Inside Politics

Friday, 24 November, 2023

Thursday, 23 November, 2023

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

Autumn Statement

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

UK Covid inquiry

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

Autumn Statement

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

UK Budget

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

Thursday, 16 November, 2023

UK politics

Setbacks for both Sunak and Starmer may store up trouble

Rebellion over Gaza stance posed no threat to Labour leader’s position but could presage more internal wrangling

Wednesday, 15 November, 2023

Suella Braverman

Braverman sinks as Tory right torchbearer, while Priti Patel rises

By only revealing Rishi Sunak’s broken pledges after being sacked, former home secretary opens herself up to more criticism

Tuesday, 14 November, 2023

David Cameron

Sunak offers up Cameron 2.0 to woo back Tory voters

Prime minister’s biggest risk will be failing to match shift to centre ground with actions after ditching his ‘change’ strategy

Monday, 13 November, 2023

DUP Democratic Unionist Party UK

DUP boycott looks to be driving its backers away

Poll suggests party’s 25% vote share will sink below Sinn Féin, which would be its worst Westminster result in a decade

Friday, 10 November, 2023

Hong Kong

Hongkongers make a splash in UK politics

Non-partisan campaign to prioritise community’s concerns on China targets marginals ahead of election

Thursday, 9 November, 2023

Conservative Party UK

Sunak should ditch running campaign on five pledges

Options to show public Tory renewal are falling away as party trails Labour by 20 points in polls

Wednesday, 8 November, 2023

Rishi Sunak

King’s Speech: Sunak’s strategy is divorced from reality

Plus, the first frontbench Labour MP quits over Starmer’s Gaza stance

Tuesday, 7 November, 2023

UK universities

No appetite to boost university funding leaves sector wooing more overseas students

Non-UK tuition fees are crucial but growing numbers of undergraduates haven’t been matched by accommodation

Monday, 6 November, 2023

Conservative Party UK

Sunak’s dash to pull the ‘don’t know’ bloc of Tory voters on side

New policies draw dividing lines with opposition, though retaining Conservative 2019 backers at next election will be tough

Friday, 3 November, 2023

UK politics

Sunak’s AI summit succeeded, but not in the way the UK hoped

Bletchley Park event helped drive forward agenda, but US moves highlight how Britain is some way off from leading field

Thursday, 2 November, 2023

UK politics

Media today stops politicians facing both ways on divisive issues

Keir Starmer’s defiance of ‘album culture’ — where group members buy into a collective set of values — speaks to broader shift in politics

Wednesday, 1 November, 2023

Labour Party UK

Starmer’s gamble appears to be working

Pressure on Biden to go further than calling for humanitarian pause in Israel-Hamas war could prove useful for UK labour leader

Tuesday, 31 October, 2023

UK Covid inquiry

Covid inquiry won’t topple the Boris Johnson myth

But the deep dive into government decision-making will bring about tighter regulation of ministers’ communications

Monday, 30 October, 2023

Labour Party UK

Starmer can’t avoid changing position on Gaza, but the path is fraught with difficulty

Neither he nor his frontbenchers can mount a policy-based defence of Israel’s aims, and Labour’s position is shifting de facto

Friday, 27 October, 2023

UK general election

Why October 2024 election (and Tory defeat) look more likely

Optimism among Sunak’s team and history point to Tories waiting until January 2025, but this would defy sense

Thursday, 26 October, 2023

Labour Party UK

Labour’s electoral prospects run into danger over Israel-Hamas war

Reeves’ plagiarism story will linger while Starmer is far from quelling party’s divisions over its formal stance on conflict

Wednesday, 25 October, 2023

Conservative Party UK

Bankers’ bonuses: Sunak’s Trussite hangover carries political costs

Ditching bonus cap and other ‘Brexit freedoms’ are unlikely to woo voters who show some support for thicker regulation

Tuesday, 24 October, 2023

Conservative Party UK

Sunak has failed to restore faith in Tories

Debate over PM’s political strategy distracts attention from the need to tackle policy issues most affecting voters

Monday, 23 October, 2023

UK general election

Speculation grows over timing of next election after Tory by-election defeats

Also in this newsletter, Jeremy Hunt to extend help for first-time homebuyers

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