Ailbhe Rea
New Statesman
United Kingdom
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Past articles by Ailbhe:
Culture of sexism report was the last straw for Cressida Dick
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said he was reminded of "the bad old days" of the Metropolitan Police. → Read More
Boris Johnson's razzle-dazzle wins him a reprieve from MPs
The Prime Minister has done a lot of the work himself in talking round his opponents. → Read More
Five things we learned from this week's PMQs
Despite pandering to his back benches on Covid restrictions, Boris Johnson isn't out of the woods yet → Read More
Boris Johnson is determined to cling on – and what else we learned from today’s PMQs
The silence of Conservative MPs spoke loudest of all during today’s remarkable exchanges. → Read More
Boris Johnson is determined to cling on – and what else we learned from today’s PMQs
The silence of Conservative MPs spoke loudest of all during today’s remarkable exchanges. → Read More
Why does the UK owe Iran £400m and will it pay the debt?
The UK’s non-payment of the debt has become the main obstacle to the release of detained British national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. → Read More
Plans for a cross-party “anti-sleaze” candidate are dead on arrival
Labour and the Liberal Democrats have failed to agree to stand aside for an independent candidate in North Shropshire. → Read More
Keir Starmer has accused the Conservatives of “corruption”. Will it matter?
No matter how much “cut through” the Owen Paterson row has with the public, it is unlikely to shape the next election. → Read More
Is the government’s heat pump plan a load of hot air?
The aim is that a £5,000 subsidy will entice homeowners to replace their old gas boilers with low carbon heat pumps. Is it enough? → Read More
Uneasy Tories don’t know what Boris Johnson stands for – but they’re still backing him
Support for the Prime Minister has never been higher within the Conservative Party, however shaky the ideological support for the Johnson project might be. → Read More
Everyone is falling out with Ed Miliband
Jeremy Corbyn isn’t the only former Labour leader causing a headache for Keir Starmer's office. → Read More
How Boris Johnson will try to bounce Tory MPs into voting for his tax rise
Boris Johnson will announce plans to increase National Insurance by an expected 1.25 per cent this afternoon, as he faces down Conservative Party rebels over a manifesto promise-breaking tax hike to fund the NHS and, eventually, social care. The “eventually” there is important. Despite this plan’s initial billing as Johnson’s grand plan to fix the crisis in social care once → Read More
How many people has the UK evacuated from Afghanistan?
Joe Biden has vowed revenge on those responsible for two explosions at Kabul airport, which have killed at least 90 people. Two suicide bombers attacked crowds desperate to board flights at the airport, claiming the lives of at least 72 Afghans, including 28 Taliban members. Thirteen American soldiers were also killed. IS-K, Afghanistan’s Islamic State franchise, has claimed → Read More
What will happen to the people left behind in Afghanistan?
Efforts to evacuate as many people as possible from Afghanistan ahead of the 31 August withdrawal deadline are in their last, desperate stages this morning. The final British airlift is due to take place within hours, as Western governments urge their citizens to stay away from Kabul airport due to the threat of an imminent terrorist attack by Isis-K, a local offshoot of → Read More
Why Sharon Graham’s likely election as Unite general secretary has pleased all wings of Labour
Sharon Graham looks set to be elected the first female general secretary of Unite in what would be a shock victory in the race to replace Len McCluskey as head of the UK’s second largest trade union and the biggest donor to the Labour Party. The votes have not yet been counted but Steve Turner, the left-wing candidate endorsed by McCluskey, who was considered the frontrunner, → Read More
Will the government’s attempt to rewrite the Brexit agreement succeed?
Brexit isn't quite “done” after all: the government wants to substantially rewrite large parts of the Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland (the Northern Ireland protocol) that it negotiated with the EU in late 2019. The protocol, which created a trade border down the Irish Sea, has caused serious trade disruption for Northern Ireland and has been a focus of unionist anger → Read More
Boris Johnson’s “levelling up” speech is a message to Blue Wall Tories
Boris Johnson will deliver a major speech about his plans to “level up” the nation later this morning, arguing that his government’s efforts to boost the north and Midlands will not disadvantage the south of England. Is it reassurance for traditional Tory voters in the south, or a rebuke to those Conservative MPs from the shires worried about losing as their party’s focus → Read More
The decision to unlock on 19 July is the biggest gamble Boris Johnson has taken so far
Boris Johnson, Sajid Javid and the government’s scientific advisers struck a markedly different tone yesterday as they confirmed that almost all coronavirus restrictions in England will end on Monday 19 July. Far from hailing “Freedom Day” as the exciting, safe return to normal that everyone craves, the Prime Minister emphasised that “this pandemic is not over”, amid estimates → Read More
The foreign aid cuts rebellion shows Boris Johnson has a party management problem
Boris Johnson has narrowly seen off a major backbench rebellion against his government’s cut to the international aid budget this afternoon, with MPs voting 333 to 298 in favour of scrapping the 0.7 per cent aid target. This was a huge moment for the Prime Minister and his Chancellor, Rishi Sunak. The proposed cut to the aid budget has been a lightning rod for the concerns of → Read More
Why Keir Starmer is suddenly focusing on Northern Ireland
Keir Starmer is in Northern Ireland today for a two-day visit in which he will meet with the leaders of the five main parties, as well as senior police officers at the PSNI, prominent peace campaigners, victims and survivors of the Troubles, and young people at an integrated school (who will have been dragged back from their summer holidays to meet the Labour leader). [See → Read More