With Covid infections rising, the Tories are conducting a deadly social experiment

The ‘personal responsibility’ mantra has gone hand in hand with a rise in cases and deaths. Why has England gone along with it, asks Guardian...

The Conservatives are in more danger than they think

The party’s levelling up agenda has raised expectations. But beneath the surface it is complacent and inward-looking, says Guardian columnist Andy...

A winter of discontent is unlikely to dissolve the Tories’ support

Our current crisis may look similar to the 1970s, but it stems from the government having too much power, not too little, says Guardian columnist Andy...

The problem is bigger than Keir Starmer – Labour’s centrists have run out of ideas

The leader’s long essay has a few bright notes, but it shows again that it’s his wing of the party that has failed to ‘modernise’, says the...

In the past, chaos brought down governments. Why not this one?

Boris Johnson’s personal brand chimes with the unruly spirit of the age. But his politics of disorder may run out of steam, says Guardian columnist...

The Greens are on the brink of power – is it more than a political blip?

The party is set to become a partner to the SNP, but it faces a raft of new challenges, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

Johnson’s Tories seem to defy reality – but Labour’s ‘realistic’ politics isn’t working

Effective politics promises to change who has power, not just manage it more competently, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

Labour has a strong plan for young people. But it will struggle for their attention

The party is addressing job insecurity. Yet its proposals aren’t sparking the controversy an opposition party needs, says Guardian columnist Andy...

Labour’s local successes show there’s a path forward – if the national party dares to take it

A Westminster leadership that often appears timid or lost should learn from bold, innovative municipal government , says Guardian columnist Andy...

Bridges and bypasses win votes – but their ability to ‘level up’ Britain is less certain

Even if Boris Johnson comes good on promises to build big in the north, the economy’s centre of gravity will stay where it is, says Guardian...

Picking fights has served Johnson’s Tories well – but it’s a strategy that may backfire

The divisive style of Britain’s most dominant incompetent may lose its appeal as his voters feel their incomes shrinking, says Guardian columnist...

History shows that the Conservatives can’t hold back social change

Tory election victories haven’t prevented many British people becoming more liberal in their social attitudes, says the Guardian columnist Andy...

The shapeshifting Tories have grown their base – but this could be their downfall

Despite gathering new voters, Boris Johnson’s promises to ‘level up’ the country could alienate his most faithful supporters, says Guardian...

If we really have passed ‘peak London’, what does that mean for Britain?

The capital may have fallen on hard times. But it still offers a defiantly different version of Englishness, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

How Boris Johnson gets away with it

While Thatcher had to face down the unions, northern England and a confident BBC, this prime minister has few constraints, says Guardian columnist...

How did the UK’s most powerful civil servant fall for Lex Greensill?

Did Jeremy Heywood’s veneration of the private sector lead him astray, asks Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

If Keir Starmer wants to ‘rethink Britain’, he’ll need some bigger ideas

The Labour leader is drawing inspiration from those who seem determined to ignore why the party’s policies resonated in 2017, says Guardian...

The Tories' decade in power is remarkable for the hollowness of their vision

Past governments have inspired imitation – but Keir Starmer shouldn’t look to this one for an ideological steer, says Guardian columnist Andy...

What happens if we're not interested in going to the shops when they reopen?

British retail, already challenged by digital, has been hammered by Covid. Thousands of jobs could be lost, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

Don't rely on a Covid inquiry to bring down the Tories

Will the deadliest government failures in peacetime have political consequences? The evidence is not reassuring, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

U-turns have kept the Tories in power, but eventually they'll run out of road

Boris Johnson’s dizzying list of policy changes is a way of keeping his party in office, not making British life better, says Guardian columnist...

Think bigger: that's the message for Starmer from Biden's bold beginning

Centrist policies are unequal to the crises we face, and the new US president’s ambitious priorities acknowledge that, says Guardian columnist Andy...

If Labour is serious about regaining power, it will need to woo southern England

Rather than simply trying to win back ‘red wall’ voters, Keir Starmer must widen his focus, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

The pandemic has hollowed out our politics: it suits the Tories to keep it that way

Despite the government’s ineptitude its popularity is holding up, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

Brexit may spell the end of the tabloid version of Englishness. Can Labour redefine it?

With Scottish independence looming, the left must find a space for a vision of England based on our complex identities, says Guardian columnist Andy...

If Keir Starmer wants to change Britain, he'll need more than caution

At the next election, voters will be looking for fresh ideas and ambitious thinking, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

Is Brexit the end of the game for the Conservative rule-breakers?

For years, the Tories have used their power to game the system. But that won’t wash with the EU, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

The left is accused of authoritarianism – but it's the right that gets away with it

The scaremongering has begun about Biden and Starmer, while Trump and Johnson undermine democratic norms, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

We're told the monarchy steps up in a national crisis. This time it's been absent

The royal family have barely been seen during the pandemic. It’s in keeping with their 21st-century introversion, says Guardian columnist Andy...

The left urgently needs to lose its inferiority complex

Pessimism shores up the false narrative that conservative rule is natural and anything else is an aberration, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

This is a moment of truth for rightwing populists – but don't celebrate yet

Populism can survive a Trump defeat and a disastrous Brexit. Even so, its best days may already be over, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

The Tories’ culture war is a reminder that the right aren’t as fearless as they may seem

Since Boris Johnson’s government has begun to struggle, it’s striking that its talk of a ‘war on woke’ has increased, says Guardian columnist...

Why Labour should not be seeking national unity

In the end, those who are most in need in this unequal country will need the leader to be more overtly partisan, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

Can Labour rebuild its red wall without losing its cities?

The lost voters hate ‘scroungers’, liberal values and ‘political correctness’. Winning them back could come at a high price, says Guardian...

Rishi Sunak could soon be a problem for Johnson as well as for Labour

The pandemic has made a star of the chancellor. He’ll want to be in a different post when his policies are paid for, says Guardian columnist Andy...

Nobody denies Johnson's government is incompetent. But do enough voters care?

Calling for the country to be run ‘competently’ is not a rival programme for office, says the Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

Covid-19 has pushed Britain outdoors – but will the habit stick?