menu_open Columnists
Tim Shipman

Tim Shipman

New Statesman

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

When Mandelson could bring down Starmer

Another day, another set of embarrassing revelations about Peter Mandelson. A photo has now emerged of Mandelson, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and...

friday 5

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Revealed: Keir Starmer’s new plan to get closer to the EU

A Labour MP, reflecting on the problems the Prime Minister faces over the war in Iran, observed this week: ‘Keir got it right, but things keep going...

12.03.2026 7

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Revealed: Britain to get Islamophobia tsar

Britain is to get a new ‘anti-Muslim hostility tsar’ under plans to be outlined by the government on Monday, which will also include a new...

06.03.2026 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

‘Whose side are you on?’: How Keir Starmer alienated Britain’s allies over Iran

The American-Israeli attacks on Iran were publicly called Epic Fury, but behind the scenes it is Britain’s handling of the war which provoked that...

05.03.2026 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Fallout / The winners and losers from the Gorton by-election

So Gorton and Denton has become another of those parliamentary seat names which enters the collective memory of British politics – a name which will...

28.02.2026 6

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

The winners and losers from the Gorton by-election

So Gorton and Denton has become another of those parliamentary seat names which enters the collective memory of British politics – a name which will...

27.02.2026 6

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Is the Trump-Starmer bromance over?

“The Special Relationship only exists when the Americans want something,” a former Downing Street aide observed after Donald Trump rejected the...

27.02.2026 7

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Politics / Has it all gone wrong between Trump and Starmer?

‘The Special Relationship only exists when the Americans want something,’ a former Downing Street aide observed after Donald Trump rejected the...

26.02.2026 6

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Palace ‘terrified’ Andrew shared secrets of defence deals

Keir Starmer has had a pretty torrid couple of months but, as the curtain comes down on another turbulent week, not even Donald Trump attacking the...

20.02.2026 6

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

The truth about Britain's hollowed-out armed forces

When Keir Starmer was told his pledge to raise defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP in the next parliament was not enough to fund his vision for the...

19.02.2026 150

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

The end is Keir / Inside Starmer’s downfall

Years ago, Peter Mandelson shared a key lesson with his protégé Morgan McSweeney. Reminiscing about his involvement in Labour’s 1987 general...

16.02.2026 550

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

The end is Keir / ‘Authority is like virginity. Once it’s gone, it’s gone’: Inside Keir Starmer’s downfall

Years ago, Peter Mandelson shared a key lesson with his protégé Morgan McSweeney. Reminiscing about his involvement in Labour’s 1987 general...

16.02.2026 500

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Politics / Twelve things we learned this week

When I started out in Westminster in 2001, the parliamentary lobby was a very hierarchical place and the press gallery still had a dining room. We...

14.02.2026 70

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Twelve things we learned this week

When I started out in Westminster in 2001, the parliamentary lobby was a very hierarchical place and the press gallery still had a dining room. We...

13.02.2026 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

The case for Antonia Romeo

12.02.2026 3

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

‘Authority is like virginity. Once it’s gone, it’s gone’: Inside Keir Starmer’s downfall

12.02.2026 20

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Morgan McSweeney’s resignation won’t save Starmer 

08.02.2026 6

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Coup deferred / Labour has bottled it – what happens next?

07.02.2026 6

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Labour has bottled it – what happens next?

06.02.2026 8

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Is Keir Starmer prepared for the AI-pocalypse?

05.02.2026 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Starmer’s Chinese trip changes nothing

31.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Politics / What is ‘Starmerism’?

29.01.2026 6

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

‘There’s an awful lot more bile now’: Jonathan Lynn on how politics has changed since Yes Minister

29.01.2026 8

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

The egos have landed / The week that turned politics upside down

24.01.2026 9

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

The week that turned politics upside down

24.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

The second coming of Gordon Brown

18.01.2026 30

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Jenrick's defection strengthens both Kemi and Farage

16.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Politics / The second coming of Gordon Brown

15.01.2026 20

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Politics / Six things we learnt about Starmer's government this week

10.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Six things we learnt about Starmer's government this week

09.01.2026 7

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

‘We will use the power of democracy to blow you away’: Reform plots a path to No. 10

08.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

The 14 questions that will define British politics in 2026

02.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Politics / The 14 questions that will define British politics in 2026

01.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Politics / The 14 questions that will define British politics in 2026

01.01.2026 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

'We must not be the Tory party 2.0': Nigel Farage on his plans for power

27.12.2025 30

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Starmer caves to the farmers

23.12.2025 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Labour / Is Starmer finally learning the art of politics?

20.12.2025 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Is Starmer finally learning the art of politics?

19.12.2025 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Starmer should pick a UN ambassador who knows Trump

19.12.2025 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

'We must not be the Tory party 2.0': Nigel Farage on his plans for power

16.12.2025 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

The 12 things that mattered in politics in 2025

12.12.2025 7

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

'We must not be the Tory party 2.0': Nigel Farage on his plans for power

12.12.2025 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

'We must not be the Tory party 2.0': Nigel Farage on his plans for power

11.12.2025 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Politics / Has Reform peaked?

06.12.2025 9

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Has Reform peaked?

06.12.2025 4

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Politics / Labour’s plan to unite the left

04.12.2025 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

The Budget speech Rachel Reeves could have made

29.11.2025 5

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Starmer’s Mr Fix-it / Nick Thomas-Symonds: ‘The Brexit architects essentially ran away’

28.11.2025 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Starmer’s Mr Fix-it / Nick Thomas-Symonds: ‘The Brexit architects essentially ran away’

27.11.2025 10

The Spectator

Tim Shipman

Budget blues / Rachel Reeves’s road to ruin

27.11.2025 7

The Spectator

Tim Shipman