The Art Of Politics November 2025: Cartooning The Chaos
by Richard Bruton
When the world needs a clear, laser-focused view on the politics dominating life, there’s no group better to nail it than the political cartoonists. Absolutely essential in any democracy, shining a light, telling truth to power. And that’s why we give you a round-up of some of the best every month in The Art of Politics…
IN THE USA, THE SHUTDOWN’S OVER… BUT AT WHAT COST?
The longest shutdown in US history, the Democrats holding out for important Medicare measures that could mean the difference between life with slightly less crippling medical debts and death for so many. Until they decided to just throw in the towel and give in. A shameful showing…
TRUMP, TRUMP, TRUMP…
Continuing to dominate the political cartoonist’s lives, there’s no getting away from Trump…
Kal on Don’s increasingly gaff-filled life as President…
THE EPSTEIN FILES…
Well, the Epstein Files were a thing. After campaigning on releasing them in full, Trump U-turned on them, seemingly saying they were nothing important. And then, after public outcry from the MAGA base and almost everyone else, TACO Trump U-turned once more and supported the full release of the whole load of the files. Of course, you can’t help but think that the most powerful man in the world wouldn’t have done a little doctoring of what gets released.
Anyway, Ella Baron on that…
Ben Jennings on the BBC’s troubles with Trump, after they put out a badly edited piece making it seem like Trump was deliberately calling for the 6 January 2021 attacks on the Capitol – which, some might say, he did. Well, Trump’s going after the BBC, theatening to sue them out of existence…
Nicola Jennings on the same…
MEANWHILE, IN NEW YORK…
Ella Baron on Zohran Mamdani’s New York City mayoral victory, one that seemed so good but, on a deeper analysis, means good things for a tiny bit of the USA. The wider country, well, that’s another matter.
THE UKRAINE/RUSSIA WAR ROLLS ON…
Well, after bringing peace to the Israel/Gaza conflict – although whether that holds is really just a matter of time it seems – Trump turned his attention to the Ukraine/Russia war, with a peace plan that involved, seemingly, Ukraine giving up huge chunks of its land. Pretty much the equivalent, for you Americans out there, of Mexico invading California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and then making a peace deal where they’d withdraw from California, Arizona and New Mexico but keep Texas. Yes, the Donald really did great on that one.
Ben Jennings on that…
And Nicola Jennings…
THE UK’S WOES CONTINUE…
Oh, poor Great Britain, led by donkeys, a Labour government that doesn’t know what it’s doing, the terrifying rise of the right with Reform UK, whose policies seem written on the back on a matchbook and consist of nothing more than ‘Immigrants out,’ ignoring the fact that Britain’s entire existence is an immigrant one and that the country’s finest achievements go hand-in-hand with immigration.
Ben Jennings on the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeve’s budget… meant to be bringing funds back to public services, but still making the poorest of society pay…
Martin Rowson on the same…
Ella Baron on Reeves’s smorgasboard of small tax rises hidden in the budget…
Ben Jennings on the response from the Conservatives and the right-wing media to Labour removing the two-child benefit cap in the budget, something that always seemed punitive and nasty…
Ben Jennings on the infighting that besets Labour’s every move…
And Martin Rowson on pretty much the same thing…
Pete Songi on Reform UK’s economic agenda…
And meanwhile, Labour continues to react to Reform UK and the Conservatives’ attacks on their stance on immigration, meaning that their Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood keeps putting more and more increasingly right wing dog-whistle policies out there to appease what they see as the voice of the people… Ella Baron on that…
Ben Jennings on the same…
And Ben Jennings, again, on the far right’s increasingly unhinged attacks on immigrants… I mean, even they haven’t gone after Paddington yet…
THE DOWNFALL OF THE PRINCE FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE DUKE OF YORK, EARL OF INVERNESS, BARON KILLYLEAGH, COLONEL OF THE GRENADIER GUARDS, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH…
Well, Andrew Mountbatton Windsor’s troubles continued, as the King stripped him of all titles and dropped his arrogant, nasty, entitled ass down to that of the common people he seemed to look down on so much. Yes, Prince Andrew’s association with Jeffrey Epstein, coupled with the publication of Virginia Giuffre‘s posthumous book naming names, particularly his, led to a long-overdue downfall. And I, like a lot of Brits, will tell you it’s about time.
Rebecca Hendin on King Charles leading the Remembrance Day service…
