James Heale is The Spectator’s political correspondent.
When Simon Case was named as cabinet secretary in September 2020 he became, at the age of 41, the youngest appointee in more than 100 years. He will probably earn another distinction soon: the youngest ex-cabinet secretary in history. In Westminster, some say his departure is a question of when not if. Should he go
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Suella Braverman unveiled the Illegal Migration Bill today in the Commons. The Home Secretary said that Britain had been ‘taken for a ride’, as she revealed the government’s plan to detain asylum seekers for up to 28 days ‘without bail or judicial review until they can be removed’. Will this contravene the European Convention on
Today the privileges committee has published its initial report into whether Boris Johnson lied to the House of Commons about Partygate. This inquiry does not look at whether gatherings in lockdown happened or not – we know they did. Rather, it is going to investigate whether Johnson was aware such gatherings were taking place and,
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The Daily Telegraph has splashed on over 100,000 WhatsApp messages to and from Matt Hancock during his time as Health Secretary. Altogether they show the internal workings of the government and how key lockdown decisions were made during that time. On the podcast, James Heale talks to Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson, who has been working with
The reaction to Rishi Sunak’s Protocol changes has so far been at the upper end of expectations in No. 10. It gets a thumbs up from the Fleet Street papers – including the still-influential Daily Mail which has tended to splash positive stories about Boris Johnson. It has received warm words from a raft of
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James Heale speaks to Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls about some of the key points in the Windsor Framework. Having reached an agreement with the EU, can Rishi Sunak do the same with both the Tories and the DUP?
After months of negotiating, Rishi Sunak has today unveiled his changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol. They focus on three key areas – trade, regulatory divergence and the role of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). At a press conference today, Sunak outlined these under the so-called ‘Windsor Framework’ agreed with the European Commission. The
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A poll of the SNP membership puts Kate Forbes as the frontrunner. Despite becoming embroiled in a row over her religious views, Forbes enjoys the support of 28 per cent of members, compared to Humza Yousaf’s 20 per cent. Could she win the contest? Cindy Yu speaks to Katy Balls and James Heale.
The most interesting moment from Keir Starmer’s big set speech today came during the questions. The Labour leader had just set out his ‘five missions’ to fix the NHS, economy, crime, energy and education systems – the issues on which Labour hopes to fight the next election. But journalist after journalist preferred to ask Starmer
With the likelihood of a deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol fading this week, a new issue has emerged to enrage the Tory right: fresh plans to cut tackle the asylum backlog. Asylum seekers will no longer be subjected to face-to-face interviews, with more than 12,000 migrants from five countries having their claims assessed on
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Rishi Sunak continues to try to get his MPs onside when it comes to the government’s deal with the EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol. Some Eurosceptics have warned that the Prime Minister could see resignations from his government if this is handled badly, with some touting Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s name. What’s the latest?
Public sector pay. Re-negotiating the energy price guarantee. Another fuel duty freeze. Jeremy Hunt’s first Budget on 15 March is certainly fraught with difficult challenges. Few Tories in Westminster are expecting much magic from the Chancellor, despite the surprise January budget surplus. And one reason for this is that Hunt is still pressing on with his
Much has been written about Damian Green’s failure on Saturday to be selected for the new Weald of Kent seat. It was swiftly hailed as the ‘grassroots revenge’ of pro-Boris forces within the party. Theresa May’s onetime deputy was described as a ‘prominent anti-Boris activist’ responsible for forcing him ‘out of Downing Street’ last July.
After much speculation, Kate Forbes has today become the third candidate to officially enter the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon. The Finance Secretary is currently on maternity leave until the beginning of April but has just released a slick video, setting out her stall to be First Minister. There’s no mention of any specific policy
This morning Angus Robertson has announced he will not be standing in the SNP leadership contest. He was the bookies’ favourite to replace Nicola Sturgeon as the most experienced contender in the field. He spent ten years as the party’s leader at Westminster, prior to becoming Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution in 2021. But in
The first two candidates have declared in the race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon: Ash Regan and Humza Yousaf. The pair announced their intent in a front-page story for the Sunday Mail titled ‘Battle of the Bill: FM hopefuls go head-to-head on gender reform’. That focus reflects Regan’s major claim to fame as the only minister to resign
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After the news this week that Nicola Sturgeon will step aside as leader of the Scottish National Party, can the cause of Scottish independence survive without her? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and James Johnson, former Downing Street pollster and co-founder of JL Partners.
This week two former Foreign Secretaries offered competing visions for how Britain should engage with China. On Wednesday, Philip Hammond was quoted in China Daily as championing a ‘trade-first approach’, urging politicians to ‘return to business as usual’ and ignore ‘background noise.’ And last night, Liz Truss set out a much more hawkish alternative, using
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With Labour nearly 30 points ahead in the polls, Keir Starmer is consolidating his position at the top. He said yesterday that Jeremy Corbyn will not stand as a Labour candidate in the next election, and he could be looking to reshuffle his shadow cabinet soon. How much power does Starmer have? Could he completely cut
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James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Conservative Home editor Paul Goodman about the union. Both in terms of Nicola Sturgeon’s sudden decision to resign this morning and the possibility of an imminent agreement on the Northern Ireland protocol.
