Category: Week in UK Politics
-
The Politics of the Quick Fix. After two weeks of frantic Prime Ministering the Announcement Machine finally fell silent as Andy Burnham went on holiday. Thankfully this also put a temporary stop to the pubs-and-footie tik-toks. So there’s that. (Kate Devlin & Millie Cooke, The Independent, 7th August 2026 “Minister forced to deny Andy Burnham…
-
There are few more dramatic backdrops than the White Cliffs of Dover. They have become the visual shorthand for Britain’s immigration debate. Standing there this morning, the Prime Minister promised to take stopping the boats seriously, because he understood that the public took it seriously too. There’s a case for saying that Shadow Home Secretary,…
-
Definitely better at Tik-Tok, not sure about “governmenting.” Every new Prime Minister inherits two jobs. One is to govern. The other is to convince the country that governing has already begun. Andy Burnham’s first week suggests that modern politics has become better at announcements, but worse at delivery. Following Andy Burnham’s coronation as King of…
-
When Hope Meets Government. Politics increasingly rewards reassurance before reassurance has been earned. Every incoming leader needs to offer hope, but optimism eventually has to meet reality. Burnham’s imminent arrival in Downing Street and Trump’s handling of Iran illustrate two thankfully very different implementations of this wider phenomenon. The Reassurance of the New It is…
-
One word kept recurring this week: capability. Andy Burnham promised a Government with a worked-through plan. Nigel Farage attempted an extraordinary tactical reset through a by-election. Donald Trump alternated between negotiations and military escalation in the Gulf. Different countries, different politicians, but all confronted the same question: Can they actually do what they say they…
-
O tempora, o mores! Politics can change mood remarkably quickly. Only a fortnight ago Westminster revolved around Sir Keir Starmer’s increasingly fragile premiership. Today the conversation is dominated by Andy Burnham’s promise to govern differently, decentralise power and establish a “No. 10 of the North”. The atmosphere has undoubtedly changed; whether Britain’s underlying problems have…
-
plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose The political week started a lifetime ago with the appearance of “The Podium” in Downing Street on Monday morning as Sir Keir admitted what had become clear to just about everyone else, that the alea had been quite definitively iacta’d. Starmer Exit Chronology Monday 22nd June 10:30am:…
-
“Everything is Just Fine” said absolutely no-one Despite the imminent arrival of the King of the North, the tendency for politicians of all stripes to insist on their easily disproved “successes” simply increases the palpable sense of disgust with the entire political class the world over. One imagines precipitately dropping approval ratings for King Andy…
-
One of the defining characteristics of governments in difficulty is not that they make mistakes. All governments make mistakes. The defining characteristic is panic. Difficult decisions are postponed. Problems accumulate. Then events force action and politicians rush to demonstrate decisiveness. Whether the resulting policies are effective becomes secondary to the need to appear active. This…
-
This last week has provided several reminders that trust, once lost, is difficult to recover. While President Zelensky launched audacious drone attacks on St Petersburg, HMS Prince of Wales returned to port in Norway for more repairs (Navy Lookout, 30th May 2026.) While the Government insisted that all relevant documents relating to Lord Mandelson’s appointment…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…