‘There’s an awful lot more bile now’: Jonathan Lynn on how politics has changed since Yes Minister
A few years ago, everyone in Westminster was obsessed by The West Wing, but a decade of chaos and populism…
What is ‘Starmerism’?
If Keir Starmer didn’t already understand Harold Macmillan’s warning about ‘events, dear boy, events’, he got a lesson on Saturday.…
Starmer’s Chinese trip changes nothing
I just had lunch with several European ambassadors and they asked me whether Keir Starmer’s trip to China was important…
The second coming of Gordon Brown
At a Christmas party I witnessed a showdown between two Labour movers and shakers, one a devoted Starmerite, the other…
Jenrick’s defection strengthens both Kemi and Farage
What a week. Robert Jenrick’s defection to Reform yesterday electrified Westminster and the fallout is still spreading. When our editor asked…
‘We will use the power of democracy to blow you away’: Reform plots a path to No. 10
As he made his way to lunch on Monday, Danny Kruger, the former Tory MP who defected to Reform last…
Six things we learnt about Starmer’s government this week
Keir Starmer began the year saying that any minute he wasn’t focused on the cost of living would be a…
The 14 questions that will define British politics in 2026
Contemplating a new year always raises questions. Was there a Third Protocol? What was wrong with Oral-A? Can Keir Starmer…
Starmer caves to the farmers
The government has delivered an early Christmas present to farmers by modifying the new rules on inheritance tax. Or that’s…
Is Starmer finally learning the art of politics?
The theme of British politics in 2025 has been the assertion of the fun fringe over the staid centre. Nigel…
Starmer should pick a UN ambassador who knows Trump
After three months of speculation, Keir Starmer has appointed a replacement for Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington. The winner…
‘We must not be the Tory party 2.0’: Nigel Farage on his plans for power
Nigel Farage is signing football shirts when I arrive at Reform’s campaign headquarters in Millbank Tower, the building where New…
The 12 things that mattered in politics in 2025
We are in the pre-Christmas dog days and politics has, finally, slowed down a bit. Reflecting on 2025, here are…
Labour’s plan to unite the left
It is easy to criticise the Budget. The process was a chaotic mess. For many on the right, Rachel Reeves’s…
Has Reform peaked?
The week ends as it began, with Keir Starmer outlining plans to curb child poverty, news that Rachel Reeves won’t…
Nick Thomas-Symonds: ‘The Brexit architects essentially ran away’
With his owlish expression and affable manner, Nick Thomas-Symonds looks more like the academic that he was, rather than the…
Rachel Reeves’s road to ruin
Rachel Reeves is lucky that the name ‘omnishambles Budget’ has already been taken. When the entire document was published long…
Rachel Reeves’s Budget was based on fiction
I think we will look back on this week as one of the most pivotal of this government. It was…
Exclusive: Military chiefs go to war with Labour
While Westminster is consumed by the fallout from the Budget, I can reveal there is another major headache on the…
It’s time to dispose of the Budget
Denis Healey’s ‘caretaker Budget’ on 3 April 1979 is an odd focus for Labour nostalgia. It came a week after…
Inside the Wes Streeting plot
Keir Starmer is stuck in a catch-22. If he is to avoid the threat of continual leadership challenges, the Prime…
Keir Starmer’s omnishambles government
What a week. Seven days ago, we were wondering what Rachel Reeves was up to with her pre-Budget messaging. At…
What the heck is Rachel Reeves up to?
Welcome to my first Evening Blend. Unless there are earth-shattering events each Friday, my intention is to try to cut…
Gilded age: the lessons from Trump’s second term
Washington, D.C. When John Swinney, the SNP leader, and Peter Mandelson visited Donald Trump in the Oval Office a few…
The gym, the hairdresser, the campaign trail: the inside story of Kemi’s first year
On the day of the local elections in May, when the Tories suffered a historic setback, Kemi Badenoch went to…
