AboutArticles by John Rentoul

Starmer is on a journey: He is now ‘more Tory than Blair’

17 Mar 2025

Wes Streeting enjoyed himself in the Commons on Thursday, taunting the Conservatives: “It must be so painful for them to watch a Labour government doing the things that they only...

Starmer’s secret letter reveals he sees Farage as real threat

23 Feb 2025

The most revealing news in British politics last week was a letter from Keir Starmer to his cabinet ministers. It was written for a special six-hour cabinet meeting held in...

A cabinet reshuffle is coming: will it include Rachel Reeves?

17 Feb 2025

Someone is out to get Rachel Reeves. “I don’t know what they are saying and of course none of them have gone on the record,” she said on Friday, after...

Starmer’s real task is dealing with Trump and Musk

06 Jan 2025

One thing that Keir Starmer should not do, as he seeks to manage the relationship with the incoming president of the United States, is leak private details of his phone...

Why Reeves will back down over her ‘tough decisions’

24 Nov 2024

It seems an age ago, but the first speed bump that Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves hit in government was when seven Labour MPs voted against the King’s Speech,...

In choice between EU and US, there is one answer

18 Nov 2024

Donald Trump’s worldview is zero-sum. He thinks that if he gains, someone else must lose. It is how he sees world trade: other countries, mainly China, are taking advantage of...

Starmer is onto a winner in bringing back the Blairites

11 Nov 2024

The most striking of the comments from Sue Gray’s anonymous detractors before her departure from No 10 was this: “If you ever see any evidence of our preparations for government,...

Trump could end up pushing UK back towards EU

10 Nov 2024

The return of Donald Trump could have two different effects on European politics. It could force European nations to work together, to respond to the threat of US protectionism and...

Republican election claims expose Labour’s blind spot

29 Oct 2024

Donald Trump’s accusation of “blatant foreign interference” in the US presidential election by the Labour Party has proven to be a useful and effective stunt — and the party’s mistakes...

Haigh could be the first of Starmer’s ministers to fall

20 Oct 2024

Before the election, I predicted that Yvette Cooper might be the first minister in the incoming government to come under pressure. I thought that, given her responsibility as home secretary...

John Rentoul

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

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