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Stephen Bush

Columnist and Associate Editor

Stephen Bush is an associate editor and columnist at the Financial Times. He writes a daily newsletter, Inside Politics, charting the course of politics and policy in the United Kingdom, and a wide-ranging weekly column. You can subscribe to Inside Politics here.

Email Stephen Bush @stephenkb  on Twitter (link opens in a new browser window)
  • Friday, 27 December, 2024
    Games industry
    What gaming really tells us about the human condition

    From Mesopotamia to our kitchen tables, our love affair with games is undiminished

    An ancient wooden board game that features interlinked squares decorated with geometric patterns
  • Tuesday, 24 December, 2024
    Inside Politics
    Rules of thumb for understanding UK elections

    Historical trends point to recurring wins for the Tories and the importance of party leaders in shaping the contest

    Keir Starmer speaks at the Welsh Labour Conference 2024, gesturing with his hand.
  • Thursday, 19 December, 2024
    Political Fix podcast41 min listen
    Quizmas special: Political Fix’s nerd out!

    Lucy Fisher puts the pod’s wise men and women to the test

  • Thursday, 19 December, 2024
    Inside Politics
    What I got wrong in 2024: part two

    Sadiq Khan’s landslide mayoral win showed candidates matter though other factors can change the outcome

    Sadiq Khan speaks at a podium after winning a third term in the London mayoral election. Susan Hall stands to his left
  • Wednesday, 18 December, 2024
    Inside Politics
    What I got wrong in 2024

    Rishi Sunak’s decision to call election earlier than needed highlights that candidates and personal traits matter

    Rishi Sunak is seen delivering a speech
  • Tuesday, 17 December, 2024
    Inside Politics
    Size matters in English devolution

    Proposals for larger, single authorities target economic growth but risk losing the community connection

    Angela Rayner launched the English Devolution White Paper in Leeds alongside metropolitan mayors
  • Monday, 16 December, 2024
    UK schools
    The case for school uniforms is compelling

    Sensibly enforced, they can have an equalising effect in the classroom

    Ewan White illustration of chess board with a white pawn on a black square and a black pawn on a white square; however the white pawn’s shadow is in the shape of a king piece, whereas the black pawn’s shadow conforms to the pawn outline
  • Monday, 16 December, 2024
    Inside Politics
    Why numeric migration caps fail

    Previous Tory governments kept breaking promises and eroding trust — would setting a range of targets be any better?

    Keir Starmer in a hard hat at a construction site
  • Friday, 13 December, 2024
    Inside Politics
    Kemi Badenoch, sandwiches and appealing to UK voters

    She is right to remind us we should not take British stability for granted, but needs to make this part of her leadership

    Tory party leader Kemi Badenoch
  • Thursday, 12 December, 2024
    Inside Politics
    Farage may disrupt the story of UK elections, but not its usual ending

    Labour polls poorly now because it is taking unpopular decisions, but history points to a second term in power

    Nigel Farage and property tycoon Nick Candy
  • Wednesday, 11 December, 2024
    Inside Politics
    Winners and losers of Labour spending review

    Funding tug of war looms between Treasury and Downing Street as party’s political machinery tightens

    Keir Starmer leaves number 10
  • Tuesday, 10 December, 2024
    Working It19 min listen
    Best of: How to survive the office Christmas party

    … and how to recover if you’ve already embarrassed yourself

  • Tuesday, 10 December, 2024
    Inside Politics
    Lisa Nandy’s baffling theory for TV success is all stick, no substance

    Culture secretary’s push for greater diversity speaks to Labour’s misguided belief that ‘being nice’ delivers growth

    Lisa Nandy
  • Monday, 9 December, 2024
    UK politics
    Good ideas know no borders

    There is something narrow-minded about criticising a British politician for being ‘America-brained’

    Ewan White illustration of a magician pulling a lightbulb out of a hat
  • Monday, 9 December, 2024
    Inside Politics
    Civil service reform must tackle pay and promotion

    Frozen public sector wages and tax thresholds create unhelpful incentives, leading to recruitment woes on Whitehall

    Civil servants demonstrate outside the department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the department of Revenue and Customs in London
  • Friday, 6 December, 2024
    Inside Politics
    How Starmer wants to sharpen Whitehall is unclear

    PM speech may herald a Starmerite era of public sector reform mirroring that of Tony Blair, but it faces economic challenges

    Keir Starmer gives a speech at Pinewood Studios
  • Thursday, 5 December, 2024
    Political Fix podcast38 min listen
    Will Starmer’s new milestones become millstones?

    In a live event of the show, the team reviews Labour’s first five months

  • Thursday, 5 December, 2024
    UK politics
    Missing: a clear direction for Starmer

    Labour’s obsession with winning the next election is distorting government

    Illustration of Keir Starmer hanging from the clock of Big Ben, pushing back the minute hand
  • Thursday, 5 December, 2024
    Inside Politics
    Starmer, it’s all about delivering on those pledges

    Labour’s biggest problem remains its promises on income tax, value added tax and national insurance

    Keir Starmer speaking at a press conference with a ‘5 Missions For A Better Britain’ logo in the background
  • Wednesday, 4 December, 2024
    Inside Politics
    Wales the happy hunting ground for Reform

    Labour is still likely to hold on to power in the Senedd

    Richard Tice and Nigel Farage
  • Tuesday, 3 December, 2024
    Inside Politics
    Keir Starmer, the operator, the fixer, not the visionary

    It remains to be seen whether the breadth of the PM’s government is a strength or a weakness

    Keir Starmer
  • Monday, 2 December, 2024
    Inside Politics
    Renationalising England’s rail may not overcome hard realities

    Bringing franchises into public ownership is risky given some routes are just harder to run well and face legacy issues

    A ScotRail train with people walking on the station platform
  • Friday, 29 November, 2024
    Inside Politics
    Louise Haigh’s damaging exit puts question mark over UK transport agenda

    Plus, Keir Starmer’s immigration cynicism may pay off — or deal an electoral blow

    Keir Starmer gives a press conference
  • Thursday, 28 November, 2024
    Inside Politics
    What Kemi Badenoch gets wrong about opposition strategy

    New Tory leader cannot fulfil her immigration pledges without confronting trade-offs on taxes and public services

    Leader of Britain’s opposition Conservative party, Kemi Badenoch
  • Wednesday, 27 November, 2024
    Inside Politics
    Lib Dems hope party’s rising talent will cement gains

    MP Helen Morgan has become a blueprint for success in garnering local support

    Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, left, and Helen Morgan arriving for the party’s spring conference in York
Previous page You are on page 1 Next page

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