerful now it knows the truth. But the only truth you have revealed is that the public doesn’t care and their leaders know it. ‘J’accuse!’ you cry. ‘So what?’ comes the reply. The mask is off. The state will treat genuine refugees as criminals. Next week ought to reveal the mendacity behind our asylum system.

Wednesday

Stephen Daisley

Ripping up the Northern Ireland protocol is diplomacy in action

Lord Frost’s Lisbon speech represents the most cogent argument yet for replacing the Northern Ireland protocol. So naturally it has been buried under a slurry of snark, solemn head-shaking and breathless indignation. It is worth stepping back from the noise. Switch off the shouty man on LBC, mute the ‘this is not normal’ people on Twitter, and avoid at all costs the catastrophist-analysis of the academic-activists. You will miss nothing. In fact, read Frost's speech for yourself. It was meant to send a message about the protocol and it does so directly. The Irish are our neighbours. It is in both our countries’ interests that we maintain and enhance the ties between us..

Kate Andrews

Is the economic recovery still on track?

Compared with July, August’s GDP boost looks much healthier — but that’s not saying much. Originally thought to have stagnated at 0.1 per cent, the economy in July actually shrank by 0.1 per cent, according to the latest update from the Office for National Statistics. If inflationary pressures continue to surge, the Bank may have no choice but to act Still, August’s GDP increase of 0.4 per cent puts the economy back on the upwards trajectory, now estimated to sit 0.8 per cent below pre-pandemic levels. Despite so-called ‘freedom day’ arriving halfway through July, people continued to socially distance in order to avoid being mandated back into their homes.

Steerpike

Lib Dems give youth a chance

William Hague was only 16 when he burst onto the political scene with his famous conference speech. But even the future Tory party leader would seem like a veritable grandfather compared to those in youth politics these days. For now the Liberal Democrats have given the green light to a 12-year-old to run in their party’s annual youth wing elections currently being held this month.  The political neophyte in question is Aneirin Keysell, a schoolboy from Richmond-upon-Thames running to fill the post of non-portfolio officer.