Politics

Read about the latest political news, views and analysis

Wednesday

Douglas Murray

Britain’s right is falling into the same trap as the left

As I have suggested here before, there are few joys in life equal to that of watching the left fall out among itself. Whatever your political views, the whole Judean People’s Front vibe of the parties to the left of the Labour party brings a special type of comedy. If anybody remembers the recent Your Party conference they will know what I am talking about. In fact if anybody still remembers Your Party, they deserve a box of chocolates. But something similar now seems to be happening on the political right. And the Gorton and Denton by-election has brought it into a clearer light. If you are going to have

Steerpike

Reform U-turns on two-child benefit cap

It is Robert Jenrick’s big day out today. The newly-minted Reform ‘Shadow Chancellor’ is making his first speech since his appointment, with plenty of soothing words to calm the jitters of the bond markets. Sporting a snazzy pair of specs, he was, in the words of one Tory, every inch ‘reassuring Rob’. But the top newsline from his presser was his decision to kill Reform’s two-child benefit cap – Nigel Farage’s big offer to Labour voters last summer. Jenrick said: As a signal of intent, today, Reform is changing our policy on the two-child cap for Universal Credit. The policy was well-meaning. We want to help working families have more

Andrew Gilligan

Revealed: David Lammy’s curious relationship with Guyanese Big Oil

Better not tell Ed Miliband, but in spring 2022 his then shadow cabinet colleague, David Lammy, appears to have struck oil. For the first time, The Spectator can tell the story of how, while serving as Britain’s shadow foreign secretary, Lammy was announced as the director of another country’s sovereign wealth fund – set up to (theoretically) channel newfound oil riches to its people, with a bit left over for the board. This was announced on 20 April 2022 in an official press release from the President of Guyana’s office about the Natural Resource Fund (NRF). The statement is still on the government website. Three months later, in July 2022,

Nigel Farage unveils his shadow cabinet
Michael Gove

Reform’s succession plan – and should Palestine Action be banned?

53 min listen

This week, Michael and Maddie consider Reform UK’s succession plan. With Nigel Farage unveiling his new shadow cabinet, attention shifts to the bigger question: who comes after him? Is Reform preparing for life beyond its founder – and if so, who stands ready to inherit the crown? Also this week, they examine the fallout from the court’s decision to overturn the government’s attempt to proscribe Palestine Action – and ask what it means for free speech, public order and the limits of the state. They explore whether Britain is drifting toward a de facto blasphemy law, and debate claims of ‘two-tier justice’ in the handling of extremist activism. Has the

Andrew Lilico

Should Reform commit to lowering the minimum wage?

The unemployment rate has risen to 5.2 per cent, the highest non-Covid level since 2015. Unemployment is now up by a quarter since Labour took office. Youth unemployment is also at its highest level (16.1 per cent) since 2015 and has likewise grown since Labour were elected. Over the past year the rise in unemployment in the UK has been (by some margin) the fastest in the G7. Reform might not fancy going into a general election with a slogan aimed at young people of: ‘Vote for us and we’ll cut your wages.’ Youth unemployment rising is particularly sensitive because at the 2024 general election Labour had a manifesto commitment to have

Michael Simmons

Inflation is down – but for how long?

Britain seems to be turning a corner. Figures just released by the Office for National Statistics show the rate of inflation fell to 3 per cent in January, having risen to 3.4 per cent at the end of last year.  This downward trend is in line with forecasts from the Bank of England which expect inflation to hit its 2 per cent target in April. If that trend holds true, then the slowdown in prices won’t just be welcomed by struggling shoppers. This government – whichever ‘phase’ it is now in – has pegged its success and failure to addressing the cost-of-living crisis.  Structurally the things that make Britain expensive

Gareth Roberts

How many right-wing parties do we really need?

Reform has topped every national poll for a good long while – benefitting, as the Greens also have and the Lib Dems haven’t (because there are limits), from a combination of public fatigue and disgust with the two old main parties. But there are other new kids on the right-wing block, both fronted by ex-associates of Nigel Farage and former Reformers. We now have Ben Habib’s Advance and Rupert Lowe’s Restore. First things first. These both sound like team names from The Apprentice. And this is fitting, because the kind of spatting, squabbling and blame-throwing that we see in Lord Sugar’s boardroom is now being acted out on the political

Tuesday

James Heale

James Orr is Reform’s new Head of Policy

It has been a busy few days for Reform UK. Having dominated the last summer recess, this week they are determined to do the same. This morning, the party unveiled their ‘shadow cabinet’, with prime jobs for Robert Jenrick (Shadow Chancellor), Richard Tice (Shadow Business, Energy and Trade), Suella Braverman (Shadow Education, Equalities and Skills) and Zia Yusuf (Shadow Home Affairs). It is part of Reform’s attempt to show that they are serious about building a team that can rebuild ‘Broken Britain.’ Yusuf, of course, has served as Reform’s Head of Policy since September, when he was appointed to succeed Simon Marcus during the party conference. At today’s unveiling of

Owen Matthews

Is the war in Ukraine any closer to ending?

Is the latest round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks, sponsored by the United States and currently under way in Geneva, likely to hasten the war’s end? Donald Trump seems to believe so. On Friday, the US President claimed that ‘Russia wants to make a deal, and Zelensky will have to hurry. Otherwise, he will miss a great opportunity. He needs to act.’ Europe, for its part, remains deeply sceptical and is urging Ukraine to fight on. As the EU’s Foreign Affairs chief Kaja Kallas told the Munich security conference last week, ‘the greatest threat Russia presents right now is that it gains more at the negotiation table than it has achieved

Freddy Gray

Has Jeff Bezos destroyed the Washington Post?

24 min listen

Freddy Gray is joined by Tina Brown, former editor of several publications including Vanity Fair, Tatler, The New Yorker, founding editor-and-chief of the Daily Beast and now writes her own Substack FRESH HELL. They discuss the staff massacre which has unfolded at the Washington Post, why Jeff Bezos is wrong to be led by views over journalism, and how the sordid nature of the Epstein files continues to haut UK and US news.

Has Jeff Bezos destroyed the Washington Post?
Ian Acheson

Long may the Met’s phone theft crackdown continue

I was in London recently carrying a simple piece of kit I never thought I would need: a lanyard tethering my phone to my wrist. This would make it harder for my mobile to be snatched from my hands on the street by latest scourge plaguing London: gangs of masked young men on e-bikes targeting pedestrians for their phones. This phenomenon has threatened to make our capital’s premier shopping destinations no-go areas for worried pedestrians. Only 1 per cent of reported phone thefts from hotspots like Oxford street result in a conviction. In recent years, the Met police have been accused of indifference to the crime, which had reached record

Damian Thompson

Is there any truth in the Christian revival?

25 min listen

There has been a lot of speculation about a ‘quiet revival’ of Christianity happening amongst the younger generations – including on this podcast. Much of this traces back to a survey conducted by the Bible Society last year. Respected demographer Conrad Hackett of the Pew Research Center joins Damian Thompson to explain the truth behind the statistics, and why we have to be wary of the methodology used by different polls. Some interesting facts: Christians remain the largest religious group in the world, following by Muslims and then the religiously non-affiliated; while Europe was home to the largest number of Christians as recently as 2010, sub-saharan Africa now has the

Is there any truth in the Christian revival?
Isabel Hardman

Keir Starmer doesn’t know how close his government is to collapse

Today’s unemployment figures aren’t just a reminder of the mess the government has made of the jobs market with its national insurance hikes. They also underline the futility of the government more generally. It has moved into survival mode and cannot pursue the welfare reforms that are clearly necessary. As Ben Miller sets out here, there are more factors than just the NI increase at play here, with weak growth and the rise of AI hitting young people being just two. A healthy government would be able to respond to the challenges for employers and those out of work. One stuck in survival mode cannot. Keir Starmer has long lost

Jonathan Brown

The right isn’t ready for the impact of AI

In the final scene of Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart explains to Ingrid Bergman why she’ll regret staying with him – ‘maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life’. The same can be said of when we’ll feel the impact of AI on the workforce. A tsunami is coming that will hit the entire political economy of Britain and the world. And a real danger is that that shock will cause a leftwards lurch and massive state intervention. We are therefore facing one of the biggest economic shocks the nation has ever seen The CEOs of Microsoft and Anthropic have already predicted that within 18

Nigel Farage unveils his shadow cabinet
Tim Shipman

Nigel Farage unveils his shadow cabinet

12 min listen

Reform UK is no longer a one-man band. Nigel Farage has unveiled Reform’s four spokesmen for the “great offices of state” at a press conference in Westminster. Recent Tory defector Robert Jenrick has been given the Chancellor brief, Zia Yusuf is in charge of home affairs, Suella Braverman is responsible for education and Richard Tice will look after business and energy. The format resembled a game show like the ‘Weakest Link’ or ‘Take Me Out’. Each of the quartet was introduced, given a spotlight and then had it turned out when their time was up. Is this new ‘shadow cabinet’ ready for No. 10, or just Tory 2.0? Tim Shipman,

David Shipley

The Commonwealth voting scandal

Labour’s new Representation of the People Bill, introduced to Parliament last week, has drawn attention because it will give around 1.6 million 16- and 17-year-olds the vote. But hidden within the bill is an innocuous term – ‘automatic registration’ – that will also usher in a far more significant and controversial change. Governments should be chosen by the people they will govern, not by those with minimal ties to our nation Under the government’s plans, instead of having to register to vote, all eligible voters will be automatically added to the electoral roll, which will mean significant changes to constituency boundaries. It will also add my by calculation around 860,000 foreign nationals

James Heale

Nigel Farage unveils his shadow cabinet

It is parliamentary recess and once again, Reform is making all the running. Having successfully rebuffed Labour’s plans to cancel council elections yesterday, today they announced their long-awaited shadow cabinet. The first four members of Nigel Farage’s team were unveiled at a press conference, with each stepping out on a podium to deliver a four-minute speech. The format resembled a game show like the ‘Weakest Link’ or ‘Take Me Out’. Each of the quartet was introduced, given a spotlight and then had it turned out when their time was up. Robert Jenrick was named shadow chancellor; Zia Yusuf was handed home affairs. Richard Tice, meanwhile, got a souped-up business, trade

Ross Clark

Ed Miliband’s delusional energy deal with California

What a pair Ed Miliband and California governor Gavin Newsom make. Both seem to suffer from the delusion that they are national leaders, meeting up in London on Monday to sign a deal in which they aim to share green technology and finance. Both are committed to what they like to call a ‘global race for clean power’. And both are presiding over electricity grids which are heading for disaster. In this, California is a little ahead even of Britain. It provides a frightening picture of what is to come as Miliband tries to decarbonise the grid, mostly with intermittent renewables, by 2030. On Christmas Day, 130,000 homes and businesses in

Steerpike

Chagossians storm their islands

The Chagos deal is set to return to the House of Lords after recess. But a group of islanders are determined to do all they can to avert the handover, by protesting right up until the point of surrender. On Monday, a four-man landing party landed on the archipelago to establish a permanent settlement, more than 50 years after the population was evicted from the British colony. Talk about stop the boats… They were led by Misley Mandarin, First Minister of what was – until then– the Chagossian government in exile. Standing on the beach and looking back out at the Indian Ocean, he declared that hundreds more Chagossians would

Stephen Pollard

The Tories aren’t dead yet

In 1997 the doyen of Democrat political columnists in the US, E.J. Dionne, published They Only Look Dead. He argued that while the received wisdom was that the Republicans were set to dominate politics for a generation, there were underlying factors which pointed to a Democrat revival. Dionne was both completely wrong but also completely right. George W. Bush won the presidential elections in 2000 and 2004. But the 2000 election turned, famously, on a Supreme Court ruling, and could easily have gone to Al Gore. And in 2008 and 2012 the Democrats did indeed dominate. They Only Look Dead would be the perfect title for a book about the