It’s difficult not to see parallels between chaos of US Republican party and UK Conservatives | Adam Boulton

Published

2 years ago

January 6, 2023

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Nations and political systems differ greatly but it is difficult not to see parallels between what is happening now in the US Republican party and the recent history of the UK Conservative party.

There is a brutal tussle under way over the direction which should be taken by Anglophone conservatism, as embodied a generation past by Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan.

Last year, the turmoil in Britain’s ruling party resulted in three prime ministers in a matter of months, as Tory MPs failed to agree on leaders capable of governing the nation reliably.

The Republican party actually “won” the mid-term elections for the lower House of Congress, taking control from the Democrats.

But as the 118th Congress met for the first time this week, the new majority party failed to agree on their first order of business, who should be their leader, for the first time since 1923, 100 years ago.

Although they share the same title, and preside over proceedings in their house, the US Speaker does not have the same role as the Speaker in the House of Commons.

Like his predecessors, Sir Lindsay Hoyle is expected to be neutral and has abandoned his ties to Labour. By convention the UK Speaker is effectively an incumbent, irrespective of general elections when he or she stands without opposition from the main political parties.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is an entirely partisan figure. In practice they are the leader of the majority party, which makes them the equivalent of prime minister in UK terms.

In the US Constitution the Speaker is second in the line of succession to the Presidency, after the vice president. (Confusingly the Veep is also the presiding officer in the upper house, with the casting vote in the US Senate.)

The likes of Speakers Tip O’Neill, Newt Gingrich, Paul Ryan and Nancy Pelosi have made much of their role as major national political figures.

When there is no Speaker in place, the House of Representatives is what one frustrated congressman this week called “a useless entity”. Its members cannot be sworn in, so they cannot legislate or hold the executive to account. They don’t even have security clearance.

When, as now, the Presidency and the Senate are controlled by the other party, the Speaker of the House is more important than ever as the equivalent to the Leader of the Opposition.

When Kevin McCarthy, an eight-term congressman from California, led his party to victory over the Democrats in the mid-terms by 222 seats to 212, the Republicans might have been expected to stick with his leadership and to install him in the top job.

But no. In 11 painful roll call votes McCarthy failed to get the required overall majority of representatives because 20 members of his own Republican party resolutely refused to back him, including five US Representatives elected for the first time.

Meanwhile the Democrats settled immediately and unanimously on Hakeem Jeffries of New York as their minority leader, replacing Pelosi who has retired. Jeffries is the first African-American to lead a party in the US Congress.

The overwhelming majority of House Republicans – 201 out of 222 – back McCarthy but without most of the 20 holdouts they did not have enough votes to put him over the top on 218.

Nineteen of those blocking McCarthy belong to the right-wing Freedom Caucus. Their motivation is best summed up by the controversial congressman from Florida, Mike Gaetz, who declared “If you want to drain the swamp, you cannot put the biggest alligator in charge”.

“The swamp” is the fetid American version of what British populists like to write-off as the “Westminster bubble”.

Gaetz’s extremist language carries echoes of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s pronouncement that Rishi Sunak’s policies are “socialist”.

McCarthy is not a centrist member of the establishment. He courted and promoted candidates belonging to the Tea Party. He hesitated briefly after the attack on the Capitol on 6 January 2021, but within days voted against impeachment and flew to Mar-a-Lago to seek Donald Trump’s endorsement. McCarthy embraced the “big lie” that Trump won in 2020, and voted to challenge the official electors in key states.

If he becomes speaker, McCarthy says his first priority will be to cancel the hiring of 87,000 tax inspectors. He will also block the crucial bipartisan budget measures already agreed in the Senate.

He has promised to change the rules to make it easier to sack a speaker (a bit like the 1922 Committee and votes of no confidence). This eventually won “MY Martin” the backing of Trump on his own Truth Social platform: “He will do a good job and maybe even a GREAT JOB”.

Politically he is not much different from those refusing to back him but they still don’t trust him. Instead they deliberately plunged US politics into chaos, at one stage proposing an alternative candidate, Jim Jordan, who had himself nominated McCarthy.

Partisan Democrats relished their opponents’ plight and tweeted out images of the popcorn they were munching as the drama unfolded.

A critical columnist in The New York Times found it “grimly amusing to see that the party of insurrection can’t even manage the orderly transfer of power to itself”.

But the progressive newspaper took a more serious tone assessing the consequences of the refusenik’s behaviour: “They simply will not relent and join their colleagues even if it is for the greater good of their party, and perhaps the nation. They consider themselves conservative purists who cannot be placated unless all their demands are met – and maybe not even then. Their agenda is mostly to defund, disrupt and dismantle government, not to participate in it.”

The UK’s Conservatives have not disappeared down this rabbit hole. It is difficult to imagine Tory MPs celebrating the removal of metal detector arches, as symbols of oppression rather than security, as some Republicans did this week. Nor do they celebrate the right to bear arms.

Yet such groups as the European Research Group have been willing to use obstructionism and their position as de facto swing voters to force the bulk of their party in a more right-wing direction in policy and personnel matters.

They too have abandoned party loyalty in favour of ideology, allegedly supported by unelected and energised party activists.

On both sides of the Atlantic they have endorsed purges of those they disagree with in what was a “broad church” type of party. Their energy is focussed on fighting within their own party for control. Provided their party can eke out election wins, they disregard those who don’t vote for it.

Whether they call it the swamp or the bubble their suspicion of government and its agencies comes with demands for a smaller state, welfare cutbacks, scepticism about climate change measures, less regulation of business, and curtailed civil rights.

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The essential difference is that a significant minority of Republican representatives think that the best way to achieve their goals is to disrupt and overturn the system while the overwhelming majority of Conservative MPs still want to work within it.

Many Tory MPs disagree profoundly with the right’s atavism but, for self-preservation, they look over their shoulders anxiously before speaking up for One Nation values.

So far those most effective in forcing the Conservatives in a rightward direction have been outsiders. Significantly, in praising the Brexit negotiator Lord Frost this week, Nigel Farage bellowed “now is the time for all good men to leave the Conservative Party”. Farage’s sidekick Richard Tice relaunched their Reform Party.

Last year, the British public suffered the consequences of the unquiet soul of the right. This year the Republicans are already offering another lesson in real time.

US

An A-Z of Donald Trump’s first 50 days in office

Published

10 hours ago

March 10, 2025

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An A-Z of Donald Trump's first 50 days in office

In the 50 days since Donald Trump entered the White House, there have been announcements and headlines almost every day.

Here’s an A-Z of the last 50 days under Trump 2.0.

A is for Associated Press, banned from White House events for still using “Gulf of Mexico” rather than Trump’s Gulf of America rebrand. It’s one of a number of changes in media access to government that favours Trump-friendly outlets.

B is for bromance. French President Emmanuel Macron re-affirmed the thigh-patting friendship with Trump when both men leaned in for the tickle in an Oval Office encounter that laid bare the pair’s mutual affection. Macron addressed him as “Dear Donald” in a meeting that had Ukraine as its focus.

C is for the US Constitution, which many see as challenged by Trump 2.0. It divides power equally between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Trump appears to be expanding the executive power of the president in a way that undermines the ‘checks and balances’ structure of government to suit his political will. This is being contested in a number of legal challenges.

D is for DOGE. The Department of Government Efficiency is charged with rooting out “waste, fraud and abuse” in the federal government and has, controversially, enforced closures and slashed thousands of jobs. It has provoked legal challenges.

E is for Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and ‘First Buddy’ in the White House, who is in charge of DOGE. Questions persist around the extent of his unchecked authority and conflict of interest as well as access, through DOGE, to government and personal information.

F is for Fogel. Marc Fogel is a US schoolteacher imprisoned in Russia, released after the Trump administration lobbied the Kremlin, declaring it a “show of good faith from the Russians” and encouraging re ending the Ukraine war.

G is for Greenland, the mineral-rich Arctic territory belonging to Denmark which Donald Trump wants to acquire. Of the self-governing island, he told a recent joint address to Congress: One way or the other, we’re going to get it.” Denmark and the Greenlandic government say it’s not for sale.

H is for how on earth did that happen? The question could apply to a number of things – let’s settle here for the AI video of a re-imagined Gaza as a luxury resort, variously populated by bearded belly dancers, a gold statue of Trump, and the president himself sat sipping cocktails with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

Notably, it was shared on social media by President Trump, who has spoken of his wish to “own” the Gaza Strip.

I is for Indian PM Narendra Modi, who met Trump in DC but not before sitting down with Elon Musk and his children. Musk wants access to India for his Starlink internet service and Tesla vehicles. Critics say the meeting raises questions about him using his Trump-adjacent position to benefit his global business.

J is for Justice, as in Department of. Long-serving officials at the DoJ have been removed, creating vacancies in traditionally non-partisan roles that opponents say Trump will fill with people who share his ideology. The president has claimed the DoJ has previously weaponised the law against him. Critics say he will do the same, against his opponents.

K is for Kash Patel, newly appointed director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Controversially, he once amplified Donald Trump’s threats to see retribution against political opponents, saying: “We will go out and find the conspirators not just in government, but in the media.”

L is for a list of other controversial appointments, including:

RFK Jr, head of health and human services, who has promoted conspiracy theories, spread anti-vaccine rhetoric and made other unfounded medical claims.

Pete Hegseth, defence secretary, who faced allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct, and concerns about his qualifications.

Tulsi Gabbard, director of National Intelligence, who held a 2017 meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad. Following the invasion of Ukraine, she shared claims that were widely debunked and identified as Russian propaganda.

M is for Moscow. Donald Trump has been on the phone to the Russian capital several times as he resets US relations with Vladimir Putin. He wants Russia back in the G8 and the US is contemplating lifting sanctions as it seeks to improve economic and diplomatic relations.

N is for nervousness created by the on-off tariff saga. President Trump has partially paused 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico after falls in the stock markets. Tariffs on China and other countries (TBC) remain on the agenda, in spite of trade war fears and economists’ concerns about business uncertainty, low consumer confidence and the effect on prices.

O is for order, as in changing world order. Trump’s strategy challenges the geopolitics that have cemented the United States and its allies and secured peace since the Second World War. His warmth towards traditional adversaries like Russia and China suggests he’s prepared to change the political paradigm and realign a more insular America according to self-interest.

P is for Panama Canal. President Trump says he would consider using military force to seize it from Panama, one of Washington’s closest allies in Latin America. He claims, without evidence, that it’s controlled by China.

Q is for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, of the Kansas City Chiefs. Trump watched him at American football’s ‘Superbowl’ in February, the first sitting president ever to attend. He praised Mahomes’ wife for her vocal support of him but there were no words for the partner of team-mate Travis Kelce. She is, of course, the singer Taylor Swift – no fan of Donald Trump.

R is for Rubio. Marco Rubio, secretary of state, was among cabinet secretaries who rowed with Elon Musk in a meeting over his department cuts. Trump intervened to say he still supported the DOGE mission but department secretaries would be in charge from now on. It’s the first real sign of Trump placing limits on Musk.

S is for special relationship. “We like each other, frankly, and we like each other’s country,” said Trump of UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. At a White House meeting, the PM delivered an invitation for a state visit from King Charles. The pair talked Ukraine but Starmer will have liked hearing Trump say there was “a very good chance” of a trade deal “where tariffs wouldn’t be necessary”.

T is for Trudeau, as in Justin Trudeau. The departing Canadian prime minister has been a target of Trump as has Canada itself, which Donald Trump wants to make the 51st state of the US. He has insisted on referring to its PM as “Governor” and placed Canada, along with Mexico, at the front of the queue for US tariffs.

U is for USAID. The work of the Agency for International Development has been dismantled. More than 10,000 people have lost their jobs at the agency which spends billions on programmes worldwide, including to ease poverty, treat disease and promote democracy. It is widely viewed as a valuable ‘soft power’ tool for the US but Elon Musk has called it a “criminal organisation” and Donald Trump said it was “run by a bunch of radical lunatics”.

V is for Vance, as in JD Vance. The vice president is viewed as the right-hand man who can articulate Trump policy in a way that Trump himself can’t. His speech to the Munich security conference reflected a reshaping of transatlantic relations, stunning the room by accusing allies of ignoring their own voter concerns about free speech and migration.

Separately, he caused offence in the UK when he said a US mineral deal in Ukraine was a better security guarantee than troops from “some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years”. He later insisted he hadn’t specified a particular country, adding that British – and French – troops had fought bravely alongside the US.

W is for ‘wokeism’. Ending it is at the heart of the Trump agenda. He has limited diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) recruitment policies across the federal government and military. It included the firing of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Q Brown. Previously, defence secretary Pete Hegseth had questioned whether he had been made chairman because he was black.

X is for X, full name X Æ A-Xii. He’s the four-year-old son of Elon Musk who, during an Oval Office news conference, wiped a bogie – or ‘booger’ – on the Resolute desk. Donald Trump, a self-described germaphobe, sent the desk to be cleaned afterwards.

Y is for Yosemite, the national park where DOGE cuts hit in an unexpected way. Some rangers and staff were let go as part of a 1,000-strong reduction in the National Park Service by Elon Musk’s agency, raising questions about what kind of efficiencies Musk is seeking.

Z is for Zelenskyy. An Oval Office news conference with the Ukrainian president ended in extraordinary, unforgettable scenes of shouting and finger-pointing when Trump and his vice president rounded on their guest. Zelenskyy was criticised for not wearing a suit and not expressing thanks during the meeting. Zelenskyy is dealing with a president who called him a dictator and claimed Ukraine started the war. It’s awkward.

US

How Donald Trump has upended millions of lives in his first 50 days in office

Published

12 hours ago

March 10, 2025

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How Donald Trump has upended millions of lives in his first 50 days in office

In just 50 days, Donald Trump has upended our world. He has ripped up rules, attacked allies and sided with enemies.

A country we thought for decades had our backs is no longer a reliable partner.

We travelled thousands of miles to ask what that means for our lives and millions of others – from the sweltering backstreets of Africa to the frozen wastes of Greenland and Finland’s tense border with Russia.

Donald Trump‘s supporters at home and abroad see him as the disruptor-in-chief who will bring peace and prosperity, putting America first.

But to many others we found he threatens chaos and a far darker future.

While Mr Trump may be challenging convention and bringing fresh thinking, his critics say he is moving too fast and erratically. His first 50 days in office, they claim, have weakened America’s place in the world and that will be exploited by rivals.

Risk of resurgent epidemics in Kenya

We went first to Kenya. The focus in the West may have been on Mr Trump and Russia but in the developing world, it’s the end of US aid that is grabbing the headlines.

On the frontlines of Africa’s war on HIV we heard Mr Trump’s actions being compared to an act of “biological warfare”.

Even among allies and admirers of the American president, there is deep unease and fear about what could come next, most of all the risk of resurgent epidemics of diseases like HIV, TB, malaria, ebola, and polio.

In one of Kenya’s poorest neighbourhoods in Nairobi, we joined health workers on their rounds, down sewage-filled alleyways into cramped, overcrowded buildings.

In a one-room home, we met a young mother who is dependent on American aid. Anne is HIV positive and needs daily medication and nutritional support for both herself and her one-year-old son. She is terrified for their future because of the cut in US aid.

“I’m so worried,” she told us, “because if it carries on like this the medication could run out. When the medicine is not there, the protector of my body is not there, so anything can just pass through me.”

‘We had no warning’

Kenya received $850m (£658m) in aid a year and that has now been abruptly severed. A US Supreme Court decision against the Trump administration may restore some of that but there is complete uncertainty about what happens next.

Martha, a healthcare manager in Nairobi, spelled out what is at stake: “We had no warning. We could not prepare the households. It was so sudden.

“We expect more death. We expect more children to die before the age of five. We expect more death for children living with HIV and it is going to be bad,” Martha said, adding that more than 20,000 children who use her organisation’s services will be affected.

90% of all US aid contracts cut

The Trump administration says the aid has been only been suspended for 90 days pending a review. But in reality, many key programmes appear to have been shut down completely.

After a 45-minute flight west of Nairobi to Kisumu, we saw what is happening away from big cities. The impact seemed just as severe.

At one provincial hospital US Agency for International Development (USAID) signs were everywhere but on doors that are now shut. It had been a hub for patients to receive their treatment but that’s now in doubt.

Staff told us there were just two months of supplies left for some medication, and less than a month for others, because there have been no more deliveries.

Patients were stockpiling drugs, said doctors, panicking for the future.

‘Biological warfare’

The US-supplied ammunition for Africa’s war against HIV, malaria, TB and other diseases is running out. It has taken decades and billions to bring them under control. The fear is of a return to epidemics not seen for years.

Eric Okioma is HIV positive and runs a charity helping others with the disease in Kisumu.

“When you look at it from a public health aspect, that’s biological warfare that’s the way I’m seeing it because from a human rights perspective, he did the wrong thing – he should not have taken it abruptly.”

Mr Trump is popular among many in Kenya. His conservative stance on issues like gender and sexuality resonates in this predominantly Christian country.

But even among admirers and supporters there is deep unease about his aid cut.

Peter Gunday, a father and churchgoer, told us he agreed Kenya should be less dependent on US aid and encouraged to provide for itself – but Mr Trump’s action had been too sudden.

“He wants to make America great again… [but give an] olive branch to us even if it is only for some time.”

The aid cut threatens lives and America’s standing in the world. The US has used aid to wield soft power and influence.

America in retreat

Its superpower rival China prefers building. They have lent billions for massive infrastructure projects like the new railway from Nairobi to the coast through the heart of the city’s safari park.

For Beijing it’s all leverage, applied ruthlessly to increase access to Africa’s abundant natural resources.

Under Trump, America is unilaterally deserting that battle for power and influence. Its values and interests will inevitably suffer. Not so much America first but America in retreat.

Finland prepares for Russian aggression

Closer to home, it is America’s shift on security causing the greatest concern. We flew thousands of miles north to one of NATO‘s newest member countries that sits on a border with Russia.

What did people in Finland make of what Mr Trump is doing to the Western alliance they have only just joined?

We filmed with Finland‘s military on the border with Russia that was closed because of the war in Ukraine.

In sparsely populated woods, locals report sightings of Russian drones, we were told. And there has been a surge in recruits to the border guard because of the international situation.

One of them, Aku Jaeske, told us he had joined up “for the defence of our own country”.

He said: “I think most of us, I think, are here because of that. It’s really hard if we have a 1,300 and something kilometre border with Russia – it’s pretty long – we have to have good men there.”

‘Bring it on’, says one Finn

What did he make of Mr Trump and what he saw on the news?

“I think it’s crazy when you turn your TV on today, you can’t know what is really happening.”

The war with Ukraine and Russia’s belligerence has sparked a boom in shooting, with hundreds of new ranges opening up in Finland to meet demand.

In a range outside Helsinki, one shooting enthusiast Jerkri told us what he thought was behind its growing popularity.

“The situation in Ukraine and people are noticing that maybe [they are] having to take care of themselves… think about it.”

Amateur shooters go through their paces, crisscrossing an open range at speed firing at targets dotted around the room. Patrick said he was worried by the direction of events.

“But if it did come to it… bring it on,” he said.

In a service station, Finland’s most popular tabloid had the headline, “Trump’s 10 gifts to Putin.”

Finns were once a byword for peace-loving neutrality. They are arming up now, and watching Mr Trump’s overtures to the Kremlin warily.

Finland after all is where Mr Trump stood next to Russian President Vladimir Putin during his first term in office and infamously said he would believe him over the word of US spy agencies.

US may be deserting the West

The Finns know from their history a belligerent Russia cannot be trusted.

In Europe, the US is not just withdrawing under Donald Trump, who says the US cannot prioritise the continent’s security any longer. It looks like it may be changing sides deserting the West entirely: Cutting off aid and intelligence to Ukraine while it is pummelled by Russian rockets and drones; branding Ukraine’s leader – and not the tyrant of Moscow – a dictator; attacking close allies with tariffs; resetting relations with Russia while it continues to invade a part of Europe.

‘Trump is ridiculous’, Greenlanders say

And threatening to take over its neighbours. Our journey ended in Greenland, top of the list of Mr Trump’s planned acquisitions.

Most people we spoke to were genuinely worried by him.

Students Aviana and Julie told us Mr Trump’s antics were alarming.

“That’s very scary actually – it seems he’s more with Russia than Ukraine. I’m really scared.”

Another passerby said Mr Trump had no right to make a play for their homeland. They said: “I think it’s ridiculous that he thinks he can just take our land. We don’t have the resources to fight against the USA.”

Jurgen Boassen has become a well-known figure for having opposing views – he is outspokenly pro-Trump.

“I think he is a great man who wants to have peace in the world,” he told us.

‘Europe is failing’

He admits he is paid by MAGA groups in America to promote “cultural ties” and believes Greenland will gradually come around to the idea of becoming closer to America.

“I don’t care because they will realise I’m doing the good thing for Greenland. Europe is failing, Britain, Sweden, Belgium, Holland even Germany,” he said.

Wherever we travelled people seemed in shock. America used to believe helping others was good for America – keeping the peace in Europe, saving lives, or protecting the sovereignty of neighbours.

The fear is under President Trump it is just out for itself. The idea Mr Trump could carve up the world into spheres of influence with other authoritarian leaders seems plausible. If that is the case, lesser nations like Greenland may have plenty to fear.

From what we were told on our journey, Donald Trump’s America First foreign policy risks the lives of millions, the security and sovereignty of allies, and America’s own place in the world while potentially strengthening its enemies.

US

Trump 100 Day 50: What does the world make of Trump 2.0?

Published

13 hours ago

March 10, 2025

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Trump 100 Day 50: What does the world make of Trump 2.0?

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President Trump has been in office for 50 days and the impact of his presidency in just a few weeks has been seismic.

To mark 50 days of Trump 2.0 Mark Stone has been to swing state Pennsylvania to take the temperature of how voters are feeling.

James and Mark are also joined by international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn who has been on a 10-day trip from Africa to the Arctic to assess the impact of Trump’s first 50 days in different corners of the globe.

If you’ve got a question you’d like James, Martha, and Mark to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.