The Mayor of London dropped by the Policy Exchange tent this afternoon to take on rowing champion James Cracknell. As you can watch below, Boris Johnson claimed he wasn’t even trying but was still beaten in a 200m sprint by only four seconds. Cracknell did it in 35 seconds, Boris in 39 seconds. This makes
The Tories may have won the general election but that doesn’t mean they have won the argument. The Good Right, a project setup by Times columnist Tim Montgomerie, hopes to offer guidance on where the Conservative party can go over the next few years. Last night, Montgomerie hosted a dinner at Old Trafford to examine what Conservatives are doing to tackle poverty
George Osborne is the man who wants to build and plan. On the Today programme, the Chancellor explained he was creating a National Infrastructure Commission, headed up by former Labour peer Andrew Adonis, because ‘Britain is pretty rubbish at making big decision on infrastructure’: ‘I’m trying to shake the inertia of this country and say we have got
Every morning throughout party conference season, we’ll be providing our pick of the fringe events on Coffee House. The Conservatives’ annual bash kicks up a notch today, with George Osborne delivering the most significant speech in Manchester this morning and numerous other Cabinet members taking their turns in the main hall. But as ever, there is plenty going on
The Conservatives are wrapped in the quiet cocoon of Manchester Central today and the conference has a subdued vibe — many activists might be staying away until the anti-austerity protests are over. But the halls are packed out with the exhibitors, shops and merchandise you’d expect for a party that has won its first majority in 23 years and
The Tories’ annual conference kicks off in Manchester (aka the Northern Powerhouse) today and it’s going to be a busy one. As well as the usual speeches from most of the Cabinet, the Mayor of London, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister, there is a fringe programme packed out with rebellious MPs, wannabe leaders and enthusiastic backbenchers looking to
As expected, Zac Goldsmith has won the Conservative nomination for next year’s Mayor of London race with a sweeping 71 per cent of the vote – but on a distressingly small turnout. Anyone in London could vote by paying £1, so there had been hopes of a high turnout – figures of 60,000 were mentioned. But a pitiful 9,227 turned
Labour’s conference in Brighton might not have been the disaster some expected but it hasn’t done much for Jeremy Corbyn’s standing with the public. A new YouGov/Sun poll shows the Labour leader’s personal rating is minus eight — the lowest since polls of new opposition leaders began with Hugh Gaitskell in 1955. As the chart
This podcast is sponsored by Berry Bros, The Spectator’s house red. Boris Johnson’s leadership ambitions have been significantly harmed by David Cameron’s general election victory — can the Mayor of London still succeed? On this week’s View from 22 podcast, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson discuss the latest Spectator cover feature on Boris’ time in the wilderness and whether he can still be Tory
Eurosceptic Tories have a new voice to herald their cause: Nigel Lawson. The former Chancellor and Spectator editor announced in an op-ed he is becoming the president of Conservatives for Britain, a group working with the Matthew Elliott-Dominic Cummings Out campaign. Lawson explains his explains his red lines for Britain remaining in the EU and suggests the government is unlikely to
Labour’s conference is rolling to a close today and it hasn’t been the explosive event some predicted it might be. In this View from 22 special, Isabel Hardman, James Forsyth and I discuss the highs and lows of the past days in Brighton and the impact it has had on the party. How big was the divide
There may have not been fireworks at Labour’s conference in Brighton but the attendees appear to have enjoyed themselves. In the very lengthy queues for Jeremy Corbyn’s speech, I surveyed the activists to find out what they have made of the conference — you can watch what they said above. Those attending for the first
Along with Dan Jarvis, Keir Starmer is one of the new intake of Labour MPs who is cited as a rising star and someone who could replace Jeremy Corbyn. The former Director of Public Prosecutions and MP for Holborn and St Pancras, spoke at a Bright Blue fringe event this evening about Labour’s general election
Jeremy Corbyn’s first conference speech as Labour leader was targeted at his core fanbase and they certainly appear happy with what he had to say. So far, this is what members of Corbyn’s shadow cabinet and his friends in the trade unions have said about the speech: Andy Burnham, shadow home secretary and Corbyn’s leadership rival: ‘I think out
Jeremy Corbyn has just delivered his first conference speech as Labour leader. Fraser Nelson, James Forsyth, Isabel Hardman and I discuss the address in this View from 22 special — looking at his delivery, the reaction in the hall, who it was meant to appeal to and whether it will change Corbyn’s standing with the general public.
Lisa Nandy’s first conference speech as shadow energy and climate change secretary was solid and cordially received, if a little uninspiring. The MP for Wigan is one to watch in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet because she is frequently cited as a handover candidate — someone Corbyn could pass the leadership to before the 2020 election. Nandy’s announcement
Every morning throughout party conference season, we’ll be providing our pick of the fringe events on Coffee House. There’s one event everyone in Brighton is geared up for today: Jeremy Corbyn’s speech. But there are still plenty of great fringe events across the hotels of Brighton if you need to escape the sunshine. Here is our pick of
In Brighton, eyes are on two rising stars who are tipped to replace Jeremy Corbyn. The first is Keir Starmer, the former Director of Public Prosecutions, who is popping up at several fringe events about the future of the party. The second is Dan Jarvis, the former shadow justice minister, who made his only appearance at
As the first day of Labour’s conference came to a close, LabourList hosted a ‘winning again’ rally in a dark corner of the Grand Hotel. A bunch of Labour speakers, including Eddie Izzard and Owen Jones, spoke about the party’s general election defeat and the glorious rise of Jeremy Corbyn. The two most contrasting speakers were
Labour conference has been debating the EU referendum this morning and there was not a scintilla of indication that the party wants to do anything but vigorously campaign stay in. The main issue raised was workers’ rights — Alan Johnson, who is leading Labour’s campaign to remain in the EU, said ‘there is no progressive case