Inside Politics

Thursday, 21 December, 2023

Wednesday, 20 December, 2023

Sunak’s ‘five pledges’ strategy doesn’t cut the mustard. What next?

Tory party’s Plan B to sway the electorate involves attacking Labour’s spending plans

Tuesday, 19 December, 2023

The Tories are pushing the wrong message about London

Plus, FT exclusive: a new job for Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson, who last year apologised to journalists for ‘failings’ over Partygate

Monday, 18 December, 2023

UK schools

Pouring scorn on teachers is a press strategy, not a plan for reform

Commemorating Tim Brighouse, whose work in improving schools and championing the profession touched the lives of many

Friday, 15 December, 2023

Conservative Party UK

Sunak stumbles to year end

UK prime minister survives challenging week but immigration issue has developed a momentum of its own

Thursday, 14 December, 2023

Social affairs

How to help Wales’s economy after Mark Drakeford’s exit

The first minister’s successor will face some difficult questions about the country’s underperformance

Wednesday, 13 December, 2023

UK politics

Rwanda vote victory gives Sunak a short reprieve

PM’s win will allow him to get on the front foot on migration but there’s trouble ahead in the new year

Tuesday, 12 December, 2023

UK Covid inquiry

UK Covid inquiry reveals much more than just petty personality clashes

Politicians’ testimony builds a picture of the decision-making landscape and whether it was fit for purpose

Monday, 11 December, 2023

Nigel Farage

Reform UK hopes to capitalise on Tory failures as Nigel Farage looms large

Battle lines are being drawn along the lines of ‘punishing’ Conservatives, but size of the threat remains obscure

Friday, 8 December, 2023

UK politics

Sunak’s corrosive ‘stop the boats’ strategy slides further from reality

Bill to revive Boris Johnson-era policy also harms support for human rights frameworks and judicial restraint on Number 10

Thursday, 7 December, 2023

Conservative Party UK

Exit of Sunak’s ally over Rwanda bill won’t wreck his premiership

Prime minister stays secure after Robert Jenrick quits but the enraged Tory right means a leadership challenge is possible

Wednesday, 6 December, 2023

UK immigration

As with New Labour, Tories are stuck in cycle of tough migration policy

Parties have struggled with maintaining the taxation and spending model they like while pleasing voters opposed to high numbers of new arrivals

Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

UK politics

Contaminated blood bill of up to £10bn heaps pressure on pre-election spending promises

Tory parliamentary defeat over payouts highlights challenge for Rachel Reeves to meet chancellor’s painful and rigid limits

Monday, 4 December, 2023

UK general election

What to expect as parties shift into election gear

Voters will notice that the Lib Dems exist, while Labour must defend against Tory attacks over tax-and-spend

Friday, 1 December, 2023

Labour Party UK

Alistair Darling’s legacy and Labour’s debated story of its past

Praise for former chancellor among party’s opponents speaks to a broader change in mood and political circumstances

Thursday, 30 November, 2023

BBC

Losing BBC Newsnight’s investigation arm is bad decision

Funding squeeze risks dulling the power of its dogged reporting in holding the broadcaster to account

Wednesday, 29 November, 2023

UK financial regulation

‘Safest graveyard’ phrase will stick amid Tory worry about financial regulators

Also in this newsletter, why row over Parthenon Sculptures is not a ‘dead cat’ strategy by Rishi Sunak

Tuesday, 28 November, 2023

UK politics

Sunak snubs Greek PM in dispute over 2,500-year-old Elgin Marbles

Also in this newsletter, the British Medical Association has recommended to striking consultants they accept the government’s latest pay deal

Monday, 27 November, 2023

Conservative Party UK

UK general election options remain unchanged

It does not seem as if the Autumn Statement has made it any more likely that the government will go to the polls early

Friday, 24 November, 2023

UK immigration

Sunak faces an ungovernable party that wants it all

Amid record UK immigration, MPs are calling for immediate action while failing to engage with trade-offs

Thursday, 23 November, 2023

Autumn Statement

Tax cuts today, impossible spending cuts tomorrow

Rather than protecting public services, chancellor puts his fiscal harvest towards ‘retail offers’ and passes pain to Labour

Wednesday, 22 November, 2023

Autumn Statement

Knotty task of adding up public finances will lie with Reeves

The problem created by cutting income taxes is likely to trouble a future chancellor facing strained services

Tuesday, 21 November, 2023

UK Covid inquiry

Explosive Covid testimony can hardly harm Rishi Sunak further

Dredging up the past may not form part of Labour’s attack given prime minister’s already sunken personal ratings

Monday, 20 November, 2023

Autumn Statement

Will Tory income tax gambit do enough to change the narrative?

Cut to personal rate could be seen as thin gruel, or spark criticism about who benefits most from such a change

Friday, 17 November, 2023

UK Budget

Tories’ dream of a 1983 Geoffrey Howe giveaway jars with reality

Party wants Hunt to unleash tax cuts even though its 2019 promises on improving public services remain unfulfilled

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