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Andrew Grice

@IndyPolitics

Andrew Grice is a political columnist for The Independent, having been its political editor from 1998 to 2015. He has worked in Westminster since 1982 and unearthed many political scoops.

<p>Kemi Badenoch has had a prickly relationship with the media, which she seems to think is out to get her</p>
Voices

Kemi Badenoch has a fatal flaw that could be her downfall

<p>Kemi Badenoch is in the running to be the next Tory leader </p>
UK Politics

Your Tory leadership questions answered by our political commentator

<p>Either Robert Jenrick or Kemi Badenoch will be the next leader of the Tory party </p>
UK Politics

Tory leadership contest – what comes next? Ask Andrew Grice anything

<p>Rachel Reeves before delivering her ‘Budget for change’ </p>
Voices

Labour can’t afford another Budget like this

<p>Ahead of her first Budget, the chancellor of the Exchequer has confirmed she will change the way debt is calculated</p>
Voices

The crucial test that Rachel Reeves’s Budget cannot afford to fail

<p>Wes Streeting is right to force health bodies to adopt a single patient record. It might have prevented me from falling between the cracks</p>
Voices

You really don’t want to know what I think of the NHS, Mr Streeting…

<p>Keir Starmer will doubtless continue to upset both sides in the fierce debate sparked by the endless Middle East crisis</p>
Voices

Has Starmer met the challenge of the Middle East crisis?

<p>The success or failure of their new leader will have a big influence on the future course of British politics</p>
Voices

The Tories are adrift in the political wilderness – can they recover?

<p>The prime minister has said that long-term sickness claimants must get back to work</p>
Voices

Starmer is right to grasp the nettle of benefits reform

<p>Keir Starmer’s speech was strong enough to regain some ground and steady Labour’s ship after the damaging headlines about freebies and Downing Street infighting </p>
Voices

Starmer’s speech finally gave us a reason to commit to the struggle

<p>The PM has come under fire for accepting gifts from a Labour donor</p>
Voices

Will the chaos in Starmer’s government make his missions impossible?

<p>Lib Dem leader Ed Davey speaking at the party’s autumn conference in Brighton</p>
Voices

Why Labour and the Tories need to take the Lib Dems more seriously

<p>With the NHS facing a financial crisis this winter, Starmer’s ‘no more money without reform’ mantra is about to be put to the test</p>
Voices

Are all governments doomed to repeat the errors of their predecessors?

Voices

Are all governments doomed to repeat the errors of their predecessors?

<p>With the NHS facing a financial crisis this winter, Starmer’s ‘no more money without reform’ mantra is about to be put to the test</p>
<p>The PM’s allies say the political pain was not worth the paltry financial gain of £1.4bn </p>
Voices

Will winter fuel payments be Labour’s ‘tuition fees’ moment?

<p>Some Labour and Tory politicians were so alarmed by this year’s poll-driven election, they want to ban the publication of polls in the run-up to polling day</p>
Voices

The pollsters predicted a Labour landslide, but got the election wrong

<p>Starmer and Reeves have a good relationship without the tension between the prime minister and chancellor that can destabilise governments</p>
Voices

The real story behind Starmer, Reeves and a very painful Budget...

<p>Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (James Manning/PA)</p>
Voices

Who really has power in Labour’s muddled pecking order?

<p>Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (James Manning/PA)</p>
Voices

Who really has power in Labour’s muddled pecking order?

<p>Chancellor Rachel Reeves is sticking to her script that Labour’s inheritance is the worst since the Second World War</p>
Voices

Labour’s borrowing figures are bad… and disastrous for the Budget

<p>Labour is not ‘caving in’ to its union paymasters, as some critics claim</p>
Voices

Labour will have to learn to say ‘No’ – or risk being walked over

<p>Keir Starmer has been commended for his handling of the riots so far </p>
Voices

The big question for Starmer after the riots is: What’s next?

<p>Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick suggested people shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ in the street should be arrested</p>
Voices

The riots are exposing just how irrelevant the Tories have become

<p>Keir Starmer will chair a second Cobra meeting in two days amid ongoing violent disorder</p>
Voices

There’s one hard lesson Keir Starmer must learn from the riots

UK Politics

Your questions on proportional representation answered

<p>‘Warning: when young people lose confidence in the system, they don’t bother to vote – turnout again rose in line with age last month – but they can be lured back by far-right populists’ </p>
Voices

Make way, old people, for Starmer’s quiet revolution

<p>A woman leaves after casting her vote at a polling station in London</p>
UK Politics

Electoral reform and proportional representation: Ask us anything

UK Politics

Your questions on proportional representation answered

<p>‘Warning: when young people lose confidence in the system, they don’t bother to vote – turnout again rose in line with age last month – but they can be lured back by far-right populists’ </p>
Voices

Make way, old people, for Starmer’s quiet revolution

<p>A woman leaves after casting her vote at a polling station in London</p>
UK Politics

Electoral reform and proportional representation: Ask us anything

<p>Ditching the Boris Johnson-era cap will save the Treasury around £1bn – but at the expense of ordinary people paying for their own social care bills, running into hundreds of thousands of pounds</p>
Voices

Scrapping the social care cap will come back and haunt this government

Voices

Scrapping the social care cap will come back and haunt this government

<p>Ditching the Boris Johnson-era cap will save the Treasury around £1bn – but at the expense of ordinary people paying for their own social care bills, running into hundreds of thousands of pounds</p>
<p>‘How dare they’: Rachel Reeves said repeatedly that ‘if we cannot afford it, we cannot do it’ </p>
Voices

There may be trouble ahead, but the Reeves plan might just work

<p>Keir Starmer was right to suspend the seven MPs who defied the government over the two-child benefit cap – but it could compound his problem on the left </p>
Voices

The alarming rise of left-wing populism should put Labour on red alert

<p>Rachel Reeves is expected to raise taxes by up to £20bn by changing the rules around capital gains tax and closing inheritance tax loopholes</p>
Voices

How Labour plans to pin its tax bombshell on the Tories

<p>Brothers in arms: Keir Starmer greets Volodymyr Zelensky at 10 Downing Street on Friday </p>
Voices

Starmer is good at diplomatic speed dating – but hard work lies ahead

<p>Brothers in arms: Keir Starmer greets Volodymyr Zelensky at 10 Downing Street on Friday </p>
Voices

Starmer is good at diplomatic speed dating – but hard work lies ahead

<p>It is odd that this government can promise to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP and yet can’t commit to scrapping the indefensible two-child limit</p>
Voices

There is a hole in the heart of the King’s Speech

<p>The two men have a lot in common </p>
Voices

There’s one crucial thing that unites the PM and Gareth Southgate

<p>Following his talks, Keir Starmer will inevitably be asked by the media how Joe Biden was and whether the 81-year-old is fit to serve another four years as president</p>
Voices

Joe Biden’s competence is the ghost at the feast at the Nato summit

<p>Tony Blair said his successor, Keir Starmer, will need to improve growth and productivity and drive value and efficiency through public spending</p>
Voices

There is one area where ‘steady Starmer’ can’t afford to be cautious

<p>With sluggish growth and no money, Starmer’s in tray is much more challenging than Blair’s was</p>
Voices

For Labour, the next election campaign begins now

<p>Welcome to the losing side: a candidate holds up an ‘L’ sign behind Rishi Sunak, who has led the Conservatives to their worst election result in history </p>
Voices

How will the serial winners recover from their worst ever defeat?

<p>Nigel Farage’s Reform UK took more than four million votes – more than the Liberal Democrats</p>
Voices

If the headless Tories panic, they risk being eaten alive by Farage

<p>After Reform UK’s electoral gains, many Tories will want to hug Nigel Farage close to ‘unite the right’ </p>
Voices

The size of Labour’s landslide is down to one man: Nigel Farage

<p>Labour leader Keir Starmer has pledged to tackle knife crime</p>
Voices

How does Keir Starmer stop his landslide turning into a landslip?

<p>Boris Johnson on the general election campaign trail</p>
Voices

This is what Boris is really up to (Hint: it’s not supporting Sunak)

<p>It took Sunak almost two weeks to suspend two Tory candidates </p>
Voices

‘Gamble-gate’ will go down as Rishi Sunak’s Covid

Voices

‘Gamble-gate’ will go down as Rishi Sunak’s Covid

<p>It took Sunak almost two weeks to suspend two Tory candidates </p>
<p>Keir Starmer may not enjoy the honeymoon Tony Blair had in 1997 – or be given the benefit of the doubt </p>
Voices

The number that spells trouble for Keir Starmer

<p>Starmer has said he understands the argument for abolishing the cap, but has not committed to getting rid of what some campaigners have described as a ‘cruel’ policy </p>
Voices

This will be the first Labour backbench rebellion

<p>Protest voting: Starmer’s advisers believe opinion polls predicting a massive Labour majority might give some a clear conscience to support other candidates</p>
Voices

Labour should join the Tories in ignoring the polls

<p>SNP leader John Swinney challenged Labour to tell voters: ‘Where is the change?’ </p>
Voices

Scotland’s love-in with Labour could be a brief encounter

<p>SNP leader John Swinney challenged Labour to tell voters: ‘Where is the change?’ </p>
Voices

Scotland’s love-in with Labour could be a brief encounter

<p>Boris Johnson seems to be positioning himself as the Tories’ saviour once again </p>
Voices

Could Boris really return as narcissist-in-chief of the Tory party?

<p>All over bar the shouting: Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden was asked this week if was time to ‘get out whisky and revolver’</p>
Voices

Why this is the strangest of the 11 general elections I have covered

<p>Launching Labour’s election manifesto, Keir Starmer admitted there is ‘no magic wand’ – but insisted he had ‘a plan for growth’ </p>
Voices

The EU-sized hole in Starmer’s ‘growth, growth, growth’ manifesto…

<p>The Greens’ co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay have launched the party’s manifesto</p>
Voices

Smaller parties could cause trouble for PM Starmer

<p>Rishi Sunak launches the Conservative Party manifesto at Silverstone</p>
Voices

Sunak has showered voters with promises he knows he will never deliver

<p>Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey launched his party manifesto with a pledge to spend £9.4bn a year to ‘tackle the health and care crisis from top to bottom’ </p>
Voices

Has Ed Davey caught the heart of the nation with his social care plan?

<p>Labour has broken with tradition to brand Rishi Sunak a liar in part because Keir Starmer was inexplicably slow to rebut the claim during the TV debate</p>
Voices

Labour took a risk calling Sunak a liar – but it will pay off

<p>Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves would inherit extremely tight public spending budgets should Labour win in July </p>
Politics Explained

Which taxes could rise if Labour wins the general election?

Voices

Rishi Sunak’s tax bombshell has blown up in his face

<p>Nigel Farage’s ability to grab media attention will probably propel the issue higher up the agenda</p>
Politics Explained

Has Nigel Farage turned this into the ‘immigration election’?

<p>Knights of the long knives: Sir Keir Starmer and Sir Ed Davey have agreed an unofficial pact</p>
Voices

Could Keir Starmer and Ed Davey’s bromance give Labour its landslide?

Voices

Could Keir Starmer and Ed Davey’s bromance give Labour its landslide?

<p>Knights of the long knives: Sir Keir Starmer and Sir Ed Davey have agreed an unofficial pact</p>
<p>Keir Starmer has already ruled out rejoining the EU – but in office he would ‘lead from the front in transforming the post-Brexit relationship’ </p>
Voices

The secret EU agenda Starmer’s keeping quiet to avoid upsetting voters

<p>Keir Starmer at the launch in Essex of Labour’s general election campaign </p>
Voices

Starmer’s ‘six steps’ are not a final offer. He has more up his sleeve

<p>This week, the Labour leadership met union bosses to agree to ‘the biggest levelling-up of workers’ rights for a generation’ </p>
Voices

Could banning zero-hour contracts be Labour’s downfall?

<p>Only 11 per cent of people know Starmer’s father was a toolmaker, while 18 per cent know Sunak’s father was a family doctor</p>
Voices

Polling reveals voters don’t care about politicians’ upbringing

<p>Only 11 per cent of people know Starmer’s father was a toolmaker, while 18 per cent know Sunak’s father was a family doctor</p>
Voices

Polling reveals voters don’t care about politicians’ upbringing

<p>Would right-winger Elphicke have survived the vetting process to become a Labour parliamentary candidate?</p>
Voices

Has Starmer ditched morality in favour of winning a majority?

<p>The Tories’ traditional economic card might have worked against Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, but it won’t work against Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves</p>
Voices

The economy is getting better. Is it enough to save the Tories?

<p>The tactic worked at the 2015 election. It won’t work again </p>
Voices

Sunak spinning hopes of a hung parliament won’t work this time

<p>Rishi Sunak limited the scale of the rebellion against him with pre-election policy initiatives</p>
Voices

Whatever happened to the post-election Tory bloodbath?

<p>Announcing the date of the general election now is preferable to threatening a summer poll, which few backbenchers want </p>
Voices

There is one simple way for Sunak to silence the Tory rebels

<p>Now, after a miserable year as first minister, the man dubbed ‘Humza Useless’ has resigned </p>
Voices

Humza Yousaf is gone – and Labour can’t believe its luck

<p>Interviewed on Sky’s ‘Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips’ programme, the PM declined to rule out a July election</p>
Voices

Sunak faces a make-or-break week – but he isn’t master of his own fate

<p>Rishi Sunak: One in three Tory voters say they will only consider the PM’s Rwanda plan a success if Channel crossings stop entirely</p>
Voices

Why Rishi Sunak’s rare good week won’t save him

<p>Policing minister Chris Philp appeared to confuse the neighbouring countries of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Question Time (Screengrab/BBC)</p>
Voices

Why we should not be surprised by a Tory minister’s Congo howler

<p>Former Labour minister and cross-bench peer Frank Field has died at the age of 81</p>
Voices

Farewell Frank Field, an awkward bloody-minded outsider until the end

<p>Rishi Sunak’s closest allies appear to be divided over a summer contest</p>
Voices

Will Sunak risk a snap summer election if flights take off for Rwanda?

<p>Does the prime minister’s sudden renewal of energy give us hints about a poll date?</p>
Politics Explained

What does the PM’s burst of activity tell us about his election plans?

<p>Rishi Sunak offered his MPs a free vote in an attempt to dilute the impact of the Tory rebellion, but his ploy didn’t work</p>
Voices

Congrats on the smoking ban, Rishi, but it won’t do you any favours

<p>A Boeing 767 that was scheduled to depart for Rwanda stands grounded at Boscombe Down airbase on 14 June 2022 following the last-minute intervention of the European Court of Human Rights</p>
Politics Explained

Can the government expand the Rwanda scheme to other countries?

<p>‘Where there is division…’: Margaret Thatcher gives her first speech in Downing Street after her 1979 general election win </p>
Voices

Why Keir Starmer should emulate Margaret Thatcher, not Tony Blair

<p>While Cameron grapples with two real-world crises costing thousands of lives in Ukraine and Gaza, Truss has not escaped her fantasy world</p>
Voices

Classy Cameron and Trump-courting Truss: a tale of two comebacks

<p>A Boeing 767 that was scheduled to depart for Rwanda stands grounded at Boscombe Down airbase on 14 June 2022 following the last-minute intervention of the European Court of Human Rights</p>
Politics Explained

Can the government expand the Rwanda scheme to other countries?

<p>‘Where there is division…’: Margaret Thatcher gives her first speech in Downing Street after her 1979 general election win </p>
Voices

Why Keir Starmer should emulate Margaret Thatcher, not Tony Blair

<p>While Cameron grapples with two real-world crises costing thousands of lives in Ukraine and Gaza, Truss has not escaped her fantasy world</p>
Voices

Classy Cameron and Trump-courting Truss: a tale of two comebacks

<p>Former deputy foreign secretary Alan Duncan could be expelled from the Conservative Party after calling for action against pro-Israel Tory ‘extremists’ </p>
Voices

Six months into the Gaza war, Tories are hopelessly divided on Israel

<p>Angela Rayner has hit back at Peter Mandelson, the former business secretary, who argued that business should be more closely consulted</p>
Voices

The tweaks that could help Labour make a big difference to Britain

<p>Sunak, in his surprise ‘mini-honours list’, gave Mohamed Mansoud (who handed the Tories £5m last year) a knighthood </p>
Voices

Rishi still hasn’t learnt his lesson when it comes to cronyism

<p>Galloway made incendiary claims in a Russian newspaper and on his YouTube talk show</p>
Politics Explained

Are there free speech limits for MPs who make questionable claims?

<p>All hands on deck: the Conservatives have run out of money, steam and ideas</p>
Voices

Why Tory MPs are jumping off Sunak’s sinking ship

<p>Sunak has 32 ministers at his cabinet table – 23 full members and nine allowed to attend. PM Starmer, by contrast, may have one tight-knit gang of four... </p>
Voices

Sunak’s impending defeat is not all down to Boris and Truss…

<p>Until Reeves shows her full hand, the doubts will persist </p>
Voices

Did Rachel Reeves just pave the way for ‘sirkeironomics’?

<p>Demonstrators dressed as chickens protest opposite Downing Street as Labour calls on Rishi Sunak to ‘stop squatting’ in office </p>
Voices

The May 2 election is off – so what’s the plan now, Rishi?

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