All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
For weeks, Westminster has been full of rumours about the private life of a certain cabinet member. It was said he had started to visit a dominatrix in Earl’s Court but ended up falling in love with her and taking her to official functions. Like a Westminster remake of the film Pretty Woman, in fact,
This time last week, you would have expected PMQs to be rowdy and extremely difficult for David Cameron. After all, he was on the back foot on tax and steel. But today’s session was actually remarkably dry as Jeremy Corbyn asked worthy and technical questions on tax and Britain’s overseas territories. Strikingly, Cameron felt confident
As someone who still entertains hope of becoming a member of Parliament one day, I’d better come clean about my own tax affairs. It’s a torrid tale, as you’d expect, but rather than wait for my political opponents to winkle the story out of me bit by bit, I thought I’d get it all out
While we’re on the subject of taxes, what about footballers? That’s a question often put up by bankers accused of being overpaid, but the comparison works as well with politicians. Cameron’s tenure at the top has coincided with that of Wayne Rooney, a role model for millions who is said to earn more in a
Last night John Whittingdale’s 2014 relationship with a dominatrix was made public by Newsnight in an interview with Hacked Off founder Brain Cathcart. However, Hacked Off members were soon branded ‘hypocrites’ for forcing a cabinet minister to admit he unknowingly had a relationship with a prostitute — given that they claim to rally against press
As Zac Goldsmith continues to lag behind Sadiq Khan in the polls, even the most die-hard Tories are beginning to lose hope in their candidate. In fact, it seems Zac is falling out of fashion at a rate of knots. Samantha Cameron’s sister — and David Cameron’s sister-in-law — Emily Sheffield appears to be getting
I know it’s de rigueur in many cities across Britain but it never ceases to rankle that councils charge people to park outside their own homes. And paying for the privilege of a parking spot is no guarantee of a space. When I lived in Hampstead, I would often arrive home to find the street
Back in 2010, Arron Bank’s Russian wife Katya had the ability to generate more press than the eccentric Brexit backer. Formerly known as Ekaterina Paderina, Katya made headlines when she was dragged into Mike Hancock’s ‘Russian spy’ scandal. At the time the former Liberal Democrat MP faced questions over his Russian parliamentary aide Katia Zatuliveter —
‘Amid the cobbled passageways and tumbling tenements of the Italian city of Perugia, it’s possible to daydream you are in the middle ages. You are surrounded by medieval art and architecture. And then you think: hold on, what happened to the Renaissance?’ So begins Paul Mason’s article for the Guardian on Monday about the Panama Papers, in which
If match.com is missing an advertising strap line, how about saying “Where lonely cabinet members can meet lonely dominatrices?”. According to John Whittingdale, the Culture Secretary, this is precisely what happened to him – a relationship that the press knew about, but decided not to publish on the grounds that he’s single, is richly entitled
Just a few days into the official campaign for the Holyrood elections and Ruth Davidson has had to change her tactics. The plan had originally been for the Scottish Conservatives to run a serious campaign which has fewer tanks than the election campaign, and more serious speeches. ‘We tried that whole idea of you know
The IMF has published one of the starkest warnings so far against Brexit from an organisation based outside of Britain. The latest set of figures from the International Monetary Fund predict that there will be a 0.3 percentage point dip in Britain’s growth forecast this year, as a result of the referendum. And the IMF
Given that Syed Kamall is backing Brexit, the Conservative MEP has made little secret of his dislike for aspects of the EU Parliament. However, today Kamall appeared to struggle to keep such feelings in check when a Belgian MEP spoke as part of a session of Council and Commission statements on Counterterrorism following the recent terrorist attacks. Clearly unimpressed by
Parents are so worried about the behaviour of nursery workers looking after their children that they are installing secret cameras to keep tabs on them. Can you imagine the outrage that would follow this story, if it were true? Yet when, as the Times reports today, the vulnerable people concerned are elderly, then the abuse attracts
No one does as much damage to a country as patriots who affect to love it the most. If you doubt me, ask yourself what is missing from the European debate. The virtue-signalling right flap their arms to semaphore their belief in restoring Britain’s greatness. Yet they do not answer an obvious question: if leaving the
When Simon Sebag Montefiore interviewed the Spice Girls for The Spectator, the five pop starlets surprised a lot of fans when they revealed their views on UK politics, the monarchy and Europe. Posh Spice, now known better as Victoria Beckham, emphasised the importance of the single currency: ‘The Euro- bureaucrats are destroying every bit of national
Annual CPI inflation rose by more than forecasters expected to reach 0.5 per cent in March, up from 0.3 per cent in February, figures released today show. The rise was due to a jump in the cost of air fares, which were affected by the timing of Easter. Growth in fuel prices slowed and consumers benefitted
Tonight marks the first preview performance of the much-anticipated Corbyn the Musical: the Motorcycle Diaries. The ‘no-holds barred political satire’ musical — written by Rupert Myers and Bobby Friedman — imagines Jeremy Corbyn facing a nuclear crisis. It will also offers a take on what may have gone on when Corbyn and Diane Abbott are said to have gone
One of Ed Miliband’s most embarrassing television moments from his time as Labour leader came when he appeared on The Agenda in 2014. Red Ed was lost for words when former pop star Myleene Klass turned on him on the ITV show as she berated him over Labour’s proposed mansion tax. The former Hear-Say star criticised
The message of Pope Francis, in his exhortation Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), seems to be this: there must be rules. Only tough rules can express the absoluteness of the gospel. Without these rules it will be diluted, its saving force depleted. But the Church must apply these rules with Christlike tenderness and mercy,
On its website the Foreign and Commonwealth Office claims that ‘we’re strengthening the Commonwealth as a focus for democratic practice and development. We’re working with the Commonwealth Secretariat to strengthen its institutions so it promotes human rights, democratic values and the rule of law.’ It continues: ‘we’re engaging with civil society across the Commonwealth.’ In
The government has had a messy few weeks: that much is clear. And the latest mess, which is the row following the Panama Papers leaks, is still all over the press a week after the story broke. There are apparently more revelations to come. But the government has also settled into a pattern of having
My parents are lucky. They’re in their 60s, mortgage-free and not bogged down by any personal loans. But if new research is to be believed, they are likely to be one of the last generations to enjoy this financial freedom in retirement. Saga Personal Finance has found that one in eight of the over 50s
Police are being asked to investigate more financial crime against the elderly than ever before, according to an exclusive story in The Times today. In what must be many families’ worst nightmare, the paper found that adult social services received allegations of 21,935 cases of theft and fraud against elderly victims in the 12 months to
It is the most important decision that the Electoral Commission has ever taken: who to select as the lead campaign for Leave in the EU referendum. Three groups have applied for this designation. If the Electoral Commission gets it wrong, the referendum could effectively be over before it has even begun and the nation could be denied
David Cameron has been defending himself in the Commons following the publication of his tax return. He said he found some of the comments about his father ‘deeply hurtful’. He also held his hands up for not responding to criticism sooner following last week’s Panama papers controversy: One of the more personal jibes thrown at
Yet again, David Cameron has reason to be grateful for the quality of the opposition facing him. First of all, Jeremy Corbyn took until Cameron’s statement to release his own tax return, meaning that journalists were studying that as much as his response in the House of Commons. Second, Corbyn’s own response was long on
The former head of the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission has once again said the ‘unsayable’. In a piece for the Sunday Times (ahead of a Channel 4 documentary to go out on Wednesday) Trevor Phillips unveils an in-depth new poll carried out by ICM (which can be viewed here). The findings include the
This afternoon David Cameron has had to face the music in the Commons over his shares in his father’s offshore fund. While he received a lukewarm response from his own party, the most hostile response came from the Beast of Bolsover. After Cameron gave an address on his tax affairs, Dennis Skinner angrily responded by calling the Prime Minister ‘dodgy
George Osborne and Jeremy Corbyn have now both followed in the Prime Minister’s footsteps by publishing details of their tax returns. As James Forsyth said on our Spectator podcast earlier today, it was just a matter of time before the Chancellor and Labour leader bowed down to pressure. But what do the two documents actually
David Cameron has bowed down to pressure by publishing his tax return and now the Chancellor has done the same. But where will the calls for financial transparency end? And how did this issue blow up into such a big political row? Spectator editor Fraser Nelson joins Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth to talk about
Oh dear. Although Jeremy Corbyn spent the best part of last week calling on David Cameron to publish his tax return, the Labour leader appears to be struggling to follow his own advice. Despite Corbyn promising to publish his tax return last Tuesday, the document is yet to see the light of day. Rather than a tax evasion conspiracy,
David Cameron will give a statement in the Commons addressing the row about his tax arrangements, with George Osborne expected to publish his own tax return in the coming days too. That the Prime Minister has had to prepare a statement for MPs so that he can avoid being hauled to the Commons by Labour
We seem to be wilfully blind when it comes to nature. Right now, Australia is in the grip of an unprecedented environmental disaster. The largest living structure on Earth, the Great Barrier Reef, is mortally sick. Across hundreds of miles of ocean, from Papua New Guinea and all the way southwards along the east coast