Category: UK Labour Party
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A heatwave, a war in the Gulf driven by bluff and braggadocio and a war in Ukraine seeing the slip of the Russian mask. A local TWOP correspondent visiting Kew Gardens reported temperatures of 35C (95F.) The country was awash in a public conversation about climate change. Welcome to our future. This week was also…
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There have been a number of developments that should have been positive for the Government this week: – immigration numbers fell sharply (thanks Rishi)– inflation fell faster than expected (but it will be back up next month)– the IMF upgraded UK growth forecasts (if only by 0.2%)– fuel duty rises were postponed (a U-Turn, if…
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Parliament returned to work with the ceremonial portrayal of calm and order of the State Opening and the King’s Speech floating, surreally, on top of the turbulent threat to Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership. An (over-)ambitious legislative programme then commenced the traditional five days of debate against a backdrop that provided further copious evidence of Sir…
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There has, technically, been some political news outside the accelerating collapse of Labour authority. Whether anyone noticed is another matter. Ebola, Ukraine, Iran and strategic distractions A fresh Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo briefly reintroduced the possibility of an international public health emergency (James Gallagher, BBC News, 17th May 2026, “How worrying…
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This week the political system finally stopped pretending that Sir Keir ’s difficulties are temporary. The local elections did not produce many surprises, just confirmation. The public mood that had been detectable in polling, by-elections and Westminster manoeuvring for months, finally translated into hard electoral numbers. The result was not a sudden collapse, but something…
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The central political fact of the week is that the Prime Minister now faces not simply criticism, but procedural damage (which is not without irony for the “Process PM”!) Authority that had been trickling away from the PM already is now in full flood. HMS Starmer, which has been sailing around aimlessly for some months,…
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With the Clock of Prorogation ticking down to the End of Term and with no route to any effective form of Parliamentary challenge to the Prime Minister’s Reign of Avoidance, LoTO moved off the Mandelson Agenda for PMQs. Nevertheless, the Force of Evasion is strong with this one and, true to form, the Prime Minister…
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Erosion of authority is rarely dramatic. It is cumulative: decisions that do not settle arguments, dismissals that do not resolve questions, explanations that do not explain. That process now appears to be entering a new phase for the Prime Minister, who surreally promises to lead Labour in to the next election in 2029 (Aletha Adu…
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It was inevitable that Mrs Badenoch (North-West Essex, Conservative) LoTO would concentrate on the Mandelson Affair at PMQs. She did not disappoint. What transpired, however, was an astonishing demonstration of how isolated from reality the Prime Minister seems to have become: “Sir Olly Robbins… puts to bed all the allegations levelled at me by those opposite…
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Sir Ollie’s straightforward and clear evidence confirmed that he had personally and the FC&DO had institutionally followed the procedures set out for the appointment and clearance of Lord Mandelson. Sir Keir is either a bit thick or deceitful. Case closed. His evidence concretely reinforced the suggestion that he and the FC&DO had followed the procedure…
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Prime Ministerial Statement: Security Vetting We conclude from the Prime Minister’s statement (and replies) in the Commons this afternoon that either Sir Keir really is not very clever, or that he over-rode the written advice of his Cabinet Secretary to undertake security vetting before announcing the appointment of Lord Mandelson because he took a political…
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Many headlines this week were understandably diverted towards Donald Trump’s possible reincarnation as Jesus and troubling suggestions from the renowned Bible scholar Vice-President James “JD” Vance that “it’s very, very important for the Pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.” That exchange alone probably deserves its own encyclical. When not occupied…
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Following Tuesday evening’s Edward Heath Lecture in Salisbury by very fed up Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, it was not astonishing that LoTO focused all six of her questions on Defence Spending. Mrs Badenoch rose at 12:03:05 and asked: Mr Speaker intervened in apparent embarrassment to cut off Sir Keir’s third avoidance of these successive…
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It has been James Vance Week, or for fans of Édith Piaf, “Semaine Je Regrette Tout.” With Westminster largely silent while Parliament was in Easter recess, British politics spent the week reacting to events elsewhere. The most consequential development was the quiet collapse of the Chagos deal, but this seemed like small beer compared to…
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Another week in which British politics found itself waiting on events elsewhere. Iran continued to set the strategic tempo, Washington oscillated between negotiation and escalation by the hour and Westminster responded largely by adjusting language rather than making decisions. Several domestic signals were worth noting: a stalled youth mobility reset with the EU, an unexpectedly…
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Waiting for imaginary negotiations abroad, preparing for inflation at home and governing in the shadow of events with no clear purpose. Welcome to Britain 2026. The Israel–US confrontation with Iran continues to set the UK political tempo. Domestic policy development not stop, but it does now feel provisional, as though HMG is waiting to see…
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It was with the greatest difficulty that I persuaded the Editorial Board (in this massive global organisation of 1) not to make the pic of the PM with his head in his hands at PMQs the photo lead today. It’s an Open Goal Keir! Open Goal. No-one cares. Starmer II: the Caretaker Years has opened…
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Wait for it! Another week dominated by Iran, but not entirely determined by it. Westminster continues to move in its familiar pattern: modest domestic announcements, internal Labour positioning and foreign policy events imposing themselves faster than ministers can respond. British politics appears to be holding its breath. Diego Garcia and the geography of risk The…
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The Prime Minister almost succeeded in breaking PMQs on 18th March. Backbencher Andrew Snowden (Fylde, Conservative) summed up the problem: “Every week the Prime Minister comes here and reads out this pre-scripted nonsense that bears no resemblance to the questions he is actually asked. The Leader of the Opposition asked him about Peter Mandelson and…
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Papers & Processes The week began with the next episode of the already boring Mandelson affair. After the drama of the Humble Address, the release of the files related to his errant Lordship’s appointment proved simultaneously more mundane and yet more revealing than expected. Meanwhile, the Iran war/ “special military operation” dominates the international agenda,…