The end of the Elizabethan age
The Queen’s fragile smile in the official photograph released as she waited to appoint Liz Truss as her 15th Prime Minister…
Truss is in a stronger position than Thatcher – for now
People used to understand that they were ageing when they noticed police officers in their neighbourhood looking unfeasibly young. Given…
The issue that will win or lose the election for Liz Truss
Nobody knows what they think about Liz Truss. Not literally nobody – those of us with a wholly unusual level…
Albanian channel crossings are making our borders look like a joke
The wholesale abuse of the United Kingdom’s asylum system has taken a novel, absurdist twist in the last few months.…
Don’t write off Michael Gove
No senior politician has ever possessed a talent for upsetting prime ministers to match that of Michael Gove’s. David Cameron…
The Channel migrant crisis will make or break Liz Truss
Liz Truss has been clear about her key selling point throughout her leadership campaign. At its launch she boasted: ‘I…
Why Rishi Sunak shouldn't quit
We are in the depths of silly season. The perfect time, then, for the Conservative party to be choosing a…
How 'taking the knee' spoiled football
Premier League footballers ‘taking a knee’ came in at the tail end of the 2019-20 season, when stadiums were empty…
Why can't we enjoy England's football win without politicising it?
Not everything has to be politicised all the time. Some things are just news. Often bad news, such as an…
The triumph of Truss
This week has seen a dramatic development that has taken the Westminster Village by surprise: Britain suddenly has an identifiable…
The decline and fall of Rishi Sunak
Ed Balls, the intellectual powerhouse behind the economics of the New Labour era, was once described as having a brain…
Why I’m coming round to the idea of Prime Minister Truss
The prospect of Liz Truss becoming the United Kingdom’s third female prime minister is antagonising all the right people. Almost…
Kemi Badenoch will be the new Tory leader's secret weapon
There was an unmistakable whiff of an Addams Family portrait about the cabinet photocall that marked the final gathering of…
Liz Truss was the biggest loser of last night’s debate
Enid Blyton made a lot of money out of the Famous Five. Maybe she could have invented a brand called…
The triumph of Tory mediocrity
Every loser wins, once the dream begins. So sang the EastEnders actor Nick Berry in a godawful mid-1980s pop song…
Could Sunak implode?
There are few positions so perilous as being the frontrunner in a party leadership contest. Just being the heir apparent when…
The case for Kemi
At the very top end of politics there is a vital distinction that is underappreciated whenever the case for change…
There is no way out for Boris Johnson
Just after 6 p.m. yesterday it seemed like the Boris Johnson regime was in total, house of cards style collapse.…
Starmer should never be allowed to forget his Brexit betrayal
Keir Starmer has set down Labour’s Brexit red lines: if his party wins power, he will not take the UK back into…
How the Tories can bin Boris
There are not very many good things to say about the Conservative party in Parliament these days. Barely a month…
Tories shouldn't bin Boris yet
If only they had waited until today. Had Tory MPs cleared the threshold for a confidence vote in Boris Johnson…
Boris versus the unions
In politics, a leader sometimes needs to be ruthless and mean, patiently soak up the public opprobrium directed his way…
Is Boris willing to make the Rwanda plan work?
Priti Patel’s first go at deporting migrants to Rwanda is turning before our eyes into one of those answers from…
Will the government stand up to mob rule?
A very big week is in store for the government’s strategy to tackle illegal immigration with all eyes on the…
The Tories are becoming ungovernable
Today’s no-confidence vote in Boris Johnson is best seen as the next stage of a determined long-term plot to bring…
