Tom Goodenough is online editor of The Spectator.
Theresa May has said she won’t be providing a ‘running commentary’ on Brexit. That refusal, the Prime Minister insisted, was to ensure the Government did not reveal its ‘hand prematurely’ to other European countries in its negotiations. But how is May’s Brexit reticence going down closer to home? Not well, it seems: only one in
Jeremy Corbyn has just brought down the curtain on the Labour conference. He earned a standing ovation at the end, but what did those filing out – including MPs who have spoken out against Corbyn in the past – really make of what Corbyn had to say? Coffee House caught up with delegates to hear
Andy Burnham has just announced he’s leaving the shadow cabinet. He said he was doing so to concentrate on his mayoral bid, telling Labour’s conference: ‘That’s why I can tell you all first today that I have asked Jeremy to plan a new Shadow Cabinet without me, although I will of course stay until it
What does Jeremy Corbyn have to say to Labour voters worried about migration? Not a lot, seems to be the answer. And that’s a big problem for the Labour party if it doesn’t want to haemorrhage support at the next election. Several newspapers this morning report his ‘relaxed’ stance on the subject. While his interview
Has Jeremy Corbyn turned over a new leaf? This time last year at the Labour Friends of Israel reception, the Labour leader pointedly refused to say the word ‘Israel’. That stubbornness led to a heckler yelling at Corbyn: ‘Say the word Israel!’. It was clear he was determined not to make the same blunder a
Jeremy Corbyn’s conference speech will be the highlight – or lowlight (depending on your perspective) – of the day as the curtain comes down at Labour’s annual conference. The party has largely managed to put on a brave face and display of unity during its annual gathering. But there is still time for that facade to
Labour’s conference has just waved through a raft of reforms which look set to tip the balance of power on the party’s National Executive Committee away from Jeremy Corbyn and towards the moderates. The wording of the changes which caused the trouble is pretty banal: that the leader of the Scottish and Welsh Labour parties
Sadiq Khan’s speech to Labour conference just now could be summed up in a single word: power. He repeated it so much – 38 times in total – you’d be forgiven for thinking he could do with a thesaurus. But there was nothing accidental about him banging on about power. This was a clear dig at
Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, and Sadiq Khan, the Labour politician with the largest mandate to his name, both take to the stage today on the third day of Labour’s conference in Liverpool. Watson described the leadership contest as a ‘very bruising summer’ for the party and insisted the focus now was on ‘rebuilding trust’ among
John McDonnell’s speech was a chance to win over voters. But while his pitch went down well in the hall and was greeted by raptures of wild applause from (some of) the party faithful, there was little on offer to entice those on the fence to come over to Labour. If anything, this looked to
Labour’s conference is well underway but the mood so far is far from lively. Rather than rallying around their newly re-elected leader, for many who have gathered at the party’s annual conference the atmosphere is somewhat gloomy. So whilst Jeremy Corbyn promised to ‘wipe the slate clean’ following his re-election, can the Labour party learn to forgive
With Labour’s bloody leadership contest behind them, John McDonnell wants to get back to business. This is a man who lists ‘fermenting the overthrow of capitalism’ as his pastime on Who’s Who. Now he is the Labour Party’s shadow chancellor. So with the renewed Corbynista mandate, what now? Having picked the brains of Ed Miliband and others,
It’s day two of the Labour Party conference. Here’s the Spectator’s guide to what to look out for today: Main conference: 11am: Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell’s speech Fringe events: 9am: ‘You can’t build peace with concrete: ending our relationships with Israel’s illegal settlements’ Speakers include: Jeremy Corbyn (possibly); Emily Thornberry 12.30pm: Where Next for Britain
Jeremy Corbyn promised to wipe the slate clean following Labour’s fractious leadership race. Now that he’s officially clinched victory, it’s time for the party to try and do just that at Labour’s annual conference, which kicks off at 11am today. Here, The Spectator has put together a guide of the main events to look out for. This is what’s on
Jim O’Neill, who was somehow overlooked in Theresa May’s purge of the Osbornites, has become the first person to resign from her Government. A few weeks ago, the former Goldman Sachs chairman said he wanted assurances that she remained committed to the Northern Powerhouse agenda. It seems that no such undertakings were received. In his somewhat terse letter this
Theresa May has made one thing clear: Brexit mean Brexit. But when will the Prime Minister actually pull the trigger and invoke Article 50? Boris Johnson gave his take last night: ‘The Government is working towards an Article 50 letter which as you know will be produced, probably, in the early part of next year.
There are 46 days to go until the US presidential election and the race is still tighter than anyone imagined it would be. Donald Trump is just 1.7 points behind Hillary Clinton nationally and you have to ask yourself: are these polls likely to understate, or overstate Trump’s support? In the swing states, it’s pretty
The Brexit bounce continues. HM Treasury has today released forecasts of the economists it follows, as it does every month. Last time, there was a flurry of downgrades and forecasts of an immediate recession. Now, these forecasts are being torn up by everyone, including by the FT (although you can bet the FT won’t report
There are still a few hours left in the Labour leadership race but judging by Owen Smith’s mood you wouldn’t know it. In an open letter to supporters, Smith has all but conceded defeat in the race. He described the summer contest as a ‘long and bruising’ encounter and went on to say that the ideas
In the run-up to the referendum, we were warned Brexit would unleash misery. George Osborne suggested a vote for Brexit would lead to a DIY recession. And numerous business bosses and the great and the good piled in to add their warnings to the doom-mongering. Yet in the weeks since the referendum, their predictions of