Politics

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

Saturday

Patrick West

What Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg owe to the mainstream media

Censorship and the silencing of dissenting voices has been a defining feature of the 21st century. It’s curious, because it wasn’t meant to be like this. This epoch, as the tech libertarian utopians of the 1990s so eagerly pronounced, was going to be one of unprecedented and untrammelled freedom. The internet, which burst into public consciousness back then, promised as much. Social media, which erupted a decade later, promised even more. And then it all went wrong. I was cancelled by Facebook for writing about why men are funnier than women We shouldn’t have been surprised. Ideologies based on utopian fantasies, underpinned by the illusion that mankind can be perfected, inevitably

Casey Babb

Will Palestinians give peace a chance?

Time and time again, people look to those outside of the Middle East to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After decades of an occupation and unrelenting hostilities between Jews and Arabs in the region, it makes sense why the burden of peace is so often placed on leaders abroad. Unfortunately, this approach has repeatedly failed, in large part because convoluted peace plans tend to focus on land over ideology, dreams over reality, and an outright denial of existing beliefs which for many, seem insurmountable. On the Palestinian side, things are perhaps even more bleak That said, if there’s ever going to be lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, change needs to come

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

France’s problem is Algeria – not Elon Musk

Emmanuel Macron has a problem and its name is not Elon Musk. It is interference of an altogether more dangerous nature, a brazen attempt to destabilise France. On Thursday, while Thierry Breton – until recently France’s commissioner in Brussels – called on the EU ‘to investigate Musk’s practices’, a reference to the American’s regular commentary on European politics, the French government expelled an Algerian ‘influencer’ known as Doualemn. He had his residence permit cancelled and was deported after posting messages to his 138,000 followers on social media that were anti-Semitic and an incitement to violence. By Thursday evening, Doualemn was back in France after the Algerians put him on the first flight to

William Cash

The LA dream has burnt out

Last year, I wrote here about the dark side of LA, after the Friends actor Matthew Perry was found dead in the hot tub of his $6 million Pacific Palisades house. I grimly predicted that his luxury ocean-facing bungalow – sold on to a developer for over $8 million just a few months after his fatal drug overdose – would become a new stop off on the ‘Movie Star’s Homes’ tours.  Was I wrong? The Perry multi-million glass bungalow narrowly avoided the flames. The LA wildfires have torn through the Palisades area, and have reached the very part of the Hollywood Hills where I used to live in the 1990s. Los Angeles

Jim Lawley

The solution to Spain’s problems

It’s not often that a country can solve a serious, endemic problem quickly, easily and at no expense at all. But Spain can. The problem is some of the country’s left-wing politicians’ harmful ignorance of Spain’s 20th century history – and in particular about what actually happened during the Second Republic (1931-1936) and the resulting civil war (1936-1939). Not knowing the history, they constantly frame 21st century Spanish politics as a continuation of that war. Their misunderstandings and misrepresentations are holding Spain back. Unfortunately, many on the left fondly imagine that they are the proud heirs of noble republicans who fought for democracy against General Franco’s fascist forces. And when politicians of

Leah Pennisi-Glaser

What does Labour have against state school Latin students like me?

What type of person studies Latin in 2024? As a result of Labour’s decision to axe the £4 million Latin Excellence Programme (LEP), the stereotype of the average Latin student – that they are posh and privately educated – is likely to persist. As a state school student who studied Latin – a subject that helped me win a place at a top university – this saddens me greatly. The intellectual vandalism of Labour’s education secretary Bridget Phillipson is hard to forgive. One in two children are taught Latin at private schools, compared to just 2.7 per cent at comprehensives Out of the six of us who studied Latin GCSE

Friday

Steerpike Steerpike

Scottish Labour admin slip-up sees party lines sent across Holyrood

Well, well, well. It’s not been a great start to the year for Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party in Westminster and it seems the Scottish lot north of the border are having a tough time of it too. Leader Anas Sarwar has seen his popularity fall towards the end of 2024 while his SNP rival John Swinney experienced a slight bounce at the end of 2024. Meanwhile combined poll predictions suggest that while the reds are likely to make gains in the 2026 Holyrood election, they have their work cut out if they want to become the party of government. And now questions are being raised about just how well

John Keiger John Keiger

How Jean-Marie Le Pen lives on

Jean-Marie Le Pen, who died aged 96 on 7 January, was the personification of the travails and excesses of post-war France. He was a co-founder in 1972 of the reactionary Front National, whose senior members included former Vichy collaborators and a former member of the Waffen SS Charlemagne Division. Yet on 21 April 2002 to universal surprise, he nonetheless beat the Socialist candidate and qualified for the second round of the French presidentials with 18 per cent of the vote. For some he was a malign towering figure of French politics and political life for six decades; for others the outspoken tribune of the French people insistent on stating fearlessly,

Steerpike Steerpike

Reform faces councillor exodus as 12 set to quit over Farage

Uh oh. There’s trouble in paradise this evening as it has emerged that 12 Reform UK councillors are set to quit over Nigel Farage’s leadership. As reported by the Guardian, it transpires that the mass exodus could begin as early as tonight, with the announcement that the group intend to resign en mass timed to take the shine off Nige’s Surrey conference. The group of Derbyshire councillors have, reports note, alleged that Reform was being run in an ‘autocratic manner’ and blasted Farage of ‘disloyalty’ to long-term members. While the party’s five MPs are staying put, the loss of these councillors will notably dent the party’s local authority representation. The

Sam Olsen

Does Britain need China?

As Rachel Reeves, flies to Beijing , she will have plenty of support from those who claim that the UK needs China for its economic wellbeing. The country ‘needs more engagement with China’, said Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds in October last year at the International Investment Summit put on soon after Labour’s election victory. The facts, however, say otherwise.  For a start, China is not that an important economic partner for the UK in terms of trade or foreign direct investment (FDI).  The People’s Republic is only the UK’s fifth biggest trade partner, accounting for 5.1 per cent of trade. Ireland alone received £24 billion more of British exports than China in 2023. Despite the

Catherine Lafferty

Catherine Lafferty, Michael Simmons, Paul Wood, Philip Hensher, Isabel Hardman and Damian Thompson

39 min listen

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Catherine Lafferty argues that the drive to reduce teenage pregnancies enabled grooming gangs (1:27); following Luke Littler’s world championship victory, Michael Simmons says that Gen Z is ruining darts (6:32); Paul Wood looks at the return of Isis, and America’s unlikely ally in its fight against the terrorist group (10:35); Philip Hensher reviews a new biography of the Brothers Grimm by Ann Schmiesing, and looks at how words can be as dangerous as war (17:57); Isabel Hardman highlights the new garden now open at the Natural History Museum (26:57); and, Damian Thompson reveals he watched videos of plane crashes to distract himself from the US

James Heale James Heale

Why Labour is cosying up to China

It used to be said that parties were Eurosceptic in opposition but Europhile in government. The same might be true of China too. Under Keir Starmer’s leadership, Labour initially adopted a Sinosceptic stance, strongly condemning the Hong Kong crackdown and promising to recognise China’s treatment of the Uyghurs as genocide. Yet in office, they have abandoned such postures and instead sent various ministers out East. The latest to go and tout for trade is Rachel Reeves, in her never-ending quest for growth. For the first time in five years, the Chancellor will hold an Economic and Financial Dialogue between China and the UK tomorrow in Beijing. Accompanied by Andrew Bailey, the Governor

Katja Hoyer Katja Hoyer

Why German politicians fear Musk’s AfD interview

Over 200,000 listeners tuned into Elon Musk’s online conversation with Alice Weidel, the co-leader of Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), on the social media platform X yesterday. Musk has endorsed the anti-immigration party as ‘the last spark of hope’ for Germany. Reactions were expectedly tetchy in Weidel’s home country where the AfD is polling in second place ahead of snap elections in February. For about 75 minutes, Musk and Weidel chatted about everything from energy and immigration policy to God, Hitler and life on Mars. I’d never seen Weidel act so casually. She actually giggled when Musk jokingly said ‘yes’ to her suggestion that nobody wants to be surrounded by yes men. ‘This is

Cindy Yu Cindy Yu

Can Musk oust Starmer?

11 min listen

The war between Labour and Elon Musk continues to rage. Today the Financial Times reports that the tech tycoon has had discussions about ousting Keir Starmer before the next election, while the Mirror holds a report that the Home Office has been assessing Elon Musk’s tweets as a part of their efforts to tackle online extremism. Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and James Heale about whether Musk can really threaten Starmer’s position. Produced by Cindy Yu.

Yuan Yi Zhu

The Chagos Islands deal is uniquely terrible

Last year, a Mauritian politician raised eyebrows in Britain when he told a political rally that ‘England has agreed to pay us a compensation’ to the tune of ‘many billions of rupees’ as part of the deal to hand over the Chagos islands to Mauritius. Still, a billion Mauritian rupees only converts to around £17 million, so observers were none the wiser about the financial provisions of the still-secret agreement between the two countries. If the deal goes through, Britain will be paying a king’s ransom to give away sovereign territory to a foreign power with no rightful claim to it Now we know that ‘many billions of rupees’ also means ‘many

James Kirkup James Kirkup

Starmer’s grooming gang stance might not last the weekend

From the start of Elon Musk’s onslaught, Sir Keir Starmer’s position in refusing a new national inquiry into the grooming and rape of girls across England has looked fragile. This weekend that position – and Labour’s parliamentary discipline – will be tested further. That’s because Labour are now away from the Commons, back among their voters. Labour MPs who find themselves being harangued by angry voters might not be keen to stand up for the PM One of the defining features of the new intake of Labour MPs is their localism. Most were selected by constituency Labour parties demanding total commitment to the local area and, where possible, a personal connection to the

Steerpike Steerpike

Does the UK have more mandarins than communist China?

Mr Steerpike was interested to read over the Christmas break that young people are currently flocking to join China’s civil service, attracted by the job stability it offers compared to the volatile private sector, and seeking to escape the country’s relatively high youth unemployment.  According to the Reuters piece, the civil service is still seen by young people as an ‘iron rice bowl’, or job for life. Readers may be reminded of our own ‘Rolls-Royce’ civil service, where even the most incompetent bureaucrats are shuffled between departments rather than ever fired – the ‘iron hot desk’, perhaps. But Mr S was struck by one part of the Reuters piece in

Steerpike Steerpike

China hawks could cause a fresh headache for Labour

It used to be said that parties were Eurosceptic in opposition but Europhile in government. The same might be true of China too. Under Keir Starmer’s leadership, Labour initially adopted a Sinosceptic stance, calling out the Hong Kong crackdown and backing calls to formally recognise China’s treatment of the Uyghurs as genocide. Yet in office, they have abandoned such postures and instead sent various ministers out to East to tout for trade and promises of friendship. How’s that working out eh? The latest to go cap in hand is Rachel Reeves, in her never-ending quest for growth. But at home, China hawks are not prepared to make life easy for

Andrew Tettenborn

In defence of prejudice

There’s always something that seems clinically compelling about a claim that we need yet more equality laws. Mary Prior KC, chair of the Criminal Bar Association and a proud working-class Potteries girl, has demanded that regional accents and social deprivation should be legally protected characteristics. At first sight it’s difficult to argue with the icy logic. If it’s unfair to do someone down because they’re female, or Catholic, or black, it can’t be all right for a lah-di-dah appointments committee in SW1 to prefer Serena to Sharon, or Simon from Surbiton over Steve from Sunderland. Or can it? Some will gravitate to certain jobs, some to others. So what? It’s actually much less

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Could Elon Musk really oust Keir Starmer?

Another day, another story that risks further exacerbating tensions between the world’s richest man and the prime minister. The Mirror reports that Elon Musk’s posts on X (the platform he owns) are being monitored by the Home Office’s counter-extremism unit as part of an increased effort to assess the risk posed to Britain by tweets sent from those with large followings. The news will go down like a cup of cold sick with Musk who has long railed against the UK government over censorship. It’s just another indicator of how the strained relationship between Keir Starmer and Musk is unlikely to improve anytime soon. But are things so bad that