Tom Goodenough is online editor of The Spectator.
Donald Trump is dominating the headlines once again after he hit back furiously at reports that Russia had compromising videos of him in a Moscow hotel room. The president-elect denied the claims, branding BuzzFeed, who revealed the dossier detailing the allegations, a ‘failing piece of garbage’. So should the claims have come to light? No,
Mark Carney made himself some enemies during the referendum. It wasn’t only his gloomy prophecies that caused trouble. His willingness to speak out in the first place was enough to anger those who thought he should keep shtum on a politically-loaded topic like Brexit. Today, though, we saw a different Carney. Gone was the gloominess,
Jeremy Corbyn’s botched relaunch yesterday was successful in only one way: it kept the Labour leader in the headlines throughout the day. Unfortunately his various u-turns on immigration – as well as his unexpected maximum pay cap, which he also rowed back on – ensured this blanket coverage was for all the wrong reasons. And today’s
Theresa May is launching yet another attempt to define herself as a politician today with a major speech on tackling the ‘hidden injustices’ of mental illness. The Prime Minister has won plaudits for taking on an issue which often gets ignored, says the Daily Telegraph. Yet it’s true that we have been here before, the
The front page of the Times makes happy reading for the Government this morning with its news that Britain’s economy grew at a faster rate than any other leading economy in the world last year. But while politicians are keen to act as cheerleaders on occasions like this, they are somewhat more reluctant to mention
Sir Tim Barrow has been appointed as Britain’s ambassador to the EU. Yet still the row over his predecessor’s departure rages in today’s papers. Sir Ivan Rogers may well have thought that the country made a mistake in backing Brexit, says the Daily Telegraph, but it is ‘not his place to make that impression public
Sir Ivan Rogers is stepping down from his role as the UK’s ambassador to the EU – but is his departure really such a great loss? In his explosive resignation email, Rogers urged his colleagues to challenge ‘muddled thinking’ and ‘speak truth to power’, in a parting shot at Theresa May. So is this evidence of
Leaving the EU was all about taking back control – and it’s time to do the same with Britain’s foreign aid budget, says the Daily Telegraph. It describes the target set by David Cameron for the UK to spend 0.7 per cent of its GDP on foreign aid as ‘ill-judged’. Making a comparison with the
The hunt continues for the man thought to be responsible for the attack on Berlin’s Christmas market. But despite the urgency of the situation, the Sun says Germany – and the EU – continue to get their priorities all wrong. After all, the paper says, their ‘first duty’ should be keeping ‘their people safe’. Instead, the Sun
If any one still doubts the merits of Britain controlling its own borders, look to Germany, says the Daily Telegraph. While it’s true that we still don’t know who was responsible for this week’s devastating attack on a Berlin Christmas market, ‘Germany has already suffered fatal terrorism facilitated by the EU’s failure to control its borders,’ the
Twelve people have been killed after a truck ploughed into shoppers at a Christmas market in Berlin. Dozens more were injured, some seriously. Police were initially cautious about the motives behind the incident, describing what took place as a ‘probable terrorist attack’. But at a press conference this morning, Angela Merkel said ‘we must assume it was
Thousands of workers are walking out this week in a series of strikes affecting post offices, railways and airports – but who is to blame for this wave of industrial action? The answer is obvious, says the Daily Mail: ‘union dinosaurs’. The paper says the RMT president Sean Hoyle’s remarks that he wanted to bring
Southern’s strike continues for a second day today – spelling more misery for commuters. And the Sun knows who is to blame for the disruption: the ‘hard-left’ who are willing to ‘inflict misery on the public for political ends with impunity’. The Sun says that it’s time for a crackdown on strikes. It says the
Social care was notable by its absence from the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. But the care system is now firmly back on the agenda following reports yesterday that Theresa May was set to allow councils to raise bills to plug the social care funding gap. The Daily Mail agrees that this is an issue that needs
It would be ‘wrong’ to dwell on the subject of Theresa May’s £1,000 leather trousers, says the Times in its editorial this morning. But equally it’s a mistake to pretend those trousers don’t exist when Tory backbenchers think the cost of them brings the PM’s judgement into question, the paper argues. The Times criticises Theresa
Boris Johnson was slapped down by Theresa May yesterday for his comments about Saudi Arabia. And the Foreign Secretary earns himself a similar rebuke in the Guardian this morning. The paper describes his remarks as ‘plain speaking without a purpose’ and says that ‘he frequently shoots from the hip or goes off half-cocked’. It warns
The Supreme Court’s landmark case on triggering Article 50 has now finished. We’ll have to wait until January to hear the verdict of the 11 judges involved. But for now you can follow all the main events as they unfolded on our Spectator live blog: 4.20pm: It’s all over at the Supreme Court. Lord Neuberger
After MPs voted last night to back the Government’s plan to invoke Article 50 by the end of March, the Guardian says it’s good news that Parliament is now finally using its powers to shape the Brexit process. The paper says it’s ‘extraordinary’ that so much time has passed since the referendum, given how there
It’s day three of the Supreme Court’s landmark case on the triggering of Article 50. Here’s how the day unfolded: 4.15pm: The Supreme Court hearing has now finished for the day. The Lord Advocate, Lord Wolffe has been putting forward the Scottish Government’s case. So far, he has told the court that using prerogative powers
MPs will vote for the first time today on the Government’s Article 50 timeline. While Labour have said the decision to spell out the plan for Brexit is a ‘welcome climbdown’ by ministers, is this afternoon’s debate merely delaying the actual process of Britain leaving the EU? That’s the Sun’s verdict on today’s proceedings, with the