Claws out for Keir, Mamdani's poisoned apple & are most wedding toasts awful?
In the magazine this week Tim Shipman declares his verdict on Keir Starmer's Labour government as we approach the first anniversary of their election victory.
One year on, some of Labour's most notable policies have been completely changed – from the u-turn over winter fuel allowance to the embarrassing climb-down over welfare this week. Starmer has appeared more confident on the world stage but, for domestic audiences, this is small consolation when the public has perceived little change on the problems that have faced Britain for years. Can Starmer turn it around?
Tim joined the podcast alongside the Spectator's editor Michael Gove. What would they say Starmer's greatest mistake, and biggest success, have been over the past year? (1:46)
Next: would Zohran Mamdani ruin New York?
In the magazine this week, the Spectator's deputy US editor Kate Andrews writes about Zohran Mamdani – the self-declared 'democratic socialist' who defied expectations to become the Democratic Party's presumptive candidate for the New York City mayoral election this November.
From a little-known state assemblyman to the mayoral heir presumptive – how did Mamdani do it? And what effect could his policies have? Kate joined the podcast alongside the Spectator's US editor Freddy Gray. (24:03)
And finally: 'admit it – most wedding toasts are awful'
Are wedding toasts as awful as Madeline Grant says they are in the magazine this week?
Maddie writes about the trend for multiple speeches at weddings, beyond the traditional three, blaming creeping Americanisms and the feminist revolution, amongst other things. These, compounded with widespread poor oratory skills, means the playbill looks 'fuller and fuller' and guests are denied a moment to 'at least dull the horror with alcohol'. Should we push back against the trend?
Maddie joined the podcast alongside professional speechwriter Damian Reilly. (35:37)
Hosted by William Moore and Gus Carter.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
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Edinburgh Reporter
25 minutes ago
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Former council leader Cammy Day represents Edinburgh at international event
Sending former council leader Cammy Day to represent Edinburgh to an international delegation earlier this month 'made perfect sense, ' according to the city's leader. Along with fellow Labour councillor James Dalgleish and other city figures, Cllr Day met with 26 visiting councillors from Kaohsiung, Taiwan in Edinburgh. The news came at the city's Policy and Sustainability Committee on Tuesday, where council leader Jane Meagher said she put his name forward due to her being unable to attend. Cllr Day resigned his role as council leader in December last year over allegations he had sent sexual messages to Ukrainian refugees living in the Capital. He was also suspended by the Labour Party, but recently was readmitted to the party and their council group after he was cleared of any criminal behaviour by police in May. SNP councillor Kate Campbell raised questions over why Cllr Day was in attendance, given the 'widespread acknowledgement' that he had carried out inappropriate behaviour. Councillor Meagher said: 'I wasn't available for this, and it seemed to me to be a matter of common sense to include Councillor Day given his historical involvement and knowledge of our friendship agreement with [Kaohsiung]. 'For that reason, it made perfect sense for him to be there, to help smooth the path between Cllr Dalgleish and the delegation, which I gather was extremely powerful and helpful. 'It made perfect sense not to exclude somebody who had done a considerable amount of work in developing this friendship agreement with Taiwan.' Cllr Campbell had also asked about two Edinburgh University representatives in the delegation who had been unable to attend at the last minute due to ill health. She said that she did not doubt that they were unwell, but asked whether a policy of notifying city partners of what councillors may be present at an event would be wise. Council officer Chris Adams, who covers international relationships, said that the two representatives had been unwell, but that he did not have any more information about them. Cllr Meagher added: 'As far as Edinburgh University attendance is concerned, I don't think we can draw any conclusions around their motives for not being able to attend. 'If we think about global politics, it might be that you draw conclusions related to that, rather than to any individuals who might be present.' A large portion of Edinburgh University's student body is from China, which does not recognise Taiwan as an independent country. Mr Adams said Cllr Dalgleish was in attendance at the meeting in his civic duty as a Bailie, a representative of the Lord Provost. And standing in for the Lord Provost, who was unable to attend, was another Bailie, James Douglas. He said the university attendees had been set to discuss the research connections between Edinburgh University and universities in Asia. He also said James McVeigh from Festivals Edinburgh was also in attendance, and that much of the conversation in the meeting was around how Edinburgh handles the festivals. Cllr Meagher said she understood that the discussions were 'extremely powerful and helpful'. Edinburgh has a range of sister city and friendship agreements with cities around the globe, including Krakow, Dunedin, Kyiv and San Diego. By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
New Statesman
44 minutes ago
- New Statesman
The Epping ruling deepens Labour's immigration nightmare
Photo byThere is one clear political winner from the Epping asylum hotel ruling: Nigel Farage. True, the technical victor, as so often in English life, may be the Town and Country Planning Order (the owners of the Bell Hotel failed to apply for new planning permission). But that's not something Farage felt obliged to mention, hailing 'a great victory for the parents and concerned residents of Epping'. That's a message that will resonate with an electorate increasingly wondering whether to gamble on the Reform leader (Farage's party has led every opinion poll since May). It was the Bell Hotel that became an emblem of a dysfunctional model after one migrant living there was charged with sexual assault (a second asylum seeker was arrested last week). Confronted by the case between Epping council and the hotel's owners, Home Office lawyers sought to intervene, warning that any injunction could 'substantially interfere' with the department's statutory duty to house asylum seekers and risked 'acting as an impetus for further violent protests'. But the judge, who acknowledged that recent arrests 'form a basis for the local concern', ruled that Somani Hotels, which owns the Bell Hotel, 'sidestepped the public scrutiny and explanation which would otherwise have taken place if an application for planning permission or for a certificate of lawful use had been made'. The Home Office is barred from appealing and now has less than a month to find alternative accommodation for the hotel's residents. But this practical challenge could be far outweighed by the potential unravelling of the asylum hotel model. Farage has vowed that the 12 councils controlled by Reform will explore similar legal action to Epping, and shadow home secretary Chris Philp has said he would welcome other local authorities doing the same (Labour accuses the Tories of 'rank hypocrisy', noting that Philp was the first immigration minister to move asylum seekers into the Bell Hotel and that Robert Jenrick was the second). Labour knows just how politically toxic the asylum hotel policy – emblematic of the UK's profligate outsourced state – is. Aides speak with authentic outrage of the 'absolute wreck' of a system they inherited as the Conservatives' doomed Rwanda deportation scheme saw processing ground to a halt. The number of asylum seekers accommodated has fallen from a peak of 56,042 in 400 hotels in September 2023 to 32,345 in 210 hotels (with costs falling from £3bn to £2.1bn), and the government intends to end their use entirely by the time of the next election in 2029. But even before yesterday's ruling, some in Labour were warning that far faster action was required. Last month, one influential MP told me that the government should 'requisition Duchy of Lancaster land and build temporary Nightingale accommodation' (along the lines of the hospitals constructed during the Covid-19 pandemic). That same MP now blames a 'vacuum of leadership' for leaving the courts to rule on what voters see as a 'moral and political matter'. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe For Labour, the painful irony of the ruling is that it comes just as the government is trying to tell a better story on immigration. Last month, ministers agreed a 'one in, one out' asylum deal with France that they hope will deter Channel crossings and only today announced a new agreement with Iraq to return illegal migrants. Instead, Labour is left to rue the slow breakdown of a system that it did not design but must now own. This piece first appeared in the Morning Call newsletter; receive it every morning by subscribing on Substack here [See also: Zarah Sultana reveals a fault line in Your Party] Related
Powys County Times
an hour ago
- Powys County Times
How many asylum seekers are in UK hotels and why are they being housed there?
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