UK politics
How serious is the Starmer sleaze row?
Another week, another accusation of sleaze in relation to the Labour party. After initially winning some plaudits over the summer…
Are Labour about to u-turn on the winter fuel payment?
Could Labour be about to water down its removal of the winter fuel payment for pensioners? The chorus of muttering…
Things can only get worse for Keir Starmer
When Rishi Sunak announced a July election during a torrential downpour, one leftist wag played ‘Things Can Only Get Better’…
Now Sue Gray’s son is in the firing line
It seems that bad headlines run in Sue Gray’s family. After a week of newspaper reports suggesting that Keir Starmer’s…
Labour won’t spend outside fiscal rules, says Reeves
Chancellor Reeves adamant she will ‘make sure the sums add up’ Rachel Reeves gave an interview with Laura Kuenssberg this…
Will Reeves boost public sector pay?
As the dust around the election settles, a question Tory MPs and supporters still grapple with is why Rishi Sunak…
What did the Tories do with power?
Fourteen years of Tory-led government is over. The second-longest period of dominance by one party since the war is done.…
Starmer’s ruthless efficiency has risks
A couple of years ago, an anecdote about Keir Starmer did the rounds at Westminster. The story was that when…
Labour’s Potemkin landslide
So far, something pretty big is missing from Labour’s historic landslide: voters. Keir Starmer is set to win 64 per…
The betting ‘scandal’ has gone too far
Thomas Macaulay, the 19th-century historian, said there is ‘no spectacle so ridiculous as the British public in one of its…
Steve Baker speaks as though the Tories have already lost
It’s pretty unusual to hear a minister speaking during this election campaign: other than Mel Stride, the rest seem to…
What’s the real reason Jim Ratcliffe is backing Starmer?
On the face of it, there could hardly be a better example of a turkey voting for Christmas than the…
Keir Starmer needs a better answer to the Jeremy Corbyn question
Keir Starmer looked baffled by tonight’s questions. Rishi Sunak looked resigned. Separating the two candidates – having them face Beth…
Sunak’s manifesto is not credible
Rishi Sunak’s manifesto launch was necessarily defensive: the Prime Minister is trying to stem the losses in this election campaign…
The Green party is terrifying
Is the Green party the most controversial force in British politics? It’s certainly giving Reform a run for its money. In…
Who will survive to lead the Tories?
In spite of his conviction for falsifying business records, Donald Trump is still expected by many to make a remarkable…
The statistic that should terrify Tory HQ
The tightening looks on. On Tuesday, my polling firm JL Partners published its first campaign poll showing a 12-point Labour…
Starmer purges the Corbynites
One of the first thing Keir Starmer and his team decided to focus on after winning the Labour leadership was…
National service won’t create real soldiers
There are strong arguments for national service in terms of national solidarity, training and self-discipline. In the end, however, the…
Sunak is right, Britain needs national service
The Tories have announced that, if re-elected, they will introduce national service. And it won’t be the miserable existence imposed…
Sunak: let’s bring back national service
The first big new policy announcement of the election campaign is in from the Tories, and it’s likely to be…
The smoking ban will be back
Has Rishi Sunak’s surprise summer election spared Britain some nanny state interventions? At first glance it seemed so, as it…
Michael Gove leads the Tory exodus
When Rishi Sunak told cabinet colleagues about his decision to call a general election, Michael Gove sought to raise spirits…
Why are Scottish nationalists so thin-skinned?
Scottish nationalists are not happy. What’s new, I hear you ask. Did they lose another leader? Has Sainsbury’s been selling…
Who are ‘the blob’?
Liz Truss calls them the ‘deep state’, Dominic Cummings ‘the blob’ and for Sue Gray they are simply former colleagues.…
