James Heale

It was not quite at the eleventh hour – but it wasn't too far off. The Sentencing Council has tonight decided to delay the introduction of so-called 'two-tier guidance' after being threatened with emergency legislation to block it by the government. The new guidelines, which had been due to come into force on Tuesday, would have required magistrates and judges to consult a pre-sentence report before deciding whether to imprison someone of an ethnic or religious minority, or a young adult, abuse survivor or pregnant woman. Advocates of the move argued it would fix the disparity in sentencing between ethnicities. But critics claimed it would lead to criminals form minority backgrounds potentially avoiding jail by instead being handed more lenient community sentences.

A historic election defeat leaves the Conservatives crushed, Reform rampant and a left-wing government securely entrenched in power. The similarities between Canada in 1993 and the UK result of 2024 have been much remarked upon. But what is less discussed is the aftermath of that ‘93 result and the ten years it took to finally ‘unite the right’ under the merged Conservative party of Canada in 2003. The man at the centre of those debates was Preston Manning. He founded and led the Reform party from 1987 to 2000, spending the final three years as Leader of the Opposition in parliament. Manning, now 82, is something of an intellectual godfather for Nigel Farage. As far back as 2013, Farage – the-then leader of Ukip – was talking publicly of taking inspiration from Canada.

The English social season has begun, kicking off with Gold Cup day. But this year, there is a new common denominator in the seats of southern England where the middle classes congregate: Liberal Democrat MPs. From the Cheltenham Festival in March right the way through to Goodwood in September, it is Ed Davey’s party which represents the constituencies where Britain’s bourgeoisie are most comfortable. Whether it is the Boat Race in April (Richmond) or the Derby in June (Epsom and Ewell), or even Wimbledon and Henley in July, everywhere Pimm’s is served, a Lib Dem is the local MP. They dominate the Boden Belt. And even Tories despair that the Lib Dems are the real ‘party of the posh’. At this week’s spring conference, the party was in an optimistic mood.

At long last, we have a date. In just over a month’s time, Canadians will head to the polls to decide whether to end a decade of Liberal rule. Having succeeded Justin Trudeau as party leader on 9 March, Mark Carney has, predictably, opted not to play it long. By calling the election now, Carney conveniently does not have to face a hostile parliament – a showdown complicated by the fact that he does not actually have a seat in the House of Commons. Parliament had been due to return on Monday after being prorogued for two months. Instead, five weeks of campaigning now looms. Carney’s strategy is obvious. He wants to depict himself as the statesman most able to stare down Donald Trump and his tariff threats.

The people’s republic of Holborn and St Pancras is not exactly fertile Tory territory. But it was in a swanky office in Keir Starmer’s north London patch where Kemi Badenoch chose to make her big energy speech this morning. Rather than dwell on her long-awaited policy commissions, the Conservative leader spent the bulk of her speech explaining her decision to drop the party’s commitment to net zero by 2050. In something akin to a Tory TedTalk, she bestrode the stage, clicking through various slides, replete with charts explaining how the UK came to have ‘the highest electricity bills in the developed world.’ Virtually every element of current UK policy making in this field came under attack. Wind farms? Dependant on Chinese production from coal-fired power stations.

It is a hundred years in October since Margaret Thatcher's birth – so what Conservative leader would miss the chance to lay claim to the Iron Lady's legacy? Kemi Badenoch was up this afternoon as the keynote speaker at the Centre for Policy Studies' conference at the Guildhall in London. The theme of this year's annual Tory shindig has been 'remaking conservatism' – and Badenoch clearly sees an opening to remake conservatism in her image. Her remarks this afternoon were brief but kept to the pattern of her leadership bid last summer. Badenoch dubbed Mrs Thatcher 'the leader who saved our country: she didn't arrive in office to manage decline; she came to reverse it.

Dale Vince has donated millions of pounds to Labour, but the green energy tycoon is only just getting started in politics. Having helped remove the Tories from power last summer, Vince is turning his attention from party donations to offering ministers a ready-made policy platform instead. The 63-year-old wants to champion an eco-agenda for Keir Starmer’s government via his Green Britain Foundation. The six-man outfit works to apply ‘green principles to transport, food, sport, telecoms, jewellery’ – and now the world of Whitehall too. When we speak over Zoom, Vince is critical of Labour’s decision to press on with both carbon capture and the Sizewell C reactor.

Following Thursday's big speech on public sector reform, Sir Keir Starmer has since turned his attention back to foreign affairs. This morning the Prime Minister hosted a conference call with European and Commonwealth counterparts to discuss support for Ukraine. The 'coalition of the willing' met to discuss their response to Vladimir Putin's contemptuous dismissal of their efforts on Thursday night. With the Russian President seemingly reluctant to entertain an imminent ceasefire, today's 'virtual summit' was about maintaining a united front for the pre-negotiations. In his remarks, Starmer told coalition leaders that 'what this week has shown' is that Ukraine is 'the party of peace' as President Zelenskyy is the one who 'has committed to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire.