Labour Party
The problem with Dawn Butler
We hear a lot about white supremacy these days. But for some reason we rarely hear about black supremacy. I…
Inside Kemi Badenoch’s first shadow cabinet
At her first shadow cabinet as Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch walked into the room and declared that there were ‘still…
Labour’s war on the countryside
Two miles from where I am writing, the neighbouring village is plastered with posters demanding ‘Say No to Pylons’. The…
Portrait of the week: Tax rises, a cheddar heist and snail delivery man gets slapped
Home Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, repeatedly mentioning an inherited ‘£22 billion black hole’, raised taxes by £40…
Portrait of the week: Budget leaks, prisoners released and Israel kills Hamas leader
Home Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was expected to freeze tax thresholds in the Budget on 30 October,…
Does Wes Streeting’s ten-year NHS plan amount to anything?
The Health Secretary is making a big fanfare about a cash boost in the Budget and a new plan to…
Labour were right to protect Taylor Swift
Still making headlines, it seems, is one of the more trivial scandals to have dogged the Labour government in its…
Starmer’s first 100 days: the commentariat turns
Oh dear. Keir Starmer today marks his first 100 days in 10 Downing Street, but he has little cause for…
Can Morgan McSweeney reboot the government machine?
The Queen is dead: long live the King. This week brought an end to Downing Street’s unhappy experiment in dyarchy.…
The joy of opposition
By rights, the Conservative party conference in Birmingham ought to have been a funereal affair. It was the first time…
In defence of Rosie Duffield
Rosie Duffield’s magnificently rancorous resignation of the Labour whip has reduced the number of MPs on the government side who…
Inside Labour’s love affair with Lord Alli
As a peer who hates publicity, Lord Alli might have been expected to dodge the Labour conference – given the…
The best podcasts to fall asleep to
‘Yous!’ a train cleaner in rubber gloves says as we arrive at Liverpool Lime Street. ‘What are yous doing here?’…
Richard Burgon fails to draw a crowd at Labour conference
Oh for the days of ‘Oh Jeremy Corbyn’. It only seems like yesterday that the likes of John McDonnell and…
Nigel’s next target: Reform has Labour in its sights
At this weekend’s Reform conference in Birmingham, the opening speech will be given by a man who wasn’t even a…
Labour vs labour: how can the government claim to be promoting growth?
Growth, growth, growth: that was what Keir Starmer told us would be his government’s priority in his first press conference…
Is Gordon Brown back?
Last week, there was a surprise visitor to the Treasury: Gordon Brown. The former prime minister and chancellor secretly returned…
Portrait of the week: State pension to rise, prisoners released early and a new owner for The Spectator
Home The government won by 348 to 228 a Commons vote on limiting the winter fuel allowance for pensioners to those…
Letters: A cautionary lesson for England’s schools
Lessons to learn Sir: Your leading article ‘Requires improvement’ (7 September) rightly raised concerns that a curriculum review in England…
The ‘British Muslim patriot’ on a mission to get Farage into No. 10
Few people had heard of Zia Yusuf before he spoke at Reform’s final campaign rally in Birmingham. But after a…