Conservative party
‘Operation Red Meat’ won’t beef up the government
Are you ready for ‘Operation Red Meat’? If not, then you should brace yourself. For it looks set to be…
Has Boris made you better off?
Despite the political misery for Boris Johnson as he ends the year, he has a big hope: that salaries will…
It's not too late for Boris Johnson
It is two years since Boris Johnson achieved one of the most remarkable election victories in modern history. The large…
‘Politics exacts a very high price’: an interview with Michael Gove
Michael Gove on levelling up, Plan B and the price of politics
Can Boris really blame the press for his defeat?
When asked what went wrong in North Shropshire, Boris Johnson gave a fascinating answer: journalists. Apparently, they have been reporting…
Johnson is imperilled. So why are his enemies helping him?
It’s a topsy turvy world when your friends and allies do you all kinds of damage and then your enemies…
Boris Johnson is preparing to fight the wrong election
The next election won’t be like the 2019 campaign. It will be far tougher for the Tories. Ministers were struck…
Prime Minister's rambling speech revives Johnson jitters
After three torrid weeks, Tory MPs were hoping for a better start to this one. Alas, it has got off to…
Johnson is making the sleaze row worse
Is there anyone left in the Conservative party who is happy with Boris Johnson? The Prime Minister has now managed…
The sleaze row isn't finished yet
Number 10 will have been relieved that the weekend did not bring new stories about Conservative MPs raking in lots…
Boris Johnson will struggle to contain this sleaze row
A week ago today, Tory MPs were getting increasingly nervous about Downing Street’s plan to stay the guilty verdict against…
Three little words that could cost Boris
Boris Johnson knows the value of three-word slogans. ‘Take back control’ and ‘get Brexit done’ helped propel him to his…
The Tory blame game over COP26 has already started
Anxiety among Tory MPs is growing
Rishi Sunak's low tax pitch to MPs
Is Rishi Sunak a low tax chancellor? He certainly likes to tell anyone who will listen that he is. Yet…
A matter of Truss: the unlikely rise of Lizmania
If Boris Johnson were to vanish tomorrow, who should replace him? The American pollster Frank Luntz asked this of about 200…
The Tories will pay a price for Boris's housing strategy
One of the themes of Conservative conference was that the government has dropped plans for a radical reform of the…
Sunak faces the free-marketeers
Rishi Sunak didn’t give too much away tonight when he spoke at the ThinkTent Conservative Party Conference. The Chancellor is…
Priti Patel strikes a bullish tone
The theme of Priti Patel’s party conference speech this afternoon was very much ‘large and in charge’. She devoted much…
Running on empty: the government is out of fuel – and ideas
The government has no ideas and no direction
The Tories aren’t in party mood
Nearly two years on from the general election and 11 years since the Tories took office, they remain comfortably and…
How do we stop the next David Cameron?
One of the enduring charms of British politics is how slight the pecuniary rewards are for taking up the job…
Boris Johnson's popularity problem
The Westminster rumour mill is in overdrive today on the question of whether Rishi Sunak will be Boris Johnson’s successor in…
Should Britain be vaccinating teenagers?
Last week there was acute concern in government about the country’s re-opening. Would restrictions need to be reimposed when schools…
The tax-and-spend Tories
When you ask a government minister why something hasn’t happened, you get a one-word answer: ‘Covid’. It has become the…
Can Boris crack the unwhippables?
‘Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won,’ wrote the Duke of Wellington after…
