Politics Archives

Friday

9 December 2022

What Rowan Williams gets wrong about democracy

Rowan Williams used his Reith lecture on religious liberty to make a plea to religious believers: don't be afraid of being an awkward misfit. The former Archbishop of Canterbury called on believers to challenge the social consensus – even on contentious issues like gay marriage. His view is that religion is not a private affair, but impinges on public life. It does so, he said this week, in ways that the liberal order will find annoying, even disruptive. Believers appeal to transcendent truths beyond the ‘prevailing social consensus’, according to Williams. As a result, he said, they are rightly wary of an order whose only basis is human law, which is defined by majority opinion.

Thursday

8 December 2022

William Moore

War of the Windsors

46 min listen

This week: For his cover piece in The Spectator Freddy Gray asks who will win in the battle between the Waleses and the Sussexes. He is joined by historian Amanda Foreman to discuss the fallout Harry and Meghan's new Netflix documentary (01:00). Also this week: Should the House of Lords be reformed or even abolished? This is the question James Heale considers in the magazine. He is joined by Baroness Fox of Buckley to unpack Gordon Brown's recommendation to do away with the second chamber of Parliament (13:14). And finally: In the books section of The Spectator Chloë Ashby reviews Con/Artist, the memoir of notorious art forger Tony Tetro. She is joined by Tony and investigative journalist Giampiero Ambrossi, who co-authored to book (31:53).

Katy Balls

Are Harry and Meghan bad for Global Britain?

11 min listen

A number of measures are under discussion as Christmas looks like it will be dominated by strike action. What measures will the government put in place to limit the disruption? Also on the podcast, after the first episodes of Netflix's new series Harry and Meghan were released, could the documentary be bad for Global Britain? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth. Produced by Natasha Feroze.

James Snell

Iran steps up the war against its people

Iran has announced the first execution of the current crop of protestors. Mohsen Shekari, who was just 23, was hanged earlier today after having been found guilty by a revolutionary tribunal of moharebeh, a crime which means ‘enmity against God’. Other protestors have been charged and convicted of crimes like fasad-fel-arz (‘corruption on Earth’) and baghy, which means ‘armed rebellion’. Both of those carry the death penalty, so it seems likely that more executions will soon follow. Shekari’s killing is intended to frighten those who face these charges and to dissuade demonstrators from taking to the streets at all. But will it work, as the tide of anti-government feeling continues to swell in Iran?

Ross Clark

Britain should embrace new coal mining

For those of us who remember the miners’ strike in the 1980s it takes some getting used to the journey made by coal miners over the past 40 years: from working class heroes to climate ‘criminals’. To hear today’s reaction to the news that Michael Gove has granted permission to build Britain’s first deep coal mine for a generation is to step through the looking glass into a bizarre world where a Conservative government is considered evil for helping to create mining jobs in a de-industrialised region – and the ‘enlightened’ position is to eradicate the very last traces of the coal industry. Lord Deben, chair of the government’s Climate Change Committee, thinks Gove’s decision to be ‘indefensible’.

Steerpike

Five lowlights from Harry and Meghan’s Netflix flop

Is that it? For months now much ink has been spilled about the 'explosive' revelations promised in Harry and Meghan's multi-million pound Netflix bonanza, a 'tell all' sensationalist documentary replete with truth bombs to tear the curtain back on the whole squalid royal cabal. And yet, having digested all three soporific hours of the first edition this morning, Mr S was left rubbing his eyelids and wondering what all the fuss was really about. Of course, there was innuendo aplenty; the ritual breast-beating and eyes watering. There was the full English of Hollywood tricks: dramatic music, sympathetic lighting, dramatic cuts and a smorgasbord of stylistic shenanigans.

Stephen Daisley

Pete Wishart’s resignation letter is damning for the SNP

No matter how heavily it snows today nothing will be as frosty as Pete Wishart's resignation letter. The senior SNP MP has exited the front bench following the coup that replaced Ian Blackford with relative newcomer Stephen Flynn. Blackford is an ally of Nicola Sturgeon and discontent had grown in the party's Westminster group of MPs about his perceived lack of independence from the leadership in Scotland. Flynn, who at 34 only entered Parliament in 2019, is expected to put distance between his Westminster group and the SNP government in Edinburgh. As MP for Aberdeen South he is seen as less hostile to the North Sea oil and gas industry than Sturgeon, a recent convert to the climate cause. https://twitter.

Nigel Jones

The troubling truth about Germany’s failed coup

Germany is one of the world’s most successful liberal democracies. It is an unlikely place for a coup. Yet attempts to seize power – such as the far-right plot exposed by the country’s security services, that resulted in the arrest of 25 people this week – are more common in Europe than we might like to admit. Those held in custody in Germany are accused of plotting a putsch to overthrow the German government and replace it with a hereditary monarchy headed by an obscure prince. Three thousand police officers were involved in rounding up the suspects in this plot. Usually when such a swoop is mounted in Germany – and they are more frequent than we might like to suppose – the targets are Hitler-worshipping neo-Nazis, often with worrying links to the armed forces or police.

Michael Simmons

Are NHS failures making us poorer?

The NHS has a crisis every winter, but this year’s is on a different scale. Before a wave of strikes puts patients and care at risk, stats released by NHS England this morning show a health service already on the brink. Last month, the number of 12-hour waits in A&E departments in England exceeded 37,800, having hit almost 44,000 the month before: a decrease, but a worrying number still. Waiting lists for consultant-led treatment have grown by 74,000 cases and now stand at 7.2 million. Ambulance waiting times are still far higher than they should be too: now at 48 minutes. All of this before the going really gets tough. Here’s what this morning’s monthly NHS statistical release tells us: 1.

Gavin Mortimer

Why can’t we call Moroccan football thugs hooligans?

One of my most delightful sporting experiences was watching the 2018 World Cup match between England and Tunisia in a Parisian bar. My English friend and I were heavily outnumbered by Tunisians but we were made to feel welcome in a festival of dancing and singing. Even when Harry Kane scored a late winner it didn’t dampen the spirits of the young Tunisians, many of whom were beer-drinking women. I imagine they celebrated long into the night last week when Tunisia beat France in the World Cup, a shock victory that was greeted with good-natured joy by Tunisians across France. Another North African nation has also been making its mark in Qatar, and Morocco’s defeat of Spain on Tuesday took them into the quarter-final of the World Cup for the first time.

James Heale

Senior Tory MP suspended after police complaint

Julian Knight was last night suspended as a Tory MP, following a complaint that was made to the Metropolitan Police on Wednesday evening. Details of the complaint are not yet known, with a spokesman for Chief Whip Simon Hart only confirming in a short statement that Knight no longer sits in the Commons as a Conservative MP: Following a complaint made to the Metropolitan Police this evening, we have removed the whip from Julian Knight MP with immediate effect. Both Hart's spokeswoman and the Met have declined to provide any comment on the nature of the complaint. Knight, a senior backbencher, was elected to represent the West Midlands constituency of Solihull in 2015 and has served as the chairman of the culture committee since 2020.

Wednesday

7 December 2022

Katja Hoyer

Germany’s failed coup shows the danger of conspiracy theories

It was one of the biggest police raids modern Germany has ever seen. Early Wednesday morning, 3,000 officers, among them members of special units sent by both state and federal police forces, searched 130 properties in 11 of 16 states. They arrested 25 people on suspicion of being members or supporters of a terrorist organisation plotting to overthrow the government. It’s the latest indication that Germany’s political underbelly contains a worrying element of extremists who are ready to act on their conspiracy theories. The group is allegedly known as the ‘Patriotic Union’ with an inner circle known as the ‘Council’.

Kate Andrews

Is it time to forgive Matt Hancock?

Over the past few months, Matt Hancock has been seeking forgiveness for his rule-breaking affair during the pandemic. And the former-health-secretary-turned-reality-TV-star has been pursuing redemption in some strange places. He’s been buried six feet underground with snakes; covered in slime, frogs and spiders; and dared to ask the harshest audience these days – the public – to ‘please forgive me’ in a sit-down interview with the Daily Mail ahead of the release of his new book. Hancock is not asking, but begging, to be forgiven. And today’s news is certainly his most serious plea to date. Writing to the Prime Minister (and TikToking), Hancock has announced he will be standing down at the next election to discover ‘a whole new world of possibilities.

Lloyd Evans

Starmer needs to work on his PMQs insults

A decent tussle today at PMQs. Sir Keir Starmer asked the Prime Minister why he’d ditched his pledge to build 300,000 new houses a year. Rishi Sunak, ever fleet of foot, replied with shameless effrontery. The PM claimed that dropping the target was a superb Tory achievement and that it aligned seamlessly with the government’s priorities: protecting the green-belt, heeding local communities, and handing power to people at the grassroots. He dared Sir Keir to stand against those noble aims. He added that the Labour leader had said on Monday: ‘Government should be giving people more power and control.’ And today is Wednesday; so why the change of heart, asked Sunak. ‘I know he flip-flops – but even for him it’s pretty quick.’ The Tories yelled out ‘more!

Andrew Tettenborn

Abortion clinic buffer zones are a step towards the end of free speech

There is nothing like abortion to make feelings run high. Termination of pregnancy has been lawful in Northern Ireland since 2020: this year, however, the Legislative Assembly in Belfast turned the screw and passed a further, remarkably authoritarian, Bill. This makes it illegal – anywhere within 100 metres of an abortion clinic – not only to impede access to it, but to do any act ’with the intent of, or reckless as to whether it has the effect of, influencing’ any visitor. In effect, this is the creation of large public zones where, on pain of a £500 fine, no-one is allowed to talk about abortion, hand out leaflets, or even silently pray.

Steerpike

Whitehall left counting the cost of Covid

Speaking at last year's Tory conference, Liz Truss mocked those 'portents of doom', the 'people who say that it is inevitable that because of Covid we are going to have a permanently bigger state.' But despite the insistence of Truss, Jacob Rees-Mogg and others, all signs suggest that an enlarged Whitehall will in fact be the pandemic's legacy. A series of parliamentary questions by Philip Davies MP – no fan of big government himself – reveal that the total departmental headcount of eleven different ministries has risen by more than 15 per cent during the past two years. The total number of civil servants employed has risen from just over 206,000 in February 2020 to more than 238,000 at the last count in November 2022.

Katy Balls

Is Rishi Sunak a blancmange Prime Minister?

12 min listen

Shots were fired at PMQs today as Keir Starmer referred to Rishi Sunak as a 'blancmange Prime Minister'. The line came after Rishi Sunak conceded on the Tory rebellion over mandatory housing targets. Katy James and Fraser mull over this attack. Also on the podcast, with Stephen Fry elected as the SNP's new Westminster leader, what could this mean for Sturgeon? Produced by Natasha Feroze.

Cindy Yu

China’s battle with Omicron is just beginning

Zero Covid seems to be ending in China. After three years of pushing this policy, the message from the state has now changed: each person’s health is now their own responsibility. State media is emphasising ‘new evidence’ showing that Omicron has a lighter viral load than previous strains. Meanwhile, testing sites across the country are being dismantled and new vaccination targets have been set to protect the most vulnerable.Some Chinese are bemused, asking themselves: ‘do protests work?’ The timing certainly suggests so – in the same week as student leaders were being rounded up, state media started talking about how Covid has no long term complications and quietly dropped the phrase ‘zero Covid’.

James Forsyth

Rishi Sunak is about to feel winter’s sting

During the Tory leadership contest this summer, it was frequently said that whoever won would face the most politically difficult winter in a generation. In the end, despite winning the contest, Liz Truss didn’t make it that far. But winter is about to sting her successor. After the collapse of the Truss premiership, Rishi Sunak needed to steady the ship in his first weeks in No. 10. This has gone reasonably well. The Autumn Statement was given a passing grade by the markets and there is no parliamentary rebellion against it. Westminster is no longer watching nervously to see how the City responds to every cough and splutter from Downing Street.

The Spectator

The devolution fallacy

It is easy to see why Labour leader Keir Starmer should find himself tempted into the idea of greater devolution. Electoral geometry indicates that he might end up having to negotiate with the SNP after the next election. It is harder to see why Gordon Brown’s advice should be sought, given how badly his own attempts at devolution have backfired. As Tony Blair’s shadow chancellor, Brown argued that a new parliament in Edinburgh would scotch the snake of independence. It was a view widely held by Labour at the time. In the words of the then shadow Scotland secretary, devolution would kill the SNP ‘stone dead’. This has not, to put it mildly, gone according to plan.