|
Paul WaughHuffPost |
David Cameron discovered the hard way this week that his much-vaunted presentational skills are not enough to get what he wants. Just days after the...
Whenever a politician says they have been “very clear” about a topic these days, it’s often a telltale sign that they’ve been as clear as mud....
Amid the latest round of speculation that Rishi Sunak could opt for a summer general election, one particular line from a No 10 insider caught my eye...
There was a rare bit of good news in Gaza this week as more than 2,000 tonnes of UK food aid finally crossed the border into the strip. The...
After a pretty awful week, it’s fitting that Rishi Sunak ended it as he began it – by making news for not doing something. The Prime Minister’s...
“I’m afraid to tell you, there is no money.” When Liam Byrne wrote his infamous note to his successor as Chief Secretary to the Treasury in...
Right from the get-go, it’s safe to say that my newborn political career didn’t have an auspicious start. Arriving at the home of a Rochdale...
Anyone who knows me knows I’m a proud Rochdalian, and they don’t have to look very far to find the clues. My online, and very offline, moans of...
Earlier this week, just as Tory backbenchers were plotting and pantomiming over the Safety of Rwanda Bill, a much more interesting parliamentary event...
Over the past year, as the controversy over the Government’s voter-ID rules ebbed and flowed, critics accused the Tories of trying to deny the...
There’s nothing that concentrates the minds of your average MP more than the prospect of losing their seat. And there’s nothing like Prime...
“I’m not a Traitor, you’re a Traitor. I’m 100 per cent Faithful.” In this grimly cold January, the BBC hit The Traitors is keeping millions...
Sadiq Khan just can’t help ploughing his own furrow. From his controversial ultra low emissions zone to his dealings with trade unions and his...
From the first minutes of the first PMQs of 2024, it was obvious that Rishi Sunak was set to make a big announcement about the Post Office scandal. ...
In ITV’s compelling drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office , the first glimmer of hope comes over a cup of tea and cake. The then Tory MP James...
As I drove into Oxford on Sunday, I couldn’t help but notice a police-escorted motorcade whizzing away in the opposite direction. On seeing the...
NatWest chairman Sir Howard Davies’s car-crash interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday was so bad that it made even tone deaf Cabinet...
In his New Year speech and the Q&A afterwards, Keir Starmer carried the confidence, if not the swagger, of an Opposition leader who knows he’s on...
In his New Year speech and the Q&A afterwards, Keir Starmer carried the confidence, if not the swagger, of an Opposition leader who knows he’s on...
For journalists gathered at Reform UK’s New Year press conference, the sense of disappointment was palpable. Party leader Richard Tice duly set out...
When Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer deliver their New Year messages to the nation next week, both will set out their visions for Britain in the secure...
When Donald Trump was first told that he may face criminal charges for the Capitol riots, he declared: “It strengthens me. What doesn’t kill me...
For Rishi Sunak, the latest sharp drop in inflation was the early Christmas present he’d been hoping for. The dip in the Consumer Prices Index...
Every month, indeed every week, there are individual statistical releases that ministers and shadow ministers keep a beady eye on. From GDP to...
As I sat on a bus this week, two twentysomething lads sat down behind me and started shooting the breeze. But it wasn’t their chat about uploading a...
Blackpool has got used to being used and abused over the years. From stag-do drunks to snobbish critics, the town’s reputation has taken a hammering...
When a classroom of cute kids today asked Rishi Sunak for his favourite ice cream flavour, the Prime Minister replied: “It’s quite boring…...
When a classroom of cute kids today asked Rishi Sunak for his favourite ice cream flavour, the Prime Minister replied: “It’s quite boring…...
As a former financier, Rishi Sunak knows that money talks. And after Wednesday’s grim economic growth figures prompted traders to dump sterling, the...
During debates of great import in the Commons, it’s often said that the contributions show “Parliament at its best”. Sadly, the second reading...
Another week, another “big speech” from Keir Starmer and another Tory immigration row. Just eight days ago, the Labour leader’s thoughts on the...
Detailed, unflustered, and consistent, Rishi Sunak’s early evidence to the Covid Inquiry was everything that Boris Johnson’s was not. But just as...
The timing was uncanny. At the exact moment that Rishi Sunak was becoming tetchy in his “emergency” press conference about his Rwanda plans this...
No more Mr Nice Guy. That was the message from Rishi Sunak as he struggled to reassert his authority over a fractious Tory party with a hardline...
Right from the get-go, it was obvious that Boris Johnson was treating the Covid inquiry as a giant operation in reputation management. From the way...
Right from the get-go, it was obvious that Boris Johnson was treating the Covid inquiry as a giant operation in reputation management. From the way...
As Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick did his morning media round on the Government’s new crackdown on legal migration, he was unapologetically...
Just as the British public can’t escape Nigel Farage even when he’s on the other side of the world, Rishi Sunak couldn’t avoid being asked about...
Amid the current blizzard of news, both foreign and domestic, some of Britain’s most chronic problems risk getting buried under the avalanche. And,...
In politics, as in comedy, timing is everything. From measuring progress on policies to the deadlines leaders set themselves, the “when” is often...
In the very first sentence of his Autumn Statement, Jeremy Hunt declared he had “put our economy back on track”. After Covid, the war in Europe...
When Victoria Atkins was appointed as the new Health and Social Care Secretary this week, two things were instantly apparent. First, the top job had...
Revenge is meant to be a dish best served cold, but Suella Braverman clearly believes the hot stuff is more powerful. Her open letter to Rishi Sunak,...
The long-awaited “Rishuffle” was supposed to be all about Rishi Sunak finally stamping his authority on his party. Just as his party conference...
How do you solve a problem like Suella? Nearly 48 hours after the Home Secretary accused the police of “playing favourites” with pro-Palestinian...
If you’re someone who doesn’t have the time or inclination to read Nadine Dorries’s 350-page book, The Plot: The Assassination of Boris Johnson,...
When Sadiq Khan, Anas Sarwar and Andy Burnham came out in support of a ceasefire in Gaza, it’s fair to say Keir Starmer’s allies were not exactly...
When shadow minister Yasmin Qureshi got up in Prime Minister’s Question Time to raise the plight of the people of Gaza, her words were impassioned...
When SNP MP Dr Lisa Cameron announced her sudden defection to the Conservatives on Thursday, Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf joked that it...
If revenge is a dish best served cold, Rishi Sunak’s recent attacks on the Climate Change Committee (CCC) got some very chilly just deserts...