Politics

Read about the latest political news, views and analysis

Saturday

Robin Ashenden

The tortured life of Stalin’s daughter

Svetlana Alliluyeva, Joseph Stalin’s daughter, would have been 100 years old today, and she is one of history’s curios worth remembering. Born when Stalin was already installed as Lenin’s successor, and dying in 2011, well into the rule of Vladimir Putin – whom she referred to as an ‘awful former KGB-SPY’ – Alliluyeva, who defected to the West in 1967, embodied all the violent ups and downs of her age. As her biographer Rosemary Sullivan put it, ‘The epoch drove right through her because she was Stalin’s daughter; all the pluses and minuses of this system went straight through her.’ ‘Something in me was destroyed’, she wrote. ‘I was no

David Herman

What is the greatest Jewish book ever written?

What are the best Jewish books? Who are the best Jewish writers? And what are the best books about Judaism? At the beginning of March, Jewish Book Week will celebrate its 75th anniversary so there is no better time to ask these big questions. Among the best Jewish-American books are Henry Roth’s classic novel about immigration, Call It Sleep and Saul Bellow’s Herzog The best Jewish books are a wonderful mix of novels, short stories and plays. Some are American, many are by Soviet or east European writers, and a few are British. Among the best Jewish-American books are Henry Roth’s classic novel about immigration, Call It Sleep, Saul Bellow’s

Friday

Tim Shipman

The winners and losers from the Gorton by-election

So Gorton and Denton has become another of those parliamentary seat names which enters the collective memory of British politics – a name which will stand alongside Glasgow Hillhead, Brent East, Clacton and Bermondsey in the annals of great by-election wins. Divining what it all means could take months or years, but here is my list of winners and losers. BIG WINNER: Zack Polanski and the Green party Before last night, the Greens had never won more than 10 per cent (and change) in a British by-election. In Gorton and Denton they topped 40 per cent and won easily. They benefited both from becoming the protest vote of choice against a

Paul Stott

The politics of the ‘Muslim vote’

British politics looks very different today. Opinion polls suggested for some months that the Greens could challenge and defeat Labour in its traditional seats – Hannah Spencer has now gone and done it. With Reform’s Matt Goodwin pushing Labour into third, Keir Starmer is now being pulled apart from all sides. The issue of Gaza was central to Spencer’s campaign, rooted in the Gorton half of the constituency with a high number of Muslim voters. The appearance of Palestinian and Pakistani flags on election night and an Urdu video promoting the Greens, complete with images of Labour leaders with ‘baddies’ such as Modi and Netanyahu, made uncomfortable viewing for many.

Kunwar Khuldune Shahid

The origins of the Pakistan-Afghanistan war

Pakistan and Afghanistan are at war with each other. Early Friday morning, Pakistan struck major Afghan cities including Kandahar and the capital Kabul, targeting Taliban military offices. ‘Ghazab Lil Haqq’, or Operation Righteous Fury, began after the Pakistani government said it had ‘run out of patience’ with the Taliban. On Thursday, the Taliban launched cross-border attacks on Pakistani security forces after Islamabad struck what it claimed were terror camps on Afghan territory last weekend. The roots of this war go back five years to the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, following the departure of US-led Nato forces. The resurgence of the Taliban was perceived as a triumph by the Pakistani state,

David Shipley

The CPS has failed in its bid to create an Islamic blasphemy law

For much of the last year, it has seemed like the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been battling to create a de facto Islamic blasphemy law in Britain. But today, they suffered a great defeat when the Court of Appeal rejected their bid to overturn the acquittal of Hamit Coskun, whose conviction for burning a Quran was overturned in October. For now, at least, there is no blasphemy law in England. It’s worth reflecting though on how strange and sinister the CPS’s actions have been, and what they have tried to do.  It’s worth reflecting on how strange and sinister the CPS’s actions have been, and what they have tried

Luke Tryl

How Gorton & Denton changed British politics | with Luke Tryl

28 min listen

In the end, it was not even that close. The Green party has stormed to victory in Gorton and Denton, winning their first ever parliamentary by-election by more than 4,000 votes. The result changes everything: the Lib Dems are no longer the party of the protest vote; Reform’s tanks are parked on Labour’s lawn; the left has split; and the Tories are nowhere to be seen. The era of two-party politics is well and truly over, and this morning’s result could well be remembered as the moment when that became glaringly apparent. Where do we go from here? James Heale and Tim Shipman discuss with pollster Luke Tryl. Produced by

How Gorton & Denton changed British politics | with Luke Tryl
John Curtice

Is Gorton and Denton the deathknell for two-party politics?

A certain question has been hanging in the air ever since the 2024 general election, when between them the Conservatives and Labour won less than three-fifths of the vote. But following the Greens’ success in the Gorton & Denton by-election, it has now become an even more pressing issue. Can the Conservative-Labour duopoly that has dominated British politics during the post-war period survive? Both parties received a drubbing in yesterday’s by-election. Labour’s share of the vote was nearly halved from 50.8 per cent in 2024 to 25.4 per cent, leaving the party trailing in third place behind Reform. The Conservatives fared even worse, winning just 1.9 per cent of the

Stephen Daisley

Labour can’t complain about sectarianism in Gorton

And with that, what was once racist is now allowed to be said. What was yesterday a conspiracy theory is today a legitimate observation. In the wake of the Gorton and Denton by-election, which the Greens won handsomely with an ethnic sectarian campaign designed to maximise the Pakistani-heritage vote, the Labour establishment is abuzz with ominous talk of ‘family voting’ and the role of this practice, in which men decide the votes of all eligible electors in their household, in securing victory for Hannah Spencer. An outfit calling itself ‘Democracy Volunteers’ put out a report last night, something the group admits it ‘rarely’ does, claiming ‘extremely high’ levels of family

Steerpike

Starmer: I am going nowhere

Poor old Sir Keir. It turns out that there was indeed a large anti-Reform tactical vote in Gorton – it just is not willing to vote for his party. Following the Greens’ runaway success in last night’s by-election, it was left to Starmer to do the time-honoured tradition of beleaguered party leaders: do five minutes with the broadcasters in which the proverbial gets kicked out of them. Talk about good telly… The Prime Minister cut an unconvincing figure as he admitted that it had been a disappointing night – but that he is going nowhere. He told Sky: I will also fight against the extremes in politics, on the Right

Nick Cohen

The shamelessness of Zack Polanski

The Gorton and Denton by-election gives us a taste of the vicious future that awaits England. The most dynamic force on the left, the Green party, and on the right, Reform, are united in their willingness to replace the old world of Labour and the Tories with sectarian politics. If a right-wing politician behaved like Zack Polanski, the left would be screaming to the very heavens about his breathtaking cynicism and recklessness Before I go any further, I must acknowledge the obvious and say that the collapse of the old parties is their own fault. The failures of the 2010-2024 Conservative government have doomed the party, while one does not need

Madeline Grant

Hannah Spencer has mastered tweeslop

Politics students of the future – if there are any who can see the full length of study without recourse to industrial amounts of anti-depressants – will study the Gorton and Denton by election, which saw the Greens’ Hannah Spencer beat not only Labour but also Matt Goodwin of Reform. So they all appeared in the early hours of the morning for one of the last vestigial rites of functioning British democracy: the leisure centre humiliation. A visibly graceless Mr Goodwin stood there, looking like a waxwork of the acid bath murderer. The Monster Raving Loony man looked positively normal. The main thrust of Ms Spencer’s speech was that she

Julie Burchill

Do Gorton’s Green voters know what they’ve done?

They say you can never go home again, but if I think of my hometown of Bristol – and my adopted hometown of Brighton and Hove – the similarities are striking. The rise of the Green Party has much to do with this. When I was growing up in the beautiful, but quiet, West Country city in the 1960s and 1970s, I couldn’t wait to escape to somewhere buzzier. Well, they say be careful what you wish for. Now the two cities share ‘progressive’ politics of the most regressive kind; that distinctive Veruca-Salt-joins-the-Stasi brand which is obsessed with the evil of Israel and the transcendent wonder of ‘trans.’ Voters in Gorton

Patrick West

What Esther Rantzen needs to know about ‘religious people’

In politics, there has always been an assumption held by atheists, humanists and many liberals in general that those of a modern, secular persuasion act with autonomy and reason because they are unencumbered by religious belief. They believe themselves in possession of an intellect that needs no external crutch or sanction. While this enables them to achieve objective detachment, those who cling to religion can never attain such a refined plateau of enlightenment: their convictions are indelibly shaped and clouded by religious dogma. The accusation levelled at ‘religious people who have their own beliefs’ appears to assume that only religious types have peculiar beliefs This assumption has been unmistakeably lurking

Tim Shipman

Green victory in Gorton and Denton

-19 min listen

The Greens have taken Gorton and Denton, defeating both Labour and Reform in the early hours of this morning. Hannah Spencer’s victory marks the first ever Green by-election gain – but the real shock is Labour’s collapse into third place in one of its safest seats. For Sir Keir Starmer, it’s hard to imagine a worse result. Labour MPs are up bright and early briefing against the Prime Minister, whose odds of a leadership challenge just soared. Tim Shipman and James Heale join Megan McElroy to discuss.

Green victory in Gorton and Denton
Ross Clark

Labour’s Gorton defeat shows that Keir Starmer is finished

In the end it wasn’t even close. The Greens won the Manchester Gorton and Denton by-election with some to spare, winning 40.7 per cent of the vote. Reform UK, who looked the main challengers at the beginning of the campaign came second on 28.7 per cent, and Labour, as had looked likely, were pushed into third on 25.4 per cent. The defeat reflects very badly on Starmer Even taking into account the long history of by-elections producing a protest vote which does not get repeated at a general election, Keir Starmer is pretty well finished as Prime Minister. The defeat reflects very badly on him personally because he intervened to stop a

Jonathan Sacerdoti

The Gail’s attacks are brainless – and terrifying

If anti-Israel agitators wish to avoid being described as terrorists, they might begin by ceasing to terrorise ordinary people. The smashing of the Gail’s branch in Archway, north London, red paint flung across its walls, slogans sprayed beside its door, is the latest instalment in a now familiar pattern: vandalism presented as virtue, intimidation dressed up as solidarity. The activists call it protest, but let’s call it by its real name: menace. To vandalise Gail’s in the name of Gaza is a deliberate effort to intimidate and must be treated as such The branch’s windows were broken twice within a single week. Slogans reading “Reject corporate Zionism” and “Boycott” were

James Heale

Green by-election triumph is a sign of things to come

In the end, it was not even that close. The Green party has stormed to victory in Gorton and Denton, winning their first ever parliamentary by-election by more than 4,000 votes. Hannah Spencer, the new MP, pulled off an impressive result, winning 41 per cent of the vote compared to Reform’s Matt Goodwin on 29 per cent and Labour’s Angeliki Stogia in third on 26 per cent. In her victory speech, Spencer – a plumber – attributed her victory to ordinary people being ‘bled dry’ and jokingly apologised to customers who had booked in her services. If Hannah Spencer is the clear winner, then Keir Starmer is the obvious loser

‘MPs are just not good enough’ – Munira Mirza on Boris, Starmer and the need for leadership | part two
Michael Gove

‘MPs are just not good enough’ – Munira Mirza on Boris, Starmer and Britain’s leadership crisis | part two

42 min listen

This is the second part of Michael Gove’s conversation with Munira Mirza. After reflecting in part one on multiculturalism and the fractures in modern Britain, this second instalment turns to the question of leadership, and the lessons both Boris and Starmer should learn. Munira reflects on Boris Johnson’s premiership, describing him as ‘a better man than many of his detractors would admit’ but acknowledging his foibles and lack of decisiveness at critical moments. Was he a good Prime Minister? They go on to debate whether the wiring of the British state – from the Human Rights Act to the Equality Act – has made effective government harder, and whether Reform

Is Labour too close to the City – with Lionel Shriver & Robert Hardman
Lionel Shriver

Is Labour too close to the City – with Lionel Shriver & Robert Hardman

35 min listen

Britain’s banks have a hold over Rachel Reeves, declares Michael Simmons in the Spectator’s cover piece this week. Almost two decades on from the 2008 financial crash, the UK has failed to reform the system and – as ordinary people face a cost-of-living crisis – Labour is in hock to big business. Is the Chancellor too close to the City? For this week’s Edition, host Lara Prendergast is joined by economics editor Michael Simmons, columnist Lionel Shriver, and columnist from the Daily Mail Robert Hardman. As well as Labour’s relationship with the banking industry, they discuss: the hit BBC show Industry; how the Royals have frozen out (former Prince) Andrew – and