Boris Johnson

How serious is the government about Net Zero?

19 October 2021 11:17 pm

The green agenda is leading the news today with Boris Johnson on a PR mission to sell his environmental plans…

Why does Boris Johnson keep on winning?

19 October 2021 9:40 pm

For his critics, Boris Johnson offends the notion that the British are a sensible people so deeply we feel we…

Rishi in, Keir out: 2020's most popular baby names

19 October 2021 7:56 am

Once the popularity of politicians was judged by how many babies they were asked to kiss – now it’s by…

Why Covid means the big state is back

15 October 2021 9:31 am

History suggests that when the state expands in a crisis, it doesn’t go back to its pre-crisis level once the…

Don't bet on the EFFing crisis bringing down Boris

13 October 2021 6:06 am

Boris Johnson is taking one heck of a risk by making labour shortages a deliberate part of his economic strategy. That,…

David Frost's protocol diplomacy

13 October 2021 12:03 am

As a general rule in post-Brexit politics, when David Frost makes a public intervention on the Northern Ireland protocol, it…

A matter of Truss: the unlikely rise of Lizmania

10 October 2021 2:30 pm

If Boris Johnson were to vanish tomorrow, who should replace him? The American pollster Frank Luntz asked this of about 200…

Boris’s hostage to fortune

9 October 2021 9:00 am

Most prime ministers would be worried about supply chain shortages. But as became increasingly clear at the Tory party conference…

The Tories will pay a price for Boris's housing strategy

9 October 2021 2:55 am

One of the themes of Conservative conference was that the government has dropped plans for a radical reform of the…

Build Back Boris!

7 October 2021 10:30 pm

As a clarion call, a sounding of hosannas, a piece of fiery rhetoric to hold puissance over the soul of…

Levelling up is Johnsonian cakeism

7 October 2021 1:45 am

Until this morning, few people in Britain will have heard of the works of Wilfredo Pareto (1848-1923). Now, thanks to…

Boris's tetchy Marr interview showed the risks he is taking

4 October 2021 8:33 am

Boris Johnson’s rather testy interview with Andrew Marr this morning revealed the political gamble that he is taking. Johnson is calculating…

Boris Johnson and the Tory identity crisis

2 October 2021 12:01 pm

The Tory conference in Manchester will be a relatively muted affair. In part, this is because — as I say…

Running on empty: the government is out of fuel – and ideas

2 October 2021 9:00 am

The government has no ideas and no direction

How Labour wins

26 September 2021 6:13 am

Labour can win the next election. The winds that blew apart their electoral coalition in 2019 can change in their…

Starmer's essay is gold dust for Boris

25 September 2021 3:30 pm

Keir Starmer’s incredible shrinking pamphlet was initially said to run to 14,000 words, then 13,000, then 12,500 and now 11,000…

Boris pressgangs Biden at White House love-in

22 September 2021 12:05 pm

You can take the boy out of journalism but you can’t the journalism out of the boy. That’s the rule…

Boris is a mini-Biden

22 September 2021 4:00 am

It’s been said far too many times that Boris Johnson and Donald Trump have a lot in common. Trump himself…

Boris Johnson's government shake-up continues

17 September 2021 1:00 am

After a rather quiet day, the reshuffle is back on, and Boris Johnson is proving to be even more brutal…

Johnson's reshuffle rumours won't go away

15 September 2021 12:50 am

When Boris Johnson was asked at today’s Covid press conference whether he could rule out an imminent cabinet reshuffle, he…

The emergency is over. Now the government must relinquish its emergency powers

11 September 2021 9:00 am

For 18 months, the government has held power over us as never before in peacetime. The emergency powers granted by…

Levelling up: the inversion of the welfare state

11 September 2021 9:00 am

Why politicians are competing to bribe the affluent

Boris’s premiership is entering a dangerous new phase

11 September 2021 9:00 am

The announcement of a tax increase for both workers and employers to fund more spending on health and social care…

Boris should keep copying Blair

8 September 2021 10:05 pm

Having written here at least once before that Boris Johnson is the heir to Blair, my first thought on the Prime…

The rise and rise of Rishi Sunak

8 September 2021 9:45 pm

When Victoria Beckham noticed that her husband David had developed a winning way, not just with her but with almost…