Politics

Jeremy Corbyn’s election launch was a declaration of class war. He was ‘going after’ some named individuals who he portrayed as tax dodgers, bad bosses, dodgy landlords and big polluters. He may not have realised how much he sounded like the party leader in Orwell’s 1984, denouncing ‘enemies of the state’, and singling out ‘Emmanuel Goldstein’. Perhaps the 32-hour week is really to allow us more time for the daily two-minutes hate and the annual hate week expected by Big Brother. Corbyn’s divisive message invites other parties to declare their commitment to the common good. Instead of Corbyn’s declaration of class war other manifestos should be our declaration of independence

Philip Hammond told the Today programme on Tuesday that he was ‘agonising’ over whether he should advocate a Conservative vote at the coming election. ‘It really doesn’t matter how many times my party kicks me, abuses me, reviles me,’ he went on, sounding like Jesus, ‘they’re not going to stop me feeling like a Conservative.’ Obviously Mr Hammond has a right to ‘feel like a Conservative’, but is that the relevant point? He reached the pinnacle of his career by becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer just after the 2016 referendum vote for Leave. From his first day in office, he saw it as his task to frustrate that vote, trying, chiefly by covert

Whatever else is true of Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, they have communicated a fairly clear idea of what they think about economics. The same cannot be said of the Conservatives – and that is unlikely to change. What with Brexit, Corbyn-bashing and low-level culture wars, I suspect the 2019 general election campaign will be very light on discussion of Conservative economic policy. In particular, my bet is that Boris Johnson will make it all the way to polling day without articulating a Johnsonian vision of economics. How big (or small) does he think the state should be? What proportion of GDP should public spending account for? Should economic policy

Normally wrangles about TV debates go on for weeks before one is agreed. Yet, before the election campaign has even formally started, ITV have announced a TV debate between Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson on November 19th. This’ll be the first election head to heard this country has had. Agreement on this debate has been reached so fast, as I say in The Sun this morning, because  both Labour and the Tories think they benefit from this one on one format. On the Labour side, they hope that it helps them unite the anti-Tory vote behind Corbyn. While the Tories want a one on one debate because they think the

The only person ever elected for the Brexit party’s predecessor, Ukip, at a General Election, I really can’t see the point in voting for them now. Why? If you want Brexit done, Boris needs to be returned as Prime Minister on 12 December with a working majority. Backing him is the only way to beat the Brexit blockers, who’ve done everything they can to try to stop us leaving. A vote for the Brexit party won’t just add to the uncertainty. When Nigel Farage announced he’d be fielding candidates in every seat across the country, unless Boris ditched his deal, he also suggested that the Brexit party now wanted us to

Little Britain is a sketch-show whose cast of grotesque characters give audiences permission to laugh at obesity, disability, cross-dressing and a host of other human frailties. The creators Matt Lucas and David Walliams on Thursday night delivered a one-off special about Brexit for Radio 4. ‘Little Brexit’ opened with the show’s narrator, Tom Baker, using irony like a blunt weapon. ‘Brexit has united the country as never before.’ Some jokes – like the quip about our economy receiving a boost from scared shoppers stockpiling food – felt pretty ancient. Ditto Matt Lucas’s brief cameo as Boris explaining how he reached Number 10. ‘We asked a handful of men who live

There’s been much speculation this week about how the Brexit party will approach the incoming general election. Varying reports suggested Nigel Farage’s party could choose to target anything from 20 to 100 seats. However, speaking in Westminster this morning, Farage made clear that he had bigger ambitions. The Brexit party leader said that unless Boris Johnson changed his Brexit position, his party would stand candidates in every seat in England, Wales and Scotland: ‘We will contest every single seat in England, Scotland and Wales. Please don’t doubt that we are ready. Do not underestimate our determination or organisation.’ Farage said that his party would change tack if the Tories changed

Until this morning, Nigel Farage’s creation of the Brexit Party stood as an object lesson in how to found a new political party in a two party system. Many have tried this of course, from David Owen to Chuka Umunna, and all have floundered – some quicker than others. The Brexit party, by contrast, went from nothing to winning the European elections in under five months. It did so because it had a very clear purpose and because its foundation was perfectly timed in order to exploit that issue. But as of 11 o’clock this morning, that is gone. The Brexit Party is doomed to follow the same sad trajectory

Never knowingly undersold. The slogan of one of our best-loved retailers could equally be applied to Nigel Farage. Despite poll ratings softer than a collapsing souffle, the Brexit party leader had Britain’s political media exactly where he wanted them today: in a state of feverish excitement about his general election plans. With the kudos of that Donald Trump radio scoop confirming his status as a great political showman, there was sufficient suspension of disbelief in the air for Nigel to be able to make an offer to Boris Johnson of a “Leave Alliance”. This was predicated on the Prime Minister ditching his painstakingly agreed new Withdrawal Agreement on the grounds