Why are the Tories playing Farage’s game?
How should Rishi Sunak respond to the unwelcome insertion of Nigel Farage into the election campaign? The Prime Minister called…
Labour comes out of Scottish debate on top
There is a truism in British politics that things would be much more civil if there were more women in…
George Galloway: Labour is the ‘number one enemy’
George Galloway would be happy if his Workers’ Party of Britain denied Labour the chance of an outright majority at…
Kemi Badenoch isn’t alone in dodging the issue of social care
Elections aren’t just fights between the parties over policy. They also include conspiracies of silence where neither side will benefit…
Starmer’s safety-first campaign is backfiring
The problem with spending an election campaign saying as little new as possible is that it does leave a big…
Starmer’s ‘why Labour’ message needs to get slicker
Keir Starmer has been considerably less discombobulated by the election announcement than the party that made it, but he still…
Who dares, wins? Not Michael Gove
Michael Gove has just announced he is standing down at the election. He spent the past few days agonising privately…
Sunak hints at why he opted for a snap summer election
There is no good answer to the question of why Rishi Sunak called the general election for 4 July, other…
If only Starmer had answered his own questions at PMQs
Is Rishi Sunak going to announce the election date later today? Speculation was – once again – so rife that…
Can the Tories ensure the infected blood scandal never happens again?
Are the compensation payments announced today for victims of the infected blood scandal a just response to what happened? Paymaster…
Sunak apologises during ‘day of shame’
Rishi Sunak’s Commons apology for the contaminated blood scandal was reasonably comprehensive. The statement opened with him saying he wanted…
Will the NHS change after the infected blood scandal?
The victims of the infected blood scandal have had to wait a very long time for there to be a…
MPs demand a rethink on mental illness
Given so many people are suffering from some kind of mental distress at the moment, many of them out of…
The NHS’s maternity care has always been a mess
The latest report on maternity care in the UK hasn’t told us anything new. The headline finding of the parliamentary…
Elphicke defection baffles Tories at PMQs
If Natalie Elphicke’s defection had much of an effect on the mood of Tory MPs at today’s Prime Minister’s Questions,…
Parliament’s Rafah rage
It’s been a while since the Commons has had so much anger in it as it did during the urgent…
Jeremy Hunt snaps at Rachel Reeves over National Insurance
Rachel Reeves may have been getting attention for her accusation that the government is ‘gaslighting’ the public over the state…
Tories aren’t panicking – they expected a drubbing
Unsurprisingly, the overnight results from the local elections have been very bruising for the Conservatives. Local election results day is…
Do Tory MPs really believe Rishi Sunak can win the election?
Could Rishi Sunak be about to win the next general election? That suggestion, made at Prime Minister’s Questions today by…
Why Sunak is not for turning in his fight with junior doctors
Those waiting for the local election results before they look for evidence of Rishi Sunak’s fightback are running late: the…
The benefits bill won’t improve without an NHS turnaround
How much can Mel Stride really do to cut the benefits bill? In the Commons today, the Work and Pensions…
Rayner outsmarts Dowden at PMQs battle of the deputies
Few politicians have looked more pleased with a joke than Oliver Dowden did with his first offering at Prime Minister’s…
MPs need a proper HR service
The most damning bit of the lurid Mark Menzies case is that the Conservatives had been aware of the allegations…
Parliament votes for smoking ban
In the past few minutes, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill has passed its second reading by 383 votes to 67,…
What Liz Truss got right
It’s easy to laugh at Liz Truss bringing out a book, much harder to ask whether there are points she…
