Politics

Read about the latest UK political news, views and analysis.

Tuesday

Steerpike Steerpike

The six strangest moments from Parliament’s prorogation protest

Early this morning at around 2am, the Commons witnessed some of the most extraordinary behaviour seen in the Chamber in living memory, as MPs attempted to protest the prorogation of parliament. Below are the strangest moments from the morning: 1. Labour MPs attempted to stop the Speaker John Bercow from leaving his seat as he was called to the Lords to carry out the formal procedure for proroguing parliament. The left-wing MP for Brighton Kemptown and famed mace swinger Lloyd Russell-Moyle briefly lay across Bercow’s lap before being pulled off by a member of Commons staff. 2. Bercow made one of his signature verbose pronouncements, declaring the government’s prorogation ‘an act of

James Kirkup James Kirkup

The vices and virtues of Theresa May’s honours list

An awful lot of Theresa May’s resignation honours list is awful. In no particular order: Knighting Geoff Boycott would be a horrible act for any PM, let alone one who actually did some good on domestic violence. Who cares if he punched a woman repeatedly in the face, he played great cricket, eh? A gruesome choice, even though he continues to deny the offence. Knighting the communications Director who failed to communicate your central policy would be a misjudgement at the best of times. But Theresa May adds hypocrisy to the mix: she once cruelly and very publicly mocked David Cameron’s press chief for precisely the same honour. I was

Steerpike Steerpike

Who will replace John Bercow as Speaker?

Now that John Bercow has announced his imminent departure, an inevitable political bun fight will surely follow. The outgoing Speaker told colleagues that he would be stepping down from his post by 31 October, the day the UK is supposed to leave the European Union. The move comes after the Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom told the Mail on Sunday that the Tories were planning to break with convention and field a candidate in his Buckingham constituency at the next election. So who will replace the controversial Commons referee? The most likely runners and riders are outlined below: Lindsay Hoyle (Lab) The most obvious choice for the next Speaker of the

Monday

Robert Peston Robert Peston

Grieve’s attempt to politically assassinate Cummings

Dominic Grieve’s successful ‘humble address’ motion, to force disclosure of WhatsApp and other digital messages sent by Boris Johnson, is a naked attempt to politically assassinate Dominic Cummings. Because Grieve and his rebel Tory allies believe if he can show that the prime minister’s senior adviser was plotting to suspend parliament for reasons other than those admitted in court and in the Commons by Johnson and his colleagues – namely to keep no-deal Brexit as an option rather than the more respectable motive of preparing a Queen’s Speech – then Johnson will be so embarrassed that he will sack Cummings. This offensive against Cummings rests on three assumptions, all of

The Spectator

Full list: Theresa May’s resignation honours

Resignation Honours 2019   CH   The Rt Hon Sir Patrick MCLOUGHLIN MP Member of Parliament for Derbyshire Dales and former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Chairman of the Conservative & Unionist Party. For political and public service.   KCMG    George HOLLINGBERY MP Member of Parliament for Meon Valley and former Minister of State for Trade Policy and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. For political and public service.   Oliver ROBBINS CB Lately the Prime Minister’s Europe Adviser and Chief Negotiator for Exiting the European Union. For public service.   KCB   The Rt Hon David LIDINGTON CBE MP Member of Parliament for Aylesbury and

Steerpike Steerpike

May’s ‘sickening’ knighthood U-turn

David Cameron notably came under fire from all quarters when his Resignation Honours list was released in 2016. The former PM’s attempt to dole out knighthoods and honours to his nearests, dearests and even hair stylist, was roundly condemned as the ultimate example of Westminster cronyism. None though were more offended at the time than his successor, Theresa May. Shortly afterwards, May said that when Cameron gave his former communications director Craig Oliver a knighthood, ‘most of us’ felt like ‘retching violently’ at the news. How times change. This evening, Theresa May’s own dissolution honours have been released, showing the worthy elite the former prime minister has decided to bestow knighthoods upon

Toby Young Toby Young

John Bercow’s nauseating farewell

I didn’t think the smug triumphalism of the Remainer Alliance could get any more nauseating, but this afternoon it did. I’m thinking of John Bercow’s announcement that he’s stepping down as Speaker of the House of Commons and the 90+ minutes of sycophantic tributes from all those MPs who think the electorate made a grave mistake in voting to leave the European Union. Honestly, the Conservatives should produce a highlight reel and release it as a Party Political Broadcast during the next General Election campaign. Here was the political class in Westminster at its worst – lavishing praise on the Speaker because they’re so appreciative of his efforts to obstruct

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

John Bercow has been a necessary defender of Parliament

John Bercow’s decision not to stand for re-election will bring some satisfaction to Brexiteers after several miserable weeks. The Speaker has been nakedly partisan, personally spiteful in the chair and done more to resist Brexit than the entire Labour Party put together. Many Tories consider him a jumped-up little twerp with an over-inflated sense of his constitutional significance but he is their jumped-up little twerp, one who entered Parliament by pandering to hard-right prejudices and whom backbench Tories rallied behind in 2015 when the Coalition government tried to get rid of him. Then Leader of the House William Hague concocted a plot to oust Bercow by introducing a secret ballot

Ross Clark Ross Clark

John Bercow and the abandoning of the Speaker’s impartiality

According to John Bercow he has chosen to step down on 31 October because it would be the ‘least disruptive and most democratic course of action’ if he stayed on for the votes on the Queen’s speech expected in the last week of October. But there is a somewhat glaring reason for choosing the last day of October – it is a none-too-subtle hint that he sees it as his duty to frustrate Britain’s departure from the EU, which was due on that date but which, thanks to the law passed by Parliament today, now seems likely to be delayed again. Going for that date is Bercow’s way of saying

Katy Balls Katy Balls

John Bercow offers a parting shot as he announces plans to quit

Whatever happens in this evening’s election vote, John Bercow will not be the House of Commons Speaker come 1 November. The Speaker announced his plans to quit in the Chamber this afternoon to a mixed reception from MPs. Bercow said he had promised his family he would not stand for re-election and planned to stick by the promise: ‘At the 2017 election, I promised my wife and children that it would be my last. This is a pledge that I intend to keep. If the House votes tonight for an early general election, my tenure as Speaker and MP will end when this Parliament ends. If the House does not

John Bercow

Full text: John Bercow’s resignation speech

John Bercow has promised to resign as Speaker of the House of Commons by the end of October. Below is his full resignation speech: Colleagues, I would like to make a personal statement to the House. At the 2017 election, I promised my wife and children that it would be my last. This is a pledge that I intend to keep. If the House votes tonight for an early general election, my tenure as Speaker and MP will end when this Parliament ends. If the House does not so vote, I have concluded that the least disruptive and most democratic course of action would be for me to stand down at

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Tory MPs refuse to applaud John Bercow

In a long, winding, and emotional speech in the Chamber this afternoon, John Bercow informed MPs that he would be resigning his position as Speaker of the House of Commons by 1 November. Bercow promised to either resign at the end of the parliamentary session if MPs backed the government’s plan for a general election, or on 31 October. But while Bercow’s speech was well-received on the Labour benches, it seemed that several Tories were rather less impressed with the Speaker’s bellicose farewell. As Bercow spoke, Labour and opposition MPs voiced their support for the departing Speaker, and when he concluded, applauded for over a minute. By comparison, several Tory

James Kirkup James Kirkup

We angry Remainers must listen to Leave voters – or risk losing again

As a Remain voter who believes that Britain must leave the European Union, I’m finding the Brexit seas ever harder to navigate. In particular, the siren call of the outraged Remainers grows louder. I have little time for many people on the Stop Brexit extreme of the debate, and that includes those who hide beneath the cloak of calling for a People’s Vote. Such people did as much as the headbangers on the no deal side to kill attempts at compromise that could have seen Britain leave with a deal and even – my preference – continued membership of the Single Market. Even Remainiac pin-up Ian Dunt – rightly –

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Do Remain MPs understand the mood of the country?

That the obsessions of Westminster do not necessarily coincide with those of the country has been obvious for a long time, but even so, the dislocation between last week’s news and this weekend’s opinion polls looks bizarre. The government looks in a greater shambles than any in history. We have a Prime Minister who has been in office for two months and has yet to win a Commons vote, who has been cornered and attacked for anything he tries to do, whom BBC lawyers seem happy for one of the corporation’s comedians to brand a ‘liar and a racist’. The Conservative party is in open warfare, with 21 MPs ejected

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

How much collateral damage can the Tory party take?

Amber Rudd’s resignation has clearly been a blow to the government, but it wasn’t a huge surprise that she went after a week in which many of her closest political allies were booted out of the Tory party. What is more of a surprise is that she accepted a cabinet job with Boris Johnson in the first place. MPs who were being offered jobs when the Prime Minister took over had conversations with Johnson’s top aide Dominic Cummings in which he warned that there would be what he termed ‘collateral damage’ to the Conservative party as a result of his efforts to get Brexit sorted. They can’t believe Rudd didn’t

Robert Peston Robert Peston

Could civil servants ask the EU for a Brexit extension?

It’s very interesting that former Supreme Court judge, Jonathan Sumption, says a court could authorise a civil servant to sign a letter asking the EU for a Brexit extension, and could rule that the letter is in effect from the Prime Minister, whether or not the PM agrees. Which sounds like Boris Johnson could be stitched up like the proverbial kipper. Except that I simply don’t know whether the EU27 leaders could and would grant the requested three-month Brexit delay, when the request comes from a state whose government would be conspicuously paralysed. Robert Peston is ITV’s Political Editor.

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Ex-Tory rebels plot to reintroduce Theresa May’s Brexit deal

The rebel MPs kicked out of the Tory party held a phone conference last night to plot their next move, I understand. The group, now numbering 22 after Amber Rudd’s resignation, is keen to work across the Commons to get a deal past MPs that the European Union would accept, and it wouldn’t be a million miles away from what Theresa May tried – and failed – to get MPs to approve. There’s another meeting today, this time of the group ‘MPs for a Deal’, which is being led by Rory Stewart from the ex-Tory side, and Labour’s Caroline Flint and Stephen Kinnock. They don’t want a ‘carbon copy of

Sunday

Andrew Garfield

The economic policy Britain needs after Brexit

So Mark Carney no longer believes that a no-deal Brexit will lop 8 per cent off our national wealth. Now he thinks the GDP hit will be a more modest 5.5 per cent. One can only guess what his prediction will be next month. He should have listened to movie mogul’s Sam Goldwyn’s advice: ‘Never make predictions, especially about the future.’ Cheap jibe? Maybe. But all this focus on whether we are going to run out of medicine or fresh lettuce in Sainsbury’s is a massive exercise in collective displacement activity. It is avoiding the real issue. Surely what matters isn’t what is going to happen in the next three

Matthew Taylor

Sunday shows round-up: Amber Rudd – no deal is taking up ’80 to 90 per cent of government time’

Amber Rudd – There is not enough effort to get a Brexit deal The major talking point of the day has been the resignation of Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, who made her announcement on Saturday evening. Rudd is not just relinquishing her cabinet post but also the Conservative whip, and plans to stand as an independent at the next election. Rudd’s departure comes in the aftermath of the Prime Minister expelling 21 rebel MPs from the Conservative party after a critical vote last week. Andrew Marr spoke to Rudd about her decision: AM: What was the crucial thing that made you leave? AR: It’s the combination of the

Robert Peston Robert Peston

Is breaking the Conservative party the way to save it?

Here is the measure of the madness. An influential Cabinet minister Amber Rudd has resigned in a blaze of recriminations, citing the ‘assault on democracy and decency’ of Johnson’s expulsion last week of 21 Tories who oppose a no-deal Brexit. But it will change nothing. A lamed government without a majority won’t fall because the opposition does not want it to fall yet – not till after the EU summit of 17-18 October, such that their new law, that seeks to delay Brexit, has a chance to work its magic or its evil (up to you whether you think it’s white or black). Rudd has been replaced at Work and