Politics

Read about the latest political news, views and analysis

Friday

Svitlana Morenets

Kyiv is running out of money

In all the speculation about when Russia might run out of money to fund its war in Ukraine, one fact has gone largely unnoticed: Ukraine’s pockets are emptying first. Kyiv has approved a draft State Budget for next year that devotes record sums for defence with a projected deficit of 18.4 per cent of GDP – some 2.4 trillion hryvnias (£46 billion). The IMF estimates the realistic deficit could be some £20 billion higher. In addition, the government still needs to plug a hole of nearly £6 billion in the current budget. As in previous years, the plan is to turn to allies, cap in hand, hoping that their generosity

John Power

John Power, Nick Carter, Elisabeth Dampier, Maggie Fergusson & Mark Mason

26 min listen

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: John Power argues the Oxford Union has a ‘lynch-mob mindset’; Elisabeth Dampier explains why she would never date a German; Nick Carter makes the case for licensing MDMA to treat veterans with PTSD; Maggie Fergusson reviews Island at the Edge of the World: The Forgotten History of Easter Island by Mike Pitts; and, Mark Mason provides his notes on guided walks. Mark will also be hosting a guided walk for the Spectator, for tickets go to spectator.com/events Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Freddy Gray

Has Trump been taken over by Big Tech?

54 min listen

Donald Trump has arrived in Britain with promises of billions in tech investment. But is this AI boom real growth — or just another bubble? Oren Cass, chief economist at American Compass and editor of The New Conservatives, joins Freddy Gray to discuss whether the Trump administration has been taken over by big tech. Click here to get your tickets for Americano Live.

Alexander Larman

How the Princess of Wales bonded with Melania Trump

President Trump arrives back in the United States today, and Keir Starmer will have returned to 10 Downing Street breathing a sigh of relief that this unprecedented second state visit went about as well as it could have done. However, there may be different feelings in Buckingham Palace and the other royal residences. Certainly, Trump’s open admiration – even obsequiousness – for King Charles, who he described as ‘a great gentleman [and] a great king’ – would have been received well. But the King himself maintained a poker face throughout the visit, with his only pointed remarks at the state banquet about the need for a lasting peace in Ukraine

Patrick West

Nish Kumar has been cancelled – but not for the reason he thinks

Nish Kumar isn’t the first television comedian to throw himself into activist politics in recent times. Another former panellist on the now defunct BBC comedy show Mock the Week, Frankie Boyle, did likewise a decade ago, and with little success. So far, Kumar’s decision to do similarly seems to have proved even less popular. Having appeared alongside Zarah Sultana early this month live at the London Podcast Festival, Kumar was at the forefront of the anti-Trump protests orchestrated by the fringe left this week, appearing as host at the Stop Trump protest in Parliament Square in London, where he tossed from the stage a large balloon with a picture of

Oscar Edmondson

Inside the 'Your Party' meltdown

13 min listen

Who would have thought it? Jeremy Corbyn’s insurgent party co-venture with Zarah Sultana seems to have imploded before it even got going. On Thursday, ‘Your Party’ supporters received an email from Zarah Sultana detailing how they could sign up for a £55 membership. Soon after, Jeremy Corbyn released a statement – co-signed by the so-called Gaza independent MPs that make up the as-yet-untitled party – which dismissed Sultana’s email as ‘unauthorised’, and that they were seeking legal advice. James Heale describes how it has the air of a ‘South American coup’, with both sides briefing against each other, including Zarah Sultana’s camp accusing Jeremy Corbyn of overseeing a ‘sexist boys’

The Spectator

Julie Burchill, Gareth Roberts and Madeline Grant on what makes Britain great

This month, GQ Magazine asked some celebs what they love about Britain. Names such as Emma Thompson, Anthony Joshua and Brian Cox replied with the predictable: the Lionesses, Adolescence and Paddington Bear. This horror show prompted us to ask our writers: what’s actually great about Britain? Madeline Grant Those two brave boys who ripped the face off that statue of Paddington. Of course I don’t condone vandalism, but I view it as the equivalent of when Iraqis tore down that statue of Saddam with such joy in 2003. Paddington has become a symbol – unintended by his author – of the twee, hectoring, brain sapping monoculture which has come to

Ross Clark

Borrowing is spiralling out of control

There really is no good news for Rachel Reeves as she prepares her second Budget. This morning’s borrowing figures are not just bad; they hint at a sense of hopelessness, that Britain is sliding inexorably towards a very deep fiscal crisis. This is yet another fiscal black hole for Reeves to fill, along with another about to be created by the OBR In August, the government had to borrow £18 billion, £3.5 billion more than in August 2024. This is in spite of £40 billion worth of tax rises (or rather tax rises which were hoped to raise an extra £40 billion) in last year’s Budget. Government receipts are indeed up

Gavin Mortimer

Is France ungovernable?

One million people protested in France yesterday. That was according to the trade unions, who organised the day of industrial action. The police estimated the number of demonstrators at half a million, 309 of whom were arrested for various misdemeanours. There were skirmishes between police and protestors in numerous cities across France, but the most significant incident was in Paris when a group of demonstrators gained entry into the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Among those protesting were nurses, pharmacists, air traffic controllers, transport workers and teachers. Next Friday it is the turn of farmers to take to the streets. The upshot of Macron’s massive miscalculation is a very angry

Eliot Wilson

Will Britain ever join the EU's defence loan scheme?

Nick Thomas-Symonds holds the venerable position of His Majesty’s Paymaster General, which, ironically as we shall see, was once in charge of the finances of the armed forces. His main responsibility in government, however, is as minister for the constitution and European Union relations, and it was that hat he wore this week to visit the European Commission in Brussels. Thomas-Symonds is the man doing the hard yards to advance the government’s ‘reset’ of UK-EU relations and turn the warm rhetoric of the ‘Common Understanding’ agreed in May into tangible results. The parties have already concluded a Security and Defence Partnership, but the Common Understanding had an important proviso: The

Miriam Cates

Why is the Assisted Dying Bill being rushed through the Lords?

One may hardly be surprised that the battle over life and death in Parliament, focused on Kim Leadbeater’s controversial assisted suicide Bill, has featured Machiavellian manoeuvres inside Westminster’s halls. As the resignation of the Deputy Prime Minister dominated the headlines, a significant announcement was slipped out As the resignation of the Deputy Prime Minister, the cabinet reshuffle, and Nigel Farage’s conference speech dominated the headlines earlier this month, a quiet but significant announcement was slipped out by the government. At 2 pm on 5 September, peers were informed by email that extra time would be given for the assisted suicide Bill’s Second Reading debate in the House of Lords. On

Thursday

Oscar Edmondson

Trump and Starmer dance around their differences

14 min listen

Donald Trump has been in the UK this week on an unprecedented second state visit – an honour that he said last night at a state dinner he ‘hopes’ is reserved only for him, to much amusement in the room. Humility doesn’t come naturally to the President, but he does seem genuinely humbled by the pomp and pageantry that comes with a state visit. Meanwhile, Trump-management and grandstanding on the world stage seem (bizarrely) to come naturally to the Prime Minister. Trump’s visit – which threatened to be derailed by the sacking of the US ambassador Peter Mandelson over his association with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – has been a

Jonathan Sacerdoti

Did Trump convince Starmer to see sense on Palestine?

As Donald Trump visited the United Kingdom this week, the press seized the opportunity to confront both him and Keir Starmer about the issue of Hamas and Britain’s posture towards Palestinian statehood. In a rare moment of lucidity, and perhaps influenced by the firm presence of the current US president, Starmer appeared, briefly, to align his moral compass. Faced with questions over why his government was proceeding with the recognition of a Palestinian state in the wake of the October 7th atrocities, Starmer delivered what may be his most unequivocal statement to date: “Let me be really clear about Hamas: They’re a terrorist organisation who can have no part in

Madeline Grant

Donald Trump and Keir Starmer make a very strange pair

There is just something innately funny about seeing Keir Starmer and Donald Trump together. Two men so obviously different; in character, interests, ability and shape, forced together by circumstance. Watching them at the press conference today was no exception. They put me in mind of Bialystock and Bloom from The Producers: the bombastic Broadway shyster and his hapless sinusitis-suffering goon. First, for their ‘business roundtable’, they sat together behind a comically small table inside a marquee, which made them look like an unlikely scoring partnership at a village cricket match or as if they were signing the registers at a low-budget gay wedding. Alternatively, they looked a bit like they

James Heale

Starmer survives another Trump encounter

Every time Keir Starmer meets with Donald Trump, journalists ask each other the same question. ‘Will today be the day it all blows up?’ Ahead of this week’s state visit, the odds were not in Starmer’s favour. Whether it was Peter Mandelson’s departure, Britain’s looming recognition of Palestine or even Starmer’s plummeting poll ratings, today’s press conference was fraught with potential difficulties. But, once again, the Prime Minister survived the encounter relatively unscathed, with the President declining multiple chances to take a swing at his beleaguered counterpart. In the splendour of the Great Hall at Chequers, the two men began the encounter by hailing the military and scientific bonds between

Jonathan Spyer

The final act of Israel’s war in Gaza is under way

Israel’s operation to conquer Gaza city is now entering its third day. Two IDF divisions are engaged on the ground. These are Division 98, which is the IDF’s airborne formation, and Division 162, a mechanised unit. An additional division, the 36th, is set to join the fighting in the coming days. As of now, Israeli forces are advancing from the Shejaya, Sheikh Radwan and Tal al Hawa neighbourhoods. Israel has established two exit routes for civilians wishing to leave the area. The first main route is the coastal road leading down to the designated safe zone in al-Mawasi. The IDF has temporarily also established a second route on the central

Ross Clark

Why didn't TfL publish the truth about LTNs?

Policymakers must, of course, stick to the evidence and base their decisions around proper, peer-reviewed research. Until, that is, the evidence starts to tell you what you don’t want to hear. The Mayor of London’s office appears to have been caught red-handed in refusing to publish a study it had itself commissioned into the behaviour of residents following the imposition of low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs). The study, by the University of Westminster, found that the presence of an LTN resulted in more people cycling, but it did not decrease car use and had no discernible effect on walking. It reached this conclusion by quizzing more than 4,500 London residents, some

Steerpike

Douglas Ross gets in a flap at FMQs

The otherwise run-of-the-mill First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament came to a dramatic conclusion this afternoon. Before the Presiding Officer moved onto the next item of business, former Conservative leader Douglas Ross made a point of order alleging that he had been assaulted by an SNP government minister. Crikey!   He told SNP First Minister John Swinney: ‘As I left the chamber yesterday, I was physically assaulted and verbally abused by your minister for parliamentary business, Jamie Hepburn.’ Ross went on to urge Swinney to confirm he takes ‘a zero-tolerance approach to threatening and intimidating behaviour by his ministers’. Talk about the bare minimum, eh? The incident followed a clash in parliament yesterday over, er,

Michael Simmons

Rachel Reeves doesn't get the interest rate cut she was hoping for

The Bank of England has held interest rates at 4 per cent. Threadneedle Street’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted seven to two to keep rates where they are. The fact inflation now sits at almost double the Bank’s 2 per cent target outweighed concerns about the slackening jobs market and what its impact on Britain’s lacklustre growth. Two members voted to cut rates to 3.75 per cent, but the overall decision is no surprise. There’s a growing sense that the bulk of committee members feel they perhaps made a mistake in cutting rates last month with inflation still climbing. Markets don’t expect another cut this side of Christmas and the

Steerpike

First illegal migrant deported under 'one in, one out' deal

Well, well, well. At long last, two months after it was agreed, the first illegal migrant has been deported from Britain to France under Keir Starmer’s ‘one in, one out’ deal with Emmanuel Macron. The news comes after this week saw a number of delays thanks to lawyers submitting eleventh-hour legal challenges – putting a spanner in the works of Starmer’s deportation plans. But while today is a breakthrough for the PM, it’s going to take some amount of work to make a dent in Britain’s migrant crisis – given more than 30,000 have crossed the Channel illegally this year… After the scheme faced delays earlier in the week, the