AboutArticles by John Rentoul

Britain must be ready to reform international agreements

Something extraordinary has just happened. In March, Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, said that she was reviewing the way the European Convention on Human Rights was being interpreted by...

Starmer has found Farage’s weak spot — and it is Trussonomics

31 May 2025

Is Keir Starmer rattled? Labour’s high command has been openly saying for some time now that they see Nigel Farage as their main enemy. The prime minister’s speech in...

Farage’s party has been talking to Truss — a big mistake

21 Apr 2025

He has sensed an opportunity for Reform. Having picked up the support of a large number of former Conservative voters who felt betrayed by the last government, especially over...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

John Rentoul

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

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