James Heale is The Spectator’s deputy political editor.
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Another impressive PMQs from Kemi Badenoch – but she had plenty of ammunition to deploy after the Peter Mandelson scandal took a bleaker turn this week. The Prime Minister clearly wanted to make a strong statement in his first answer to Kemi Badenoch, saying that ‘Mandelson betrayed our country, our parliament and my party’. He
British by-elections are often prolonged affairs, dragging on for months. Yet in the Manchester seat of Gorton and Denton – once home to Myra Hindley and the Gallagher brothers – campaigners are on a frantic dash to canvas the 82,000 voters before polling day on 26 February. ‘It is a proper three-horse race,’ says one.
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Coffee House Shots is on the road today. James Heale and Megan McElroy have travelled up to the frozen north to speak to the candidates who are lobbying locals in the lead-up to the Gorton and Denton by-election. This is the seat vacated by Labour’s Andrew Gwynne, and made famous by Keir Starmer refusing to
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It is one of the staple headlines of British politics: Peter Mandelson has resigned. The so-called Prince of Darkness was sacked as US ambassador last September, yet that has done little to stem the flow of stories about the alleged nature of his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. This weekend saw the publication of a
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In his column this week, Tim Shipman has finally hit upon an answer to the age-old question: what is Starmerism? After a concerted effort from his team to tie the Prime Minister down to a definitive ‘-ism’, he has delivered a threefold structure: firstly, the contestable claim that Labour has achieved macroeconomic stability by clinging
Keir Starmer has this morning arrived in Shanghai after two days in Beijing. He is expected to spend much of today talking up the ‘wins’ he has secured from his China trip. Yet it is striking how much of the briefing from ministers is around future deals to come, rather than actual deals secured to
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It is our solemn duty to inform listeners that David Lammy won deputy PMQs at a canter today. To be frank, it was a low-rent affair. Andrew Griffith was the Tory sent out to question David Lammy while Keir Starmer is in China, and the shadow business secretary didn’t do a particularly good job. Perhaps
After three defections in ten days, what exactly can Kemi Badenoch do to get back on the front foot? This morning, we got our answer. The Tory leader sought to use her big press conference to laugh off the loss of Messers Jenrick, Rosindell and Braverman, in a 20-minute speech which blended levity with gravity.
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Keir Starmer lands in China tonight as he becomes the first British Prime Minister to visit since Theresa May in 2018. Sam Hogg from the Oxford China Policy Lab and James Heale join Patrick Gibbons to assess the UK-China relationship right now, what Labour is hoping to get from the visit and whether there are
Another one bites the dust. Suella Braverman this morning was unveiled as the latest defector to Reform UK. The former home secretary told 600 attendees at the launch of ‘Veterans for Reform’ that she finally felt she had ‘come home’ by switching parties. Beaming on stage, she declared passionately that, ‘I believe with my heart
Andy Burnham has been blocked from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election. The vote this morning by Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) was not even close, with the ten-man panel voting eight to one against allowing him to stand. Lucy Powell, Labour’s deputy leader, was the only to vote for him; Shabana Mahmood,
From our US edition
Westminster, London Donald Trump might be determined to acquire more US land – here in Britain, however, our leaders are determined to give it away. A deal to hand over control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is in the final stages of parliamentary approval. Trump initially backed the deal, yet U-turned after his Greenland
Andy Burnham has tonight confirmed that he wants to be a candidate in the forthcoming Gorton and Denton byelection. The Greater Manchester mayor submitted an application before the 5pm deadline. Ten officers on Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) will tell Burnham by tomorrow what decision they reach. ‘The Gorton and Denton by-election looks to
Keir Starmer has tonight been forced to stall the Bill which would hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius. The legislation enabling the deal was expected to be debated in the Lords on Monday. But this evening, it was revealed that the votes have been delayed amid parliamentary ping-pong and a backlash from the Americans.
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With the Conservatives on watch for further defectors, academic Richard Johnson and Conservative peer Danny Finkelstein join James Heale to discuss whether British politics rewards traitors or faithfuls. Richard points out that often personal success is dependent on whether the party goes on to be a major or minor player in British politics; Winston Churchill
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Three big stories for James Heale and Tim Shipman to pick over today: Andy Burnham’s return, the Donald Trump that refuses to go away, and the continued fallout of Robert Jenrick’s defection to Reform. This afternoon we found out that former Labour minister Andrew Gwynne is on the brink of standing down as an MP,
To committee room 14, where many of the remaining 117 Tory MPs crammed in tonight to hear from their leader. Kemi Badenoch was welcomed with 25 seconds of prolonged banging from her colleagues, after a week in which, first Robert Jenrick, and then Andrew Rosindell chose to defect to Reform. Having addressed both the right-wing
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Keir Starmer scored a rare win at PMQs, talking tough on Trump in light of the President’s escalating rhetoric on Greenland and the Chagos Islands. Kemi Badenoch pressed the Prime Minister on foreign affairs and Britain’s relationship with the US president, and Starmer departed from his usual caution to strike a notably firmer tone. What
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China’s controversial ‘super embassy’ has been approved, after years of debate over the security risks. Campaigners had called on ministers not to give the site the green light, given its proximity to important internet cables that support the City of London. MI5 have admitted they can’t ‘wholly eliminate’ the national security risks around the site.
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Donald Trump has thrown another diplomatic hand grenade. This weekend, the President threatened sweeping tariffs on countries backing Greenland’s independence – a move that has rattled European capitals and reignited questions about America’s global strategy. Is this about Arctic security, rare earth minerals, or something more personal? As tensions rise, how should Britain respond? Can
