Politics

Read about the latest political news, views and analysis

Sunday

Debbie Hayton

The truth about Led By Donkeys

Love them or loathe them, it’s hard not to have noticed Led By Donkeys. The protest group – made up, naturally, of four former Greenpeace workers – has taunted Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and David Cameron with its high-profile stunts. It is best known for projecting its protests – including one branding Boris a ‘liar’ – on to the Houses of Parliament. The group’s members seem mighty pleased with themselves. But what has Led by Donkeys actually achieved? It’s hard to say that the group has won anyone over to the cause. The group’s members seem mighty pleased with themselves An exhibition ‘Adventures in Art, Activism and Accountability’ has opened

Caleb Quinley

The Myanmar junta’s desperate campaign of terror

It was about 9:15pm on 5 September when the roaring sound of a warplane began to hum across the hills. Tucked away in a valley in Pekon Township in Myanmar, on the border with Karenni and Shan states, a community of some thousand people were about to go to sleep. Illuminated only by small solar-powered lights and campfires, mothers and fathers were putting their children to bed. But the junta jet fighter didn’t need light. It had already been given direct coordinates, and it was about to drop its payload directly on the camp. The violence which has plagued Myanmar for over three years had once again come to Pekon.

Saturday

Steerpike

Now Rayner’s register of interests is under scrutiny

This weekend Labour hosts its party conference in power for the first time in 15 years. The great and the not-so-good of the labour movement is descending on Liverpool to eat, drink and debate the merits of mission-led government. Bottoms up chaps! Kicking off proceedings is Angela Rayner, tasked with appearing on the BBC’s flagship Laura Kuenssberg show to defend the government after a week of bad headlines. So it was perhaps unfortunate then that the Deputy Prime Minister has found herself in her own brush with the press, on the eve of conference starting. The Sunday Times reports that she ‘appears’ to have breached parliamentary rules by failing to

Isabel Hardman

Can Keir Starmer reverse his fortunes at Labour conference?

What is Keir Starmer wearing, how much is it worth and who paid for it? That’s normally a question only asked of female politicians, or prime ministers’ wives, but thanks to the Labour leader’s love of a freebie, his own fashion choices are going to be one of the hot topics at Labour Party conference. Unlike the scrutiny of women’s clothes, though, which normally leads Reiss to sell out of whichever dress turned up on the conference stage that week, Starmer’s outfits are causing a rush to judgement, not a rush to the tills.  One of the opening questions from interviewers will surely be ‘where is your suit from and

Katy Balls

How much trouble is Keir Starmer in?

To Liverpool for Labour’s first party conference since Keir Starmer triumphed in the general election. On paper, this ought to be a jubilant affair for all involved. The party has returned to power after 14 years with a large majority, which ought to pave the way for a second term. Yet few in the party are in a celebratory mood. Instead there’s concern that less than 100 days in, Starmer is losing grip on his government. The past week has been dominated by stories over Labour ‘sleaze’ over donations and ongoing hostile briefings pointing to turmoil amongst Starmer’s top team. ‘It’s all feeling a bit Tories 2019,’ jokes a Labour

Patrick West

Starmer’s freebies and the truth about Labour’s double-standards

The Labour government’s u-turn on freebies, its disclosure last night that it will no longer accept donations for clothes, is an admission that it has got it wrong. But ‘wrong’ in which sense of the word? Wrong in that they admit that they committed an error, or wrong in that they have behaved immorally? Their language would suggest very much the former. Nearly two-thirds of all voters say Starmer’s decision to accept freebies for his wife was unacceptable Keir Starmer’s allies concede that there was a ‘perception’ issue after the Prime Minister accepted clothing worth and spectacles together worth more than £18,000. This has been accompanied by similar gifts accepted

Steerpike

Abbott: Starmer is in the ‘pocket of millionaires’

As if Sir Keir Starmer didn’t have enough on his plate what with his freebie scandal, Sue Gray inquiry and his first Labour party conference as PM, his own backbencher has taken aim at him — again. For the third time this week, Diane Abbott has once again very publicly slammed her party leader. Taking to Twitter today, the Hackney North MP posted a classically grainy headshot of her adversary, alongside an acid-tongued attack on Starmer’s freebie fiasco:  Ellie Reeves MP says ‘Labour’s [general election] victory was only possible because under Keir’s leadership we changed the party.’ Changed it into an organisation whose leaders are in the pocket of millionaires?

James Heale

Will Starmer clash with the unions?

15 min listen

It’s easy enough to keep both business and the unions on side when you are vague about your policies – and when your opponent is messing up so badly. That was Labour’s position going into the election. But now that it’s in government, can it keep that balancing act up? Next week’s Labour party conference will be the government’s first real test. James Heale talks to Kate Andrews and Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress. Produced by Cindy Yu.

Stephen Daisley

No, Rich Lowry didn’t say the N-word

Rich Lowry, editor-in-chief of National Review, is being cancelled for calling Haitian immigrants the N-word. One problem: he didn’t. Lowry was on Megyn Kelly’s podcast to talk about the claims, amplified by Donald Trump and JD Vance, that Haitians have been snacking on local cats in Springfield, Ohio. He commented on a combative interview Vance gave to CNN’s Dana Bash and scoffed at Bash’s dismissal of the feline-fressing allegations on the grounds that city records only showed complaints about geese. Lowry observed: ‘I think it was in that interview where Dana Bash says the police have gone through 11 months of recordings of calls and they’ve only found two Springfield

Paul Wood

Paul Wood, Ross Clark, Andrew Lycett, Laura Gascoigne and Henry Jeffreys

33 min listen

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: as Lebanon reels from the exploding pagers, Paul Wood wonders what’s next for Israel and Hezbollah (1:24); Ross Clark examines Ireland’s low-tax project, following the news that they’re set to receive €13 billion… that they didn’t want (8:40); Reviewing Ben Macintyre’s new book, Andrew Lycett looks at the 1980 Iranian London embassy siege (15:29); Laura Gascoigne argues that Vincent Van Gogh would approve of the new exhibition of his works at the National Gallery (22:35); and Henry Jeffreys provides his notes on corkscrews (28:01).  Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Robin Ashenden

Why isn’t Gary Oldman playing Smiley again?

Following the huge success of the 2011 film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – from the book of the same name by John le Carré – there was much talk of a second movie, based on le Carré’s 1979 novel Smiley’s People. The possibility was floated by Tinker Tailor cast member Gary Oldman in 2012 and then confirmed by him five years later, but then all went silent.  Until last week, when it was reported that any plans Oldman might have to return to the role had seemingly been – bafflingly – blocked by Le Carré’s sons. As the actor’s manager Douglas Urbanski revealed to the Radio Times: ‘We loved Tinker

Ed Nash

Is Israel ready for a ‘new phase’ of war?

The toll wreaked from the events of 17 and 18 September has been extensive. According to the best estimates, more than 3,500 people were injured and 37 were killed. The events I’m referring to, of course, were the sudden and surprise explosions of thousands of electronic devices, carried (in the majority) by members of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Among the injured were the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, who reportedly lost an eye, and allegedly several personnel from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp who sponsor and assist terrorist organisations across the world. It seems that the Israeli intelligence services managed to pull off a huge coup, interdicting supplies of Taiwanese-made pagers and

Charlotte Henry

Ed Davey’s Lib Dems need to grow up

In a wetsuit and atop a jet ski, Sir Ed Davey hurtled towards the Brighton shore, descending on the Liberal Democrat conference this week with yet another eye-catching stunt. One can only hope it is the final one in what has been months (years?) of such exploits. No doubt the party and its press officers would point to the coverage this dramatic arrival generated and say it was a job well done. Would you even know there had been a Lib Dem conference if the jet ski moment hadn’t been broadcast on TV screens and splashed across newspaper pages? Unlikely. The party are all still behaving like attention-seeking social media

Jonathan Miller

Marine Le Pen looks unstoppable

Overlook for the moment the shenanigans surrounding French prime minister Michel Barnier’s attempt to cobble together a new government. One political crisis can conceal another. And a more existential spectre is haunting Paris. Its name is Marine Le Pen. Amidst the chaos, the weakened president and the hapless efforts to form a government, the leader of the National Rally seems to be the only winner. We are embarked on the final phase of the Macron epoch In Paris’s smartest arrondissements, inhabited by the political and media blob who have run everything in France since forever, the unthinkable has become the plausible. The national political nervous breakdown, precipitated by president Emmanuel Macron,

Julie Burchill

University isn’t sexy anymore

Freshers’ Week. It sounds so appealing, even to an uneducated counter-jumper like me who finds the word ‘uni’ so repellent that it’s right up there with ‘gusset’ and ‘spasm’. At British universities it mostly means drinking a lot of alcohol – our historical reaction to most situations – which may contribute to outbreaks of what is known as ‘Freshers’ flu’ in the first few weeks of the university term. But getting the lurgy is the least of the troubles bothering the student body nowadays as they head back to university this week. Thousands are going straight from their studies to long-term sickness, according to an alarming headline in the Times: ‘Students

Matthew Lynn

Smart meters aren’t so clever

Smart meters were meant to make our lives easier. They were designed to help us reduce energy consumption and cut bills. Over the last five years, the government has been pushing energy firms to install these meters as quickly as possible. Millions of homes have been fitted with one. The flashing screen monitoring how much power is being used has become a ubiquitous feature in households across Britain. We’re constantly nudged to switch off a couple of lights, or skip a load in the washing machine, as we see what this energy use is costing us. But there’s a big problem with smart meters: millions of them don’t work properly.

Friday

Katy Balls

No. 10 change tack on ‘wardrobe-gate’

A week is a long time in politics. Keir Starmer began the week sending out his senior ministers to defend his decision to accept donations of clothing for both himself and his wife Lady Victoria Starmer from Waheed Alli, the Labour peer. On Sunday, David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, suggested these donations were necessary, for lack of a special clothing budget so the pair could make Britain proud on the world stage. The Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds later took the line when asked about the wider freebies Starmer received (more than £100,000 worth of them), that this was simply part of the job. However, Downing Street has now changed tack.

Steerpike

Farage plots his next US trip

It’s his sworn ambition to become Prime Minister of the UK by 2029. But is Nigel Farage perhaps spending a little bit too much time in the States? Barely had the Reform leader finished addressing his party conference, then ‘ping!’ An email arrived in Steerpike’s inbox touting Farage’s latest trip across the pond. The former MEP is billed as one of the headliners at the New York Young Republican Club’s gala dinner in December. Tickets at the black tie bash at Cipriani Wall Street start from $499 and go up to $30,000 for varying levels of exclusivity. Kerching! Farage is billed on the event as ‘a great friend of President

Katy Balls

Farage’s next move

14 min listen

Party conference season continues as Reform UK’s kicks off today in Birmingham. Katy Balls has been at the NEC hearing from Richard Tice, Lee Anderson and leader Nigel Farage, amongst others. What’s been the mood? And, after a remarkable few months, what could be next for the party? With Labour conference starting at the weekend, how worried will Starmer be about Farage? Also, what’s been the latest on the PM’s ‘donations for clothes’ row? Patrick Gibbons speaks to Katy Balls and James Heale.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons. 

Katy Balls

Nigel Farage’s unlikely inspiration

Nigel Farage has just finished his keynote speech at the Reform party’s annual conference. In a performance enhanced by Eminem, balloons and pyrotechnics, the Reform leader received a rapturous response from the packed NEC arena on the outskirts of Birmingham. Farage used the speech to argue that his party is only just beginning. He said he had debated returning for the general election but now he was back planned to go much further: I looked at the facts that frankly without massive public borrowing, there would have been no growth in our economy for year after year after year. An NHS in which you can’t get a GP appointment, roads