Politics

Read about the latest political news, views and analysis

Tuesday

Jane Stannus

Where’s the outrage over Trudeau’s trip to Britain?

As Justin Trudeau waltzed through the UK, visiting Boris Johnson and the Queen, did anyone spare a thought for Canadians struggling under Trudeau’s authoritarian Covid power moves? In 2016, the British parliament debated whether Donald Trump, then running for the US presidency, ought to be banned from the UK for inflammatory 'hate speech'. When Trudeau announced his visit to the UK, did the House of Commons ask itself whether he should be made welcome?  Trudeau invoked the never-before-used Emergencies Act to resolve a parking problem Trudeau is no stranger to inflammatory language – having called the unvaccinated in Canada 'extremists', 'misogynists' and 'racists'. But it’s far worse than that.

Robert Tombs

Why is St Paul’s Cathedral commemorating a Benin slave trader?

The Church of England is rightly sensitive to the evils of slavery and racism. It has announced energetic measures to combat racism within its membership and to remove flagrant commemorations of slave owners in its churches. Following the Black Lives Matter protests, Archbishop Justin Welby remarked that: 'Some (statues and monuments) will have to come down'. It is a policy he continues to advocate. The anti-racism taskforce set up by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York has commented that: 'We do not want to unconditionally celebrate or commemorate people who contributed to or benefited from the tragedy that was the slave trade.' But does it always practise what it preaches?

Monday

Steerpike

Five times the SNP delayed indyref2

It's groundhog day up in Scotland as once more the SNP have found a reason to suggest why their desperately-needed, long-overdue second independence referendum... might have to be delayed again. For, despite a pliant press, a captive state and 15 years in power, the tartan nationalists are still unable to breach the magic figure of 50 per cent support for independence.  Having demanded a second referendum barely after the dust had settled on the first one, the SNP don't seem so keen on holding it, given the lack of any sizeable shift in their favour. In light of Ian Blackford's latest intervention, below are just five reasons given by the SNP since 2014 on why they have not yet held their long-awaited second referendum.

Steerpike

MPs get a budget increase (again)

The cost-of-living crisis has begun to bite but lucky MPs will be (partly) protected from the pinch. Their salaries are set to be hiked next month by £2,200 from £81,932 to £84,144 a year, following a review by IPSA, the independent watchdog established in the wake of the expenses scandal. The hike is set to coincide with energy bills soaring for millions of families and a National Insurance hike tax for workers – plus the consequences of whatever sanctions Mr Putin decides to inflict on us. Understandably there's been a bit of a backlash against the pay increase, with some in the Commons pledging to donate the extra cash to local charities. But the salary hike isn't the only funding increase our elected masters will get to see.

Winston Marshall

Putin has unified us – Ukrainian rock star turned freedom fighter

20 min listen

On this week's episode of Marshall Matters, Winston speaks with Svyatoslav Vakarchuk in Ukraine. Svyatoslav is the lead singer of Ukraine’s biggest band, Okean Elzy. He has also served in the Ukrainian parliament. Speaking to him on the eleventh day of conflict he describes his experience so far, the atmosphere of his invaded country and what he hopes for looking forward.

Katy Balls

Ukraine: how bad will UK energy prices get?

15 min listen

As the Russian invasion enters its twelfth day, fuel prices hit new records in the UK. Global leaders are preparing for the worst, is the UK braced for this too?Also on the podcast, what's behind Boris Johnson's six-point plan?'I would far rather Boris Johnson wasn't turning away Ukrainian refugees at the border in Calais than coming up with the six-point plan and expecting world leaders to follow' - Fraser Nelson.All to be discussed as Kay Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth. For more information on Ukraine, The Spectator has the latest data on our Datahub.

Debbie Hayton

What JK Rowling can teach Nicola Sturgeon about gender

For transsexuals like me, the Scottish Government's bill to reform the Gender Recognition Act is a disaster. If passed unamended, the bill would introduce 'self-identification', sweeping aside the checks and balances that make the process of changing ones's gender credible in the minds of the public.  This is not some minor administrative detail: allowing any man to effectively say he is a woman just because he wants to is an affront to women's safety and dignity. Women would have no choice but to introduce measures of their own if they want to protect their spaces, groups and associations. Meanwhile the lives of transsexuals like me would become much harder.

Steerpike

Liz sets up propaganda unit

With her many Instagram snaps, personal videographer and army of special advisers, Liz Truss knows a thing or two about spin. But now it seems the Foreign Secretary has applied her love of brand management to the department she runs too. The invasion of Ukraine last month was preceded and met with a bombardment of pro-Moscow propaganda on traditional and new media from the Kremlin’s useful idiots, excusing and justifying Putin’s actions. And now it seems Truss and her department have decided to fight fire with fire, turning back to the Cold War playbook to counter an old enemy in new forms. For the Foreign Office has, in recent weeks, set up a dedicated team to push back against the lies pedalled by the enemies of Britain and its enemies. Heartening stuff.

Katy Balls

Boris Johnson is operating in a new political reality

Boris Johnson is attempting to carve out a role for himself as the figure who can lead the West in its response to the invasion of Ukraine. Over the weekend, the Prime Minister penned an article for the New York Times – in which he set out his 'six-point plan' to defeat Putin. The points are closer to general principles than firm action. They include forming an 'international humanitarian coalition' for Ukraine and resisting Russia's 'creeping normalisation' of its actions.  Russia's decision to launch a full scale invasion of Ukraine has certainly stopped all talk of an imminent confidence vote in the Prime Minister over partygate Today Johnson will attempt to show he can be the mobiliser when he hosts Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Dutch PM Mark Rutte.

Richard Ekins

How Britain can speed up sanctions against the oligarchs

In contrast to its leadership in relation to economic sanctions against the Russian state, the UK has been much too slow in imposing sanctions on named Russian oligarchs and officials. The problem is not a lack of political will. Ministers have found it very difficult to swiftly impose sanctions on Russian nationals because of the terms of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 and the legal risks to which they give rise. Time then to change the law. The government is moving to address the problem. The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill has been brought forward and is set today to have its second reading and to complete all remaining stages in the House of Commons.

Sunday

Robert Peston

Why did Boris prioritise Lebedev’s peerage during the pandemic?

Like me, you probably remember the third week of March 2020 as though it were yesterday. Covid-19 was on these shores in scale. Hospitals were filling up with acutely sick people. On 16 March 2020, we'd been told by the Prime Minister to isolate at home for 14 days if we had Covid symptoms, to work from home where possible and to avoid unnecessary contact with anyone. On 23 March, Boris Johnson would announce full lockdown. It felt like the worst crisis since the second world war. It was the worst crisis since the second world war.

Matthew Taylor

Sunday shows round-up: Raab calls for Putin to be ‘held to account’

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab joined Sophie Raworth this morning to address the continuing developments in Ukraine. It is widely believed that the Russian army has failed to meet most of its key objectives since the invasion began on the 24 February. Within the first few days, Russian president Vladimir Putin had already given the command to place Russia’s vast nuclear deterrence forces on ‘high alert’. Raab suggested that Putin was just sabre-rattling: https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1500432498899226624?

Steerpike

Tory power couple’s TV love-in

It appears David Lammy isn't the only MP building a lucrative media career. Turning on GB News yesterday, Mr S enjoyed seeing not one but two Tory backbenchers presenting a show together: Esther McVey and her husband Philip Davies. The pair are very much the Beyonce and Jay Z of the Commons, having enjoyed parliamentary freebies together for a number of years.  And now the couple seem to be making the most publicly out of their private lives by hosting a programme on which they regularly invite their fellow Conservative MPs. Yesterday's offering for instance boasted not one but two of McVey's colleagues, with both Treasury minister John Glen and veteran Sir Christopher Chope being interviewed for segments on the show. Two Tory MPs interviewing a third?

Brian Wilson

Island communities are being devastated by the SNP’s ferries fiasco

On a recent television tour of Britain’s coast, Michael Portillo found himself in awe of the Outer Hebrides. Why would more people not live and work in this ‘paradise’, he wondered from a vast sun-kissed beach near where I live on Lewis. It was a fair question on such a day but the intrepid traveller had struck it lucky. Living on an island involves a high degree of dependency on ferries. And the reliability of the service provided by the state owned Caledonian MacBrayne, known as CalMac, on Scotland’s west coast is at an-time low for reasons that go far beyond the uncertainties of weather. This week alone brought news of further disruption after ‘corrosion’ was found in a 24 year-old vessel during annual maintenance.

Peter Apps

The state failures that led to the Grenfell Tower fire

This month, five years after the Grenfell Tower fire and four years after the inquiry began, ministers will finally be called to account for the government’s failure to prevent the awful fire. Four former Conservative ministers and one Liberal Democrat will be cross examined – with the inquiry focusing on the years following the Lakanal House fire, which killed six in south London in 2009. But the evidence heard in recent weeks – from former civil servants and representatives of organisations which advise government on fire safety – has already exposed what looks and sounds like a monstrous abdication of the state’s duty to protect the lives of its citizens.

Saturday

Sam Holmes

Freddy Gray, Lionel Shriver and Philip Patrick

21 min listen

On this week's episode, we'll hear from Freddy Gray on his time spent on the Poland–Ukraine border. (00:52)Next, Lionel Shriver on the return of actual badness. (06:28)And finally, Philip Patrick on the strange east Asian practice of hiring a ‘White Monkey’. (15:13)Produced and presented by Sam HolmesSubscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher.

Kate Andrews

Will Europe remain united against Putin?

18 min listen

Kate Andrews talks to James Forsyth and the historian Orlando Figes about whether Europe's united response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine will hold, and the effect of sanctions on Russia's economy and its oligarchs.

Michael Simmons

Sage admits its models were ‘at variance to reality’. But why?

The Sage committee was set up as a pool of experts on tap to advise government. During the pandemic, it mutated into something different: a group whose advice ended up advocating long lockdowns. Its regular meetings have now been discontinued, with questions being asked in No. 10 about whether it’s time to disband Sage and set up a new structure – in the same way that Public Health England was reformed and became the UK Health Security Agency. There will be plenty of lessons to learn. But we might not have much time to learn them: a new variant or (given the growth of genomic sequencing) a new pathogen could come along at any time. This matters.

Friday

Kate Andrews

Russia’s invasion: one week on

12 min listen

It's been just over a week since Vladimir Putin began his invasion of Ukraine and in that time we have seen some truly unprecedented events: A former comedian leading an extremely effective homeland resistance against one of the world's largest armies, an estimated million people fleeing over the borders and a more unified Western response than we have seen in decades. Kate Andrews talks with The Spectator's Editor Fraser Nelson and its Deputy Editor Freddy Gray to assess the shocking events we have seen this week.

Nick Cohen

Is Russia Today finished?

As the British authorities debate whether to ban the propaganda channel of a savage imperialist power, Russia Today is making a decent first of banning itself. Workers have been walking out for a week. The invasion was too much even for staffers who had spent years demeaning themselves by licking the boots of a dictatorship. Even if Sky and YouTube had not effectively closed the channel by pulling it from their platforms, RT would have faced extreme difficulty in continuing to broadcast from London, one ex-staffer told me. About half his former colleagues had quit, including large numbers of production staff the Russians needed to keep the channel on air. One had a Ukrainian family and was sick at the slaughter his paymasters had unleashed on his relatives.