Uk politics

There had been a vague hope in No 10 that the long summer recess would give tired and grumpy Conservative MPs some time to relax, rejuvenate and heal old wounds. Alas the break only led to more feuding and when Parliament returns on Tuesday, Theresa May comes back to a party even more divided over Brexit than it was when she set off on her walking holiday. May’s old foe Boris Johnson makes the front of the Daily Telegraph with an assault on the Chequers plan. The former foreign secretary says the ‘scandal of Brexit is not that we failed, but that we have not tried’: ‘The whole thing is

Why does Jeremy Corbyn show such disdain for the mainstream Jewish community? Why does he prefer to associate with terrorist “friends” in Hamas and Hezbollah? And why does the Corbyn clique now in charge of Labour insist on diluting the internationally accepted definition of anti-Semitism? The fact is that – despite its own boasts about “anti-racism” – the far-left has had a longstanding problem with Jews, and not just with “Zionists.” This problem pre-dates 1844, when Karl Marx published On The Jewish Question; but Marx’s essay is a good place to start. In On the Jewish Question, Marx tied up Jews with capitalism: “What is the worldly religion of the

It can be hard adjusting to life after high office. One minute you’re one of the most powerful people in the country, the next, people are struggling to even remember your name. It’s not something that usually affects Boris Johnson, who is accustomed to spending time in the limelight even after he’s left high-profile positions. But it appears his stardom outside the UK might already be waning. Despite Boris visiting the country only last year, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta is already struggling to remember who he is. In a press conference alongside Theresa May this afternoon he recalled the visit, saying: ‘Last year, if you recall, the Foreign Secretary then,

I truly love the SNP and the wider independence movement in Scotland. They have been the defining commitment of my life. But today I have written to the National Secretary of the party resigning my membership. I read carefully Nicola Sturgeon’s statement on Sunday and watched her television interview of a couple of days ago. She made it clear that the SNP have never received a single complaint about my personal conduct in my many decades of membership. And the Scottish Government have confirmed that they did not have any such complaint before this January, more than three years after I left office as first minister. That is the record

Theresa May’s visit to Africa has helped to remind voters just what type of leader the Prime Minister is – a rather awkward one. First, May won attention for dancing out of step with South African school children. Now, she has given an iconic Maybot interview to ITV News. Here’s what the Prime Minister had to say: On her dancing this morning: ITV: If you were a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, how would you score your dancing this morning? TM: I suspect my dancing this morning might not make it on to Strictly. On BoJo: ITV: Have you noticed how much Boris Johnson wants your job? TM: I was

After a weekend of politicians feuding over the merits of a second referendum, Barry Gardiner, Andy Burnham and Conor Burns have become the latest politicians to criticise the People’s Vote campaign to do just this. Meanwhile the BBC reports of a leaked memo which shows that the group has its eye on changing Labour policy – encouraging MPs and activists to submit a motion at Labour conference next month. As I reveal in this week’s Spectator, the People’s Vote campaign – which argues the public should have a say on the final deal – has a three-point Parliamentary strategy when it comes to bringing about a second referendum. Although the

When the Liberal Democrats unveiled their new slogan – ‘Demand better’ –earlier this month, critics were quick to point out that it might not have the desired effect. One Lib Dem source soon snarked to Mr S that many Lib Dems do want to demand better – at least, of their lacklustre leader Sir Vince Cable. So with party conference now just weeks away and the prospect of Cable having to stand next to a lectern which reads ‘demand better’ nearing, it appears Cable may have taken the message to heart. Reports are swirling that the Lib Dem leader will signal next month that he plans to step aside before