Conservative party
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…
Why Sheridan Westlake is the Tories’ best weapon
Who is responsible for Labour’s recent woes? For some Conservatives, the answer is obvious – Sheridan Westlake. He is that…
Portrait of the week: Synagogue attack, pro-Palestine protests and a new Archbishop of Canterbury
Home Two men at a synagogue at Heaton Park in Manchester were killed on Yom Kippur when Jihad al-Shamie, 35,…
The real war is to come for the Tories
British politics often resembles a golden-age murder mystery, with multiple parties sitting anxiously on the sofas/green benches waiting for the…
Kemi Badenoch: how I plan to save the Tories
Kemi Badenoch is in ebullient form. She promises the Conservative party conference, which begins this weekend in Manchester, will be…
The Tories must free themselves from the cult of Thatcher
Like every Tory Boy, I had a Margaret Thatcher poster. I put it up when I was 15 and had…
What Nigel Farage told me
I recently attended the Young Dancer of the Year competition at the Royal Opera House, organised by the formidable Jacquie…
Danny Kruger: ‘There’s no going back for the Tory party’
‘The Conservative party is over.’ Until recently, such talk could be dismissed in Westminster as typical Nigel Farage hyperbole. But…
Is the countryside racist?
Crossing the floor Danny Kruger defected from the Tories to Reform, the first sitting MP to do so. Which parties…
Why I gave up on the Tories
The days between my leaving the Tories and joining Reform were an odd uneven time. It was the hardest decision…
The return of Keir vs Andy
When Labour MPs met to hear from their leader on Monday, there was one group who felt particularly aggrieved. In…
Farage, flags and the forgotten English
The flag-raisings in towns and cities across the country are an inevitable consequence of elites’ seeming preference for every flag…
Leave bad manners to the public, not the police
Most people deplore bad behaviour in public and gratuitous breaches of etiquette and manners on trains and buses. Few would…
Could Danny Kruger save the Conservatives?
I’ve seen signs of life in the Conservative party – unlikely I know, but true. I had thought it a…
Norman Tebbit was the symbol of an age
Norman Tebbit, who died this week aged 94, was a self-made man who shouldered his way to the top of…
Why the Tories should oppose regime change
As a minister I lived by mantras: simple principles that summed up how I believed you got things done. Faced…
Inside the Conservative clubs that are turning Reform
My first job was working behind the bar of the Richmond Conservative Club in North Yorkshire. The place was as…
Sunday shows round-up: Reeves says living standards will increase
Rachel Reeves: ‘I’m confident we will see living standards increase’ A report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found that…
Nigel’s gang: Reform’s plan for power
A year ago, Reform party aides found themselves in a cramped office in Victoria, London, bickering about chairs. ‘There weren’t…
Could a Tory/Reform pact be looming?
In 1603, James VI managed to do what few thought possible. The self-styled first King of Great Britain succeeded in…
Letters: What we lose when we lose our factories
Chains of command Sir: Matthew Lynn is correct to emphasise the economic dangers of deindustrialisation (‘Not made in Britain’, 25…
Reform overtake Tories on Spectator poll tracker
The new year is off to a bad start for Kemi Badenoch’s Tories. The latest update to The Spectator data…
Donald Trump and new political disorder
Donald Trump isn’t back in the White House yet, but already his victory is being felt across the world. Greenland…
Right move: will Britain benefit from the global conservative turn?
The world appears to be turning on its axis – and moving hard to the right. The New World is tilting hardest.…
Was Graham Brady really the awesome power-broker he imagines?
His kiss-and-tell memoir implies that the past five Tory prime ministers all feared him. But the longtime Chair of the 1922 Committee was in reality no ‘kingmaker’
