Mansion House Speech Analysis: A solid performance from the Chancellor shows the No10 reset is working
Whilst lower profile than a fiscal event like the Budget, officials and advisers will have spent weeks squirreled away in the Treasury and grand meeting rooms of No11 on the policies and script, taking discreet soundings from trusted third parties on getting the balance right between bold vision and stability. In ‘normal times’, though […]
The Conservative Party is struggling to decide who and what it is for. Birmingham failed to provide many answers
After 14 years in power, the Tories find themselves not just in opposition, but in the unenviable position of being an opposition party that secured the backing of fewer than one in four voters. The objective reality is bleak. And yet, that stark reality didn’t appear to have dampened the mood or led to much […]
Triumph and teething troubles – a view from Labour Conference
The mood in a wet Liverpool is a mixture of excitement and anxiety, a bit like the first term at a new school. For staffers who have been plunged straight into government – and for those left out – it’s the first big reunion since the election. New ministers and special advisers are comparing notes […]
This conference, it’s all eyes on Rachel
When Labour gathered last year in Liverpool, the big question was ‘is he up to it?’. With an election due at some point in the following months, Sir Keir Starmer was riding high in the polls, but the sense of anticipation of delegates was dotted with nervousness – there were missteps in his response to […]
What Starmer’s speech says about his understanding of political jeopardy
In his first speech as prime minister, Keir Starmer made reference to a significant number of policy areas identified by Portland as posing the highest political risk for his government. During polling carried out last week, we asked Labour voters to rank 50 specific manifesto commitments and policy areas based on how unlikely they would be […]
The State of this Union: a recap of the first US Presidential debate
Last week, the US witnessed an unprecedented national debate between two presidential candidates. This contest between current president Joe Biden against his second-time rival, the former President Trump, was hotly anticipated as the first face-to-face encounter of a bruising election cycle. The debate was a key opportunity to motivate their base and to pitch their […]
The three challenges John Swinney must overcome in his first weeks in office and why they matter to the rest of the UK
If a week is a long time in politics, the past fortnight must have seemed like a lifetime for the SNP. We began with Humza Yousaf setting out to mark a new chapter in his premiership by terminating the power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens, and we ended with John Swinney taking the reins of […]
A no-thrills budget
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has delivered his Spring Budget, setting out a number of measures he claims will deliver long-term growth to the British economy. Whilst there was some positive economic mood music, with inflation forecast to fall below the 2% target within months, Hunt still had limited headroom. All eyes were on whether the Budget would […]
Wes Streeting: A man with a plan
As we enter 2024, the year of the next General Election, Labour is still riding high in the polls with what looks like a clear route to power. The party is, however, far from immune to criticism. Under Sir Keir Starmer’s tenure, figures across Labour’s broad church – including former Labour minister Lord Mandelson and […]
Londoners: Next year’s Mayoral elections are about more than just City Hall.
2024 is the year of the election. With the endless speculation of whether we could be facing a Spring or Autumn election (or even later) in the UK, it’s easy to miss what is going on elsewhere. However, with more than half of the world’s population going to the polls (health warning: not all will […]