Politics

Read about the latest political news, views and analysis

Friday

David Spencer

When will the prisons minister face up to the jail crisis?

The latest episode in the rolling farce that is His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service was this week revealed to be yet another foreign-born sex offender released in error. Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, an Algerian sex-offender, was let out by mistake from HMP Wandsworth over a week ago. He was only recaptured today after nine days on the run. What steps has the Prisons Minister, Lord Timpson, taken following this most recent incident? But now that one of the big questions in Westminster doesn’t concern the whereabouts of the latest pervert erroneously released by the Prison Service, attention is turning to what steps the Prisons Minister, Lord Timpson, has taken following this most recent incident? Before this

Ghaffar Hussain

Prevent's purpose is drifting from terrorism

When I was a Prevent counter terror officer a decade ago our case load was largely focused on Islamist terrorism – clear, defined ideological extremism. Today the picture looks very different. The majority of cases involve ‘mixed, unclear or unstable ideologies’ or a simple ‘fixation with violence’. In other words, many people being referred no longer seem to have any specific ideology. The programme is looking at behaviours that are ‘violence-oriented’, which risks blurring our understanding of the real terror threat in the UK. According to the Home Office, there were 8,778 referrals to Prevent in the latest reporting period, up roughly 27 per cent on the previous year. At first

Svitlana Morenets

Can Ukraine afford Zelensky’s winter giveaway?

Since taking office in 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky’s decisions have often been a mix of blatant populism and good intentions. Today, however, a number of his domestic policies are seen in Ukraine less as acts of genuine support for the war-weary public and more as attempts to shore up his approval ratings. This year, just as last, Zelensky has announced a round of ‘winter support’, under which every Ukrainian can receive 1,000 hryvnias – around £18 – from the state. The money can be used to pay utility bills, buy medicine or books, or be donated to the army. The scheme was tested last December, when more than 14 million Ukrainians

Tim Shipman

Pain is inevitable for Rachel Reeves

A year ago, the Chancellor called her £38 billion tax rise a ‘one-and-done’ move. Now she looks set to rinse and repeat, with reports that a 2p increase in income tax is on the table. According to The Times, she has informed the Office for Budget Responsibility that a rise in personal taxation is one of the ‘major measures’ she will announce. This is the strongest signal yet that she will break Labour’s manifesto pledge not to increase income tax rates. What does this mean for the Chancellor, and taxpayers? Elsewhere, David Lammy suffered a disastrous Deputy Prime Minister’s Questions after dodging questions on whether there had been another prisoner

James Heale

Reeves set to break manifesto pledge – and hike income tax

Rachel Reeves billed her £38 billion in tax increases last year – the biggest tax-rising Budget since Black Wednesday – as a ‘one and done’ approach. As she prepares to deliver her second Budget in three weeks’ time, the Chancellor is set for a ‘rinse and repeat’ strategy, as she tries to wring similar sums from taxpayers. Reeves is increasingly expected to hike income tax by 2p next month. The Chancellor has informed the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that a rise in personal taxation is one of the ‘major measures’ that she will announce later this month, according to the Times. The Budget watchdog will assess the impact of her

Gavin Mortimer

Is it only left-wing leaders who are allowed to be young?

There was a time when the French left turned its nose up at all things American. Too low-brow for them. Not now. The victory of Zohran Mamdani in the New York mayoral race has caused much joie de vivre in left-circles. For Mamdani, his youth is a virtue, but with Bardella it’s a weakness Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the Gallic Bernie Saunders and the leader of the far-left La France Insoumise, described Mamdani’s win as ‘very good news’. The general secretary of the centre-left Socialist party, Olivier Faure, posted a smiley face on X above a headline in Le Monde, hailing Mamdani as ‘the youngest mayor in New York history’. Mamdani referenced his

Steerpike

Top Tory team suffer bad night

After a decent conference speech, there was some hope among the Tories that Kemi Badenoch had finally turned the corner. Her PMQs performances are much more assured and there have been some notable Labour scalps secured by the party’s fabled ‘dark arts’ team. But this improvement appears not to have been recognised by the electorate, who continue to turf out Tories in various elections across the country. Last night represented a continuation of this trend. Three Tory ‘big beasts’ suffered poor results in each of their respective patches. In Devon, Sir Mel Stride’s Conservatives saw the third Lib Dem gain in his seat in recent months. Across the country, Badenoch’s local branch

Iain Macwhirter

The SNP’s useless land revolution

Few would argue that Scotland’s present pattern of land tenure is ideal. Around half of private land is owned by fewer than 500 individuals, corporates or pension funds. The vast estates date from two centuries ago when landlords, often clan chiefs, expelled the Scottish peasantry from their villages in the interests of ‘improvement’ – mainly to create sheep walks, deer-hunting estates or, latterly, forestry. Had we had a French Revolution, landed estates might have been broken up. But we didn’t, and they weren’t. The idea that a group of pen-pushers in Edinburgh is going to create a new generation of small private landholdings is fanciful As a result, the Scottish

Jonathan Sacerdoti

The looming threat to Israel

In the aftermath of war, a new front opens. Not in the ruins of Gaza’s cities, but in the corridors of diplomacy, where maps are redrawn with words and allegiances. Israel now finds itself encircled not by tanks but by treaties, resolutions, and incentives: a web of international manoeuvres that promises ‘stability’ while redefining the terms of its own strategic freedom. At the centre of this recalibration is the United States, whose post-conflict blueprint projects a pacified region steered by pragmatism, compromise, and multilateral oversight. But beneath the rhetoric of reconstruction lies a more perilous logic: one that treats deterrence as destabilising, ambiguity as maturity, and the survival instincts of

Michael Day

Is it too soon to say the truth about Dick Cheney?

Long before Donald Trump arrived on the political scene to warp all international diplomacy and finance around him, there were US administrations creating greater calamities. George W Bush’s first government, from 2001 to 2005, was one of them. Dubya wasn’t a sleazy grifter or a weapons grade narcissist. But on his watch the United States did, with its war on Iraq, bring chaos to the Middle East and spark an explosion of Islamic terrorism for which we’re still paying the price. Cheney was a man devoid of empathy, who used US superpower to slay hundreds of thousands of people and smash things Of course, the Iraq invasion wasn’t his idea.

Michael Gove

Q&A: Boris, Cameron or May? Plus, our most left-wing beliefs revealed

35 min listen

To submit your urgent questions to Michael and Maddie, go to: spectator.co.uk/quiteright This week on the first ever Quite right! Q&A: What’s your most left-wing belief? Michael & Maddie confess their guilty liberal secrets on the Elgin Marbles, prison reform and private equity – or ‘the unacceptable face of capitalism’. Also this week: who would you trust to save your life on a desert island – Boris Johnson, Theresa May or David Cameron? And finally, a literary turn: from John Donne to Thomas Hardy, Michael and Maddie share their favourite poems, and make the case for learning verse by heart. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Thursday

Oscar Edmondson

Why energy is the new political battleground

12 min listen

With three weeks until the Budget, the main political parties have been setting out their economic thinking. Each faces the same bind: anaemic growth, fiscal constraints and uncomfortable exposure to the bond markets. The upshot is that there is less ‘clear blue water’ on the economy between Labour, the Conservatives and Reform. This has left a space for energy to emerge as the policy area in which to differentiate the parties in this new era of five-party politics. The Westminster energy consensus is over – Net Zero is not as popular as it once was – and the parties are setting out their stalls. Could energy win the next election?

Ian Acheson

The real reason prisoners keep being accidentally released

You’d need a heart of stone not to feel sympathy for Alex Davies-Jones. Labour’s minister for victims was on human sandbag duty for the Justice Secretary David Lammy this morning – tasked with explaining to the media why there had been another two accidental releases of convicted prisoners. The fact these blunders came only days after an another illegal migrant sex offender was released instead of deported was difficult enough to defend. But her response – which amounted to some waffle about sending in ‘tech experts’ – might make Lammy reconsider deploying junior ministers who seem to know even less about our chaotic penal system than he does. If David

Eliot Wilson

Is the British Army right to invest in new battle tanks?

It is a distinct career advantage in Sir Keir Starmer’s government for ambitious ministers to be able to shut unpalatable truths out of their minds and maintain a tone of blind, unwavering optimism. Luke Pollard, the minister for defence readiness and industry, showed those qualities this week on a visit to the General Dynamics UK factory in Merthyr Tydfil. Pollard was in south Wales to announce the achievement of ‘initial operating capability’ for the Ajax armoured fighting vehicle, one of the British Army’s three principal platforms for the forthcoming decades. ‘Ajax has proved itself in the field to be the most advanced medium-weight armoured fighting vehicle on the planet,’ Pollard

Lisa Haseldine

Is Germany ready for military service?

It’s finally crunch time for Boris Pistorius’s plan to reintroduce military service in Germany. Following a delay of several months thanks to the country’s snap federal election campaign at the start of the year, the defence minister’s new ‘Modernisation of Military Service’ draft law is currently being debated in Berlin. Under Pistorius’s proposals, all 18-year-olds will be asked to complete a questionnaire that will gauge their willingness and ability to carry out military service. For men, the quiz will be compulsory; for ‘other genders’ – including women – it will be optional. Those who declare themselves willing to serve will be invited for a formal assessment for recruitment into the

Michael Simmons

The Bank of England blames Rachel Reeves for pushing up prices

The Bank of England has held interest rates at four per cent. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted five to four in favour of maintaining the rate. There had been some speculation that the Bank might consider a cut to pre-empt some of the harshest measures expected in this month’s Budget, but the rate-setting committee chose to align with market expectations, which had widely anticipated a hold. Alongside the rates announcement, the MPC released their quarterly Monetary Policy Report which set the blame for inflation squarely at the Chancellor’s door. ‘Unusually large increases in administered price, such as Vehicle Excise Duty, and sewerage charges, are currently estimated to account for

Joanna Marchong

Does Farage know the difference between populism and a plan?

Gathered beneath the marble columns of the old Banking Hall in the City of London, Nigel Farage did what he does best. He assembled journalists, lobbyists, wonks and a few business representatives for another hour of gesticulations and clarifications. But this time was slightly different; here, there was talk of sensible reform alongside the usual messaging. Talk of ‘common-sense economics’, nods to tax, promises to put ‘Britain first’. Plenty of sound rhetoric, yes. But precious little sound policy. Reform shouldn’t be a party of loud statements, here-today-gone-tomorrow policies and U-turns We left with a similar sense of deja vu: bold themes, grim but correct forecasts about Britain’s economic decay and little

Andrew Tettenborn

Who cares if the Huntingdon train hero is an immigrant?

When a maniac ran amok on a train near Huntingdon on Saturday, train steward Samir Zitouni put his life on the line. Zitouni bravely blocked the attacker from stabbing a girl, leaving him with a gash on his head and neck. The railway worker remains critically unwell in hospital. His family say they are ‘immensely proud of Sam and his courage’. They’re right to be: Zitouni saved numerous lives. Whether or not Zitouni is an immigrant isn’t clear – and nor does it matter But as Zitouni, who has worked for LNER for more than 20 years, recovers in hospital following the brutal attack, he is being used by some

Stephen Daisley

Zohran Mamdani will not be a radical mayor

Zohran Mamdani’s election as mayor of New York City has prompted triumphalism in his supporters and despondency among his detractors. Depending on your political proclivities, the Big Apple is about to become one of two things: a revolutionary utopia where New Yorkers City-Bike from their socialised studio apartments to their worker-owned creativity pods, stopping off in Times Square to catch the latest proceedings of the People’s Tribunal on Landlordism and Transphobia, or an Islamo-Marxist caliphate in which Wall Street is nationalised, the Statue of Liberty draped in a burqa and the NYPD merged with Hezbollah. At risk of spoiling everyone’s fun, I’d like to offer a prediction: Mamdani will not

Ross Clark

The taxman is coming for your electric car

Sooner or later it is going to dawn on the drivers of electric cars that they have been benefitting from a huge introductory free offer. As EVs become more commonplace, that offer is going to come to an end, and the economics of running these cars is going to look very different. Not even the government’s green zealotry, it seems, is going to stop the Chancellor imposing a new charge of three pence per mile on electric cars – presumably charged via an annual read of the car’s odometer when it has its MOT (although it is less clear how the government will collect the money in a vehicle’s first