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    Stephen Bush

    Columnist and Associate Editor

    Stephen Bush is an associate editor and columnist at the Financial Times. He writes a daily newsletter, Inside Politics, charting the course of politics and policy in the United Kingdom, and a wide-ranging weekly column. You can subscribe to Inside Politics here.

    Email Stephen Bush @stephenkb  on Twitter (link opens in a new browser window)

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    • Friday, 29 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      Will Sunak’s ‘plan for motorists’ cut through to local votes?

      While polling shows ‘anti-car’ schemes split opinion, Tory councillors tend to oppose them, occasionally reaping rewards

      A sign which says ‘no to 20’
    • Thursday, 28 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      Sunak’s attempted reset is all pain, no gain

      PM wants to show willingness to confront tough decisions, but his announcements are so far unhelpful to his falling ratings

      Rishi Sunak stands at a podium featuring the words: ‘Long-term decisions for a brighter future’
    • Wednesday, 27 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      Will Lib Dems capitalise on spotlight come election time?

      Bruised leader Ed Davey tells personal tale in conference speech, while in US Braverman winks to Tory right flank

      Ed Davey raises his right hand on stage at the gathering
    • Tuesday, 26 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      Davey’s defeat on conference floor crushes Lib Dem hopes of abandoning housing target

      Also in this newsletter, what this means for the future of a Labour-Liberal Democrat arrangement, and Sunak’s possible inheritance tax overhaul

      Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey
    • Monday, 25 September, 2023
      Social affairs
      The problem with power parents

      The FTX saga illustrates why you should not expect objectivity from a family member

      Illustration of a woman seen from behind looking through a magnifying glass at her child’s artworks. The art is very childlike but the bit showing in the magnifying glass looks like Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’
    • Monday, 25 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      Why the Liberal Democrats are worth watching

      Also in this newsletter, controversy after Chris Kaba shooting investigation has provoked questionable responses from Scotland Yard and Home Office

      Ed Davey gestures to a clock which says ‘time’s up for Rishi Sunak’
    • Friday, 22 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      Sunak’s worthy A-level reforms held back by fantasies on tax

      While there is cross-party support for a ‘British baccalaureate’, PM is yet to get ball rolling in any meaningful way

      Rishi Sunak being interviewed in a school
    • Thursday, 21 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      Tories are stuck in a short- and long-term crisis

      Periods of infighting can be a damaging but necessary step in the timeline of political parties

      Rishi Sunak leaves after a speech
    • Wednesday, 20 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      Sunak’s net zero motives are ideological, not electoral

      Retreating from 2019 pledge takes Tories away from election-winning territory — and towards the wrecking yard

      Rishi Sunak
    • Tuesday, 19 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      Truss ducks her thorniest problem in bid to stay relevant

      Blaming external forces becomes especially attractive in opposition and sidesteps confronting internal divisions

      Liz Truss gives a speech
    • Tuesday, 19 September, 2023
      Social affairs
      What Bradley Cooper’s fake nose can teach us

      An unflappable attitude in the face of online pile-ons can be a winning tactic

    • Monday, 18 September, 2023
      Labour Party UK
      Labour’s fudging on HS2 tells us a lot about its election priorities

      Starmer’s time as leader of the opposition offers the template he wants to follow in securing a mandate

      Keir Starmer at a press conference at the Labour party headquarters in March 2023
    • Friday, 15 September, 2023
      UK immigration
      Starmer prioritises control over unrealistic aim of ‘stopping the boats’

      Also in this newsletter, Rishi Sunak needs to rely on opposition party votes occasionally if he wants to make his mark

      A border force boat assists people travelling by small boat at sea
    • Thursday, 14 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      The post-Sunak Tory party belongs to the right

      Centre-right leadership contenders who claim they can win elections will seem less convincing after a painful defeat

      Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden, prime minister Rishi Sunak, trade secretary Kemi Badenoch and home secretary Suella Braverman during Prime Minister’s Questions at the House of Commons
    • Wednesday, 13 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      Sunak must not avoid arguing with his party as his star plummets

      Also in this newsletter, Britain’s botched hosting of two Soviet dignitaries in 1956

      Rishi Sunak and James Cleverly
    • Tuesday, 12 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      What the spy saga reveals about UK-China relations

      The inevitable consequence of events will mean further demands for greater distance

      An FT montage of the Houses of Parliament, a Chinese flag in the background and the shadow of a person in the foreground
    • Monday, 11 September, 2023
      Populism
      The history wars have a big casualty — the past

      Sins of omission and distortion from politicians are complicating the real point of the discipline

      Illustration of Narendra Modi from behind using a roller to paint the Indian flag over the Union Jack
    • Monday, 11 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      Sunak’s foreign policy reset overshadowed by espionage

      A parliamentary researcher’s arrest on suspicion of spying for Beijing is damaging the PM’s agenda

      The shadow of a person in front of parliament buildings in Westminster, London
    • Friday, 8 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      London’s tightening mayoral race offers window into future of road charges

      Opposing schemes such as Ulez will become more popular, though the politics of it in the capital are not straightforward

      Some cars on a road with a green Ulez sign
    • Thursday, 7 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      Understatement is getting Sunak nowhere

      Ahead of G20 India trip PM squanders chance to show how he embodies change, though trumpeting Horizon deal isn’t the answer

      Rishi Sunak
    • Wednesday, 6 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      Not all English councils will survive government’s long funding squeeze

      Once hailed as an exemplary authority, Birmingham’s history of poor governance has left it facing big bills

      Statue of Queen Victoria with the Council House behind it in Birmingham, England
    • Tuesday, 5 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      Starmer’s battle-ready cabinet restores institutional memory

      Shake-up brings in experienced players and is designed to sharpen party’s attack operation, particularly on crime

      Keir Starmer, left, and Peter Kyle who was appointed yesterday as shadow secretary for science, innovation and technology
    • Tuesday, 5 September, 2023
      Space industry
      The new scramble for space requires a fresh set of rules

      Such exploration was once the preserve of the most powerful nations — soon, this will no longer be the case

      Illustration of the Hungry Hippos game with some of the balls as planets
    • Monday, 4 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      School building closures are political disaster for Sunak’s government

      Former top civil servant’s claim PM had cut funding to fix school problems when chancellor makes it a personal problem too

      Rishi Sunak in a hard hat and hi-vis jacket
    • Friday, 1 September, 2023
      Inside Politics
      Mini shake-up sharpens Sunak’s defences

      Willing to show his loyalty in public, new defence secretary Grant Shapps fills a gap in PM’s armoury

      Rishi Sunak and Grant Shapps
    Previous page You are on page 1 Next page

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