Reform’s funding scandal is scaring away the very voters it should be appealing to Opinion A row over unlawful donations to Reform UK is getting extraordinary cut-through with voters, and it’s former Conservatives, the very people Farage is best placed to win over, who are most sceptical, says Matthew Lesh Reform’s jamboree in Birmingham last week had a weird feel. Thousands of party faithful trampled across the hundreds of square [...]
The Burnham bounce won’t last unless Brits get better off Opinion Andy Burnham’s approval ratings are soaring but Labour’s overall vote has only moved moderately. The real test will be the Budget, says Matthew Lesh Andy Burnham has undoubtedly had a significantly stronger start to his premiership than Keir Starmer. Just two years ago, the government got off to a rotten beginning by signalling tax rises [...]
Starmer’s social media restrictions will mean the government can spy on every phone Opinion In practice, the government is demanding that Apple install on-device AI nudity-detection software at the operating system level for iOS and that Google do the same for Android. This would involve constantly scanning the camera viewfinder, screen output, livestream, and stored files, and blocking or blurring nudity in real time. This amounts to surveillance technology on [...]
Labour may not agree with Blair, but the public does… June 2, 2026 This month’s City AM / Freshwater Strategy Poll reveals that the public is largely on the side of the former Prime Minister rather than Keir Starmer or his potential heirs when it comes to welfare, energy costs and growth, says Matthew Lesh Love him or, like many others, absolutely detest his guts, it’s hard to avoid the [...]
Local elections were a death knell for two-party politics May 12, 2026 An era is distinctively over, but what takes its place, both in terms of who will lead the country and in the direction they will take, is far from clear, says Matthew Lesh “The old world is dying,” the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci said, “and the new world struggles to be born.” Last week was [...]
Historians won’t care about Starmer’s international diplomacy April 15, 2026 When future historians explain why Keir Starmer's premiership fell apart, they'll look at domestic issues, not international diplomacy.
Starmer is being squeezed from all directions March 3, 2026 Labour and the Conservatives have lost public trust and are being challenged by insurgents on both the left and the right, new polling shows, says Matthew Lesh Clowns to the left of me. Jokers to the right. Here’s Keir Starmer – stuck in the middle, losing you. The catastrophic defeat of the government by the [...]
Starmer in dire straits as British voters pessimistic on almost every issue January 15, 2026 Leaders rarely fail because of a single decision. Starmer's problem is that voters are pessimistic on almost every major measure.
The public is running out of patience with this Labour government December 3, 2025 People believe freezing income tax thresholds was an unfair breech of Labour’s manifesto and think Kemi Badenoch would make a better Prime Minister, according to new polling for City AM, writes Matthew Lesh The heist looked, for a moment, as though it might succeed. The Treasury had seeded rumours of a looming fiscal black hole [...]
Two thirds of Brits want tax-raising Reeves to resign November 11, 2025 The latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll will make difficult for the Chancellor, says Matthew Lesh Last week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves played with fire. In what was officially titled a “scene setter” speech ahead of the Budget, she tried to soften the ground for tax rises. After committing to not come back for more after last [...]
