UK politics
John Major has learned nothing over Brexit
Rishi Sunak’s government is sometimes compared to that of John Major, the man who succeeded Margaret Thatcher in 1990, went…
‘We’ve got to hold our nerve’: Rishi Sunak’s BBC interview
As mortgage rates surge and a new Opinium poll finds Labour’s lead has jumped to 18 points, Rishi Sunak appeared…
Is Labour bluffing on Lords reform?
Is Labour really going to reform the House of Lords? The party has ended up in a bit of a…
Sunak can’t afford to lose Braverman
Back in the early days of the Blair governments, Alastair Campbell was reputed to have a rule for resignations: once…
The Tories would be lost in opposition
It is widely observed that many Conservatives are preparing to lose power at the next general election. The Conservative Democratic…
A Lib-Lab coalition would be hilarious
Talk of a new Labour-Lib Dem coalition is in the air. This is piquantly nostalgic to those of us whose…
Britain is stuck in a fertility trap
Pope Francis wants you to have sex. Or at least he wants Italians to have more sex. The country, he says,…
The UN is wrong about Britain’s treatment of trans people
Is Britain a hostile environment for trans people? The United Nations’ independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity has delivered…
Can Britain become the Saudi Arabia of carbon capture?
Boris Johnson wanted to make Britain ‘the Saudi Arabia of wind’. But Grant Shapps is keen to send Britain’s green…
Violent extremists won’t spoil Joe Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland
What can violent extremists do to wreck Joe Biden’s first visit to Northern Ireland? The answer is precious little. The…
What I learned from Nigel Lawson
His practical radicalism brought permanent change
Will cruise ships solve the migrant housing crisis?
In an ironic twist, cruise ships are being hailed as the latest measure to help ‘stop the boats’. Most Fleet…
Rishi Sunak is right to get tough on begging
When Rishi Sunak presented the latest attempt by a prime minister to get tough on anti-social behaviour, it wasn’t the…
Is it time to ban second jobs for MPs?
There are some genres of newspaper story that never die. Among them are sightings of Lord Lucan, public moralists discovered…
Why Boris Johnson might escape a partygate punishment
After several months of anticipation, two contentious legal submissions from Lord Pannick KC and a bumper 52-page witness statement, Boris…
PMQs proved that we have too many politicians
PMQs drove up a cul-de-sac today. Sir Keir’s team of researchers have discovered a crime blackspot where ten houses have…
Sunak avoids large Tory rebellion on Brexit deal
Rishi Sunak’s Windsor Framework has won support in the House of Commons at 515 ayes to 29 noes. As expected,…
The Lineker row isn’t about free speech – it’s a moral coup
So the cancel-culture set believes in free speech now? What a turnaround. People who have spent the past decade turning…
The Illegal Migration Bill will define the next election
The government’s Illegal Migration Bill is finally here. Speaking in the House of Commons this lunchtime, the Home Secretary unveiled…
What Miriam Cates gets right – and wrong – about declining fertility
Fulfil your civic duty. Get married. Have children. That was the message from Miriam Cates, the increasingly prominent Conservative backbencher, to guests…
Rishi risks another asylum outcry
With the likelihood of a deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol fading this week, a new issue has emerged to…
The DUP has a right to be difficult over the Northern Ireland Protocol
It’s easy to take an unsympathetic view of the Democratic Unionist Party. For many, its politicians are caricatures of the…
The SNP leadership race has turned into the mother of all culture wars
Bring back Nicola Sturgeon. The race to replace her as SNP leader and first minister has turned into the mother…
Sunak is taking a gamble on the Protocol
Westminster is back to the Brexit wars this week. Once again, a Conservative leader is trying to finalise a deal…
Boris Johnson fires a warning shot to Sunak
Rishi Sunak is once again facing an unhelpful intervention from one of his predecessors. As the Prime Minister attempts to…
