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Sunday 8 November 2009

Thursday, 5th November 2009

Labour and the KGB

Fraser Nelson 10:42am

How close were Labour and the Soviets during the cold war? At the time, many newspapers were on the hunt for links - but allegations were hard to prove. Today, the Spectator tells the story from the horse's mouth - Anatoly Chernyaev, the Kremlin's link man with Labour in the 70s and 80s. Unbeknown to his visitors - Michael Foot (who welcomed Brezhnev as 'comrade') and even Charles Clarke (who comes out of this quite well) Chernyaev was keeping a diary. It shows how various Labour visitors begged for help - after all,...

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Fifth columnists

David Blackburn 9:02am

The Afghan police were supposed to be layabout drug addicts and petty crooks, but that the force has been infiltrated by murderous, cowardly fifth columnists has concentrated Westminster minds. Current strategy in Afghanistan is failing.

Paddy Ashdown’s is one of the most distinct voices on Afghanistan; and although he resembles a crazed Cockleshell hero when in full flow, he provides much needed clarity. In an op-ed in this morning’s Times, he writes:

‘It is at the political, not the military, level that we are failing. And if we did not have enough

...

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Wednesday, 4th November 2009

There is peace tonight but if Cameron's Europe plan doesn't succeed, the Tory Europe wars will return

James Forsyth 8:16pm

David Cameron kicked the can down the road on Europe today. What he announced will be enough to keep the vast majority of Tories united behind the leadership until the election; the party is close enough to power that most people are not inclined to rock the boat. But judging from those I’ve spoken with evening, there could be trouble ahead.

Tonight’s reaction suggests that the Eurosceptic mainstream of the parliamentary party accepts Cameron’s position. But it wants the mechanisms that Cameron announced to prevent any further erosion of sovereignty to work. The renegotiation will also have to succeed...

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There is only one question that frightens Brussels

Fraser Nelson 5:30pm

So David Cameron will let it rest there after all. And in fairness to him, he can do nothing else. Thanks to the Blair/Brown stitch up, Britain has no options left. It never did. Cameron knows that and today’s speech was just a longwinded way of saying it. He is right not to promise what he calls a “made-up referendum”, that would accomplish nothing other then vent rage. But nor should he kid us all that he is going to renegotiate some powers back from Brussels. That would need the unanimous approval of all...

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LIVE: Cameron's Europe speech

4:01pm

16:05: So, how does Cameron intend to make British law supreme?

16:06: We cannot hold a referendum to stop this treaty any more than we can stop the sun rising in the morning.

And now Cameron lets rip. He points out that the betrayal was Blair's and Brown's, ably supported by the LibDems. The Conservatives have been consistent.

16:08: The Tories will reform the European Communities Act to ensure that such a betrayal never happens again. Every treaty and European reform will be placed before the people. Here is Cameron's Lincolnian paradign, that dominated his Confernece speech again - power...

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Cameron promises Sovereignty Act

James Forsyth 3:48pm

The word coming out of Committee Room 14 is that David Cameron has just told his MPs that his party’s manifesto will not contain a commitment to a referendum on whatever repatriation package that the Tories manage to negotiate once in government. The most that he said was that if a Tory government was unsatisfied with what it managed to get back, then there might be a commitment to a referendum in the 2014 / 2015 manifesto.

Set against this was a promise to put everything that comes from Europe from now on through...

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How much longer must we wait?

Lloyd Evans 3:13pm

Cameron had little choice today. At PMQs he played it sober and he played it statesmanlike. The Afghan issue, which is close to becoming a crisis, dominated the session. Both main party leaders were standing shoulder to shoulder, and Cameron used five of his six questions asking the same thing. ‘Are we both right in thinking we’re both right?’ Yes, said the PM, we’re right.

Afghanistan’s salvation lies in the usual mantras. More ‘training up’ of security services, more help for the economy, greater attempts to root out corruption etc. It must all...

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Unconditional surrender

James Forsyth 2:09pm

The front benches on both sides felt that they had to say that they accepted Kelly in full and so Harriet Harman and Sir George Young did just that. One member of the shadow Cabinet told me earlier this week the only option for the political class is unconditional surrender. But it does seem like there might be some areas where Kelly is watered down. The bit of Sir George Young’s statement that stood out to me was on commuting rules, where the shadow Leader of the House said: “As Sir Christopher says, IPSA...

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Harman's statement to the Commons

David Blackburn 12:35pm

12:35: Harman says that the people need to have trust in confidence in those who are supposed to represent the public interest. The Kelly Report is another step to secure this.

12:37: Harman suggests that Parliament has pre-empted the Kelly report on the cessation of 2nd homes allowances, pay increases, gardening etc. This is all true, but it looks slightly haughty and like being wise after the event.

12:40: Praise of the Kelly report's acknowledgement that MPs need to be within striking distance of Westminster whilst retaining the constiuency link. The emphasis on family is also praised. She urges that...

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