Sebastian Payne

Video: Frank Field pulls apart the coalition’s Modern Slavery Bill

From our UK edition

How radical is the coalition’s Modern Slavery Bill? On this week’s View from 22 podcast, the Labour MP Frank Field discusses the government’s efforts to clamp down on slavery and human trafficking with Isabel Hardman. Will the result be a Tory victory, a coalition win or a cross-party effort? Is Theresa May lacking the gumption

Podcast: The UK without Scotland, assisted dying and modern slavery

From our UK edition

How would the rest of the United Kingdom cope without Scotland? On this week’s View from 22 podcast, James Forsyth discusses his Spectator cover feature with Fraser Nelson and Eddie Bone from the Campaign for an English Parliament. Would England be left a lesser country without Scotland? Why has no one looked into how dramatic

Briefing: The three main parties’ offers on localism

From our UK edition

How much common ground do the political parties have on localism? As Isabel pointed out this morning, Labour and the Conservatives are engaged in an arms race to see who can out do the other on plans to devolve powers from central government. All politicians love to talk up localism — particularly in opposition, where

Tower Hamlets: more allegations of obfuscation and electoral malpractice

From our UK edition

Will investigators ever get to the bottom of what’s going on in Tower Hamlets? London’s most dubious borough has several ongoing inquiries into the alleged misuse of funds, electoral malpractice and voter intimidation. The first of these appears to be encountering some issues. Following a Panorama programme on the borough’s mayor Lutfur Rahman, the Department

Five things you need to know about the NHS’s Jimmy Savile report

From our UK edition

The NHS has released the findings of its investigations into Jimmy Savile’s relationship with several hospitals and the accusations of abuse. Leeds General Infirmary has been the location of the most shocking incidents, which occurred from 1962 to 2009. Victims have reported abuses ranging from inappropriate comments to sexual assault and rape. Here are the

Listen: Could this George Galloway speech save the Union?

From our UK edition

Unionists frequently lament the lack of passionate figures on the Better Together campaign, able to take on Alex Salmond. Thankfully, there is at least one such person — George Galloway. His nine minute speech at last night’s Spectator debate is one of the most forceful and convincing arguments we’ve heard so far against Scottish Independence.

Tories set to take a dozen seats from Lib Dems in 2015

From our UK edition

How many seats will the Conservatives take from the Lib Dems at the next election? According to Lord Ashcroft’s latest polling, a dozen or so Tory-Lib Dem marginals look set to change hands. Surveying 17,000 voters in 17 seats*, Ashcroft has found the Lib Dems’ share has dropped by 15 per cent (compared to eight per cent

Video: can Labour solve its Miliband problem?

From our UK edition

Ed Miliband’s popularity ratings have sunk below those of Nick Clegg this week, so what can Labour do? In this week’s View from 22 podcast, James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman discuss the Miliband problem —we’ve put together the video highlights above. Will Labour contemplate sacking him? Is there anyone else who could do a better

Ed Miliband apologises for endorsing The Sun

From our UK edition

Ed Miliband’s love affair with The Sun has ended almost as soon as it had begun. Following reports that he was ‘very very sorry’ for endorsing the newspaper, the Labour leader appears to have u-turned under pressure from his own party. A Labour spokesperson said this afternoon: ‘Ed Miliband was promoting England’s bid to win the World

Labour MPs disagree with Ed Miliband over The Sun

From our UK edition

Ed Miliband appears to have had a sudden change of heart about The Sun. After calling for Rupert Murdoch’s empire to be dismantled, the Labour leader has endorsed The Sun’s World Cup special today. Not all of his colleagues feel the same way — many of them have been tweeting critical remarks about the paper. Here’s

Podcast: the betrayal of British Muslims and the new Iraq war

From our UK edition

Do we need to take more action to tackle the Islamist threat in British schools? On this week’s View from 22 podcast, The Spectator’s Douglas Murray and Matthew Parris debate this week’s cover feature on whether the Birmingham ‘Trojan Horse plot’ is the results of years of weak policy and inaction. Should we wait until