What should be in the British Bill of Rights?

The success or failure of Cameron’s EU policy rests in part on the promised British Bill of Rights. What is clear is that Tories are unclear what should be included in it. One question that is yet to be answered is whether aspects of the constitution should be entrenched? Writing on the Blue Blog today, Michael Howard writes:

'Any decision about these rights requires a balancing of competing rights. The fundamental question is who should be responsible for striking that balance: elected MP’s or unelected judges? On terrorism, Parliament twice, after great

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EU job picks are undemocratic – good

One of the main charges against the choice of Herman van Rompuy as the first permanent European Council President and Catherine Ashton as the EU’s foreign affairs supremo is the supposed “undemocratic” nature of the selection process. People who opposed the Lisbon Treaty have been particularly critical of the conclave-like decision-making. Daniel Hannan called it a “stitch-up that demeans democracy”.

But it is hard to believe those critical voices, including on Coffee House, really want a democratic process as opposed to simply finding another thing to dislike about the EU (a fair position,...

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A fine line between love and hatred for Peter Mandelson

So far as Downing Street is concerned, this morning's Sunday Times cover is a presentational nightmare. It reports that Peter Mandelson is calling on Brown to make him Foreign Secretary – a move which would create all kinds of internal difficulties for the PM. Sounds a little bizarre to me: we all know that Mandelson would, in theory, like the role which was once occupied by his grandfather, but would he really want it under such controversial circumstances and for what would likely be only six months? Perhaps not. But, true or...

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Not his best performance, but Cameron's emphasis on growth is welcome

David Cameron was not at his best on the Andrew Marr show. On a morning when there are two bad news stories for him in the papers, the narrowing of the Tory lead to six points in one poll and him and Brown having to apologise to Westminster Abbey for their conduct on Remembrance day, Cameron’s performance was well below his usual standards.

What struck me about the content of Cameron’s performance was the emphasis that he put on growth when talking about how the Conservatives would get the country out...

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The White House pushes the Afghan decision down the road again

There will be no decision from the White House on Afghan strategy this coming week. The Obama administration has told Reuters that the decision will not come until after the Thanksgiving weekend.

This delay in making the decision is getting quite absurd. When the election process was still going on, there was an argument that holding back the decision on how many troops to send gave the Americans leverage over Karzai. But now that Karzai has been sworn in for another term this argument no longer holds. Indeed, the delay appears to...

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An important member of the class of 2010

Dominic Raab, who has just been selected for the safe Tory seat of Esher and Walton, will be a formidable addition to the Tory benches. Raab is a lawyer who currently serves as chief of staff to Dominic Grieve, the shadow Justice Secretary. I don’t agree with all of Raab’s views, but he will be a significant player in the debate that the party will have to have once it is in power about where the balance should be struck between civil liberties and anti-terrorist measures.

One interesting thing to watch after the next election is how many...

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Where to start cutting

Michael Portillo believes that a future Tory government, like those that came before it, will not succeed in cutting public spending. I agree with Pete: public finances are so parlous that cuts have to be made. Demolishing the state is not an overnight job; it will take time and cost money, and so it should because the stakes are too high for a quick fix, cowboy politics solution. But, immediate savings are to be made through efficiencies.

‘Efficiency savings’ are derided as being insubstantial. Such an analysis is simplistic. Endemic waste is perpetuated by...

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Money talks in Afghanistan

Afghan politics stinks; we all know it.  But it's still shocking to read how the former governor of Helmand, Sher Mohammed Akhundzada, encouraged his supporters to join the Taliban after he lost his position, in 2005, under a cloud of drug-running allegations.  Here's what he tells today's Telegraph:  

"When I was no longer governor the government stopped paying for the people who supported me ....  I sent 3,000 of them off to the Taliban because I could not afford to support them but the Taliban was making payments.

Lots

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Behind the closed doors of Brussels

Today's Times carries a cracking account of all the wheeling and dealing that went on during the EU jobs fair this week.  Here are some of the most striking points that I've culled from it:

i) Brown rejected advice from Mandelson and other ministers that he should try and secure one of the EU's financial roles for a British candidate.

ii) There are claims that Brown was "persuaded" into accepting the EU High Representative role for Britain by Europe's Socialist leaders along with José Manuel Barroso.

iii) There are also claims that Brown

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