Deputy Political Editor @spectator. DM for email.
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At any moment of political triumph always worth recalling Denis Thatcher on the day of the 87 GE landslide: “In a year's time she'll be so unpopular you won't believe it”
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Lovely afternoon touring the streets which form the backdrop for a favourite film - “The Long Good Friday”
Released 1980, it was very prescient, with Bob Hoskins’ Corporation’s bid for the Olympics being a precursor to the London Docklands Development Corporation and 2012 games
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Zack Polanski leaflet latest in the final week before H&SP polling day.
Reveals his favourite pub is the Lion and Unicorn - a Young’s, in stark contrast to Keir Starmer’s independent Pineapple
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Kemi Badenoch to FT: "The party will be doing what I want to do, because it’s my Conservative Party now."
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Wrote about this theme last month here:
spectator.com/article/the-ke…
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The four words Polanski could not say: Holborn and St Pancras.
His speech was almost entirely directed at the thirty-something urban grads he needs to win next Thursday.
But it came at the expense of a shrewder pitch which set Burnham up for failure:
spectator.com/article/the-fo…
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Polanski gets a standing ovation when he calls on the government to deproscribe Palestine Action. Chants of “Free free Palestine” break out
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Love that press have been given bright red lanyards at Green conference to signify DANGER
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A big loss to the IEA. Chris has been very generous to countless young people in SW1 - lucky to have been one
After fourteen years, fifty publications and over a thousand interviews, I’ve decided to call it a day at the IEA. It’s been a privilege to work for such a fine institution but it’s time for a new chapter. 🍻
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Guardian reporting tonight growing Labour discontent already with John Healey, as noted here 👇
Criticisms about his lack of imagination and commitment to growth mission
This week's @spectator column after Labour conference:
🚬 Half a dozen cabinet ministers referenced Wilson, his rhetoric and achievements. The four-time election winner was the dominant figure of the pre-Thatcher age; Burnham shows a similar appreciation for both Labour values and Labour interests.
🚢 Shabana Mahmood christened ‘Subana’ by colleagues, amid ILR row. Some ministerial uneasiness over Burnham EU comments. 'The Midlands’ sparkies are the new Durham miners,’ says a sceptical figure.
📈 Kanishka Narayan, who did 70 events, emerges as a conference star. ‘The Labour right’s future is Kanishka,’ remarks an ex-Streeting backer.
🥇 Labour increasingly confident of victory in Holborn and St Pancras. 'Next Thursday we pop his bubble,' one MP says of Zack Polanski.
spectator.com/article/harold…
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Crazy how much that Jenny Riddell-Carpenter quote has cut through. Entire timeline full of black labs; videos mocking her doing the rounds on countryside Instagram vids.
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Spoke to a Tory today who remarked that it says something for our politicians that a PM’s words on this are just instantly discounted and disregarded
Exclusive: Andy Burnham is leaving the door open to a snap general election next year, The i Paper has been told.
Multiple sources close to the No 10 operation have suggested that an early general election in May has not been ruled out, despite the Prime Minister publicly insisting that there will be no early poll.
In a round of interviews last week, Burnham appeared to shut down the prospect of an election, saying: “No, no election any time soon. I’m focused on the job as prime minister doing what I said I would do.”
Asked by ITV Calendar whether the next general election would be in 2029, he was even more emphatic: “Yes, that’s when the next election will be. All of this speculation on an early election, I can knock that dead.”
He went on to say that calling an election would mean putting “self-serving politics” ahead of delivering for the public, adding: “I’m not going to do that.”
However, behind the scenes, some of Burnham’s closest advisers concede there is still a chance he could go to the country in May.
A source close to the PM told The i Paper: “There is a growing school of thought that there might be a ‘sweet spot’ for an early general.”
The argument is that Burnham could call an election before the right has a chance to reunite, given Labour’s much weaker performance in 2019 when the right was more united than it was in 2024.
Another No 10 source suggested Burnham would “give the country time to get to know the new PM” before making a final decision, which would likely depend on how well the Budget lands and the size of any “Burnham bounce”.
Labour officials have also been instructed to “be ready” for an early election, although a senior party source stressed that no decision has been made.
Story 👇 with @whazell and @singharj
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