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The Spectator

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Tories / Kemi Badenoch wins a surprise endorsement

It’s just four days to go until the next round of voting for Tory leader. So, with the various candidates pulling out all the stops from now until...

latest 10

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Scottish Tories fume over leadership rivals snubbing Scotland

Back to the Tory leadership contest which is gathering pace post-conference season. In a matter of days, MPs will cast their votes to leave just two...

previous day 5

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Could Starmer sign away the Falklands too?

When Sir Keir Starmer announced on Thursday that the UK will cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, he was met with widespread outrage....

previous day 10

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15 top takes from Boris Johnson’s memoir

Boris Johnson’s new memoir Unleashed is to be published next week, and with the highly-anticipated account promising to be the ‘political memoir...

previous day 10

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Cleverly and Jenrick slam CCHQ machine

Who would want to work in Conservative Campaign Headquarters? The election this year was certainly not Tory high command’s finest hour, with rows...

previous day 10

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Labour in fresh ‘cash for croissants’ storm

It’s a day ending a ‘y’ – so there’s another Labour scandal brewing. After the ‘passes for glasses’ row about Lord Alli’s role in...

previous day 10

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Boris and Liz in Chagos Islands’ blame game

Mauritius is getting the Chagos Islands – and a lot of Tories ain’t happy. Tom Tugendhat calls it a ‘shameful retreat’; Robert Jenrick bemoans...

previous day 10

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Starmer’s friend revealed to be Mauritius’ chief legal adviser

There was national outrage this morning at the news that Sir Keir’s Labour has decided to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius –...

thursday 10

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Police Scotland slammed over leaked Isla Bryson memo

The end of Nicola Sturgeon’s premiership was mired in controversy over her plans for trans rights, her botched gender reform bill and the rather...

thursday 9

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SNP police probe investigators still looking into Sturgeon

The 2024 national poll has passed but north of the border, Scots are looking ahead to the 2026 Holyrood election. Support for the Scottish National...

thursday 4

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Sir Keir pays back £6,000 worth of gifts

To the latest development in Labour’s freebie fiasco, as it transpires that Sir Keir Starmer has paid back over £6,000 of gifts he received from...

thursday 10

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BBC cancels Boris interview after embarrassing gaffe

Well that’s awkward. Former prime minister Boris Johnson was due to be interviewed by the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg today, ahead of the release next...

thursday 6

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London’s failed night czar resigns

At long last, and not a day too soon, it transpires that London’s ‘night czar’ is standing down. Amy Lamé will leave her City Hall role at the...

02.10.2024 20

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Lord Alli under investigation for donations

Dear oh dear. It now transpires that Lord Alli is under investigation by the Lords Commissioner – with the millionaire businessman being looked into...

02.10.2024 40

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Labour under scrutiny over gambling gifts

Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour lot have had a tough time of it lately with the freebie fiasco – and it’s only getting worse. Now it transpires that...

02.10.2024 20

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Why hasn’t Trump congratulated J.D. Vance?

Even the most ardent Trump-loathers are admitting that, last night, the Republican vice-presidential nominee J.D. Vance easily won his debate against...

02.10.2024 8

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Watch: Tugendhat jibes at Jenrick over special forces

Uh oh. There’s trouble in Tory paradise after leadership candidate Robert Jenrick made some rather questionable remarks about the armed forces. At...

02.10.2024 6

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Dorries: Kemi should be ‘disqualified’ from leadership race

This year’s Tory conference has seen a number of old faces as well as new – and the appearance of Boris Johnson’s former culture secretary at a...

01.10.2024 5

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Tugendhat: My Roger Scruton row comments were ‘twisted’

It’s the final night of Tory party conference and tempers are fraying. Three of the four leadership candidates have ended up weighing in on the 2019...

01.10.2024 5

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Badenoch’s feud with Farage continues

The Tory leadership race is ramping up — and so is Kemi Badenoch’s anti-Reform rhetoric. The contender for the top job hasn’t held back on her...

01.10.2024 10

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Jenrick reveals daughter’s middle name is Thatcher

It’s the second day of the big Tory leadership interviews at party conference and Robert Jenrick is on the main stage. Making his case for why he...

01.10.2024 5

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Rees-Mogg takes aim at Badenoch over Reform remarks

It’s day three of the Conservative party conference, and so far the blue-on-blue has been kept to a minimum — not least thanks to the ‘yellow...

01.10.2024 10

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Politics / Sunak’s government more popular than Labour, poll reveals

As the Tory leadership hustings continue, there’s a bit of good news for outgoing boss Rishi Sunak. It now transpires that more people prefer...

01.10.2024 5

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Politics / Simon Case hands in resignation letter

While the Conservative party conference is in full swing in Birmingham, back in Whitehall there have been some major developments. Cabinet Secretary...

30.09.2024 4

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Tugendhat’s ‘disgusting and yellow’ Lib Dem jibe

The first of the official Tory leadership hustings kicked off today with Tom Tugendhat in the hotseat. The former security minister put forward his...

30.09.2024 6

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Jenrick mocks Starmer’s ‘unserious’ government

To Birmingham, where the Conservative party conference is in full swing. As well as the formal leadership hustings taking place this week, the four...

30.09.2024 4

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JK Rowling defends Duffield against ‘numbskulls’

All is not well in the Labour party. Not only is Sir Keir still dealing with the freebie fiasco, Starmer also lost a longtime MP last week after she...

30.09.2024 4

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Poll: young ex-Tories won’t return to party in 2029

There’s an oddly upbeat mood here in Birmingham. You might have thought that with just 121 MPs left, the Conservatives would be fairly despondent...

30.09.2024 10

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Now Labour points finger at Tories over donations

Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party’s conference was mired in his freebie fiasco scandal after revelations about clothing donations and trips abroad...

30.09.2024 5

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‘Absolute chancer’: new Scottish Tory leader blasts Farage

While one Tory leadership contest rumbles on, another has come to a close. Russell Findlay was made the new leader of the Scottish Conservative party...

29.09.2024 6

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Which Tory contender has the best conference stall?

Welcome to Tory conference 2024. For the next four days, the final quartet of contenders will battle it out, Hunger Games-style, to try and prove to...

29.09.2024 10

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Watch: BBC is forced to fact check itself

Amid a wave of BBC cutbacks, the Corporation has made much of its new ‘Verify’ service. Bosses have trumpeted its fact-checkers – staff,...

28.09.2024 10

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Watch: JSO protestors attack more Van Gogh paintings

Good heavens. Just as the news comes that 22-year-olds Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland have been jailed for throwing Heinz tomato soup over Van...

27.09.2024 7

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Whatever happened to the ‘Office of Deputy PM’?

Poor old Angela Rayner. It seems she is not too happy about reports that she is being ‘frozen out’ of decision-making in the new government, amid...

27.09.2024 8

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Labour donor-linked climate envoy sports Extinction Rebellion badge

When it rains for Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour lot, it pours. Starmer’s army aren’t yet in the clear over the freebie fiasco that dampened the...

27.09.2024 30

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Russell Findlay becomes Scottish Tory leader

The first of two Conservative leadership contests has concluded and today it has been announced that the new leader of the Scottish party is Russell...

27.09.2024 10

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Boris gave Prince ‘manly pep talk’ to keep him in UK

Well, well, well. When the monarchs of Montecito decided to cut ties with the UK and live stateside, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan seriously...

27.09.2024 10

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Trump on Starmer: ‘I actually think he’s very nice’

After months of diary-juggling, Keir Starmer finally got his meeting with the man who could be the next US President. The political equivalent of the...

27.09.2024 10

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Abbott wages war on Starmer’s army

All is not well in the Labour party at present. If Sir Keir Starmer didn’t have enough on his plate, what with concerns about cronyism and the...

26.09.2024 10

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Labour MP’s million-pound loan from Lord Alli

Another day, another drama. Now it transpires that a Labour MP took a million-pound loan from Lord Alli – to buy a flat for her sister. Mitcham and...

26.09.2024 10

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SNP is not ‘Labour with a saltire’, fumes Sarwar

The general election may have been and gone but north of the border another fight is shaping up. The SNP has lost both members and support in the wake...

25.09.2024 10

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Labour conference votes to reverse Starmer’s winter fuel cuts

Keir Starmer’s first Labour conference as Prime Minister has ended in humiliation after delegates backed a motion condemning cuts to winter fuel...

25.09.2024 10

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Starmer uses son’s exams as excuse for freebies

The Labour party conference may be coming to a close, but the freebie fiasco remains very much a live issue. Now Sir Keir Starmer has prompted more...

25.09.2024 10

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Reform exodus continues in professionalisation drive

The ravens really are leaving the tower. In recent months, Reform has been turbo-charging its professionalisation drive, working to set up branches...

24.09.2024 8

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Watch: Starmer heckled by pro-Gaza protestor

It’s day three of Labour conference, and Sir Keir’s has just delivered his much anticipated keynote speech. The Prime Minister lauded his...

24.09.2024 9

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Watch: Starmer calls for the return of ‘the sausages’ from Gaza

Oops. After his first Labour conference as Prime Minister was overshadowed by power struggles in No. 10 and the growing scandal over wardrobe-gate,...

24.09.2024 9

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Pat McFadden’s bizarre Reform rant

Ahead of the Prime Minister’s address a number of Cabinet ministers are savouring the last full day of their party conference. Pat McFadden –...

24.09.2024 10

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Is Labour sidelining Keir Starmer’s oracy drive?

Back in September last year, Labour leader Keir Starmer unveiled his party’s flagship education policy: a drive for oracy, or public speaking, to be...

24.09.2024 10

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Yvette Cooper slams Reform as ‘right wing wreckers’

To the Labour party conference, where Starmer’s army is celebrating its first meet as a part of government in over 14 years. Lefty politicians are...

24.09.2024 20

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Labour MP: regulate media to ‘make Starmer’s job easier’

To Liverpool, where all the wit and wisdom of Sir Keir’s Labour party is gathered. Starmer’s army has come to the city armed with bright ideas and...

23.09.2024 10

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