Politics

Read about the latest political news, views and analysis

Friday

Steerpike

London academic pines for Hamas leader

Well, well, well. On Thursday it emerged that Israeli forces had killed Hamas’s leader Yahya Sinwar in a ‘chance’ hit, according to Israel’s Kan Radio, after the IDF opened fire on a group of men running into a building. The leader was behind the horrific 7 October attack last year, in which over 1000 people were killed and hostages were kidnapped by the terrorist group. After Israel confirmed Sinwar had been ‘eliminated’, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer released a statement, declaring: ‘The UK will not mourn his death.’ But it seems not everyone is thrilled by the news that Hamas’s leader has been taken out… Dr Ashok Kumar of London’s

Seth J. Frantzman

Israel must finish Hamas off

The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in a clash with Israeli troops could help transform Israel’s war efforts against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. It has been a difficult year for Israel fighting this long war. Both groups have been aided by the Iranian regime, which has supplied them with weapons and backing. Iran has also been helping other terrorist groups and militias in Yemen, Iraq and Syria, its goal being to surround Israel with threats, and chip away at Israel’s defences. Drones have attacked from Iraq, ballistic missiles have been fired from Yemen, terrorists have crossed into Israel from Jordan. Today two terrorists tried to infiltrate

Katy Balls

How far will Lammy go to rebuild ties with China?

David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, is touching down in Beijing for a two-day visit. The visit is the second by a foreign secretary in six years, with Lammy’s predecessor James Cleverly visiting last year after a five-year pause. However, Lammy’s visit is being met with intrigue, as it forms part of a wider shift on China. While Foreign Office officials shudder at the idea that this is a ‘reset’, it is clear that Keir Starmer is looking to improve relations with China. Ministers are happy to talk about the need for a more pragmatic approach. Lammy’s supporters emphasise the importance of dialogue and point to how the US, where a

Steerpike

Farage attacks Labour activists canvassing for Kamala

Another day, another drama. Nigel Farage has lashed out at the Labour lot today after it transpired that a number of activists from Sir Keir Starmer’s party are jetting off to the US to canvas for Kamala Harris. The Reform UK leader has blasted Starmer’s army over the revelation – even accusing Labour of ‘direct interference’ in the presidential election. Crikey. Farage fumed this morning that: ‘This is direct election interference by the governing Labour Party, and particularly stupid if [Donald] Trump wins. Who is paying for all of this?’ It’s certainly an interesting move. Activists flying overseas will have to pay their way there, while party staff keen to

Stephen Daisley

Murray Foote’s departure is yet another blow to the SNP

The SNP just can’t catch a break. The party is still reeling from a catastrophic general election result, a backlash over its decision to mimic Rachel Reeves’ cuts to winter fuel payments, and the ongoing police investigation into its finances. Now chief executive Murray Foote has cleared his desk just 14 months after taking up the position. In a statement, Foote, the former editor of the Daily Record tabloid, said he was stepping down to let someone else oversee party reorganisation and other preparations for the 2026 Holyrood elections. The Nationalists retained only nine seats on 4 July, a plummet from the 48 secured at the previous election, and are

Jonathan Spyer

How Yahya Sinwar rose and fell

The killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is a key milestone for Israel in its ongoing, grinding effort to destroy the Palestinian Islamist movement in Gaza. The details of the killing show the extent to which Hamas no longer has any depth of control over any part of Gaza. Earlier in the war, Sinwar would have been located deep within several circles of protection. The approach of danger would have been identified by the outer circle, and the leader moved to a new place of hiding. This is evidently no longer possible for Hamas. When troops of the IDF’s 450th Brigade were on a routine sweep in Rafat, they identified

Cindy Yu

Labour’s attitude to China looks just as confused as the Tories’

David Lammy is in China on a mission to reset relations with Beijing. But the Foreign Secretary has also pledged to raise some difficult subjects with his hosts. For a politician who heavily criticised the Conservatives’ approach to China, it’s not clear that Lammy is coming up with anything new now he’s in office. Lammy has talked up the difficult issues he will raise with Beijing When Lammy was shadow foreign secretary, he was brave on China. Only last year, he agreed that China’s actions in Xinjiang were genocide and pledged to ‘act multilaterally with our partners’ to pursue a legal reckoning for Beijing. A few months later, he lambasted

Ross Clark

Brits seem curiously untroubled by Labour’s Budget – at least for now

If the public is worried about what lies in store in Rachel Reeves’ first Budget, there are few signs of it yet in their shopping habits. The latest retail sales figures, released by the Office for National Statistics this morning, show that sales volumes were up by 0.3 per cent in September. Over the three months to September – a more reliable figure as it is based on a lot more data – sales were up a very strong 1.9 per cent. It seems that the long covid winter in the retail world may finally be coming to an end: though sales volumes in September were still 0.2 per cent down

Alexander Horne

What Robert Jenrick gets wrong about the ECHR

Last night, during his first debate with Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick was keen to highlight his flagship policy on exiting the ECHR, using it as a dividing line to emphasise his anti-immigration credentials. He pitched the question as ‘leave or remain’.  This is an unfortunate move on two fronts. First, leaving the ECHR is unlikely to have the practical effect he hopes in stopping the small boats, or combatting illegal immigration. Second, it risks looking like he is merely chasing the Reform vote and is uninterested in reuniting his fractured party. It risks misleading Conservative party members that there is some quick fix to this issue On the legal question, anyone who

Katy Balls

Tory leadership debate: who came out on top?

13 min listen

Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch, the final two candidates for the Tory leadership, went up against each other on a special GB News show last night. Kemi came out swinging in defence of her ‘culture warrior’ tag, but many wanted some more meat on the bones when it comes to her stance on policy. Meanwhile, Jenrick clearly had a message to land – but will the membership see through his plea to ‘end the drama’? And did either of them manage to change any minds? Katy Balls speaks to Lucy Dunn and Giles Dilnot, editor of Conservative Home. Produced by Cindy Yu and Oscar Edmondson.

Steerpike

SNP chief executive resigns

The Scottish National party has had a high turnover of leaders lately – and it appears to be facing the same problem with its chief executives. Now Murray Foote has resigned from the post after just 14 months in the role, taking to Twitter/X today to announce his departure. The former Daily Record editor who published the ‘Vow’ front-page – where political leaders from different unionist parties came together to promise more devolution for Scotland if the country voted No – wrote this morning that: I have today confirmed my intention to step down as chief executive of the SNP. The party has recently embarked on a substantial process of

Jason M. Brodsky

How Iran will respond to Sinwar’s death

The death of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar on Thursday is an incredible achievement for Israel. It is also a blow to Iran and its axis of terror across the Middle East.  Since July, Israel has decapitated the leadership of Hamas and Hezbollah – with the killings of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah’s secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, and now Sinwar himself. There has also been the killing of two commanders of the IRGC Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps – Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Abbas Nilforoushan – in this year alone. While the Islamic Republic has suffered from eliminations of its regional henchmen for years, the breadth and depth of Israel’s recent operations is

Lucy Dunn

Robert Jenrick must do more

When Kemi Badenoch took to the floor during GB News’s TV Q&A on Thursday evening, the atmosphere in the room climbed a notch. Robert Jenrick had just finished his pitch to the party and handled questions well, but it was clear even before the audience rated their leadership candidates that it was Badenoch the majority were there to see. While Jenrick’s ECHR rhetoric received applause, almost every sentence of his rival’s opening pitch was met with cheers. If the audience was representative of the wider Tory membership, Badenoch is on track for an easy win in the leadership race.  Well-known for her direct and often combative approach, Badenoch’s unification pitch

Nicholas Hopton

The Iranian diplomat trying to stop Armageddon

‘The embassy is being invaded. The ambassador has had to lock himself in his office upstairs, and there are people on our balcony. Your government is responsible for the safety of our diplomats and embassy. We will hold you accountable…’ The voice at the other end of the line was calm, though there was no mistaking the underlying aggression. ‘The Vienna Convention is very clear about the responsibility of host countries for diplomatic missions.’ I received that call in the autumn of 2017, when I was coming to the end of my second year as Britain’s ambassador to Iran. A large group of demonstrators had been campaigning loudly outside the

Michael Evans

Iran, you have been warned

Bombs send messages. Yesterday it was announced that the United States sent B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to hit underground Houthi weapons stores. The aim was to frighten Iran. Using America’s most potent bomber to hit bunkers controlled by a militia force which has no sophisticated air defence systems might seem over the top – a superpower sledgehammer to crack an irritating nut. However, the early morning raid was far more than a strike on a militia force which has been a persistent threat to Israel and to western commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. The Pentagon is not confirming what type

Gavin Mortimer

Marine Le Pen has a new, right-wing rival

It was only a few months ago that the bogeyman of the Paris elite was Jordan Bardella. Now it’s Bruno Retailleau. The 63-year-old practising Catholic may not be able to match the 29-year-old President of the National Rally when it comes to charisma and style, but nonetheless Retailleau has become the darling of the right since he was appointed the minister of the interior last month. Bardella is troubled by the rise of Retailleau, as is Le Pen and everyone within the National Rally. The party spokeswoman, Laure Lavalette, tried to make a joke of it earlier this month, quipping that Retailleau could do her job such is their alignment on

Arash Azizi

Who will lead Hamas now?

It took more than a year of waging war, but Israel has finally succeeded in killing its top target in Gaza: Yahya Sinwar. Alongside Mohammad Deif, who is thought to have been killed by an Israeli strike in July, Sinwar was the man most responsible for organising the horrific attacks of 7 October. At the time of those attacks, Sinwar was the head of Hamas’s Gaza branch, but since August he had been promoted to the group’s overall leader, replacing the Qatar-based Ismayil Haniyah who was assassinated on 31 July while on a trip to Tehran. The group must now pick a new leader.  Having led Hamas’s Gaza branch since

Jonathan Sacerdoti

Benjamin Netanyahu has been vindicated

The death of Yahya Sinwar, the top military commander of Hamas, is an important and symbolic moment in Israel’s ongoing war against the terror group. His elimination was finally made official by an evening statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following hours of rumours fuelled by the circulation of unmistakable pictures of his corpse. Yet not one rocket was fired into Israel by Hamas in response. This is what progress looks like. The man who threatened to ‘take down the border with Israel and tear out their hearts from their bodies’ is now dead, marking a critical juncture in the conflict that reverberates beyond the battlefield and carries profound implications

Georgia L. Gilholy

Robert Jenrick can change the Tories’ fortunes

If you speak to anybody unfortunate enough to have spent time canvassing for the Conservatives during the general election, they will tell you that one issue came up on the doorstep: immigration. The failure to control our borders using Brexit powers led voters to defect en masse to both the Liberal Democrats and Reform. Any attempt to forge a right-wing party capable of entering Number 10 again must begin with contrition, followed by a long period of working to regain trust. Much has been made of the fact that Jenrick is a former Remainer This year’s leadership debate marks a welcome change from 2022. Two years ago, the unprecedented movement

Thursday

Patrick O’Flynn

The Tory leadership contest is Kemi Badenoch’s to lose

Were Kemi Badenoch not to be unveiled as the next Conservative party leader in a couple of weeks it would now go down as a very notable upset. Exposed to a demanding hour of cross-examination on the GB News leadership special, Badenoch landed her pitch almost perfectly. As the strong favourite with the bookies, Badenoch probably only needed a draw against her sole remaining opponent, Robert Jenrick. But for all his fluency, she did rather better than that. A show of hands at the end among the audience of several hundred Tory members broke overwhelmingly in her favour. Trust me, I’m an engineer, she told her party Perhaps Jenrick blundered