While the spin doctors put a lot of energy into trying to ensure everything runs without a hitch, all too often circumstance conspires to derail the best-laid plans. The unwritten rule of British politics, that if something can go wrong at conference it usually will, means both euphoric new Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his … Read more
To try and woo the members, whose “loyalty and dedication” she marveled at, the backbench Essex MP pledged to give them a “much greater voice and role” in policy making, offering a democratically elected party chairman. Internally, Patel emphasized the need for rebuttal units and professional party agents to help win seats. Having spent the … Read more
Patel spent the last two years on the backbenches after serving as home secretary when Boris Johnson was in No. 10. A prominent figure on the right, she’s dubbed a “dark horse” of the campaign who can keep the right wing on side while potentially winning over One Nation centrist MPs averse to a harder-right … Read more
Who’s left? With an election looming, none of the One Nation members’ preferred candidates have indicated they would stand in a future leadership contest, and there remains a lack of certainty over who will even be an MP after polling day. Constituency by constituency polling by YouGov earlier this year suggested both Mordaunt and Shapps … Read more
Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. LONDON — What’s in a word? Turns out, quite a bit. Westminster’s finest politicos found themselves frantically Googling this year as they tried to get their heads around a whole bunch of words they had never heard before. No, not “integrity,” “honesty” and “compassion” — … Read more
Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. LONDON — It was meant to be the year two quiet technocrats, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, brought calm to the fevered Westminster swamp. Unfortunately SW1 didn’t get the memo. Politics remained pretty much as wild in 2023 as it has been since David Cameron — back in action as U.K. foreign secretary … Read more
