Politics Archives

Wednesday

26 October 2022

What Stanley Baldwin can teach Rishi Sunak

Britons live, we are constantly told, in unprecedented times. Rishi Sunak has become the first person of Asian heritage to be appointed Prime Minister and the third occupant of No. 10 in as many months. Thanks to Brexit, Covid and the Ukraine war, the economy is in turmoil while the trade unions are more assertive than they have been in decades. Sunak’s party is divided, perhaps fatally so, with many Conservative members hankering for Boris Johnson, a more charismatic figure than Sunak and one they consider more capable of rescuing them from likely electoral oblivion. Surely no incoming prime minister has faced a more daunting set of circumstances? You’d be forgiven for thinking so. But the history books do offer some reassurance for Britain’s new PM.

Tuesday

25 October 2022

James Forsyth

What happened in Rishi’s reshuffle?

12 min listen

Rishi Sunak has spent his first day in office appointing his new Cabinet. As the Prime Minister vowed to fix the 'mistakes' of his predecessor's administration – who's in and who's out? Katy Balls and James Forsyth discuss. Produced by Natasha Feroze.

Kate Andrews

Liz Truss should have known better

In the coming weeks we’re going to learn a lot more about what went so badly wrong inside Liz Truss’s government. Indeed, my colleague James Heale is co-writing the book on it. As Rishi Sunak heads into No. 10 in a bid to undo some of the damage (‘mistakes were made…’ he said on the steps of Downing Street this morning, ‘...and I have been elected as leader of my party, and your Prime Minister, in part, to fix them’) we are bound to learn more about the miscalculations, bad advice, and hubris that ultimately led to the undoing of prime minister Truss in just a matter of weeks. It seems likely that a common thread will join these slip-ups together: that Liz Truss should have known better than to make the economic mistakes she did.

Mark Galeotti

Is Putin preparing a nuclear strike?

Russia is peddling implausible tales of Ukrainian ‘dirty bombs’. Kyiv and the West are embarked on a campaign to counter this propaganda, and again the talk is of the risk of Moscow using weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine. And that’s the point. First of all, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu broke months of relative silence – with the West, at least – and called his British, American, French and Turkish counterparts. His main message was to assert, with no evidence in support of his claims, that Kyiv was preparing to use a dirty bomb. This is a conventional munition, around which is packed radioactive materials, which is dispersed when it explodes.

The Spectator

Rishi’s reshuffle: the appointments

Rishi Sunak is Britain's third prime minister this year. On Tuesday, Sunak assembled a new top team with the hope of unifying the fractured party. The cabinet departures included Jacob Rees-Mogg among those heading to the back benches. As for the arrivals, Suella Braverman is back in the role of Home Secretary just under a week after being forced to resign over a security breach. Here are the key developments: Jeremy Hunt has been reappointed as Chancellor. Suella Braverman is back as Home Secretary. Ben Wallace remains Defence Secretary and James Cleverly stays as Foreign Secretary. Dominic Raab is deputy PM and Justice Secretary. Nadhim Zahawi is party chairman. Grant Shapps becomes Business Secretary.

Isabel Hardman

Rishi Sunak vows to fix things for Britain

Unlike Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak didn't skirt around the circumstances of the changing of the guard in No 10. His address on arriving in Downing Street as the new Prime Minister was very to the point. He paid tribute to his predecessor's 'noble aim' of wanting to improve growth and create change, but added: 'But some mistakes were made. Not borne of ill will, or bad in tensions – quite the opposite in fact – but mistakes nonetheless. And I have been elected as leader of my party and your Prime Minister, in part, to try to fix them.' Fixing problems was the theme of this entire address Fixing problems was the theme of this entire address. Sunak said 'economic stability and confidence' would be central to his agenda and that there would be 'difficult decisions to come'.

Ross Clark

Why are Europe’s gas prices falling?

Is Europe’s chilly winter destined to become another Millennium bug – a much-feared disaster that never transpires? Only a few weeks ago wholesale gas prices were surging, leading to predictions of blackouts, rationing and people unable to heat their homes. Throughout August, analysts produced forecasts (extrapolated from wholesale gas prices) which showed eye-watering energy prices throughout winter and spring. Governments reacted by hurriedly announcing extremely expensive schemes to cap prices for consumers. This, in part, contributed to the rapid fall of Liz Truss as markets panicked that her government would be unable to fund her £100 billion plus energy price guarantee. Yet, since then, wholesale gas prices have plummeted.

Rishi Sunak

Full text: Rishi Sunak’s first speech as PM

Good morning. I have just been to Buckingham Palace and accepted His Majesty The King’s invitation to form a government in his name. It is only right to explain why I am standing here as your new Prime Minister. Right now our country is facing a profound economic crisis. The aftermath of Covid still lingers. Putin’s war in Ukraine has destabilised energy markets and supply chains the world over. I want to pay tribute to my predecessor Liz Truss. She was not wrong to want to improve growth in this country. It is a noble aim. And I admired her restlessness to create change. But some mistakes were made. Not borne of ill will or bad intentions. Quite the opposite, in fact. But mistakes nonetheless.

James Forsyth

Does Liz Truss have any regrets?

13 min listen

Katy Balls and James Forsyth discuss from the rooftop of Parliament the key takeaways from Liz Truss' departure speech. How does she reflect on her time in office?Produced by Natasha Feroze.

Isabel Hardman

Liz Truss’s defiant farewell speech

Liz Truss's final words as Prime Minister were not just an attempt to set out what she sees as being the 'legacy' from her 49 days in power. They were also the outgoing Conservative leader's last chance to argue that what she had done was in the national interest, rather than the chaotic experiment that her opponents have characterised her economic policies as. And it was also her chance to warn Rishi Sunak that she and other Tory MPs would be on his case. She said: Truss will be the third former prime minister looming on the backbenches 'From my time as Prime Minister, I am more convinced than ever we need to be bold and confront the challenges that we face. As the Roman philosopher Seneca wrote: 'It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare.

Steerpike

Watch: Biden butchers Sunak’s name

Joe Biden, the man whose diet seems to consist of ice cream and gaffes, has done it again. Having managed to irritate both Boris Johnson and Liz Truss with his European interventions, 'sleepy Joe' seems determined to make it a hattrick of Tory premiers. The septuagenarian president was addressing a Washington event on Monday evening to mark the beginning of Diwali, when he took the opportunity to congratulate Truss's successor on his 'groundbreaking achievement' of becoming the first Asian premier. Unfortunately, it seems that honour must instead go to a Mr Rasheed Soonak, a hitherto unknown British politician, rather than Rishi Sunak.

Gavin Mortimer

Are Macron and Sunak heading for a beautiful bromance?

A penny for the thoughts of Emmanuel Macron on Saturday when it seemed Boris Johnson might once more occupy No. 10. Hasta la Vista, baby. Oh Mon Dieu, non! Macron’s opinion of the former PM is on record, and the French in general were aghast at the prospect of Boris back in charge. One newspaper asked its readers in an online poll if they would welcome a second dose of Johnson: of the 240,000 people who responded, three-quarters said no. There was a time when BoJo was all the rage in France. In the summer of 2021 he was more popular than Macron – not hard, admittedly, given his unpopularity in many quarters – but eventually the French concluded that their president was right: Johnson is a clown. The events of recent weeks have bemused the French.

Gareth Roberts

What we’ll miss about Liz Truss

As Liz Truss prepares to leave Downing Street after 47 days in power, the PM’s reputation is in tatters. Seeing out the reigning monarch after seventy years, spooking the financial markets like a distant hyena terrifies a family of meerkats, and, incredibly, tanking the Tories’ poll rating to its lowest ever level at the same time as paying everybody’s gas bill. But listen, Liz. I wouldn’t worry. Because it doesn’t take very long before people start pining for and eulogising former prime ministers that drove them potty when they actually were in office. Just this weekend gone, singer Tanita Tikaram sent a much-liked tweet saying she would like Gordon Brown back.

Monday

24 October 2022

Kate Andrews

Can Rishi calm the markets?

On this morning’s Coffee House Shots, Fraser Nelson returned to the phrase he coined last Wednesday: ‘the muppet premium'. This premium, he said, summed up the additional borrowing costs markets were now demanding from the British government, having lost credibility for responsible and sustainable financing. Are there early signs that soon-to-be prime minister Rishi Sunak is already tackling this premium? While there hasn’t been significant movement in sterling today, the gilt markets already appear to be responding to the imminent change in leadership. 10-year gilt yields dropped under 4 per cent when the market opened at 8am, settling at around 3.8 per cent.

James Forsyth

Can Rishi steady the ship?

14 min listen

We have a new leader of the Conservative party. After Penny Mordaunt dropped out of the race just seconds before the deadline, Rishi Sunak will become the next prime minister. But he inherits a disunited party, war in Ukraine and a huge economic mountain to climb. What comes next?James Forsyth and Katy Balls discuss.Produced by Max Jeffery and Oscar Edmondson.

Winston Marshall

Helen Joyce: the truth about trans and why sex matters

63 min listen

Author and journalist Helen Joyce speaks to Winston about the most contentious issue of the age: the transgender debate. They discussed Mermaids, Tavistock, the Scottish Gender Bill and her new book; perhaps the most authoritative on the subject. Is the growing phenomenon what Jung called a 'psychic endemic'?

Stephen Daisley

Three ways Nicola Sturgeon will attack Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak’s first order of business will be restoring stability to the government and, thereafter, regaining the confidence of the markets. But the incoming prime minister will eventually have to confront a looming threat of even greater import: Scottish independence. Lawyers for the UK and Scottish governments are currently battling over the matter before the Supreme Court. Nicola Sturgeon wants to hold another referendum on independence next year, but Westminster has refused to grant one like it did in 2014 – so now Holyrood is testing whether the Scotland Act, which set up the devolved parliament, bars the Scottish government from holding a plebiscite of its own.

Isabel Hardman

What’s next for Rishi Sunak as prime minister?

What is Rishi Sunak going to do as prime minister? We are still little the wiser, even after he addressed the nation from CCHQ with an extremely short and vague statement. Without managing to look into the camera filming him, he promised that he would bring the party and the country back together, and paid tribute to his predecessor for leading the country with 'dignity and grace'. Sunak had expected the wheels to come off the Truss government at some point, though the speed at which they did surprised him Sunak said 'there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge', and that unity was the 'only way we will overcome the challenges we face and build a better, more prosperous future for our children and our grandchildren'.

Katy Balls

Inside Rishi Sunak’s first address to Tory MPs

It’s a rather strange leadership contest when the winner reaches the end without having said a single word in public. That’s what has happened in the case of the new Tory leader – and soon-to-be prime minister – Rishi Sunak. After Boris Johnson decided not to enter the race and Penny Mordaunt failed to reach the 100 MP nominations required, Sunak has been crowned the victor. There were a few hints that unity won’t be plain sailing Shortly after the result was announced, he addressed Tory MPs behind closed doors on the committee corridor of parliament. Sunak arrived with his team – which includes 2019 intake MPs Laura Trott, Claire Coutinho and Craig Williams – to loud cheers and the banging of desks.

Ross Clark

Rishi Sunak faces an impossible job

Well, good luck, Rishi. You’ll need it – and not just because, as backbench Tory MP Sir Christopher Chope put it this morning, the Conservative party has become ‘ungovernable’. The whole job of prime minister has become impossible. There are too many demands on the person who holds that position, and too much blame placed on them when people’s lives fail to live up to expectation. Liz Truss made a huge error in announcing a huge £100 billion welfare programme (the energy price guarantee) in conjunction with £45 billion of tax cuts, all uncosted. But would her premiership have proved much more successful had she been a bit more careful with her fiscal policy? Hardly.