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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)
Email Stephen Bush @stephenkb  on Twitter (link opens in a new browser window)

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  • Tuesday, 28 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    Defecting is a lot like flirting — too much build-up spoils the moment

    History tells us politicians prefer to jump ship in secrecy, and both parties need to commit to the change

  • Monday, 27 June, 2022
    Coronavirus pandemic
    Can we avoid disasters, and should we even bother trying?

    It’s easy to know when we have failed to dodge catastrophe but much harder to remember the many we have managed to avoid

  • Monday, 27 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    Centre ground politics helps keep Boris Johnson safe in office

    Plus, why Conservatives feel a loud embrace of net zero targets and public spending will satisfy a broad base

  • Friday, 24 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    Return of tactical voting leaves Tories in disarray

    Plus, Oliver Dowden’s exit as Conservative party chair portends more resignations and manoeuvring for power

  • Thursday, 23 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    UK schools are nearing crisis point

    Public sector pay dispute and rail strikes stress-test the Tory election machine

  • Thursday, 23 June, 2022
    FT Magazine
    How ‘vice-signalling’ swallowed electoral politics 

    Politicians have always pandered. But lately, political stunts, from Trump’s wall to Johnson’s Rwanda flights, have taken a darker turn

  • Wednesday, 22 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    Curbing pay increases now may sting the government later

    Plus, why the Conservative push for new schools and hospitals misses the bigger problem

  • Tuesday, 21 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    Strikes pose economic challenge for Labour

    Plus, why the opposition needs to talk about Brexit

  • Tuesday, 21 June, 2022
    Social affairs
    Cash transfers work. So why don’t states do more of them?

    Welfare policies are constructed with a small number of ‘power users’ in mind, rather than the great majority

  • Monday, 20 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    Rail strike to test transport unions and inflation strategy

    Success for the RMT would make it harder for the government to make the case for pay restraint elsewhere

  • Friday, 17 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    Childcare in the UK is a policy mess

    Plus, Labour’s pledge to spend billions of pounds, funded by borrowing, will not give the party the direction it needs

  • Thursday, 16 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    Keir Starmer’s biggest problem is not being ‘boring’ — it is his lack of vision

    Plus, the Devon by-election next week and why the Liberal Democrats are on track to win the Conservative stronghold

  • Wednesday, 15 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    Failed Rwanda asylum flight puts all of the UK on a rocky course

    Why Conservative strategists herald the immigration policy as helpful for the party, even if it does not work

  • Tuesday, 14 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    Northern Ireland protocol: the poison pill of consent

    Plus, why generational labels such as ‘millennial’ are about as useful as horoscopes

  • Monday, 13 June, 2022
    UK social care
    Care homes have a problem — they are focusing on the wrong customer

    The ‘testimonials’ page of many facilities is long on statements from relatives, but not from those in care themselves

  • Monday, 13 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    Looming election presses Tory MPs to swallow sore Brexit measures

    How Johnson could win over his rebels, and the power of peers in stalling the Northern Ireland protocol bill

  • Friday, 10 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    A full-blown trade war with the EU is unlikely, but Britain already suffers bitter side-effects

    Plus, why we were wrong on the candidates vying for Johnson’s place, and a Star Wars analogy for politics

  • Thursday, 9 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    Collective leadership by Conservatives won’t work forever

    Plus, why the UK’s gloomy economic outlook bodes well for Boris Johnson

  • Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    Boris Johnson only talks of a reshuffle — doing it would be far too risky

    Plus, why London’s economic bounceback is not because of good city policy

  • Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    Boris Johnson may hobble on longer than we think

    Why the prime minister has been so lucky since last autumn and what his next moment of danger will be

  • Monday, 6 June, 2022
    Walt Disney Co
    The spectre of ‘fan capture’ stalks our politics

    Party members resemble ‘Star Wars’ devotees in their commitment to the cause

  • Monday, 6 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    Johnson’s opponents are unclear on his replacement — that might save him

    Plus, why the Queen’s political project has been so successful

  • Wednesday, 1 June, 2022
    Inside Politics
    The political cost of Boris Johnson’s zombie government

    Plus, why crime is back as a key political battleground

  • Tuesday, 31 May, 2022
    Inside Politics
    Shrinking the civil service by quick and dirty means won’t get us anywhere

    Plus, why Boris Johnson would survive a no-confidence vote

  • Monday, 30 May, 2022
    Demographics and population
    Why the rich world’s fertility problem will force a rethink on immigration

    Keeping a stable population means being more generous to families or attracting people from other countries

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