Politics

Read about the latest political news, views and analysis

Wednesday

Alexander Larman

Starmer may regret bringing forward Trump's state visit

One of the most notable features of Keir Starmer’s otherwise undistinguished premiership is the bromance that he seems to have formed with King Charles. Both men seem to have a shared sense of moral values and a reticence of character that appears to have served them well in what, up until now, has been a harmonious working relationship. However, the first serious cracks in their partnership might be about to appear, and they come courtesy of none other than Donald Trump. It was announced earlier this year that the President would be hosted in Britain on a state visit, as he had been in 2019. The major reason for this

Steerpike

Former Scottish Tory MP jumps ship to Reform

Oh dear. It’s not been a good year for the Scottish Conservatives, who have seen multiple councillors defect to Reform UK ahead of next year’s Scottish parliament elections. Now, in a further blow to the Tories, it transpires a former Conservative MP has jumped ship to Nigel Farage’s party. Talk about a sinking ship, eh? Ross Thomson – who had formerly backed Kemi Badenoch for the party leadership – less than a year after claiming his old group was the only party able to overcome the ‘threat’ of Farage. The eighth Conservative member in the region to turn his back on the blues, Thomson revealed his new colours after appearing

Steerpike

Jenrick: Lib Dems aren't welcome in the Tory party

Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick has insisted that the Conservatives must not beat around the bush about what they stand for – even if it means pushing more liberal members out. The shadow justice secretary made his comments to Popular Conservatism director Mark Littlewood. Jenrick told Littlewood: I’ve always said that a political party can be a broad church, but it’s got to have a common creed. It’s got to have some kind of religion at the heart of it, and the Tory Party hasn’t had that in recent years. It has had two diverse opinions which has meant that you’ve left the public completely confused. What does this thing

Jonathan Spyer

Israel has weakened Iran – but not destroyed it

With the ceasefire between Iran and Israel so far holding, a preliminary assessment of the 12-day campaign is now possible. Jerusalem and its US ally achieved a considerable amount. Iran’s deficiencies on a tactical level were laid bare. Structural flaws in Tehran’s strategy of war by proxy have been made apparent. Both the nuclear and ballistic missile programmes have been significantly damaged. The hands of the doomsday clock, which were getting close to midnight, have been vigorously pulled back.   Unlike the actual digital clock in Tehran’s Palestine Square, however, which was destroyed by Israeli ordnance during the campaign, the Iranian strategy for the destruction of Israel has not been comprehensively defeated. Nor does the regime appear

Matthew Lynn

Is the Bank of England turning on Rachel Reeves?

Rachel Reeves does not have many supporters left. The bond markets don’t think much of the Chancellor. Business groups have rubbished her policies, and so have many of the UK’s largest companies. Meanwhile, Labour backbenchers are furious about both the chaos over the winter fuel allowance and the cuts to the welfare budget. Now, it looks as if the Bank of England may have turned on her as well, if comments from the Bank’s governor are anything to go on. We might expect Andrew Bailey to avoid any direct criticism of the Chancellor. After all, she is his boss. What’s more, a public split between the UK’s two most important

Michael Simmons

Britain is racing towards a fresh cost-of-living crisis

The poorest Brits now owe £6.6 billion in unpaid council tax – a record high and up some 85 per cent since before the pandemic. That’s according to data released this morning by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which suggests Britain is plunging back into a cost-of-living crisis. What’s more, a report also out today by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) finds that between 2022 and 2024, some 400,000 more households slipped into arrears, taking the total number of people in debt to their local council to 1.8 million. The CSJ’s report also finds that 97 per cent of those in arrears have at least one

Stephen Daisley

Nigel Farage and George Galloway share a common problem

A more gracious person would refrain from saying, ‘I told you so’, but I’m not a gracious person. So, as George Galloway announces his backing for another Scottish independence referendum, allow me to say – nay, crow – I told you so.  Galloway, leader of the Workers party, says he and his party ‘support the right of the Scots to self-determination’ and that ‘the time for another referendum is close’. He adds: ‘Speaking personally, I can no longer support the British state as presently constituted.’ If you’re familiar with politics north of the border, you might be wondering if this is the same George Galloway who travelled Scotland in 2014 on his Just Say Naw tour, urging an anti-independence vote in

Eliot Wilson

Starmer's national security strategy fools no one

Sometimes it feels as if the government’s approach to defence and security could be summed up by the venerable punchline of the Irish farmer, ‘I wouldn’t have started from here’. Despite having had more than four years as Leader of the Opposition to prepare, Sir Keir Starmer never quite seems able to seize the initiative as Prime Minister, often being left puce and blinking. Yesterday saw the publication of the UK’s national security strategy (NSS) 2025, Security for the British people in a dangerous world. It had been announced in February and promised before this week’s Nato summit (in fact, it was released on the summit’s first day). The Prime

Tuesday

Julia Lopez

The Church of England needs to lead

There was a unique focus on life and death in parliament last week, with critical votes on the decriminalisation of abortion and legalisation of assisted dying. Both propositions affect the interests of the most vulnerable. So what, I wondered, was the Established Church’s take on them?  In recalling the now-retired Archbishop of Canterbury’s strident interventions on matters for elected politicians – from benefit cuts and border control to a ‘no deal’ Brexit – not to mention the Church’s costly self-flagellation over reparations, one might expect its leadership to be equally robust in defending the unborn, the sick, and the welfare of mothers. But truth be told, as I began my

Edward Howell

Nato should not ignore Russia's 'coalition of murderers'

This week’s Nato summit could not come at a more pivotal moment. As recent months have shown, the challenges to contemporary global security are no longer limited to the individual threats posed by Moscow, Tehran, or Pyongyang. What makes the current situation even more concerning for the West is the multiple threats posed by the heightened bilateral and trilateral collaborations between these actors, alongside those with Beijing. Whilst the so-called CRINK (China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea) does not yet constitute any formal strategic alliance, it would be naïve and dangerous to dismiss their ties as merely superficial. On his visit to the United Kingdom on Monday, Volodymyr Zelensky called

James Heale

Iran: 'what the f***' is going on?

14 min listen

It is rare to see the President so visibly frustrated (see The Apprentice, circa 2004), but after Iran and Israel seemingly ignored his ceasefire announcement – and his plea on Truth Social, ‘PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!’ – Donald Trump has come down hard on both sides. In a clip taken this afternoon he exclaimed: ‘These are countries who have been fighting so long and so hard, that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing.’ Succinctly put by the President. The exchange of fire could be the expected tit-for-tat seen after the announcement of ceasefires in other global conflicts, but it has dampened the mood at Nato, which world

Steerpike

Watch: Trump's expletive-laden warning to Israel

US President Donald Trump is taking no prisoners today. Just hours after Trump announced a ceasefire had come into place between Israel and Iran – following the Iranian strikes yesterday evening on Doha – now the President has sent a message to Israel, warning against further strikes in a rather, um, explicit fashion. Taking first to his Truth Social platform, Trump issued a concise memo: ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW! Speaking to reporters before today’s Nato summit in The Hague, the US President then went on to fume that he is ‘not happy’ with Israel. The

Matthew Lynn

Without non-doms, who will pay for Labour's bloated state?

We are not the fastest growing economy in the G7, even though the Labour party promised that we would be. We are not topping any tables for inward investment, and we have fallen to the bottom of the league for new companies listed on the stock market. Still, it is good to know that there is still one measure where the UK economy comfortably beats the rest of the world. We are now losing more millionaires than any rival nation. The exodus of wealth out of the UK, it appears, is accelerating – and very soon this is going to turn into a big problem for the Chancellor Rachel Reeves. 

Steerpike

NHS trust embroiled in trans row releases 'divisive' Pride calendar

While Britain’s NHS remains on its knees, with A&E waiting times still unacceptably long and bed-blocked preventing sick patients from accessing wards, you’d think that all hands would be on deck to help make patient passages through hospital even a little more comfortable. Not in the County Durham and Darlington hospital trust. The trust’s LGBT network has instead been hard at work producing, er, a 36-page digital Pride Month calendar. Time well spent, eh? Inside, Pride Month 2025 contains graphics that tie each day of June to the celebration of a particular LGBT theme, showing flags representing a colourful variety of different genders and sexualities placed on different dates. Amid

Steerpike

Parliament (finally) bows to Supreme Court gender ruling

Well, well, well. At long last, the Westminster parliament has issued an update on where it stands over the Supreme Court ruling, which saw judges unanimously backed the biological definition of a woman. But despite the ruling being announced in April, it is only now that the UK parliament has published guidance on the subject for both visitors and staff. Talk about dragging your heels, eh? On its internal site, parliament issued a notice that read: The UK Supreme Court recently issued a decision regarding the legal definition of ‘men’ and ‘women’ for the purpose of the Equality Act 2010. Following the ruling, members of the public should use toilet

David Spencer

The Met deserves credit for its robust response to Palestine Action

Palestine Action’s attempt to defy a ban on their protest outside parliament yesterday was one of the most vital tests of Sir Mark Rowley’s five-year term as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. It was a test he passed and the Met should be applauded – but the police’s robust response to this dangerous far-left extremist group must not be a one off. The police’s robust response to this dangerous far-left extremist group must not be a one off For too long, members of the public, Parliamentarians and Parliamentary staff have been harassed, abused and intimidated at protests in Parliament Square. Too often, the authorities in Westminster have been timorous in their

Steerpike

Home Office probes Palestine Action over suspected Iran link

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced on Monday afternoon that the UK government had decided to proscribe activist group Palestine Action – and now it transpires that officials are investigating its funding over concerns that there may be an Iran link. As reported by the Times, Palestine Action’s donations are being probed amid worries that the Iranian regime is funding the campaign group via proxies given their aims align. How curious… Palestine Action’s donations are being probed amid fears that the Iranian regime is funding the campaign group via proxies Palestine Action – which states its purpose is to ‘dismantle the apartheid regime in Israel through targeted campaigns against companies that

James Heale

Labour rebels declare war over Starmer's welfare cuts

It is a year next week since the general election and Labour is marking the occasion with the biggest backbench rebellion of Keir Starmer’s premiership. Overnight, scores of Starmer’s MPs have signed a reasoned amendment to the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Bill. This would effectively kill the Bill at its second reading next Tuesday if it passes through the Commons. Of the 108 Labour MPs who have signed the amendment, ten are Labour select committee chairs. The key message being sent by the rebels is that these are not the so-called ‘usual suspects’ on the left of the party. Indeed, organisers made a point of adding the

Freddy Gray

As Donald Trump declares peace, the war goes on

Donald Trump’s presidency is often compared to a reality TV show. Yet that conceit barely captures the radical strangeness of his leadership. Trump is a hypnotist, a master of persuasion who tries to shape world events through CONFUSION, BIG BOMBS and CAPITAL LETTERS.  ‘THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!’ he announced in the early hours this morning.  How will Trump the peacemaker respond to such a clear abrogation of his demands? For an hour or so, it seemed as if Trump could be right. Iran and Israel did make the right noises, through the correct channels, about a cessation of fire. But then this morning,

Michael Simmons

Britain is paying for Reeves's non-dom tax disaster

Britain will lose 16,500 millionaires this year, taking $90 billion of wealth with them. That’s according to a new report from Henley & Partners. If their projections are right, that’s more than double the number of dollar millionaires expected to leave China in 2025. As I wrote for the magazine last month, changes to the non-dom regime – first initiated in the dying months of the last government and worsened by the current Chancellor – have pushed many of the wealthiest over the edge. The effects are already becoming visible. Research from estate agent Knight Frank shows that sales of expensive homes slowed between March 2024 and this May, leading to £401 million