Stephen Bush

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

Demographics and population

Pro-child policies are all very well, but what about being pro-parent too?

States that want to encourage people to have more kids should think about making it easier to raise them

Friday, 15 December, 2023

Life & Arts

The importance of the zero-star review

The hatchet job is a dying art, so how are we meant to know which cultural offerings to avoid?

Tuesday, 12 December, 2023

Working It podcast19 min listen

How to survive the office Christmas party

… and how to recover if you’ve already embarrassed yourself

Friday, 8 December, 2023

Inside 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

Inside Politics

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

Inside Politics

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

Inside 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

Inside Politics

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

Saturday, 2 December, 2023

UK general election

Why politicians in your inbox are not a bad thing

New proposals to allow unsolicited political texts and emails could be important for national awareness

Friday, 1 December, 2023

Inside Politics

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

Inside Politics

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

Inside Politics

‘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

Inside 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

Social affairs

Our embrace of the end of privacy comes at a cost

I was wrong to assume that liberal indifference to our actions would be the ultimate consequence of online living

Monday, 27 November, 2023

Inside Politics

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

Inside Politics

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

Inside Politics

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

UK politics

Starmer and Sunak must remember the coalition government’s radicalism

We cannot ignore the fact that Cameron and Osborne oversaw significant tax cuts and a shrinking of the state

Wednesday, 22 November, 2023

Inside Politics

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

Inside Politics

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

Inside Politics

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

Inside Politics

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

Stephen Bush

Columnist and Associate Editor

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