AboutArticles by John Rentoul

No, Keir Starmer won’t be more radical in government

08 Oct 2023

Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, has received unhelpful advice from both left and right. From the left, John McDonnell, her predecessor but one, says she will need a huge increase...

Is Rishi Sunak trying to lose the election?

24 Sep 2023

One of the most testing thought experiments is to assume that the opinion polls now are not what the election result will be, and to ask: “Higher or lower?” Ever...

Reeves will copy Brown’s stealth taxes

17 Sep 2023

Something has to give, and it is possible to predict what it will be. Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have tied themselves tightly with the bonds of fiscal responsibility. They...

Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt need to be careful

03 Sep 2023

The Treasury was so surprised by the revised estimates of the British economy that it took three hours to respond after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published its findings...

Why Keir Starmer is still waiting for Sue Gray?

27 Aug 2023

Sue Gray, the only former civil servant most people have heard of, starts work as Keir Starmer’s chief of staff next month. For some in the Labour leader’s office, “waiting...

Starmer’s reluctance to reshuffle his team shows limits of his power

20 Aug 2023

After two years of Tony Blair’s government, Martin Rowson, the cartoonist, identified what he thought was “the fundamental problem with New Labour…” He drew an adviser holding a satchel upside...

Nick Clegg is still propping up the Tory party

07 Aug 2023

If it had not been for Nick Clegg, it would be all over for Rishi Sunak by now. The former deputy prime minister, having roared mightily about constitutional reform, brought...

Keir Starmer thinks he’s defeated Labour’s hard left

30 Jul 2023

Keir Starmer’s marginalisation of Jeremy Corbyn and the former leader’s supporters has been so complete that it was a surprise when one of them fought back. Jamie Driscoll, the mayor...

That is for sure the door is still open for the Tories

24 Jul 2023

Overinterpretation is the curse of the political classes. The prime example this week was the reading of Thursday’s by-elections as spelling doom for net zero — the target of...

British democracy is strong enough to bend

11 Jun 2023

On leaving parliament, Boris Johnson has decided to blame everyone for his downfall except himself. He accuses the privileges committee, with its Conservative majority, of being a “kangaroo court”. By...

John Rentoul

Chief Political Commentator, The Independent; visiting professor, King's College, London.

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