Conservative party
The conversion therapy bill is a thoroughly bad idea
I was disappointed to learn that Rishi Sunak has reconsidered his opposition to a bill banning conversion therapy. Not because…
The Tory vote squeeze
When the cabinet gathered on Tuesday morning, the meeting started as a sombre affair. Just days before, the Conservatives had…
It’s time to take Italian wine seriously
Tuscany: earth has not anything to show more fair. The landscape is charming. The gentle hills seem to smile down…
Britain is not a technocracy
The term ‘technocracy’, or more often ‘technocrat’, is found everywhere. Both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer are referred to as…
Tories know how to find themselves a good drink
I feel old, and feelings are not always wrong, This eheu fugaces mood came on me at the Conservative party…
Can Sunak establish himself as a radical?
The Conservatives gather in Manchester this weekend for what may well be their last hurrah as a governing party. Bookmakers…
‘The zealots are turning people off’: Claire Coutinho on net zero and her bond with Rishi Sunak
The new Energy Secretary on net zero and her bond with the PM
At least Britain isn’t that corrupt
Long-time readers may recall that I take a special interest in the art of corruption. And this week America has…
Sunak’s new strategy: hard truths
The last time Tory activists and MPs gathered for their annual party conference, it didn’t end well. Liz Truss had…
Broken Britain: what went wrong?
Who broke Britain?
Britain has an entitlement problem
An Institute for Fiscal Studies paper, published at the end of last month, makes grim reading. Through the prism of…
The Tories need a shake-up – and Sunak knows it
When prime ministers sense the end is near, they tend to follow a similar pattern. They change senior civil servants…
India’s century: Sunak’s plan for a new Indo-Pacific alliance
The PM’s visit to New Delhi could be a defining moment
Is Ulez too fashionable to fact check?
Next Tuesday, London’s Ulez scheme will be expanded. A new network of cameras filming the traffic movements of millions of…
The problem with the Tories’ ‘local heroes’
You know the Conservative party is in trouble when it does not dare use its name on leaflets. Instead, it…
The covert campaign against field sports
The renewed war on rural pursuits
Supercops: the return of tough policing
Old-school policing is back
Can the Tories come up with a tax offer in time?
Last summer, all the Tory party could talk about was tax. It was at the heart of the leadership contest…
