Politicians’ contempt for the press is contempt for the public
I was hacked by the Chinese a few years ago. Security at News UK, where I was employed on the…
Rod Liddle was one of the finest journalists of his generation
I only met Rod Liddle a few times, though at The Spectator and the Sunday Times I worked alongside him…
No election? Don’t bet on it
When Dwight D. Eisenhower had to decide whether to launch the D-Day armada he kept a close eye on the…
Andy Burnham’s centrist act isn’t fooling anyone
When Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood arrived in Downing Street on Monday afternoon, the image of political rivals arm in…
Voters are buying what Burnham is selling
We are approaching the end of Andy Burnham’s first week in power. There are as many questions as answers about…
Andy Burnham can’t afford to please everyone
Andy Burnham thinks his critics need a new joke about him. The old one about a Blairite, a Brownite and…
Andy Burnham has a plan – but he won’t tell us what it is yet
Burnham’s schtick is that he is going to re-discover Labour’s true faith When I was covering Barack Obama’s battle with…
Will Nigel Farage’s big gamble pay off?
When Reform high command gathered in the boardroom of their Millbank headquarters last Tuesday, the meeting was supposed to be…
Westminster reels at Ann Widdecombe murder probe
Westminster is reeling from the news that police believe Ann Widdecombe, the former shadow Home Secretary, was murdered. She was…
Reform is right to fear the return of Boris
The man from Reform had barely sat down at our table at the French bistro when he leant forward conspiratorially…
Can Labour’s Golden Generation deliver?
Andy Burnham is just finishing an ‘ask me anything’ Reddit interview, which may shed some light on his plans, but…
Can Burnham resist the siren call of the left?
Power, when it is gained and lost, is transferred in stages: the actual, the visual and the constitutional. The latter…
Five things I’m hearing about the Burnham ascendancy
We are at the phony war/silly season stage of the Andy Burnham ascendancy and there’s a lot of nonsense flying…
The 42 reasons why Keir Starmer failed
Before David Cameron got the job of prime minister, he was asked why he wanted it. ‘Because I’d be good…
‘As soon as Andy wins, the world changes’: Burnham’s plans for power
There is no situation room, no wall of flatscreens or a hotline to the White House, just a few chairs…
The nine contenders to be Burnham’s chancellor
Andy Burnham is the new MP for Makerfield and is well on the way to becoming the new prime minister.…
‘Rupert Lowe turns up for work; Nigel Farage doesn’t’: an interview with Kemi Badenoch
There was a moment backstage, before I interviewed Kemi Badenoch for a Spectator event this week, when I felt like…
Starmer is facing the beginning of the end of the end
This is not the end, but it’s well past the beginning of the end, or even the middle of the…
John Healey’s resignation is devastating for Keir Starmer
I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve heard two things in recent months. Serving and retired military commanders,…
Revealed: the missing Mandelson messages
Darren Jones has become the government’s Walter Model, the general known during the second world war as ‘the Führer’s fireman’…
The three faces of Andy Burnham
When he appeared on Question Time yesterday evening, Andy Burnham said the quiet bit out loud – he does intend to run…
Reform’s strange balancing act
Nothing illustrates the challenge facing Reform UK better than the strained interview Danny Kruger gave to the Today programme on…
‘Being a Labour mayor in Manchester is playing politics on easy mode’: Is Andy Burnham up to the job of PM?
When the Labour party football team played a group of journalists at Loftus Road two years ago the hacks won…
Who will be the next prime minister?
What a week. A prime minister on the skids. A pretender to the throne resigning. The favourite putting his career…
The Burnham Gambit: Makerfield or Breakerfield?
Josh Simons, the MP for Makerfield, has decided to stand aside and resign his seat so that Andy Burnham can…
