Politics

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

Monday

James Kirkup James Kirkup

The opponents of Common Market 2.0 show why it’s the best Brexit option

Nick Boles’ Common Market 2.0 plan for Brexit has an awful lot going for it: it would honour the instruction of the British people to leave the European Union, while minimising the economic cost of that decision by keeping the UK largely within the Single Market. And the fact that the previous paragraph will drive some people into a frenzy of rage says quite a lot about those people, and even more about the Brexit debate as a whole.  In fact, the story of Common Market 2.0 is the story of Brexit. It captures many of the key disasters of this national debacle and highlights the way in which people

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Anna Soubry and Jacob Rees-Mogg clash in the Commons

There are still a few hours to go until Parliament votes once again on Brexit, but it is already getting somewhat heated in the Commons. Anna Soubry attempted to take Jacob Rees-Mogg to task over his decision to back Theresa May’s Brexit deal. Here’s what she said: Would he like to tell the House why it is that, a few weeks ago, he voted against the government’s withdrawal agreement, but on Friday he voted for it? And why he is entitled to a vote and to change his mind but the people of this country are not? But unfortunately for Anna Soubry, her decision not to stand for a by-election

Steerpike Steerpike

Tory MP: I was wrong to vote for May’s Brexit deal

There was a glimmer of hope for Theresa May and her Brexit deal on Friday when some Tory eurosceptics decided to vote for the withdrawal agreement after all. Richard Drax was one of them. But now he says he regrets doing so. He told the Commons this afternoon: I do feel I have not been true to myself. Although doing what I believed to be in the country’s best interests at that moment in time, I quickly realised that I should not have voted with the government on Friday afternoon. What I should have done – and did not – was to trust my instincts and those of the British

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Why Norway Plus is a step too far for the Tories

The Norway Plus campaign has had a big boost today with both Labour and the SNP saying they’ll whip in favour of it. Given that the plan might well be acceptable to the DUP – as it means that the backstop wouldn’t come into force – and the Cabinet will be abstaining, it has a chance of getting a majority tonight. Though the number of Labour MPs who won’t want to back continuing free movement or are holding out for a second referendum means it’ll probably fall just short. If it does pass, then the chances of a general election go up again. Fighting an election on the customs union

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Steve Baker says he could vote against May in a no-confidence vote

With another set of indicative votes taking place in parliament later today, talk is already turning to what happens if the House of Commons backs a Brexit deal where Britain stays in the EU’s customs union. And, if that took place, how this would be received by the Brexiteers within the Tory party, who see a customs union as anathema to their Brexit vision. Right on schedule, ERG member Steve Baker was on Politics Live this afternoon, and was asked how he would react if May listened to parliament and tacked a customs union on to the Withdrawal Agreement. After stressing that such a decision would ‘shatter’ the Conservative Party

Rupert Darwall

A Customs Union isn’t the way out of the Brexit mess

For some of those desperate for Britain to stay put in the EU, the Customs Union option functions as a handy obsession. Ministers, too, appear to be rallying behind this as a solution to the Brexit crisis, amid reports that dozens of senior Tories could vote for the UK to stay in a customs union in tonight’s vote. They are making a big mistake. There is no substantive case for irrevocably and permanently subjecting Britain to the European Union’s Customs Union. Rather than attempt to demonstrate how being tied to the Customs Union furthers the national interest, the best its proponents can do is pitch it as a tactical compromise. Being

Nick Cohen Nick Cohen

Brexit has destroyed the barriers between the centre and far right 

Dogs might not bark because, as Sherlock Holmes observed, there’s no reason to bark when they see their master. Alternatively, dogs might not bark when fear reduces them to whimpers. Which is it for the British centre right? Is it friends with the far right or frightened of it? Look around and notice what isn’t happening. Last week at the Brexit-day-that-never-was demonstration in Westminster, an effigy of London’s secular Muslim mayor was allegedly dragged through the streets for no other reason than he was a Muslim. Sadiq Khan is a bit player in the Brexit debate, the least of the anti-Europeans’ problems. But the thought of my town having a

Robert Peston Robert Peston

Will Labour MPs back a bid to revoke Article 50?

Labour has not tabled a motion for today’s indicative votes on a way through the Brexit mess – which feels like an important moment, perhaps because it has recognised that its proprietary version of Brexit is dead and its role instead is to work with all MPs to identify a deliverable alternative (which could be no Brexit at all) to the Prime Minister’s thrice rejected plan. Presumably the thrust of Labour’s effort in the hours ahead will be to secure support for the Kyle/Wilson call for a “confirmatory” referendum (a referendum on any Brexit deal approved by parliament). But even so, the prospect of a majority of MPs backing a

Steerpike Steerpike

Listen: Mandelson caught out by his referendum promise

The former Labour spin doctor and Remain campaigner Lord Mandelson was on the Today programme this morning, to put forward his case for a second Brexit referendum, which he argued could break the current impasse in parliament. Challenged by Martha Kearney though about whether this process could potentially create even more division and strife within Britain, the ‘Prince of Darkness’ assured the public that ‘we’ve then got to make sure that everyone feels able to live with the result.’ But it appears that some people may have been struggling to live with the result of the Brexit referendum more than others. As he made this argument, the second referendum campaigner probably wasn’t expecting

Sunday

Lionel Shriver Lionel Shriver

Imagine the uproar if Remain had won, but MPs made Britain leave anyway

Sometimes it’s worth addressing what didn’t happen. For one exasperating aspect of appearing on television news is leaving the studio kicking yourself for what you failed to say. Heading home from Broadcasting House, I’ll often impotently mutter all those killer arguments that fled my head when they might have counted for something. Yet during my last panel on Newsnight, the trouble wasn’t the usual deer-in-the-headlights stupor, but the fact that the lovely Emily Maitlis wouldn’t let me in. So let’s run back the tape. Alastair Campbell is allowed a long riff on (surprise) Brexit. According to him, ‘Brexit’ means all things to all people. It is a ‘fantasy’ a-leap with

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Corbyn might win office, but he’ll struggle to win power | 31 March 2019

The vote of no confidence in Dominic Grieve shows the Tories are, like Labour, vulnerable to bolshiness in their own local associations. In fact, the Conservatives might turn out to be more effective at purging MPs because, for all of the noise, the Corbynites have not done much. And if Jeremy Corbyn ends up in No10 after a snap general election, he may soon wish that he had done more. Two polls in the past 24 hours have been pretty good for Labour. Opinium has them level-pegging with the Tories on 35 per cent while Delta gives them a five-point lead (though this falls to three points when respondents are

Robert Peston Robert Peston

May can still pass her Brexit deal on the fourth try – here’s how

Some allies of the prime minister are desperate for a majority of MPs to back Ken Clarke’s motion to keep the UK in the customs union, at the close of round two of the Letwin process of the Commons bossing the government, Monday night. Yes you heard me right. They want MPs to vote for a plan that would drive a coach and whole herd of horses through the Tory election manifesto and would cleave the Conservative Party in two. To be clear, these are not ministers and officials who themselves are keen for the UK to agree a deal with the EU that would remove the requirement for customs

Matthew Taylor

Sunday shows round-up: John Major – UK may need ‘a national government’

Emily Thornberry – May is ‘out of control’ It is now two days since the UK was originally supposed to leave the EU, but with the government’s withdrawal agreement being defeated in parliament for a third time, events look more uncertain than ever before. Sophy Ridge was joined by the Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry, who wasted little time in blasting the Prime Minister’s approach to Brexit: ET: She’s been taking the mickey… Even with just days to go she’s still saying ‘It’s my deal or no deal’, and that is not meaningful. That is not democracy. That is Theresa May stamping her feet and saying ‘I want this! No

Nigel Farage

Why I’m battling for Brexit once again

After the referendum, I retired from active party politics, saying I wanted my life back. And I’ve had a great deal of fun since. Better still, I no longer have to resolve arguments between association chairmen and branch secretaries over how to fold the napkins at their work Christmas dinners and so on. But I’ve watched in dismay as Ukip, the machine that won the last European elections and scared the legacy parties into offering the British people a referendum, has descended into a bunker of its own making. By focusing on radical Islam, it has restricted its ability to get the votes needed to keep Westminster honest. So, with some

Saturday

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Dominic Grieve heckled and called a ‘traitor’ by Tory members

Tory MPs who have backed a softer Brexit or Remain have had an acrimonious relationship with their local Conservative associations as of late, with one MP already deciding to quit their local party following threats of deselection. Last night, it was the turn of the former attorney general and Remain supporter Dominic Grieve to face the ire of his local party. The Conservative members of Beaconsfield (Grieve’s constituency) held a no-confidence vote in the MP, which he lost by 182 to 131 votes, beginning the process of deselection. As Grieve gave a speech ahead of the vote, he was continuously heckled by the audience, who booed at the mention of

James Kirkup James Kirkup

The prospect of a national government should be taken seriously

It’s come a day earlier than I expected, but we are now entering the ‘government of national unity’ phase of the Brexit debacle. Nicky Morgan, once a Tory Cabinet minister, said this on the Today programme: ‘It may well be that if you end up with a cross-party approach to finding a majority in the House of Commons, it might be that you need a cross-party approach to implementing it. There have been periods in our history when we have had national unity governments or a coalition for a very specific issue.’ Tom Watson of Labour has made similar noises. The logic is sound enough: there is almost certainly a

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Who would lead the Tories into a snap election?

After Theresa May’s deal was defeated in the House of Commons for a third time, there’s heightened speculation that we could now be heading for a snap election. With the Withdrawal Agreement defeated by 58 votes, even if No. 10 tries to put it to another vote it’s hard to see how May would manage the numbers. This is why talk has turned to an early election. In the immediate aftermath of that result, both Jeremy Corbyn and the SNP’s Ian Blackford called for one. Meanwhile, Theresa May gave the biggest hint yet that she could go for one – ‘I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in

James Forsyth James Forsyth

How can you break the Brexit impasse?

MPs could have voted to take back control yesterday, instead—as I say in The Sun this morning—they decided to hand control to the EU. The EU Council will meet on the 10th of April to decide whether to offer the UK a further extension or not. It remains unlikely that the EU will force a no deal outcome on the UK. But any extension they offer the UK is going to involve this country taking part in the European Elections. On Monday, MPs will vote again on various Brexit options. The options that might get a majority, though, would go directly against what the Tories said in their election manifesto.

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Why Matt Hancock is likely to be the next prime minister

As MP for the constituency which covers Newmarket, health secretary Matt Hancock will have met a few bookmakers in his time. He has even won a horse race himself, of amateur jockeys in a charity event. He will know the Conservative leadership is the sort of open race with appetising prices – not least the 10-1 which William Hill is today offering on him. I have never met Mr Hancock, and can’t say I even particularly like him, but I am sorely tempted to have a flutter. Why? Because Conservative leadership contests, for all their drama, are pretty easy to read. The winner is almost invariably the credible candidate who, at

Friday

Cindy Yu Cindy Yu

The Spectator Podcast: life after May and the Victorian women who explored

This week, Theresa May finally promised to leave – but only after her Brexit deal passes. Anticipation of her departure has already triggered a leadership race within the Conservative party – who will take after her, and what does Brexit and the country look like after May leaves? On the podcast, Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and former cabinet minister Nicky Morgan. Despite Brexit, the government’s domestic agenda tries to rumble on. A long-planned and long-delayed plan to use technology to place age restrictions on watching pornography is due to come in imminently. Ostensibly, the goal is to prevent under-18s from accessing it, but Robert Jackman reports in this