Politics

Read about the latest UK political news, views and analysis.

Thursday

The Spectator

Portrait of the week: Train stabbing attack, Mamdani takes New York and the Andrew formerly known as prince

Home The King ‘initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew’, who is now known as Mr Andrew Mountbatten Windsor; his lease on Royal Lodge, Windsor, was relinquished and he made a private arrangement with the King to live on the Sandringham estate. His former wife, Sarah Ferguson, will find her own accommodation. Their daughters remain Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice. Richard Gott, who resigned as literary editor of the Guardian in 1994 after The Spectator accused him of having been in the pay of the KGB, died aged 87. Gopichand Hinduja, the head of Britain’s richest family, died aged 85. Eleven people were

James Heale James Heale

Energy is the new political battleground

With three weeks until the Budget, the main political parties have been setting out their economic thinking. Each faces the same bind: anaemic growth, fiscal constraints and uncomfortable exposure to the bond markets. The upshot is that there is less ‘clear blue water’ on the economy between Labour, the Conservatives and Reform. Even Sir Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, irritated some colleagues by appearing to suggest he would raise income tax if he were in Rachel Reeves’s shoes at his party’s conference. ‘It’s a good job no one is listening to us,’ jokes a fellow frontbencher. If the economy is less of a dividing line in British politics, what might

Charles Moore Charles Moore

The rudeness of Reform

Critics see Rachel Reeves as betraying her election manifesto tax promises; but she may well be trying ‘The Lady’s Not for Turning’ gambit. Her speech from Downing Street delivered before the markets opened on Tuesday, resembled – in content, if not in style – Margaret Thatcher’s 1980 party conference speech. In both cases, the incoming government had failed to get public spending and borrowing under control. (Indeed, government borrowing costs then were 6 per cent of GDP, compared with a mere 5.1 per cent today.) Also in both cases, the government sought simultaneously to go against earlier promises not to raise taxes, yet to do so in the name of

Andrew Gimson

Is Zack Polanski our Zohran Mamdani?

Like Zohran Mamdani in New York, Zack Polanski offers the thrill of cost-free rebellion. Mamdani leapt to prominence at the end of June by unexpectedly winning the Democratic party nomination in the New York mayoral race, and doing so as an avowed socialist who claims that by taxing the rich he will relieve ‘the despair in working-class Americans’ lives’. Polanski has made waves since the start of September as the new leader of the Green party of England and Wales, using a rhetoric calculated to appeal to left-wing activists, while proclaiming himself the champion of plumbers and hairdressers. He has conjured up an alliance between utopian socialists like himself and

Tim Shipman

Gilded age: the lessons from Trump’s second term

Washington, D.C. When John Swinney, the SNP leader, and Peter Mandelson visited Donald Trump in the Oval Office a few months ago, the President showed them three different models for his planned renovation of the East Wing of the White House, which he has demolished to build a new ballroom. ‘If you’re going to do it,’ Scotland’s First Minister suggested, ‘you might as well go big.’ This Wednesday marked one year since Trump’s election victory, and going big captures the essence of his second term – bold and controversial moves, which have impressed even British politicians who thought him reckless in his first term. When Trump visited Chequers on his

Wednesday

Tim Shipman

The most bizarre PMQs ever

15 min listen

In a crowded field, today’s could have been the most bizarre PMQs ever. From David Lammy pronouncing ‘I am the Justice Secretary’ as if it were an affirmation to be chanted in the bathroom mirror, to the wild hair on display on both benches, it surely takes the mantle of parliament at its most ridiculous – and that’s not to mention the story that another convict has escaped from prison. Has David Lammy got a grip on mistaken prison release? And – more importantly – does he have the support of his colleagues? James Heale speaks to Tim Shipman and Isabel Hardman. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Madeline Grant

Calamity Lammy had no answers on the wandering Algerian

One of the things we ought to consider more in judging politicians is whether they add to the gaiety of the nations. Does Kemi Badenoch? Alas no. Does Ed Davey? He thinks he does but doesn’t. Does Sir Keir Starmer add to the gaiety of nations? Actually, probably best not to answer that. Labour’s front bench are a uniquely humourless lot; generally the cabinet look like the finalists of a lemon-sucking competition. One exception, who brings a sort of high-grade bumbling to everything he does, is David Lammy.  Whether it is his infamous Mastermind appearance or the time he said he couldn’t see any police whilst standing in front of a policeman,

Matthew Lynn

The Bank of England won’t risk bailing Rachel Reeves out

After yet another dreadful week, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves must be praying the Bank of England helps her out by cutting interest rates tomorrow. It would reduce the huge amount of interest the government has to pay, it would put more money in people’s pockets, and it might even stimulate growth. The trouble is, the Bank’s governor, Andrew Bailey, can’t afford to bail Reeves out of the hole she has dug for herself. If the Bank does, it will be risking its independence. Even the City’s experts have no clear idea what the Bank will decide on interest rates this week. The markets have priced in a one in three

Douglas Murray

New York is not the city that Mamdani pretends it is

There is an unhappy history of left-wing Britons getting involved in US elections. Back in 2004, the Guardian organised a letter-writing campaign, urging voters in the swing state of Ohio not to re-elect George W. Bush. The good people of Ohio didn’t take kindly to a bunch of Islingtonians telling them how to vote, and although the Guardian’s campaign probably can’t be given all the credit, the voters of Ohio duly went to the polls and swung firmly behind Bush. One wishes that Sadiq Khan’s intervention in this week’s New York mayoral election might have had a similar result. Interviewed shortly before Zohran Mamdani was elected, the mayor of London praised the Democratic

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

The Ile d’Oléron attack and Islamism’s ceaseless menace

A man shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ drove his car into a crowd on France’s Ile d’Oléron this morning. At least ten people on the popular holiday destination – situated off the Atlantic Coast – were injured, and three are in a critical condition. Police arrested the driver, a 35-year-old man with a history of petty crime. A search of his vehicle revealed some gas cylinders. Among the injured is 22-year-old Emma Vallain, a parliamentary assistant to Pascal Markowsky, an MP in Marine Le Pen’s National Rally. A rising star in the party, she took part in a televised debate at the weekend about the current political deadlock in France. Jordan Bardella,

Angela Epstein

Dawn French’s M&S Christmas ad is an insult to Jews

Being born, shall we say, under a different star, there are no official Christmas celebrations in our house. Sure, it’s a welcome opportunity to gather the family and – being a Jewish mother – feed the assembled tribe until they can’t speak. But there’s no tree, no stockings, no exchanging of gifts. That doesn’t stop me from being a keen and thrilled observer of the Christmas countdown. Above all, I love the palpable hum of excitement and anticipation that comes with the season; the feeling there is something uplifting to look forward to. This year, however, that hum has been tarnished by Marks & Spencer, thanks to their TV Christmas

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

David Lammy can’t blame the Tories for the latest prison release debacle

Today’s Prime Minister’s Questions – taken by Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy – had a sting in the tail. The exchanges between Lammy and his Conservative counterpart James Cartlidge centred on the accidental release of convicted sex offender, Hadush Kebatu. Lammy was asked whether any other asylum seekers had been accidentally released from prison. Significantly, the Deputy PM repeatedly avoided answering that question, presumably because he knew – as Cartlidge will have done – that news was about to break of another such release. At the very end of PMQs, Cartlidge made a point of order to announce that it had been reported that a manhunt was underway after a

Edward Howell

China’s South Korean espionage campaign is growing bolder

It is rare to see Xi Jinping burst into laughter. But something must have tickled China’s Paramount Leader when he met South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea. The summit will largely be remembered this year for Donald Trump’s tête-à-têtes with East Asian leaders, whether Xi Jinping, Lee Jae-myung, or Sanae Takaichi – despite the US president deciding to give the actual summit a miss. Yet, in what was a bumper week for South Korea, the summit’s host, other bilateral meetings must not go unacknowledged. When Lee met Xi Jinping on Saturday, few expected the two leaders to

Michael Gove

Rachel Reeves’s Budget ‘bollocks’ & Britain’s everyday crime crisis

48 min listen

To submit your urgent questions to Michael and Maddie, go to: spectator.co.uk/quiteright This week on Quite right!: Rachel Reeves goes on the offensive – and the defensive. After her surprise Downing Street address, Michael and Maddie pick over the many kites that have been flying in advance of the Budget at the end of the month. Was she softening the public up for tax rises, or trying to save her own job? Michael explains why Reeves is wrong to say that Labour’s inheritance is the reason for our current economic misfortune and says that it is ‘absolute bollocks’ that Brexit is to blame. Next, a chilling weekend of violence sparks

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Lammy humiliated by prisoner release

They say that pride comes before a fall – and so it proved today at PMQs. In the wake of the Epping sex offender debacle, James Cartlidge, the Shadow Defence Secretary, opted to lead on the accidental release of prisoners. After forcing David Lammy at the beginning of the session to apologise (again) to the family of Hadush Kebatu’s victim, Cartlidge asked five times in a row whether any other aylum seeker offenders have been inadvertently let out since. Cue Lammy’s expostulation ‘Get a grip man! I know I am the Justice Secretary, that’s why I am at the despatch box’. But fast forward 30 minutes and the reason for

Steerpike Steerpike

David Lammy’s missing PMQs poppy

Oh dear. It seems that the hapless hero of Haringey has done it again. David Lammy is filling in for Keir Starmer today as our under-fire premier jets off to Brazil for COP30. So it is up to his deputy to fill in at today’s PMQs session. Lammy stepped up to the despatch box with relish, with a nice planted question from a loyal backbencher to kick things off. Connor Rand gushed his congratulations on Lammy’s ‘historic achivement’ to which the Deputy PM graciously gave his thanks. The bear pit of the Commons at its best…. Unfortunately though for Lammy, it seems that he had forgotten what time of the

Alexander Larman

William’s Rio trip risks being overshadowed

Cometh the hour, cometh the Prince of Wales. At least, that is what Prince William and those around him will be desperately hoping the result of his trip this week to Rio de Janeiro will be: a reset for the royal family after weeks of terrible, existentially damaging headlines, mainly but not entirely revolving around the Andrew formerly known as Prince. Whether he will be successful in this – especially given the current actions of his estranged younger brother – is another question altogether. William’s trip to South America has been with the worthiest of purposes in mind. He has headed down there both to hand out the Earthshot Awards

Steerpike Steerpike

Half of voters prefer AI to Keir Starmer

The human race, controlled by a soulless, robotic overlord. It is the stuff of countless sci-fi dystopias – but here in Britain, it is just another day of living under Keir Starmer’s government. Our charisma-free premier is not exactly known for his love of humanity: just look at his pre-election Guardian interview in which he said he did not have a favourite book or poem, did not know if he was an introvert or extrovert and claimed to have never had a childhood fear. So after 16 months of Sir Keir’s reign of error, it is no surprise that half the public now favour switching to a similarly heartless, albeit

Ross Clark Ross Clark

The ‘John Lewis approach’ won’t fix workshy Britain

Like the John Lewis Partnership he used to run, Sir Charlie Mayfield, who has just completed the government’s ‘Keep Britain Working’ review, comes across as terribly nice and civilised. It’s just a shame he can’t quite bring himself to put the boot in and deal properly with the problem of mass worklessness he correctly identifies. Had the job been given to a more ruthless business operator – perhaps someone from Amazon, Aldi or one of the other businesses which is steadily devouring John Lewis’s lunch – government might actually have a hope of a workable solution. Mayfield all but ignores the real problem: it has become far too easy to

Lisa Lee

Could private credit cause the next financial crash?

The recent bankruptcies of a little-known auto-parts supplier called First Brands and auto lender Tricolorhas sparked talk about a looming financial crisis in a booming but much misunderstoodcorner of finance. Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan, sent shivers through financial markets earlier this month when he referred to these bankruptcies as a ‘cockroach’ and warned: ‘When you see one cockroach, there are probably more.’ His comments were taken as a broadside against private credit, a niche corner of debt markets that has seen blazing growth in recent years. In private credit, non-bank financial firms such as Apollo Global Management, Blackstone and KKR pool capital from investors to lend out to corporations, and,