Recent articles
October 16, 2026
Digested week: No Nobel again for Trump but he looks a cert to retain Fifa peace prize | John Crace
With his war in Iran and siding with Russia, it’s hard to think of someone who has done more to make the world a safer placeIt might have been more, shall we say, diplomatic if Donald Trump had tak...
www.theguardian.com
October 15, 2026
Just as Saint Nige thought it was safe to reappear, along comes pesky ITV | John Crace
How dare the channel reveal more racism and bigotry within Reform just as he was planning a press conference? Sometimes the world can be very unfair. As though life is just one cruel joke. How else...
www.theguardian.com
October 14, 2026
That Kemi is spectacularly wrong about almost everything is a big help to the PM | John Crace
One good poll has convinced the Tory leader she is invincible. She was back in her happy place with a scattergun PMQsLittle things please little minds. And minds don’t come much smaller than some o...
www.theguardian.com
October 13, 2026
Wes Streeting’s unintelligible jargon shows how well he’s bedded in at the MoD | John Crace
For the first time in his life, Wes is enjoying keeping secrets – though he did admit he isn’t ‘keen on fighting a war’When Andy Burnham announced his first cabinet in July, few would have had Wes ...
www.theguardian.com
October 12, 2026
If Russia had interfered with the Brexit vote, Nige would have been the first to know | John Crace
Burnham was lying, Farage told a press conference on Monday. This was clearly just another plot to undermine himLet’s face it. The very idea that Russia may have tried to interfere with the Brexit ...
www.theguardian.com
October 7, 2026
All hail the Kult of Kemi – captain, coach and owner of the Conservatives | John Crace
The Tory leader is now too big for the party to allow her to fail, so everything she does is acclaimed a work of geniusWhere’s AI slop when you need it? It could all have been so much simpler. Just...
www.theguardian.com
October 6, 2026
Don’t mention the Iron Dome: comedy genius Kemi on warpath at Tory conference | John Crace
Conservative leader’s ‘It’s a Britannia Shield’ announcement proves no one does farcical improv better than herJust another day in Crapland. It’s amazing what you can get used to. You can’t say the...
www.theguardian.com
October 5, 2026
No queues, empty seats and the worst speech ever heard: welcome to the Tory conference | John Crace
Birmingham event is like a safari park attraction where we get to see the remnants of a party in a protected habitatAt the Labour party conference in Liverpool last week, Andy Burnham floated the i...
www.theguardian.com
October 4, 2026
For Kemi, being the Nasty party is not toxic but a badge of honour | John Crace
The Tory leader says the party’s plans to cut people’s benefits are no more than ‘common sense’It’s a thought. A bold one. Possibly a career-ending one. But a thought nonetheless. When Theresa May ...
www.theguardian.com
October 2, 2026
At Brighton, Polanski raised his arms in triumph. It felt more like a wave goodbye
The Greens’ leader seems long on agitprop but short on ideas – and one byelection away from losing his jobThe Chronicle of a Death Foretold. It must be weird to realise that you have in effect made...
www.theguardian.com
October 2, 2026
Digested week: My heart sank at seeing Labour’s ‘Hope Again’ conference slogan. But then came Andy Burnham | John Crace
The prime minister gave far and away the most powerful, emotional and gamechanging leader’s speech of the centuryWords I thought I’d never write. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Tory party. ...
www.theguardian.com
October 1, 2026
Welcome to the new Reform roadshow. Same as the last but more desperate | John Crace
Nige is not rattled that the UK likes its new PM. Or that Reform is second in the polls. Oh no. Because Nige believes in NigeNearly 10 years ago, Nigel Farage told LBC he would leave the country if...
www.theguardian.com
September 30, 2026
Do parents make the politician? Find out on the Today programme’s psychotherapy couch | John Crace
Dad’s the word for Andy Burnham, so maybe all party leaders should be seen afresh through a Freudian lensIs this the sketch my father would have wanted? Not something I have previously given much t...
www.theguardian.com
September 29, 2026
Conference laps up Andy unplugged as he offers chance to take road less travelled | John Crace
Nothing was off the table, no coded hints, and by the end no one could be in any doubt about what Burnham believedYou’ve got to hand it to Andy Burnham. He left nothing out on the pitch. It would h...
www.theguardian.com
September 28, 2026
Reality pays a visit to the Labour party conference, but it’s the ‘Hope Again’ that kills you
Most MPs are clinging to this year’s Beckettian slogan, but the chancellor brought his own brand of despairUK politics live – latest updatesIt could be just me, but I’m beginning to find that all t...
www.theguardian.com
September 27, 2026
Burnham refreshes the parts others can’t reach on the Andy and Laura show | John Crace
The PM oozes confidence and easy-going charm as he tells Laura Kuenssberg the hill he’ll die on is fixing social careUK politics live – latest updatesIn recent weeks there has been much speculation...
www.theguardian.com
September 23, 2026
‘And you will be the People’s Earl’ – Charles Spencer’s Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, digested by John Crace
The earl on his globally lauded eulogy for Diana, King Charles’s sausage fingers and toxic Raine, topped off with a lavish sprinkling of adverbsCheers cried out throughout the land. Halley’s comet ...
www.theguardian.com
September 22, 2026
Call it a win: boredom but no temper tantrums in Burnham’s first face-to-face with America’s King Baby
Meeting at the UN in New York, the UK prime minister showed signs he can handle trash-talking President TrumpUS politics live – latest updatesHow do you deal with a problem like The Donald? The sim...
www.theguardian.com
September 21, 2026
A bored-looking Farage unveils a new Welsh leader – he still seems fond of the old one | John Crace
Helen Jenner replaces Dan Thomas, who stood down after his arrest on suspicion of assault, but gets warm words from NigelTwenty-five or so Reform members of the Senedd were lined up against a wall....
www.theguardian.com
September 17, 2026
With Kemi’s new shadow chancellor, the Tories must hope for a bout of public amnesia
Andrew Griffith is keen on clearing red tape. Good job he wasn’t part of a Treasury team that abolished the Office for Tax SimplificationOn days like this, it’s not hard to be overwhelmed by existe...
www.theguardian.com
September 16, 2026
No matter how deranged and delusional your podcast is, Liz Truss can go further | John Crace
In the Trusster’s latest appearance, she says Blair and Brown had a plot to dismantle civilisation and the Tories were part of the woke establishmentSome things you can set your watch by. Like ever...
www.theguardian.com
September 15, 2026
As the politicians play catchup the tech bros agree: we may only have a decade left | John Crace
AI probably thinks a world that can elect Trump as president is so messed up it deserves to be put out of its miseryWe can all sleep easy. In a post on his Truth Social account, Donald Trump has de...
www.theguardian.com
September 14, 2026
Richard Tice rallies to the defence of Reform’s crypto ‘patriots’ | John Crace
You can’t buy Dicky’s level of stupidity though it could be argued that Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo just haveNever in the field of British politics has so much been given to so many by so few...
www.theguardian.com
September 13, 2026
Who better to defend Reform’s latest millions than Honest Bob Jenrick? | John Crace
The man who once helped Richard ‘Dirty’ Desmond save a load of tax was wheeled out to face Laura KuenssbergYou wait years for one party donation of £36m and then two come along at once. Reform can ...
www.theguardian.com
September 10, 2026
Forgetful Farage shares rose-tinted memories of Reform’s party conference | John Crace
Oops, Nige’s round-robin email skipped over the most embarrassing and dark details – let’s set the record straightWhich one of us has not dreamed of getting a personal email from Nigel Farage? So ...
www.theguardian.com
September 9, 2026
‘Mr Congeniality’ Burnham advises Badenoch to ditch the point-scoring over defence spending | John Crace
Leader of the opposition rehashes last week’s questions as she comes up short against a PM who preaches consensus politicsThe case of the dog that didn’t bark in the night. Sometimes prime minister...
www.theguardian.com
September 8, 2026
Commons breathes a sigh of relief as UK finally takes a moral stance of Israeli settlements | John Crace
Opposition to Miliband’s announcement of sanctions rings hollow – helped by fewer than 10 Tory backbenchers turning up to debateNobody can say they weren’t warned. The Andy Burnham government might...
www.theguardian.com
September 7, 2026
Painful, unconvincing and boring: welcome to John Healey’s late show | John Crace
Chancellor has the look of a man born to announce the UK is under nuclear attackMeet the new chancellor. Same as the old chancellor. Although, on reflection, that might be a little hard on Rachel R...
www.theguardian.com
September 6, 2026
Long-term proteges and verifiable reality must be jettisoned for Saving Private Nige | John Crace
Has Farage’s brain been hacked? Has he started talking in his sleep? There’s no shortage of explanations for this scandalWe’ve all been there. It’s a lovely summer’s day and you just want a bit of ...
www.theguardian.com
September 4, 2026
‘I can’t be bought,’ Nige tells Reform’s faithful – however different it may look | John Crace
Just as the party leader had hoped to change the narrative, along came Channel 4 News to spoil his conference funWhy, oh why, oh why? You could almost feel Nigel Farage’s frustration. Why was it al...
www.theguardian.com