Politics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

The chances of a lengthy delay to Brexit have just increased substantially. The withdrawal agreement has been defeated by 58 votes, which means that there’s little point in the government bringing it back next week even if it could find a procedural way to do so. The 34 Tory rebels means that even if some way could be found to reassure the DUP, the government still wouldn’t have the numbers to win. Parliament’s actions mean that this country’s immediate future is now in the hands of the EU. There’ll be a special EU Council on the 10 of April to decide whether or not to grant the UK a further extension.

Theresa May’s Brexit deal has been voted down for a third time by MPs. Parliament rejected the Prime Minister’s withdrawal agreement by 344 to 286 votes, a margin of 58. May said it is a ‘matter of profound regret that once again we have been unable to support leaving the EU in an orderly manner’. The PM also hinted at the possibility of an early general election: ‘I fear we are reaching the limits of the process in this House,’ she told MPs. The EU reacted to May’s third defeat in Parliament by calling an emergency Brexit summit on April 10, just days before Britain could leave the EU under

Theresa May’s Brexit deal has been voted down for a third time in Parliament. MPs rejected the Prime Minister’s withdrawal agreement by 344 to 286 votes, a margin of 58. Here is the full list, split by party, of who voted it down: Conservative: Adam Afriyie, Steve Baker, John Baron, Guto Bebb, Peter Bone, Suella Braverman, Andrew Bridgen, William Cash, Christopher Chope, James Duddridge, Mark Francois, Marcus Fysh, Justine Greening, Dominic Grieve, Sam Gyimah, Philip Hollobone, Adam Holloway, Ranil Jayawardena, Bernard Jenkin, Andrea Jenkyns, Jo Johnson, David Jones, Phillip Lee, Julian Lewis, Julia Lopez, Craig Mackinlay, Anne Marie Morris, Priti Patel, Owen Paterson, John Redwood, Laurence Robertson, Andrew Rosindell, Lee