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John Power

John Power

The Telegraph

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Can Burnham raise care workers’ wages without raising taxes?

In a speech yesterday Andy Burnham promised that there will not just be ‘fair pay’ in social care but ‘bigger reform to improve the...

previous day 10

The Spectator

John Power

John Healey is more left-wing than you think

The appointment of John Healey as Chancellor sends a signal about defence funding. Healey resigned from Keir Starmer’s government over the former...

24.07.2026 10

The Spectator

John Power

Is Ed Miliband preparing to take on Donald Trump?

Just one day after Ed Miliband was made Foreign Secretary we heard in the Telegraph that the White House is upset about the appointment, and even...

23.07.2026 10

The Spectator

John Power

The new Energy Secretary hates North Sea oil

Miatta Fahnbulleh, who has just become the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero – and has been very involved with helping Burnham’s...

22.07.2026 10

The Spectator

John Power

Yvette Cooper carries a lot of baggage as Health Secretary

Yvette Cooper, who has been an MP since 1997, is by far the most experienced health secretary we’ve had in the past decade. She has had a range of...

21.07.2026 10

The Spectator

John Power

Can Zia Yusuf really complain about inflammatory language?

Zia Yusuf gave a speech yesterday on the security of MPs, in which he accused several politicians of inciting violence against Ann Widdecombe through...

16.07.2026 20

The Spectator

John Power

Funny business / Social media has saved comedy

In 2022, a 16-year-old called Kane Parsons began to post a web series called ‘Backrooms’ on his YouTube channel, drawing inspiration from a famous...

16.07.2026 10

The Spectator

John Power

Scroll position / Inside Labour’s plot to sideline alternative media

Labour came to power in 2024 with five stated missions: to improve economic growth, the NHS, street safety, clean energy and the distribution of...

09.07.2026 20

The Spectator

John Power

Inside Labour’s plot to sideline alternative media

Labour came to power in 2024 with five stated missions: to improve economic growth, the NHS, street safety, clean energy and the distribution of...

09.07.2026 10

The Spectator

John Power

Farage isn’t the first MP to force a protest by-election

Reporting on the news that Nigel Farage is planning to resign his seat to force a by-election, Le Monde described the stunt as a ‘highly unusual...

08.07.2026 10

The Spectator

John Power

Burnham won’t be the first prime minister to have tried levelling up

Every generation of politicians seems to believe that they are the first to discover the North. In Andy Burnham’s speech today he said...

29.06.2026 10

The Spectator

John Power

How popular will Starmer’s social media ban actually be?

Yesterday, the think tank the IPPR released YouGov polling showing that a majority of Britons, 83 per cent, believe there should be some form of...

15.06.2026 10

The Spectator

John Power

What Kemi Badenoch told Tim Shipman

Kemi Badenoch was interviewed last night by The Spectator‘s Political Editor, Tim Shipman, in front of a live audience at Church House in...

09.06.2026 20

The Spectator

John Power

Sixteen times that Trump nearly ended the Iran war

Today marks a hundred days since America and Israel began launching strikes on Iran on 28 February. The very next day, Donald...

08.06.2026 20

The Spectator

John Power

Sixteen times that Trump nearly ended the Iran war

Today marks a hundred days since America and Israel began launching strikes on Iran on 28 February. The very next day, Donald...

08.06.2026 30

The Spectator

John Power

Why don’t striking doctors tell the full story?

The British Medical Association announced yesterday that junior doctors will be going on strike again next month, with a four-day walkout beginning at...

28.05.2026 30

The Spectator

John Power

If kids are banned from social media, adults will be next

‘Technology is addling young people’s brains, impacting on their education and attainment, impacting on their health and wellbeing,’ Wes...

26.05.2026 20

The Spectator

John Power

Net emigration isn’t soaring

This morning the government was able to celebrate some sorely needed good news. Long-term net migration has fallen sharply to 171,000 per year, down...

21.05.2026 30

The Spectator

John Power

Burnham’s fate will be decided in the Strait of Hormuz

In the last few days, the government has performed two extraordinary about-turns. On Tuesday, it was revealed that the Treasury is covertly pressuring...

21.05.2026 20

The Spectator

John Power

What Streeting won’t tell us about his record as Health Secretary

Wes Streeting’s resignation letter began with a paragraph praising his own record in managing the NHS. He said: “The results are in and I am...

15.05.2026 20

The Spectator

John Power

Support for independence is not surging in Scotland

Yesterday was the news that Keir Starmer has agreed to have a face-to-face meeting with John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, following the...

13.05.2026 20

The Spectator

John Power

BBC Verify’s greatest hits

BBC Verify is in retreat. Last June the Beeb launched the ‘Verify Live blog’ as part of its push for ‘greater transparency’. But already the...

11.05.2026 30

The Spectator

John Power

Hantavirus doesn’t look like the next Covid

Over the past few days, more parts of the press have been reporting that the Hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius has spread beyond the boat,...

08.05.2026 20

The Spectator

John Power

Hantavirus doesn’t look like the next Covid

Over the past few days, more parts of the press have been reporting that the Hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius has spread beyond the boat,...

07.05.2026 20

The Spectator

John Power

Is life expectancy really falling?

On Sunday, the Health Foundation published new analysis of ONS data, finding that between 2012/14 and 2022/24 the average Healthy Life Expectancy...

30.04.2026 20

The Spectator

John Power

Drug deaths would only rise under PM Polanski

Yesterday, Zack Polanski told Sky News that ‘the war on drugs has clearly failed over and over again. In fact we have the highest drug deaths in...

28.04.2026 20

The Spectator

John Power

Does banning social media for under-16s work?

On Monday, the House of Lords threatened to derail the government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill by reintroducing an amendment which...

22.04.2026 20

The Spectator

John Power

Petrol shortages aren’t coming for Britain

Oil prices rose this morning thanks to the fact no one really knows if the Strait of Hormuz has reopened or not. But no matter what happens, there is...

20.04.2026 20

The Spectator

John Power

Flat out: the property squeeze crushing the young

Last month, a new account called London Price Drop appeared on X. It has already gained more than 14,000 followers simply by posting screenshots from...

16.04.2026 40

The Spectator

John Power

Let teenage boys discover the English countryside

John Power has narrated this article for you to listen to. When I was four, the progressive teachers at my primary school thought it would be wise to...

11.04.2026 30

The Spectator

John Power

Wild things / Let teenage boys discover the English countryside

When I was four, the progressive teachers at my primary school thought it would be wise to teach us how to type on a keyboard. When it was my turn to...

10.04.2026 20

The Spectator

John Power

Let teenage boys discover the English countryside

When I was four, the progressive teachers at my primary school thought it would be wise to teach us how to type on a keyboard. When it was my turn to...

09.04.2026 30

The Spectator

John Power

Meningitis outbreaks are becoming rarer in Britain

The premature death of two young people from meningitis after an outbreak of the disease in Kent is a tragedy. Susan Hopkins, the CEO of the UK Health...

18.03.2026 30

The Spectator

John Power

Is measles really on the rise?

A new narrative began at the start of the year, pushed by senior government figures including the Prime Minister, linking the populist right,...

15.03.2026 30

The Spectator

John Power

Petrol is still (relatively) very cheap

On Tuesday, Reform UK held a press conference in a petrol forecourt near the spa town of Buxton. The party paid for motorists to receive a 25p...

12.03.2026 30

The Spectator

John Power

No, Britain is not about to run out of gas

Over the weekend, following continued US-Israeli attacks on Iran and the resulting disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, several...

10.03.2026 40

The Spectator

John Power

Populism / Can Rupert Lowe stop Farage from becoming prime minister?

The crowded market place emerging on Britain’s right is bewildering. Nigel Farage and Reform UK appeared to have successfully colonised the space...

02.03.2026 30

The Spectator

John Power

A beginner’s guide to Britain’s right-wing parties

The crowded market place emerging on Britain’s right is bewildering. Nigel Farage and Reform UK appeared to have successfully colonised the space...

26.02.2026 50

The Spectator

John Power

‘Islamism is strangling society like a snake’: an interview with Boualem Sansal

I asked the novelist and dissident Boualem Sansal, recently released from Algerian prison, how he would like to be remembered. He did not hesitate....

13.02.2026 100

The Spectator

John Power

No, the internet is not bad for your child

23.01.2026 50

The Spectator

John Power

The lost girls / Foetal femicide has arrived in Britain

08.01.2026 70

The Spectator

John Power

Foetal femicide has arrived in Britain

08.01.2026 30

The Spectator

John Power

An apology to Hope Not Hate and Harry Shukman

05.12.2025 30

The Spectator

John Power

An apology to Hope Not Hate and Harry Shukman

04.12.2025 40

The Spectator

John Power