Politics

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

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Why won’t Britain take the Covid lab leak theory seriously?

The CIA report concluding that Covid most likely originated from a laboratory leak of a man-made, or man-enhanced, virus raises an awkward and glaring question: why on Earth isn’t Britain’s own Covid inquiry even considering the possibility of a laboratory leak? The inquiry, which still grinds on even if most people have lost interest in it, has examined the inner workings of Downing Street in great detail, listened to evidence on lockdowns, the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme and so on, yet continues to ignore the single most important matter: where the virus came from. When Michael Gove – now editor of The Spectator – did try to raise

Tom Slater Tom Slater

The dumbing down of Oxbridge

For years now, higher education has been convulsed by a never-ending hunt for racism. A certain type of academic or student activist sees it oozing out of every pore of campus life, from statues to ‘microaggressions’ to student bar fancy-dress nights. And yet, if you were looking for a clear-cut example of a racist university policy, you’d struggle to find one more outrageously racist than this: dumbing down exam practices so as to better accommodate ethnic-minority students. Welcome to 21st-century academia, where you can’t wear a sombrero but you can lowkey suggest black and brown people are stupid. This is the news, reported in the Telegraph, that Oxford and Cambridge have been

Joe Bedell-Brill

Badenoch blames lack of ‘integration’ following Southport conviction

Rachel Reeves heavily hints at third Heathrow runway As part of her upcoming speech on economic growth, Rachel Reeves is expected to announce approval for a third runway at Heathrow. Reeves refused to confirm this in her interviews this morning, telling Laura Kuenssberg, ‘You will see the plans [for Heathrow] when we set them out’. However, Reeves emphasised that the government had already ‘signed off expansion at London City airport and Stansted’, and claimed Labour were ‘getting on and delivering’. When asked by Kuenssberg whether she disagreed with Sadiq Khan’s comments on the negative impacts a third runway would have on the climate, Reeves more or less confirmed the imminent

Andrew Hankinson

In defence of working from home

Working from home has had a terrible effect on my state of mind and it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. Which is why I want to defend it in a week of it being under attack. On Monday, on the BBC’s Panorama, Stuart Rose, former chairman of Asda, said he believes ‘productivity is less good if you work from home. I believe that your personal development suffers’. In the US, Donald Trump set the global social media agenda by ordering the end of ‘remote work arrangements’ for government workers. I get the sentiment, but completely disagree. In the UK it is not a problem to be fixed.

Today

Terry Barnes

Australia Day has been hijacked by activists

Australia’s national day, which falls today, has two purposes. It is an opportunity for Australians to celebrate who they are and how fortunate we are to live in a stable democracy, thousands of miles from terror, strife and conflict. But it also marks the end of Australia’s languid summer when it’s time to get back to work and for children to start a new school year. It’s a timely excuse to have a long weekend, blessed by late summer sunshine.  Unfortunately, however, Australia Day has become an ideological plaything of Australia’s professional grievance industry. Left and Aboriginal activists rebadge it as Invasion Day, protesting the arrival of Britain’s First Fleet

Charles Hecker

Could Russia and America ever have got along?

A revealing, damning and fascinating diplomatic memorandum, sent in 1994 from the US embassy in Moscow to the State Department in Washington, D.C. has recently been declassified. It is also a gripping and lacerating read, even for the non-specialist. It comes at time of heightened tension and ongoing head-scratching: why are US-Russia relations so terminally bad? No single topic, let alone a single memo, will unlock the enduring complexity of what is broadly called East-West relations. But at least one strong voice inside the US embassy was warning that the US-Russia relationship was off to a dreadful start.  ‘We have reached a point where it is arguable that the best

Michael Simmons Michael Simmons

Revealed: GPs are over-diagnosing mental health conditions

Britain is turning sadness into sickness. More than four in five GPs believe that the ups and downs of normal life are being wrongly redefined by society as mental disorders. The news, from the Centre for Social Justice’s (CSJ) report Change the Prescription, follows comments from Tony Blair, who said: ‘You’ve got to be careful of encouraging people to think they’ve got some sort of condition other than simply confronting the challenges of life.’ It seems reasonable to ask why GPs continue to prescribe pills that the vast majority of their profession consider to be inappropriate The findings in the CSJ’s report show that: The CSJ used polling company Savanta to

Raymond Wacks

Israel isn’t an ‘apartheid state’ – and I should know

Israel’s critics want you to acknowledge its uniqueness as the only country to enjoy the triple distinction of being a colonial, genocidal, and an apartheid state. Whether Israel is, or was, colonial I leave to the historians and political scientists. The question of genocide will eventually be decided by the International Court of Justice. In respect of the third transgression, however, as someone born and bred in apartheid South Africa, I may be able to shed some light, and expose the deficiencies of this increasingly pervasive analogy. The reckless invective that labels Israel an ‘apartheid state’ is a grotesque injustice Israel is far from a paragon of virtue. But the sort

Julie Burchill Julie Burchill

Donald Trump and the decay of left-wing thought

‘I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked,’ wrote Allen Ginsberg in his famous poem Howl. I thought of it the other day on reading a column by the alleged ‘comedian’ Stewart Lee in the Observer: ‘Nascent neo-Nazis are looking for confirmation bias for their worst instincts, but back in the good old days at least they had to look. Now social media, stripped deliberately of safeguards and, in Twitter’s case, re-algorithmed to steer far right, will ping lies straight on to your phone unbidden…we can’t let Musk, Zuckerberg and Bezos reshape our reality, and have to encourage every friend, relative, celebrity and institution to disconnect

Julius Strauss

My week in war-weary Ukraine

In the morning darkness at the reception of our central Kharkiv hotel, 25 miles from the Russian frontlines, the night porter’s face was creased with sleep. As we made our way towards the door to catch the early express to Kyiv, he handed us a small keyring with a yellow and blue plastic ornament. They had been made by local children. The man was large, muscled rather than hammy, and had a trim beard. In the several days we had stayed at the hotel, he had not shown a trace of emotion. Now he almost looked as if he might cry. ‘Perhaps next time we meet there will be peace,’

Yesterday

Steerpike Steerpike

Rachel Reeves’ ironic artwork choice

To govern is to choose. So what have Labour’s ministers chosen to hung on their walls? Raiding the Government Art Collection for the pick of the portraits is one of the perks of being a minister, along with a red box, car and driver. Mr S has done some digging and via a Freedom of Information request is delighted to tell his readers that some Starmtroopers have opted for some ironic choices in their office furnishings. First up, it’s Rachel Reeves, that well-known friend of the farmers. The Chancellor, who whacked up inheritance tax on struggling rural landowners in her first Budget, has a watercolour on her walls in the

Lisa Haseldine Lisa Haseldine

Elon Musk addresses AfD rally

With four weeks to go until Germany heads to the polls for its federal election, Elon Musk has just given his third public endorsement of the country’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party. Beaming into the hall live from the States at the party’s campaign launch in Halle (Saale), Saxony-Anhalt, the tech billionaire appeared to loud whoops and cheers from the crowd. Referencing Germany’s Nazi past, he declared that there is ‘too much of a focus on past guilt and we should move beyond that.’ Musk started by stating he was ‘very excited’ for the party and repeated his belief that the party is ‘the best hope’ for Germany. Praising

Katy Balls Katy Balls

What Labour and the Tories can learn from Pierre Poilievre

13 min listen

For the past fortnight, Canada’s Parliament has been empty. After Justin Trudeau resigned as Liberal leader, all the polls are pointing to the likelihood that Canada will become another example of the West’s shift to the right. This is partly due to the incumbency problem (and the ongoing internal struggles in the Liberal Party), but also the Canadian Conservatives’ firebrand leader: Pierre Poilievre. A skilled communicator who seamlessly mixes the online and offline world, Poilievre is in many ways one of the first Conservative influencers. And he has been picking up a number of admirers in the UK: Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick have visited Canada to try to learn

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Skiing is ghastly

Is anyone else getting a bit fed up of reading weepy newspaper stories about how the skiing industry is being killed off by climate change? Apparently, 80 ski resorts in the Alps have already closed for good due to a lack of snow, and according to the OECD only 400 of the 666 ski areas in the Alps will remain viable if global temperatures rise by 2º above what they were in the mid 19th century. If we lose 250 ski resorts that would be a gain for the mountains, as far as I am concerned. I suspect many people who visit the Alps in the summer will agree with me. There

Tom Jones

Crying ‘fascism’ didn’t work before, and it won’t work now

‘Could we get a precise definition of fascism before all this kicks off today?’ So asked Merryn Somerset Webb, a senior columnist at Bloomberg, just before polling day in America. It was – and is – a question worth asking. The election of Donald Trump was inevitably going to draw the comparison, particularly after Kamala Harris (remember her?) said that she believed Donald Trump ‘is a fascist’. There is even a Wikipedia page on ‘Donald Trump and fascism’. When the guests on the Rest is Politics American election livestream asked themselves whether Donald Trump is a fascist, Rory Stewart answered ‘I don’t think yes or no is very useful’, Marina Hyde answered ‘potentially, yes’, Anthony

Daniel Thorpe

‘Bashar was my friend’: the former Assad minister on why he didn’t flee Syria

Amr Salem mingles cheerfully with foreign investors and members of Syria’s interim government in a five-star hotel in Damascus, and why not? Salem’s disposition, clothing, and manners fit the scene. Yet Salem was, in fact, a minister in Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the officials he warmly greets are members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), with whom the regime fought a brutal 14-year-long civil war. When Assad fled Syria last month, many of his officials escaped the country too. But not Salem. Salem chooses his words carefully, portraying himself as a patriot who loyally served his country from the inside ‘Bashar was my friend,’ Salem states firmly. ‘I think he really

Robert Service

Trump may turn on America’s new oligarchy

The word ‘oligarch’ returned to the media lexicon at Donald Trump’s inauguration this week when some of the world’s biggest technology entrepreneurs took their seats while US cabinet ministers were asked to sit dutifully behind them. Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg felt the need to demonstrate loyalty to Trump. The President did not insist on them kissing his ring but allotted them places as if they were school prefects listening to their headmaster on speech day. Zuckerberg could not disguise his facial discomfort. The others were better actors. Earlier this century it was Russian big business that was famous for its so-called oligarchs. Under President Yeltsin some of

Michael Evans

Should Britain join an EU defence scheme?

The UK and Europe have had plenty of time to get to grips with the inevitable, that President Donald Trump will demand a substantial rise in defence spending. When he threw this demand at Europe the first time he served as president, the impact was like a fox entering a hen coop. Lots of fluttering wings and squawking. But in the end it worked. More Nato members met the minimum 2 per cent of GDP target for defence expenditure. Now Trump is back and the issue has become an even greater priority. Nearly three years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, every member of the western alliance is fully aware that President

Friday

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Against the death penalty, even for Axel Rudakubana

Should the Southport killer swing? Lee Anderson thinks so. The Reform MP posted an image of a noose on X, with the words: ‘No apologies here. This is what is required!’ It’s not the first time Anderson has backed the return of the rope, and not the first time I’ve contended that he’s wrong, but there’s something I want to say before getting into the nitty gritty. Wanting Axel Rudakubana dead is a thoroughly mainstream and entirely understandable view. Among those who have children, I would go further and suggest that it is the natural response. On capital punishment, as on so much else, liberals think of ourselves as cool-headed

Mary Wakefield Mary Wakefield

The fight against gender madness isn’t over

Too many conservatives are behaving as if Donald Trump’s inauguration has somehow done to wokery what garlic does to a vampire; as if they can now sit back and watch the orange mist vaporise ideological insanity across the West. A study released today by the University of York shows just how crazy this sort of complacency is. Academics analysed GP records and discovered what looks like a 50-fold increase in diagnoses of gender dysphoria in children between 2011 and 2021. They estimate that there were 10,000 diagnoses made in 2021, up from just 200 in 2011. It’s horrifying, especially when you consider all the countless others who currently self-identify as trans and

Steerpike Steerpike

Reform tops poll for first time

As the new Labour government continues to struggle with voters, support for Reform UK only seems to be growing. New survey results released today by pollsters Find Out Now sees Nigel Farage’s party top the charts – beating both its Tory and Labour rivals. Talk about moving into pole position, eh? The new data – taken from a sample of 2,380 adults quizzed on Wednesday – shows 26 per cent of Brits back Reform UK, an increase of one percentage point since the 15 January. Coming second to the Farage-founded group is the Conservative party, with Kemi Badenoch’s boys in blue on 23 per cent. Meanwhile, in yet another set

Damian Thompson Damian Thompson

Could Trump 2.0. herald a new era of religious liberty in America?

36 min listen

Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, director of the US-based Conscience Project and a friend of Holy Smoke, joins Damian to talk about what the incoming second Trump administration could mean for religious freedoms in America. Andrea argues that the Biden administration waged an unprecedented assault on such freedoms during his term. What could happen over the next four years on issues like gender, abortion, adoption and religious discrimination? And what are the nuances between federal and state laws? (2:06) Also on the podcast, Damian speaks to The Spectator’s Will Moore, Lara Prendergast and Freddy Gray about the nomination of Cardinal Robert McElroy to be the new Archbishop of Washington. Far from being a routine

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Do Reform want to bring back the death penalty?

10 min listen

Reform MP Rupert Lowe has called for the death penalty to be re-established in the wake of the sentencing of the Southport killer Axel Rudakubana. With the Assisted Dying Bill still making its way through Parliament, it has been decades since the topic of death has been so hotly debated by MPs.  Katy Balls speaks to James Heale and Isabel Hardman about the political reaction to Rudakubana’s sentencing. How popular is the death penalty with both MPs and the public? Should we even be debating the issue? And could Reform officially back its return soon? Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Natasha Feroze.

Steerpike Steerpike

Bishop compares disgraced Welby to God

The Church of England has received a rather lot of bad press, to put it mildly, after the Archbishop of Canterbury was forced to resign over the handling of a child abuse scandal. Now, rather than let salvation take its course, the Bishop of Dover has decided to wade into the conversation with some rather irreverent comments of her own. The right reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin appeared on Thursday’s episode of the Times’ Off Air podcast with hosts Jane and Fi. But rather than settling into a saintly chinwag with the pod’s presenters, the Bishop of Dover became rather irate over the issue of Welby’s departure. Mr S would remind readers