James Ball
24 January 2025
Under the radar, the Lib Dems could decide the next election
Labour and the Tories are obsessed with Reform - and that gives Ed Davey space to make a different case
Read the full article23 January 2025
Rupert Murdoch is breathing a sigh of relief over Prince Harry
News Group has paid a huge price, but may have seen off the greatest scandal it has faced
Read the full article22 January 2025
Trump’s rush to build a crueller America
The president’s opening gambits show those who tried to sanewash him were deluded
Read the full article20 January 2025
The power of resistance
The Democrats are in shock and disarray. But someone will need to stand up to Donald Trump
Read the full article17 January 2025
Kemi Badenoch’s honesty problem
The Tory leader’s habit of saying what she thinks is refreshing. Her staff’s habit of pretending that she hasn’t said it is dreadful politics
Read the full article15 January 2025
Meta follows X to the dark side
Meta firing its fact-checkers is about more than sucking up to Trump. It kickstarts a global fight over the rules of the internet and free speech
Read the full article14 January 2025
Labour is squandering the chance to tell its economic story
Keir Starmer is wasting time on bizarre claims about AI and productivity instead of convincing voters that he has a real plan.
Read the full article10 January 2025
Badenoch the opportunist tiptoes towards disaster
The Tory leader did nothing about rape gangs she was the minister responsible, and is only interested now that she thinks there might be votes in it
Read the full article08 January 2025
Elon’s little helpers
The neofascist billionaire at Trump’s side is spewing out dangerous lies about Britain. And our complicit right wing press is amplifying them
Read the full article07 January 2025
Robert Jenrick is a cynical opportunist
His car-crash Today interview reveals much about the man who would be Tory king
Read the full article03 January 2025
The dangerous lies of Elon Musk
His ill-informed backing for Tommy Robinson and slurs against Jess Phillips say it all about Trump's right-hand man
Read the full article01 January 2025
2025: The year of living dangerously
The 12 months ahead are fraught with danger for both Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch
Read the full article30 December 2024
Sorry, Daily Telegraph, but a UK-to-US brain drain isn’t going to happen
The paper’s Sam Ashworth-Hayes thinks catastrophe is on the cards - but there are several factors he’s overlooked
Read the full article29 December 2024
The Badenoch v Farage membership row is the shape of politics to come
The Tory leader has given her rival even more free publicity - but she's right to have picked this fight
Read the full article24 December 2024
The truth about It’s A Wonderful Life
This supposedly heart-warming yuletide classic is the story of a NIMBY preparing to impose a radical moral agenda on his selfish neighbours
Read the full article19 December 2024
Keir Starmer – a man without a plan
First, Labour had “missions” and then it came out with “milestones” – but what it doesn’t have is a plan for government, and it seems incapable of making one
Read the full article18 December 2024
The five political lessons of 2024
Forget polling and lifetime party loyalty – all that’s gone. In their place we have a broken system, Reform as the main opposition party, and a growing threat from disinformation
Read the full article13 December 2024
Meet Nigel Farage’s new moneyman
Nick Candy, the billionaire property developer, is now in charge of Reform’s finances. Now people will see Farage’s “man of the people” act for what it is – a sham
Read the full article12 December 2024
The public is running ahead of Starmer on Brexit
A survey shows UK voters would accept free movement and want closer ties with Europe
Read the full article10 December 2024
Starmer’s long-winded road
How can the PM connect with voters when he and his advisers keep spewing out meaningless word salad?
Read the full article03 December 2024
The new Brexit time bomb
A refresh of EU product safety standards, GPSR, will be a disaster for the UK’s small exporters, with the government little help
Read the full article02 December 2024
If Musk wants to give Farage £100m, let him
There’s a good case for shaking up UK campaign finance - but banning one particular donation would backfire
Read the full article29 November 2024
The assisted dying debate adds to Starmer’s woes
Victory for Kim Leadbeater’s bill won’t stop legitimate doubts about it - or it becoming a distraction for a PM struggling to define himself
Read the full article29 November 2024
The Louise Haigh affair is a cock-up by Team Starmer
Why has No.10 been so swift to wield the axe now when the PM has known about her conviction for years?
Read the full article27 November 2024
The rise of the ‘fuck you’ party
Across the world, a new coalition is growing – of exhausted people on all sides who are gunning for Scholz, Macron... and Starmer
Read the full article20 November 2024
Why Britain can’t afford to ignore X
A social media rumour about Keir Starmer has attracted millions of views – aided by far right figures who amplify conspiracy theories online
Read the full article20 November 2024
Is Germany’s economy kaput?
With a declining industrial base, a lack of support for emerging sectors, and a shaky financial landscape, the country’s downturn might be here to stay
Read the full article19 November 2024
Yes, farmers have been stitched up – but not by inheritance tax
These protests have picked the wrong cause. Brexit is what they should be angriest about
Read the full article16 November 2024
Thanks to Trump, Bitcoin is booming.. but it is still useless
Key questions about the cryptocurrency remain unanswered even as the Republican’s victory causes it to soar
Read the full article14 November 2024
Can anyone make the Church of England relevant?
The next Archbishop of Canterbury has an almost impossible job
Read the full article13 November 2024
The Democrats: the losers who knew best
Arrogant and stuck on broadcast mode, the Democrats have stopped listening to America
Read the full article09 November 2024
Dominic Cummings: a one hit blunder
The former political adviser has mistaken himself for a visionary intellectual rebel. If that’s so, why is his legacy so small – and crap?
Read the full article