‘If it’s not hurting, it’s not working,’ the Tories used to say. So as the pain grows, Boris Johnson will claim it as a successOn the face of it, politics in England is in a weird, almost delirious state. The governing party has been in power for more …
After years of cruelty to people on welfare, is the UK starting to think differently? | John Harris
The universal credit uplift is about to end, but there are signs that politicians’ talk of people ‘milking it’ will no longer cut itHere it comes. This Wednesday, the Department for Work and Pensions will finally end the £20-a-week “uplift” to universa…
Want to ‘level up’ the UK? Just give places the power and money they need | John Harris
The government pits regions against one another in a battle for handouts. Meanwhile, it keeps cutting local authority fundingFor a term that has been in circulation for more than two years, “levelling up” has not been the catchiest of political concept…
Always Red by Len McCluskey review – bluster of a righteous brother
Candour and insight play second fiddle to a romanticised history of the left in the former Unite leader’s memoirLen McCluskey is a chess enthusiast. During his 11-year tenure as the general secretary of the 1.4 million-member “super union” Unite, he ke…
Boris Johnson’s incompetence is pulling the UK apart | John Harris
Beyond the orbit of Westminster, the idea that normality can simply be willed back into existence seems absurdAs summer withers away and politicians and journalists prepare for the return of party conferences, a tantalising fantasy is in play, mostly i…
Brexit and Covid have created the perfect moment for the politics of crackdown | John Harris
We feel besieged and imperilled, and the Johnson government is seizing the chance to weaken our most fundamental libertiesIf you were wondering when the widely predicted post-Brexit dystopia might move beyond the imaginings of TV scriptwriters and into…