James Heale is The Spectator’s deputy political editor.
So far, Keir Starmer has been unmoved by complaints from left-wingers that his policies differ little from those of Boris Johnson’s at the last election. After all, if left-wing voters don’t like his low-key approach, where else would they go? The problem in British politics – as David Cameron found out – is that disgruntled
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This week (01.07) James Heale meets the Conservative London Mayoral Candidate, Susan Hall, who is ready and willing to take the fight to Sadiq Khan in next year’s elections, (06.51) Melanie McDonagh examines the effects on children’s publishing as sensitivity readers gain more and more influence and (12.39) Sam McPhail explains why football clubs could
‘I love a fight. I was going to say debate, but it’s more of a fight to be honest.’ Susan Hall is looking forward to taking on Sadiq Khan at the London mayoral hustings. When we meet for her first interview after securing the Conservative nomination, it is five days after the Uxbridge by-election. Hall
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Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson speak to James Heale about Labour’s infighting over issues such as ULEZ and the child benefits cap. Whilst not in government yet, is this something Keir Starmer will need to get a grip on in order to become the next Prime Minister? Produced by Natasha Feroze.
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The dust has settled after yesterday’s by-election results. Having narrowly avoided a triple by-election defeat there seems to be little sign of Conservative party in-fighting, despite their poor showing. There is however a war of words brewing between the London Labour Party and Kier Starmer who blames Sadiq Khan’s Ulez plan for the failure to
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There was something for everyone in the by-elections with each of the three big parties getting a seat. The Tories lost Somerton and Frome to the Lib Dems and Selby and Ainsty to Labour but did narrowly cling on in Boris Johnson’s former seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip, albeit with a reduced majority of
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Katy Balls speaks to Kate Andrews and James Heale about today’s inflation figures and the latest news about the Conservative Mayoral candidate for London – Susan Hall.
The Tories now have their candidate to take on Sadiq Khan next May. Susan Hall, the right wing member of the Greater London Authority, has today defeated Moz Hossain by 57 per cent to 43 per cent in a ballot of Conservative members across the capital. Hall, who led the GLA Tories for six years,
Sparks flew at tonight’s Parliamentary Labour party (PLP) meeting. Deputy leader Angela Rayner had been due to speak to MPs as part of an end of term pep talk. Instead, the ongoing row over Keir Starmer’s decision to maintain the two child benefit cap if Labour enters government dominated the entire session. Rayner herself has
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Keir Starmer has said that Labour will not be reversing the two-child benefits cap, after Angela Rayner said it was ‘obscene and inhumane’. But will he continue to back the policy, which allegedly saves the Treasury £1.3 billion, or change his mind in the face of pressure from his shadow front bench? James Heale speaks
After five days of speculation, Huw Edwards has today been named as the BBC star at the centre of allegations about his private life. His wife, the TV producer, Vicky Flind, has released a statement in which she says her husband is ‘suffering from serious mental health issues’ and is now ‘receiving in-patient hospital care
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Tory whips will be smiling today after a mammoth three and a half hour voting session on amendments to the Illegal Migration Bill last night. All the amendments put down by the House of Lords were defeated by the government across 18 divisions. Are Rishi’s hopes of stopping the boats still alive? Where do Labour
Tory whips and publicans are the only people smiling in parliament tonight, after a mammoth three and a half hour voting session on amendments to the Illegal Migration Bill. The House of Commons bars are now rammed with MPs, who spent the afternoon debating and voting on changes to the government’s plans to ‘stop the
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Joe Biden was in London today to meet with Rishi Sunak. The pair had discussions in No. 10, and Biden described US-UK relations as ‘rock solid’. But the pair have recently had disagreements about who the next Nato secretary general should be, and about whether the West should send cluster munitions to Ukraine – so
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James Heale speaks to John Ferry and Iain Macwhirter about Humza Yousaf’s first 100 days in Holyrood. Plagued by Sturgeon’s arrest, does the Scottish First Minister’s future look bright?
It’s Humza Yousaf’s 100th day in office today. So what better way to mark this milestone than with a fresh clash with Westminster? A policy paper put out by the Scottish government this morning calls for the decriminalisation of all drugs for personal use. Drugs are a reserved matter but Holyrood ministers want that changed
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It is one year since Boris Johnson announced his resignation as prime minister. That day, Labour held an 11 point lead in the polls but new YouGov polling today indicates that gap has widened to 25 points. Is there any hope the Tories can turn it around? What if Boris had stayed? James Heale speaks to
It’s more bad news for the government today. The High Court has this afternoon ordered ministers to release Boris Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApp messages and notebooks to the Covid inquiry. Judges said there were no grounds to block inquiry chairwoman Baroness Hallett’s order to hand over the material. It will mean inquiry officials will have access
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The NHS marks its 75th anniversary today, and in Westminster, both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer attended a service at Westminster Abbey in honour of the organisation. James Heale talks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews about why there was a church service for the NHS and whether Rishi Sunak’s time would have been better
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Rishi Sunak’s personal approval rating among Tory members has turned negative for the first time in his premiership. Why is the Prime Minister becoming more unpopular in his party? Should he be worried about internal dissent? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews. Produced by Max Jeffery.
