AboutArticles by John Rentoul

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...

Reeves is facing a ‘trilemma’ ahead of her Budget

13 Oct 2024

It is hard to see how Rachel Reeves can achieve the three incompatible objectives she has been set in the Budget. Her choices resemble one of those Venn diagrams popular...

If you found Cleverly’s exit shocking you are not alone

11 Oct 2024

When the herd moves, it moves, as Boris Johnson said of his parliamentary colleagues. It looks as if Conservative MPs assumed that James Cleverly would definitely be in the final...

Labour’s polls are dreadful — but they can bounce back

10 Oct 2024

Top Blairites tell me they are “not surprised” by Labour’s one-point lead in the latest opinion poll, carried out at the weekend. Some holders of a torch for New Labour...

John Rentoul

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

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