Politics

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

Friday

Tim Farron

Why Christians should dump Trump

You won’t be surprised to hear that I won’t be supporting Donald Trump in next week’s election. But while most Lib Dems won’t be cheering on Trump either, there are plenty of Christians who will. When Trump won in 2016, an estimated 81 per cent of white evangelical Christians voted for him. Trump is hoping that, once again, these Christians ignore his disregard for the dignity and wellbeing of others, his contempt for equality, his ungracious rhetoric and his lack of compassion for the vulnerable – and back him at the ballot box. Yet this support not only gives faith a bad name, it is a complete misunderstanding of what

Katy Balls Katy Balls

The Anneliese Dodds Edition

40 min listen

Anneliese Dodds is the shadow chancellor. On the podcast, she talks to Katy about protesting tuition fees in a university exams hall, life before politics, forcing Rishi Sunak into the Commons on his birthday, and whether the Conservatives are spending too much money.

Thursday

Steerpike Steerpike

Listen: Chris Williamson says Margaret Hodge is on ‘Planet Zog’

Following the release of the EHRC report into anti-Semitism and Jeremy Corbyn’s suspension from the Labour party today, several members of the Corbynite wing of the party have attempted to argue that Labour’s anti-Semitism crisis had been overblown by the media. Who better then to make their case than former Labour MP Chris Williamson – who was suspended from the party for saying that anti-Semitism had been ‘weaponised’ against Jeremy Corbyn. Williamson appeared on Andrew Neil’s Times Radio show today, after the Jewish Labour MP Margaret Hodge had been on the show. If Williamson was hoping though to make the case though that anti-Semitism was never really involved in the

John Connolly John Connolly

Can the Labour left resist Keir Starmer?

11 min listen

Labour is truly under new leadership as Jeremy Corbyn gets suspended from the party today. The left of the party is clearly not happy – but can they do anything about the new direction of the party? John Connolly talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls. Tell us your thoughts on our podcasts and be in for a chance to win a bottle of Pol Roger champagne by filling out our podcast survey. Visit spectator.co.uk/podcastsurvey.

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The long winter – why Covid restrictions could last until April

39 min listen

Why does the government think the second wave will be worse than the first? (00:49) Will a Biden presidency restore America’s fortunes? (18:45) And finally, does Covid mark the end for the silver screen? (30:10) Spectator editor Fraser Nelson talks to Carl Heneghan, professor of evidence-based medicine at the University of Oxford; editor of The Spectator’s US edition Freddy Gray is joined by columnist Lionel Shriver; and reviewer Tanya Gold is in discussion with The Spectator’s arts editor Igor Toronyi-Lalic. Presented by Lara Prendergast. Produced by Gus Carter, Max Jeffery and Sam Russell.

Nick Cohen Nick Cohen

Starmer’s suspension of Corbyn took courage

Keir Starmer’s decision to suspend Jeremy Corbyn shows a courage so many lacked when the far left ran the party from 2015 until 2019. Do not underestimate the risks he is running. Starmer might have let Corbyn’s characteristically conspiratorial remark that anti-Semitism in the Labour party had been ‘dramatically overstated for political reasons’ pass. He must have guessed that Corbyn in his arrogance and delusion would reject or choose to ignore the findings of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission that his own staff interfered with investigations into anti-Semitism. It wouldn’t be out of character. Corbyn’s time as party leader, indeed his whole life, has shown him to be willing to

Robert Peston Robert Peston

Keir Starmer has shown he’s serious about winning power

It’s not as though Jeremy Corbyn wasn’t put on warning. Well he would have been put on warning, if he had bothered to wait even five minutes before putting out his own statement in response to the EHRC verdict that Labour on his watch had made ‘serious’ failures in tackling anti-Semitism. Because his successor Sir Keir Starmer said in a prepared statement at 11.05 am that anyone who thought that verdict was ‘all exaggerated or a factional attack… should be nowhere near the Labour party’. Just a few minutes earlier Jeremy Corbyn had said ‘the scale of the problem was… dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The challenge the Tories face after the pandemic

After the last few years of political turmoil, Westminster can’t break the habit of waiting for the latest poll to come out. But the polls at the moment are in stasis. As I say in the magazine this week, there is neither the rally round the flag effect seen during the first wave but nor is there a decisive shift to the opposition. So, the question becomes: how will the public feel at the end of this crisis? One immediate problem for the government — highlighted by the row over free school meals in the holidays — is that people resent having things taken away from them. It will be

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Kicking Corbyn out is only the start of Starmer’s anti-Semitism fight

There it is, in black and white. For almost five years, Jews warned, nudged, reported, complained, pleaded and protested that there was a culture of anti-Semitism in the Labour party. For the most part, the party ignored them, although others assailed them, denounced them as fifth columnists, accused them of orchestrating a ‘smear’ campaign, of being agents of a well-financed ‘lobby’, of trying to destabilise Jeremy Corbyn in service of Israel. Scarcely better, and in some ways worse, were those who knew they were telling the truth but whose solidarity with them and commitment to resisting anti-Semitism was conditional on there not being an election in the offing. British Jews

John Connolly John Connolly

Keir Starmer has declared war on the left of the party

Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of Labour, has been suspended from his own party and had the whip removed. The move to oust him was taken by the party after Corbyn commented on a report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, published today, into anti-Semitism in the Labour party. Earlier today Corbyn released a statement in response to the report, claiming that he rejected some of its findings and arguing that the scale of Labour’s anti-Semitism problem had been ‘dramatically overstated’ for political reasons – which he also blamed on the media.  In response, the Labour party acted to remove Corbyn from the party, while it investigates his comments. In a statement, a spokesperson from the Labour party said:

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Five things we learnt from the EHRC report

Over a year after the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched its investigation into anti-Semitism in the Labour party, the findings have been published. In what Sir Keir Starmer has described as a ‘day of shame for the Labour Party’, the report comes after years of allegations of anti-Semitism that dominated Jeremy Corbyn’s time as Labour leader.  In the build up to the report’s republication, a number of Corbyn’s closest allies attempted to put their side of the story out first. In a statement today, Corbyn claimed the scale of Labour’s anti-Semitism problem had been ‘dramatically overstated’. While the row over the episode is likely to rumble on for some time, here are five main takeaways from the

Steerpike Steerpike

Corbynites react to the EHRC report

The Equality and Human Rights Commission released its report today on antisemitism in the Labour party – and it did not make pretty reading. The report claims that the Labour party was responsible for three breaches of the law in its handling of anti-Semitism complaints after alleged ‘political interference’ in the process. It also found that Labour’s policies were ‘indirectly discriminatory and unlawful’ and this led, the report says, to: ‘A culture within the Party which, at best, did not do enough to prevent antisemitism and, at worst, could be seen to accept it.’ Pretty damning stuff, you might think. But it appears that many Corbynites don’t agree with all

The Spectator

Full text: EHRC report into Labour anti-Semitism

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission has found Labour responsible for unlawful acts of discrimination and harassment. In a long-awaited report, the body identified three breaches of the Equality Act 2010:  Political interference in anti-Semitism complaints; A failure to provide proper training to those handling anti-Semitism complaints, and; Harassment. You can read the full report here:

Jay Bhattacharya

It’s time for an alternative to lockdown

As France and Germany lock down again – and as Britain considers whether to follow suit – many people will be wondering: can’t we think of a better way to handle this pandemic? No one is in any doubt about the threat posed by the Coronavirus. But nor should there be any doubt about the harm posed by lockdown: the mental health, the economic destitution, the deep damage inflicted on families, communities and societies. Perhaps the worst of it is the idea that, when lockdown ends, the virus resumes – and you are back where you started. Where is the exit strategy? And where is the assessment of the costs?

Martin Vander Weyer Martin Vander Weyer

What’s the point of trying to break up ‘big tech’?

The ‘antitrust’ law suit launched by US authorities against Google has been reported as a potential turning point in the dominance of ‘big tech’ — and an echo of the courtroom dramas that diminished the excessive power of America’s late 19th–century oil, steel and railroad barons. But I wonder how much impact it will really have. The allegation, in brief, is that Google has created an illegal near-monopoly by paying large sums to Apple and other smartphone makers to secure its position as the default search engine for billions of consumers, its grip reinforced by ownership of Android, the phone operating system, and Chrome, the popular browser — all of

The Spectator

A Biden victory would be no great boon for Britain

It is remarkably uncommon for a US president to fail to be re-elected. It has happened just twice in the long lifetime of Joe Biden: with Jimmy Carter in 1980 and George H.W. Bush in 1992. On Tuesday, however, it looks likely that it will happen again. It is not just that Donald Trump is trailing badly and consistently in the national polls — he was behind in 2016 but won nonetheless — it is that his support seems to be draining most in his own heartlands. Biden appears to be well ahead in industrial ‘rustbelt’ states like Michigan and Wisconsin where Trump’s protectionist message gave him victory four years

Francis Pike

Erdogan’s game: why Turkey has turned against the West

Six years ago, at the celebratory opening match of the new Basaksehir Stadium in Istanbul, an unlikely football star emerged. The red team’s ageing, six-foot tall centre-forward lumbered toward the white team’s goal; a delicate chip over the advancing keeper brought a goal that sent the stadium into ecstasy. The scorer was Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It was the run-up to an election in which he expected to become his country’s 12th president. For Erdogan, a former semi-professional footballer, it was brilliant self-promotion. Like Fidel Castro’s baseball pitching or Chairman Mao’s ‘world record’ Yangtze River swim at the start of the Cultural Revolution, Erdogan’s contrived sporting prowess helped make

James Forsyth James Forsyth

What will post-pandemic politics look like?

A few days ago, I came across a group of Tory MPs in a House of Commons corridor looking rather perplexed. It soon became apparent why. They had been discussing the government’s myriad problems and expressing their concerns about how things were being handled by Downing Street. Then their phones had pinged with news of a poll that showed the Tories moving into a six-point lead. To be sure, not all the polls are this favourable to the Conservative party: one at the weekend had Labour two points ahead. There is also an argument that it’s not useful to look at voting intentions so far away from the next general

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

The ‘Pestminster’ reforms are faltering

One of the leading figures in setting up parliament’s independent complaints process has told Coffee House she is worried it will ‘fall into disrepute’ and that key measures designed to crack down on harassment and bullying are not being implemented. Andrea Leadsom was Leader of the House of Commons when the ‘Pestminster’ scandal broke in 2017 and worked on a cross-party basis to set up the Independent Complaints and Grievances Scheme. She is concerned that the reputation of the scheme is already struggling, as complainants find their cases are taking too long to be resolved or are receiving conflicting advice. She said: It was quite common every day or so for

Wednesday

Emmanuel Macron

Emmanuel Macron: Why France is locking down again

The virus is now circulating at a speed that even the most pessimistic predictions had not anticipated. The number of contaminations has doubled in less than two weeks. Unlike the first wave, all regions are now at the alert threshold. In many places, we have started to postpone heart or cancer operations, sometimes already postponed until spring. We had sought to control its circulation by relying on our capacities to test, alert and protect. This is what we have been doing since August. Have we done everything right? No. We can always improve. We could have gone faster at the beginning with the testing. We should have been more respectful