Politics

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

Druin Burch

Lucy Letby and the killer nurse I worked with

Most of those commenting on the guilt or innocence of Lucy Letby – the nurse who is serving 15 whole-life jail terms for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others – don’t know what it’s like to work alongside a killer nurse. I do. Benjamin Geen, whom I worked with at Horton General Hospital in Banbury, Oxfordshire, took the lives of at least two patients during his time there. Something in the nature of our interest in murderers has a habit of making us forget logic Geen’s case has, like Letby’s, become popular with conspiracy theorists. Public fascination has been far greater with Letby. But the two cases share an attraction

Andrew Tettenborn

The EU can detect weakness in its dealings with Keir Starmer

Labour’s election promise to respect Brexit and at the same time reset our relations with the EU was easy to make. Keir Starmer must have realised that riding both these horses at the same time might be troublesome, but with an election to win he doubtless hoped for the best.  If so, he has been quickly disabused. Following tentative approaches to Brussels, it is clear that the Prime Minister faces a bleak choice: either come back with not much to show, or agree to a return of Euro-control over large swathes of UK life which the electorate will see for precisely for what it is; in name, if not in

Katja Hoyer Katja Hoyer

How the Magdeburg Christmas market attack will change Germany

More than 200 people were injured and at least five lost their lives after a man ploughed a car into crowds at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg last night. Among those who were indiscriminately murdered was a small child. Like many Germans, I felt a deep, burning anger rising in me when I heard about the incident. It immediately brought back sickening memories of the 2016 Christmas market attack in Berlin in which 13 people were killed and dozens injured. My sister worked very closely nearby that day. I remember texting ‘Are you okay?’ with a shaky hand and waiting agonising minutes before her reply finally

Svitlana Morenets Svitlana Morenets

Is the Kursk operation still worth the cost?

Gruesome images of dead North Korean soldiers sprawled in the mud and snow have flooded military Telegram channels this week. Pyongyang’s troops joined the battle for Russia’s Kursk region, but so far haven’t been able to evade the Ukrainian drones. South Korean intelligence claimed that at least 100 North Korean soldiers have been killed and 1,000 wounded this month as Vladimir Putin races to strip Volodymyr Zelensky of his only bargaining chip before Donald Trump takes office in the US next month. Since November, Russia has deployed around 12,000 North Korean troops to reclaim the Kursk region from Ukrainians. The language barrier and difficulties with integration into Russian military ranks

Yesterday

Cindy Yu Cindy Yu

Year in Review 2024 with Michael Gove, Quentin Letts and Katy Balls

28 min listen

It’s been a historic year in British politics. At the start of 2024, the UK had a different Prime Minister, the Tories had a different leader, and The Spectator had a different editor! Michael Gove, Katy Balls, and Quentin Letts join Cindy Yu to review the biggest political stories of 2024. On the podcast, the panel discuss the rise of Reform UK and Nigel Farage as a political force, Labour’s adjustment to government, and Michael reveals his reaction to Rishi telling Cabinet that he was going for a summer election. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Megan McElroy.

Andrew Watts

Christmas II: Andrews Watts, Marcus Walker, Ali Kefford, Roger Lewis, Ayaan Hirsh Ali and Christopher Howse

48 min listen

On this week’s Christmas Out Loud – part two: Andrew Watts goes to santa school (1:11); Marcus Walker reads his priest’s notebook (7:20); Ali Kefford spends Christmas on patrol with submariners (12:34); Roger Lewis says good riddance to 2024, voiced by the actor Robert Bathurst (20:57); Ayaan Hirsh Ali argues that there is a Christian revival under way (32:41); and Christopher Howse reveals the weirdness behind Christmas carols (38:34).  Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Lisa Haseldine Lisa Haseldine

Five dead after German Christmas market attack

Five days before Christmas, Germany has again been plunged into grief. Just after 7 p.m. local time yesterday in the city of Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, a black BMW ploughed through a Christmas market, killing at least five and injuring more than 200. Hundreds of locals were enjoying the festive market at the time, buying gifts and enjoying the festivities with friends and family. A man has been arrested in connection with the attack. For many Germans, yesterday’s attack will bring back painful memories The alleged perpetrator is a 50-year-old psychotherapist originally from Saudi Arabia who had been legally living in Germany since 2006. As of this morning, his motive remained unclear,

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

Who is the worst political commentator?

We are approaching the deadline for the prestigious ‘Most Odious Political Commentator of the Year’ award. Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart’s joint bid is so far out in front of the pack, that the result is surely a foregone conclusion. But this should not deter us from running through some of the other noble contenders.  Owen Jones has had a quietish year, for which we should all be grateful I am keeping my eye on Newsnight’s Nick Watt as a dark horse. Frequently seen gracing Watt’s programme (and on which he was a staffer) is the ghastly Lewis Knowall, who plies his trade now with the shriekingly right-on Emily Maitlis on something

Kristina Murkett

Labour’s axing of Latin lessons is an act of cultural vandalism

The Labour government seems determined to undermine excellence in schools. The Department for Education has announced that from February it will be terminating its Latin Excellence Programme, which taught Latin to over 5,000 pupils, as part of a cost-saving measure. The cutback comes a month after a review suggested ‘middle-class bias’ should be removed from the curriculum and that ‘high-brow pursuits’, such as ‘visits to museums, theatres and art galleries’, might be replaced with more ‘relatable’ activities such as graffiti workshops. This retrograde decision is deeply frustrating because it makes the so-called elitism surrounding Latin a self-fulfilling prophecy The decision to effectively end Latin lessons in some state schools is particularly hard

Patrick O’Flynn Patrick O'Flynn

The Trump effect will benefit Farage – and cost the Tories

At the start of a roller-coaster ride, a motorised chain pulls the carriages up to the highest point of the circuit, emitting a clanking sound as a ratchet takes effect. When the clanking stops those in the cars know they are about to go over the top. The canniest politicians across the western world are hearing such a clanking sound right now. In just a month’s time, the second term of President Donald Trump will get underway and those with the closest connections to it are promising us all a wild ride. According to Steve Bannon, Trump’s former senior adviser and continued confidant, we are going to see ‘as aggressive

Eliot Wilson

Is training troops in Ukraine a risk worth taking?

Defence Secretary John Healey has raised the possibility that British military personnel could be deployed to Ukraine to carry out training missions. On a visit to Kyiv this week, he spoke about a five-point plan for increasing the United Kingdom’s support for its beleaguered ally, one aspect of which would be to ‘make the training a better fit for what the Ukrainians need’. When he was asked whether that could encompass undertaking the mission in Ukraine rather than the UK, he was careful not to rule it out: ‘We will look wherever we can to respond to what the Ukrainians want. They are the ones fighting.’ Unfortunately, it’s not quite

Friday

Steerpike Steerpike

Labour councillor torches Starmer for by election loss

Another day and another thumping defeat for Keir Starmer. This time, it’s for one of three seats in the previously safe ward of Brockmoor and Pensnett in Dudley. Labour previously won here in July with almost 64 per cent of the vote. But, this morning, it transpires that they have now slumped to third in the West Midlands, winning just 28.9 per cent of ballots cast. The party’s candidate, Karen Jordan, finished beneath both Reform’s Richard Tasker and the Tories’ Alex Dale, who won on 35.4 per cent. Talk about a three-way split. Such is the anger of the local Labour group at the loss of this seat that one

Toby Young Toby Young

Should I become Lord Young of Loftus Road?

When the editor of this magazine called to congratulate me on being given a peerage, he said: ‘It’s QPR’s first win this season.’ Not quite right – we’ve actually won four games this season – but not far off. He touched a nerve because I’ve been thinking about what to call myself to maximise my chances of being appointed to QPR’s board. Would Lord Young of Loftus Road be too obvious? The other joke Michael made is that it shows Keir Starmer isn’t completely opposed to hereditary peers, given that my father was also a life peer. I hoped to be the first son of a life peer to be

Steerpike Steerpike

Lord Mandelson slammed as a ‘moron’ by Trump strategist

Uh oh. Less than 24 hours after Peter Mandelson was appointed the next UK ambassador to Washington, Donald Trump’s team are kicking up a fuss. Now Chris LaCivita has taken to Twitter to blast the new ambassador and Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government for the decision. Writing on the social media platform, LaCivita – who is a political strategist for the Republican Party – fumed that Lord Mandelson should ‘stay home’, adding: ‘Replace a professional universally respected [ambassador] with an absolute moron.’ Ouch. Lord Mandelson will take over the top job from Karen Pierce – but his previous comments about the current President-elect may age badly. Mr S would remind

Steerpike Steerpike

Sir Keir awards Sue Gray a peerage

Well, well, well. The political peerages list is finally here and the nominations from Sir Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Sir Ed Davey have been formally approved by King Charles III.  The list includes some rather interesting names – including the Spectator’s Toby Young, Liz Truss’s former deputy prime minister Thérèse Coffey and despite her rather, er, eventful year, Starmer’s former chief of staff Sue Gray.  See the full list below… Nominations from the leader of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer: Nominations from the leader of the Conservative party, Kemi Badenoch Nominations from the leader of the Liberal Democrat party, Sir Ed Davey

James Heale James Heale

Is Mandelson the right pick for US Ambassador?

14 min listen

Last night we got the news that Peter Mandelson is expected to be named the next UK ambassador to Washington. Despite months of speculation, Labour held firm on making a decision until the results of the US election, and with Trump entering the White House in the new year they have gone with an experienced diplomat and a political appointment. A government source is quoted as telling the BBC: ‘The fact the Prime Minister has chosen to make a political appointment and sent Lord Mandelson to Washington shows just how importantly we see our relationship with the Trump administration.’ They cited the former Business Secretary’s ‘unrivalled political and policy experience’

Michael Simmons Michael Simmons

Why Britain’s benefits problem is likely to get worse

More than half of Britons receive more from the state than they pay in taxes, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. The proportion of those receiving more through benefits than they paid in taxes last year fell slightly to 52.6 per cent, down a percentage point compared with the year before. The data – which factors in use of public services, such as schools and the NHS, as well as welfare payments and benefits – highlights the fundamental problem underlying the British state: how do we support a population that is aging, getting ill and becoming increasingly workshy? As you’d expect, more than 85 per cent of

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Is it time to scrap the planning system?

If Keir Starmer does succeed in his aim of stimulating a house-building boom, it may be that landowners will have little to celebrate. The government has launched a consultation into proposals to extend the powers of compulsory purchase to help councils assemble land for new housing developments. No public body can simply seize land; that would be in breach of the Human Rights Act. But the price that landowners should be paid when their land is required for public projects is a matter of much argument. Should councils or development commissions simply pay the current value – what the seller would achieve if he tried to sell it on the

Steerpike Steerpike

Labour’s cronyism row rears its head again

Parliament may be in recess, but Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government still can’t catch a break. The Prime Minister is facing further allegations of cronyism after a pro-Labour lobbyist was appointed to a top government advisory job. Dear, oh dear… Iain Anderson, a prominent businessman who defected to Labour from the Tories in 2023, has now been hired to the Department for Business and Trade as a non-executive director. Yet Anderson will not be stepping down from his executive chairman role at Cicero, a lobbying firm whose roster includes Royal Mail, Barclays and Accenture – the latter being a management consultancy firm which holds multiple government contracts. How curious. Anderson

Rupert Darwall

Labour has walked into a net-zero trap of its own making

The government’s net-zero noose draws tighter. At energy questions in the House of Commons on Tuesday, the Conservative MP Charlie Dewhirst asked the Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband if the recent report by the National Energy System Operator (Neso) projected higher or lower bills under his policies. Miliband replied that Neso forecast lower overall costs. ‘It is completely logical to say that that will lead to a reduction in bills,’ he said. Logic and historic data point in the opposite direction. Between 2009 and 2020, the average price of electricity sold by the Big Six energy companies rose by 67 per cent from 10.71p per kilowatt hour

Matthew Lynn Matthew Lynn

Rachel Reeves has shattered economic confidence in Britain

A few journalists have pointed it out. So have some Conservative and Reform MPs, think tanks and one or two of the City banks. Now, it is official: the Bank of England (BofE) has warned that Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s October Budget has caused Britain’s economy to stagnate. The real question now is when will the pressure on Reeves to reverse some of the measures in her catastrophically misjudged Budget become so intense that she has to give in? For a central Bank, the language was about as harsh as it gets. In its latest assessment of the economy, while keeping interest rates on hold, the BoE argued that businesses were

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Britain is living beyond its means

Today’s figures on the public finances and retail sales will bring some relief to Rachel Reeves; both show a small positive direction. In November, they reveal, the government had to borrow £11.2 billion, which was £3.4 billion down on the same month last year. Retail sales were up 0.2 per cent in November, following a 0.7 per cent fall in October. It means that the Chancellor can avoid further negative headlines at the end of the year – but really there is little to detract from the underlying story that the government has succeeded in creating an economic downturn out of thin air. One of the factors behind the slightly improved

Katy Balls Katy Balls

The Maureen Lipman Edition

36 min listen

Dame Maureen Lipman has been a fixture of stage and screen for over five decades. She has been a member of Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre company and the Royal Shakespeare Company; she is well known for her roles in acclaimed films like Educating Rita and The Pianist; and most recently she has had an award-winning run in soap Coronation Street. For a generation she will always be ‘Beattie’: the grandmother from the BT adverts. On the podcast, Maureen talks to Katy Balls about her journey from ‘the cobbler of Kazimierz Dolny to the cobbles of Corrie’. They discuss selling comedy as a commodity, whether you can separate art from the

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

Le Pen’s success this year is a warning to the Tories

Nigel Farage was in fine fettle when he appeared on GB News on Tuesday evening. He boasted of his weekend in Florida, chewing the fat with Elon Musk, and made some characteristically bullish predictions for the future. A poll this month found that Reform has overtaken Labour for the first time and is now two points behind the Conservative party. ‘Reform has all the momentum in British politics,’ said Zia Yusuf, the Reform chairman, in response to the poll. ‘The British people want real change after years of failure and deception.’ Farage believes Reform’s momentum will reduce the Tories to also-rans come the next general election. Mocking the Conservatives’ belief