All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
Back in the 1980s, the American business guru Tom Peters came up with the advice to companies to ‘under-promise and over-deliver’. The idea behind it was that there was an asymmetry in customer responses to service standards which depended on what they had been guaranteed. A long delivery time could, for example, be perfectly acceptable to
There has never been a better time in recent years for Israel to launch a cross-border ground attack against Hezbollah. The Iran-backed terrorist group’s senior leadership, both political and military, has almost been wiped out – with up to 19 senior officials, including its political leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed in recent weeks. After almost a
It’s hard to make head or tail of where Australia stands on the gender debate that has divided the West. The issue boils down to a simple question: should men be allowed in women’s spaces? But the answer is far from simple. And a court ruling by a Tasmanian court ruling may have just added
As the Tory leadership hustings continue, there’s a bit of good news for outgoing boss Rishi Sunak. It now transpires that more people prefer Sunak’s government to Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour lot, according to polling by More in Common. In yet another blow for Starmer, the survey found the new government was less popular than
Can Kemi Badenoch reach the final two of the Tory leadership contest? So far this has been the key question at Conservative party conference. Of the leadership candidates, Badenoch has had the bumpiest conference so far, with criticism of her comments on maternity pay and business regulation more generally. The argument from the Badenoch camp
Israelis awoke today to the unsurprising news that the IDF had crossed the border into Lebanon. The incursions, which had been expected for days and heavily briefed as imminent yesterday, are supposedly ‘limited’ and ‘targeted’ – aiming to destroy fortified Hezbollah positions overlooking the Galilee and prevent the terror group from using short-range weapons like RPGs
As troops from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) 98th airborne division enter into Lebanon, they know that fighting Hezbollah will prove dangerous and difficult. Although Hezbollah has deteriorated after Israel’s recent attacks, its terrorists still have significant fighting capabilities. The elite IDF troops are backed by the Israeli airforce and artillery. It’s been nearly 12
Should we celebrate the end of Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Britain’s last coal-fired power station, whose boilers went cold on Monday, bringing to an end 142 years of coal-fired electricity in Britain? Even as recently as 2012, 39 per cent of our electricity came from coal. The news of the power station’s demise was, predictably enough, received with
Today marks the 15th anniversary of the UK Supreme Court. When it opened its doors in 2009, it was argued that separating the country’s top judges from their historical home in parliament was a defining moment in the constitutional history of the UK. Fifteen years later, it’s hard to see whether anything significant has really changed.
When Claudia Sheinbaum becomes Mexico’s first female president later today, Felipe VI, the King of Spain, will not be present. He has, very pointedly, not been invited to the swearing-in ceremony because he hasn’t apologised for Spain’s invasion and conquest of the Aztec empire 500 years ago. Spaniards are alert to the ‘emotional fraudulence’ of professing guilt
Are you one of the growing number of ‘second screen’ television viewers? For all too many of us, it seems that watching one screen just isn’t enough; modern technology and, in particular, our obsession with looking at our phones has so addled our brains that plenty of us fiddle with our mobiles while ostensibly ‘watching’
Kemi Badenoch is being followed around the Tory party conference by her own comments about maternity pay. She had to explain what she was on about again when she had her main stage interview in the Birmingham hall this afternoon, telling Chris Hope that ‘I think maternity pay is quite important’, and that she was
Jeremy Hunt is one of the few Tories at Conservative Party Conference willing to take the fight to Labour. In the second day, he sat down for an on-stage interview where the former Chancellor spoke about the winter fuel allowance, freebies, but also made some polite suggestions about where the Conservative party shouldn’t go, and
Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, has finally put an end to Whitehall’s worst-kept secret by formally announcing that he will quit at the end of the year. It means the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer can finally appoint his own man or woman in the role of the country’s most senior civil servant. Case is
Tom Tugendhat may have the most interesting merchandise in this Tory leadership contest (including fake tan, for reasons no-one has yet explained), but he is not, as things stand, the frontrunner. He is also the least experienced of the contenders in government terms, though he decided today to compensate for that in his on-stage interview
While the Conservative party conference is in full swing in Birmingham, back in Whitehall there have been some major developments. Cabinet Secretary Simon Case has now formally handed in his resignation letter, with the senior civil servant circulating his departure letter to his underlings today. His announcement that he will stand down at the end
The first of the big Tory leadership interviews kicked off today with Tom Tugendhat in the hotseat. The former security minister put forward his case to a packed out arena in Birmingham — calling for CCHQ reform, apologising for recent years of Tory ‘infighting and chaos’ and insisting he has what it takes to rebuild
There are noticeably fewer people here at Tory conference in Birmingham this week. But one former MP can still reliably pack in the punters. Despite losing her seat in July, the ‘Liz Truss show’ shows no sign of any drop in enthusiasm, with some 300 conference attendees packing out a lecture theatre for a blast
Israel has started to prepare for a ground invasion of Lebanon amid international calls for ceasefire. This is the next stage of Israel’s operation against Hezbollah – which began with exploding pagers and walkie-talkies, and continued with the killing of Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, as well as nearly all of the terror organisation’s top commanders. The
Jeremy Hunt is one of the few Tories willing to take the fight to Labour while the Conservative leadership contest drones on. The shadow chancellor gave an on-stage interview at party conference in Birmingham this morning where he continued to attack Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ ‘£22 billion black hole’ narrative. Hunt suggested that not even Labour
Brexit is, we’re told, a disaster that shaved a hefty slice off UK economic growth. But there does seem to be a very large proverbial elephant standing in the way of this thesis. Our EU neighbours don’t seem to have been doing any better than an admittedly sluggish – if now recovering – Britain. While
Fans of Frank Sinatra used to have a favourite saying when their hero was in his pomp: ‘It’s Frank’s world. We just live in it.’ After a day and a half of the Tory conference in Birmingham, there is a temptation to refashion the observation around Kemi Badenoch, so completely has she dominated proceedings. And
To Birmingham, where the Conservative party conference is in full swing. As well as the formal leadership hustings taking place this week, the four rivals vying for the top job are busy behind the scenes trying to convince their colleagues – and membership – to back them. Robert Jenrick staged his latest rally bright and
All is not well in the Labour party. Not only is Sir Keir still dealing with the freebie fiasco, Starmer also lost a longtime MP last week after she quit the party. Rosie Duffield left Labour with a bang, penning a scathing letter that blasted the ‘sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice’ existing among the lefty
I’ve always found the word ‘presenting’ – as in TV presenting – somewhat comical. It’s such a giveaway. In theory, the presenter is presenting the show they host; in reality, they’re presenting themselves for public approval. To add to the fun, ‘presenting’ is also a word used to describe monkeys being rude with their nether
There’s an oddly upbeat mood here at Tory party conference in Birmingham. You might have thought that with just 121 MPs left, the Conservatives would be fairly despondent about their future. But it seems that the bromide of the leadership election has helped assuage such feelings. After all, who can be miserable when there are
The victory of the Freedom party in Austria’s general election came as Israel intensified its air strikes across Lebanon. Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, says that more than one million people have been displaced from their homes as a consequence of the military strikes. The ramifications of the turmoil in the Middle East will terrify
The general elections in Austria have delivered a sensational result, with the hard right, pro-Putin Freedom party (FPO) coming out on top for the first time in the Alpine republic’s post-second world war history. Projections after Sunday’s poll give the FPO 29 per cent – a three point lead over their nearest rivals, the conservative People’s party
The fees English universities are allowed to charge home students in England are fixed by government fiat. At £9,250 per year, they are some of the most expensive in Europe. Shortly after the election Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson denied any plans to raise them. She appears to have changed her mind, saying the fee has been ‘eroded’
Robinson Crusoe on Mas a Tierra; Napoleon on Elba; Schofield on Nosy Ankarea. Island exile is an opportunity for man, that bare-forked thing, to confront his essence in solitude. Yet where Crusoe explored theology, economics and the nature of human civilisation, and Napoleon brooded on his world-historic destiny, Schofield is bellyaching to the viewers of
What explains The Spectator’s unprecedented success? No weekly in the world has matched its longevity: 196 years and 10,200 issues. In my history of The Spectator, 10,000 Not Out, I talk about the battles that shaped the magazine. It has long been a voice for classic liberal values and in its best moments, kept doing so even
Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party’s conference was mired in his freebie fiasco scandal after revelations about clothing donations and trips abroad surfaced. But while the Labour lot had a tricky time fending the story off at their conference, they appear determined not to let the Tory meet pass without a similar hitch. Now it transpires
It was a curious farewell for Rishi Sunak this afternoon. The Tory leader has just finished his final speech to the party faithful before handing over the reins in five weeks time. Keen not to overshadow his four would-be successors, Sunak opted not to give the traditional Wednesday farewell speech to a seated audience of
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The final four leadership candidates have arrived at Conservative Party Conference to make their final pitches. However, day one and Kemi Badenoch has found herself in an online row over comments made about maternity pay. Katy Balls, Kate Andrews and Fraser Nelson take a look at what was really said, and whether there is a