Politics

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

Friday

Steerpike Steerpike

What slim majority? Nick Clegg heads to Hay Festival

With a slim majority of just over 2,000 to defend, Nick Clegg has his work cut out holding onto Sheffield Hallam in next month’s snap election. So, with less than two weeks to go until polling day, surely the Liberal Democrat is busying himself campaigning locally? Well, perhaps not. Mr S was curious to discover that the former deputy prime minister is spending the day over 150 miles away in Hay-on-Wye — where he will speak at the Hay Festival. Flogging his book ‘Between the Extremes’, Clegg will lift the lid on his time in government: Given that the Lib Dems have rarely looked further away from government than they do now,

Nick Hilton Nick Hilton

Nothing hurts Jeremy Corbyn more than being right

With Labour closing the gap on the Tories in the polls, it was only a matter of time before an act of self-immolation returned them to square one. This morning, Corbyn gave a speech in which he drew a link between British foreign policy and terrorist attacks on home soil. This will surely go down like a lead balloon with the party’s working-class base, particularly in the north of England which is still reeling from their worst terror attack in modern history. But in London and the home counties, there might be whispered recognition of the fact that Corbyn is, essentially, right, even if he’s wrong to say it. It seems

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Jeremy Corbyn’s speech is a trap for the Tories

The most dangerous thing about Jeremy Corbyn’s speech today, blaming terror attacks in Britain on wars we have fought abroad, is that it is partly true. The temptation for the Conservatives will be to show outrage at the words: ‘Many experts, including professionals in our intelligence and security services, have pointed to the connections between wars our government has supported or fought in other countries and terrorism here at home’ and to accuse Corbyn of exploiting the Manchester bombing for his own political gain. But they would be extremely foolish to do so because they will be unable to argue away the assertion that British military involvement in the Middle

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Could Theresa May blow this general election?

Until recently, the prospect of Theresa May flopping in this general election would have been absurd – but today’s YouGov poll shows her lead cut to just five points, less than a quarter of its peak. Converted into seats, that would mean a majority of just two MPs, down from the 17-strong majority achieved by David Cameron against Ed Miliband. At a time when the extraordinary is happening all the time, it is impossible to dismiss this opinion poll. The public like her style, but her shambolic U-turn over the so-called ‘dementia tax’ has given everyone cause to doubt whether she is as ‘strong and stable’ as she says she

The Spectator

Jeremy Corbyn’s speech on terrorism, full transcript

Our whole nation has been united in shock and grief this week as a night out at a concert ended in horrific terror and the brutal slaughter of innocent people enjoying themselves. When I stood on Albert Square at the vigil in Manchester, there was a mood of unwavering defiance. The very act of thousands of people coming together sent a powerful message of solidarity and love. It was a profound human impulse to stand together, caring and strong. It was inspiring. In the past few days, we have all perhaps thought a bit more about our country, our communities and our people. The people we have lost to atrocious violence or who

Helen Nugent

The political parties are not being honest about their tax and spending plans

After the atrocity in Manchester on Monday night, campaigning for the general election resumes today. With just a fortnight to go before voting, the parties have a lot of ground to cover, not least their plans for the economy. I don’t suppose either Labour or the Conservatives will thank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) for its report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, published this morning. In it, the IFS points the finger at both parties, saying the Tories don’t have many new details on spending, while Labour’s tax increase and spending plans won’t work. It’s pretty damning stuff. Essentially, the think tank is saying that neither party is being

Tom Goodenough Tom Goodenough

Is Corbyn really closing in on May?

Corbyn is closing in on May, the Times reports this morning, as a poll from YouGov shows the gap between the two parties is down to just five points with less than two weeks to go until election day. The latest numbers show the Conservatives have, once again, seen their support drop: this time by one point, down to 43 per cent. Labour meanwhile have enjoyed a three point bump, up to 38 per cent. If this were replicated come June 8th, it would be bad news for Theresa May: she would be a Prime Minister under pressure, with her party’s majority slimmed down to just two. Talk of a

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Andrew Neil’s This Week monologue – ‘the time for rhetoric is over’

In the aftermath of recent terrorist attacks in Paris and Nice, the BBC’s This Week has kicked off with a speech from Andrew Neil on the tragedies — and the ‘jihadi johnnies’ responsible. Last night, in the wake of the Manchester Arena terror attack which left 22 people dead, Andrew Neil adopted a different tone — as he said ‘the time for rhetoric is over’: ‘I won’t repeat a version of the remarks I made on this programme in the wake of the Paris and Westminster attacks, though I know some of you were hoping that I would. They apply with equal force to what happened on Monday night – even

Thursday

The Spectator

Barometer | 25 May 2017

Sloganeering Do snappy manifesto titles help win elections? Some which led to victory: ‘Let Us Face the Future’ — Labour 1945 ‘The New Britain’ — Labour 1964 ‘A Better Tomorrow’ — Conservative 1970 ‘ Let Us Work Together: Labour’s Way Out of the Mess’ — February 1974 ‘The 1979 Conservative Party General Election Manifesto’ ‘ Because Britain Deserves Better’ — Labour 1997 And some which led to heavy defeats: ‘Winston Churchill’s Declaration of Policy to the Electors’ — Conservative 1945 ‘Action Not Words: the New Conserv­ative Programme’ — 1966 ‘ The New Hope for Britain’ — Labour 1983 ‘Britain Will Win With Labour’ — 1987 ‘You Can Only Be Sure

Rachel Johnson

Diary – 25 May 2017

The chances of my 20-year-old student son being at an Ariana Grande concert on a Monday night were, my head told me, zero. But as I watched ambulances converge on the arena, my maternal heart was in my mouth. Oliver had just been to the premier league darts at the venue (like me, there is no sport my son doesn’t enjoy watching). I called. No answer. I sent a text. ‘Don’t go near Manchester Arena — explosion.’ Then another one. ‘Let me know you’re OK.’ He was. But those teenagers, all those girls. Eight years old. The nation weeps for other people’s children. The day I went Yellow Tory and

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Corbyn: British foreign policy leads to terrorism here at home

One might have expected the general election campaign to resume in a softly-softly fashion following the Manchester bombing. But Jeremy Corbyn’s speech tomorrow morning will lead to some of the most vigorous political debate we have seen in recent times. Corbyn will say ‘Many experts, including professionals in our intelligence and security services, have pointed to the connections between wars our government has supported or fought in other countries and terrorism here at home.’ Suggesting that UK foreign policy bears responsibility for terrorist attacks here just days after a terrorist atrocity has killed so many children is, to put it mildly, controversial. Now, Corbyn will add that ‘That assessment in

Nick Cohen Nick Cohen

Will Corbyn’s supporters blame their election defeat on the Manchester attack?

The Manchester murders have given British politics its first conspiracy theory with a grain of truth in it. It may sound ghoulish to discuss the political consequences of an atrocity. But terrorism is a political crime, and we are in a general election campaign. Everyone is thinking that the Manchester attack passes the advantage to Theresa May. Soon they will be saying it too. It is easy to predict how the killings will be knitted into the left’s explanation for the defeat of 2017. Against the odds, Labour was doing well in the polls, Corbyn’s supporters will say. Why one survey had the opposition a mere nine points behind the

Steerpike Steerpike

Ukip spare the beekeeper

Ukip has vowed to ban the burka if it ever comes to power and in its manifesto – which it launched today – the party calls on people to show ‘your face in a public place’. But there’s a problem: in the same document in which the party unveiled its policy, there was one person who could well fall foul of the new plans – a beekeeper.   The image of the hardworking beekeeper appears just pages away from Ukip’s announcement that ‘face coverings…are barriers to integration’. Thankfully, Ukip’s deputy leader Peter Whittle has said the question of whether apiarists would be affected by the ban was ‘ridiculous’. Mr S hopes the

Matthew Lynn

Today’s GDP data reveals one thing: Mark Carney should have kept his cool after Brexit

Inflation is rising. Real wages are stagnant, and GDP is being revised downwards, putting us down there with the likes of Italy. If Theresa May had a script for the final fortnight of the election campaign it probably didn’t include figures like those. Today’s revision of the quarterly GDP number, down to a sluggish-looking 0.2 percent, from the initial 0.3 percent, will no doubt be seized upon by critics of the government, and by the increasingly battle-weary battalions of hardcore Remainers, as evidence that the wheels are finally coming off the economy, and the impact of a ‘hard Tory Brexit’ is finally being felt. In fact, however, it tells us

Tom Goodenough Tom Goodenough

Ukip’s tough talk on terror comes with a big risk

Ukip’s success in pursuing the Tories over Brexit will be remembered for a long time. Now, the party thinks it has a new bone of contention with which to go after the government: keeping Britain safe. In the wake of Monday’s night’s attack, Ukip wants to paint itself as the only party serious about rooting out Islamic fundamentalism and tackling terrorism. As if to make that point, while the Tory and Labour national campaigns remained suspended this morning, Ukip pressed ahead with its manifesto launch today. Nuttall came under pressure at the event over this decision, and was asked repeatedly whether he was trying to capitalise on the attack by focusing so squarely on the terror

Helen Nugent

Economic growth revised down as inflation puts squeeze on consumer spending

Is Brexit finally starting to bite? New figures released this morning show that consumer spending increased at the slowest pace since the end of 2014, forcing down the official economic growth rate to 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of this year. The news surprised economists and analysts. According to Reuters, only one of 42 expected this. Nevertheless, the data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is down from an initial estimate of 0.3 per cent. In the final quarter of 2016, there was a rise of 0.7 per cent. Neil Wilson, senior analyst at EXT Capital, said: ‘The rather ugly set of growth figures suggest that post-Brexit resilience may not

Steerpike Steerpike

Gary Lineker to the rescue

Last month, Rachel Johnson managed to create a mini furore when it transpired that she had joined the Liberal Democrats. Given that the Mail on Sunday columnist has only ever voted Conservative in elections, the news came as a surprise to many — not least her brother Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary. But has Rachel already got cold feet about her new home? In this week’s issue of The Spectator, Johnson gives reason to believe that she’s not completely loyal to the Liberal Democrats. She says that she recently got talking to Gary Lineker — aka ‘the people’s snowflake’ — who she decided is the ‘only proper opposition now’: ‘At

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Will Theresa May ever resist a backlash?

Elections matter. They are fundamental to our way of life. So, while it is appropriate that the campaigns stopped on Tuesday to mourn the victims of the heinous terrorist attack in Manchester, democracy demands that they resume as quickly as possible. The terrorists must know that they will never change how our society functions. This is an odd election. Everyone assumes they know what the result will be and the real psephological debate is over just how big the Tory majority will be. On Monday, even the most panicked Tory was only concerned about what Theresa May’s U-turn would mean for the party’s margin of victory, not the actual result.

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

This is the worst Tory campaign ever

I am trying to remember if there was ever a worse Conservative election campaign than this current dog’s breakfast — and failing. Certainly 2001 was pretty awful, with Oliver Letwin going rogue and Thatcher sniping nastily from behind the arras. It is often said that 1987 was a little lacklustre and Ted Heath had effectively thrown in the towel in October 1974. But I don’t think anything quite matches up to this combination of prize gaffes and the robotic incantation of platitudinous idiocies. To have suggested that the hunting with dogs legislation might be subject to a free vote in the House of Commons was, whether you are pro hunting

Wednesday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The election campaign resumes on Friday – in defiance of those who seek to destroy democracy

The election campaign will resume on Friday, with both Labour and the Tory national campaigns re-staring. This is welcome news. The decision to pause the campaign in the light of this horrific terrorist attack was understandable. But the danger, with only 15 days to go until polling day, was that a prolonged pause would have had a profound effect on the election—allowing the terrorists to boast that they had forced us to change our way of life. When campaigning does resume, we should all remember something: that one of our great civilisational achievements is that we argue about our differences in public and then casts our ballots in private to