Politics

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

Sunday

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

It’s Hammond vs May, as the Budget blame game intensifies

Throughout David Cameron and George Osborne’s six-year double act, we seldom heard of serious arguments between them. Both were keen to avoid a repeat of the Blair-Brown psychodrama and prided themselves on their indivisibility. Same with their respective teams. You would never pick up the Sunday papers and read the sort of No. 10 vs No. 11 insults that we see this morning. The Sunday Telegraph splashes on ‘Cabinet war over Budget shambles’ and describes how even the Cabinet were not told that Philip Hammond was about to break their manifesto commitment not to raise National Insurance. Most of the Cabinet is hopping mad: one member last week told me that Hammond’s breaking

Martin Vander Weyer Martin Vander Weyer

How Philip Hammond’s National Insurance hike affects the ‘gig economy’

You might argue that the self-employed enjoy less security than the employed, so it’s fair they contribute less; you might argue that the ‘sharing economy’ is a nifty pocket-money source for hard-pressed families, and that tax grabs will swiftly kill it. But revenue-starved Chancellor Hammond will retort that all income and commerce, however novel in form, must be taxed unless specifically exempted, otherwise government can’t make ends meet: tax should keep pace with changing patterns of life and technology. Thus Microsoft founder Bill Gates recently proposed that if robots are replacing humans in business, then companies operating robots should pay income tax on their behalf. Back in 1991, Chancellor Norman

Saturday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The Tory Budget rebellion is growing

The Tory rebellion over the tax hike on the self-employed isn’t abating, it is intensifying as I say in The Sun this morning. As one Cabinet Minister tells me, Tory MPs ‘left the Budget feeling a little bit concerned. They’ve seen the papers, and thought this isn’t good. After the emails and constituency stuff, there’ll be even more nervous’. One Tory backbencher, who is a good judge of the mood of the parliamentary party, says ‘People are not happy at all. Somethings’ got to change’. But Philip Hammond is digging in. He is ‘absolutely determined not to retreat on this’ according to one Cabinet ally of his. He has, I’m

Friday

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Might Nicola Sturgeon’s sinking approval ratings explain her appetite for a referendum?

In an interview with the BBC last night, Nicola Sturgeon suggested that the autumn of next year would be a ‘common sense’ time to hold another referendum on Scottish independence. Which would, of course, mean voting without knowing what the terms of the Brexit would be. (Or, perhaps, whether it will really happen.) Why the haste? This is another topic that came up on Question Time last night. I suggested that Sturgeon’s sense of urgency might be explained by opinion polls showing her ‘tanking’ approval rating. The 2021 Holyrood election will probably end the majority for independence, given that the SNP will have been in power for 14 years by then

Steerpike Steerpike

John McDonnell’s Question Time excuse falls short

On Thurday’s Question Time, there was one politician notably absent from the panel. For a second time, John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, had to cancel his appearance — this time putting it down to train delays. And whose fault is this? Well, the Conservatives obviously — as if Labour were in power the trains would be nationalised: 4 hour delay on train & flights full, so sorry to miss @bbcquestiontime. Jinxed! Won't have this problem when we renationalise the railways. — John McDonnell MP (@johnmcdonnellMP) March 9, 2017 However, there’s a problem. First, those flights sold out after Mr McDonnell had been booked on a flight – but he arrived

Damian Thompson Damian Thompson

Are Christian MPs being silenced by the ‘secular inquisition’?

The BBC and the secular establishment don’t make life easy for Christian MPs. When Carol Monaghan, a Catholic Scottish Nationalist MP, turned up to a Parliamentary committee last week with an Ash Wednesday cross on her forehead, both her colleagues and the Beeb treated her as if she was wearing a Halloween costume. My colleague Stephen Daisley wrote about the incident for Coffee House, reflecting on the ‘secular inquisition’ that ostensibly Christian politicians must now face if they openly profess their faith. But do they even want to? Many Christian MPs are as reluctant as Tony Blair to ‘do God’ if the media are listening. In this week’s Holy Smoke

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Why are New Labour wonks directing Tory policy?

Theresa May’s announcement that the vote on raising National Insurance contributions for the self-employed will be delayed until after the publication of the Taylor Report in Modern Employment Practises in the autumn is presumably meant to reassure us that the government is taking seriously the many objections which have been levied against the policy in the 48 hours since it was announced by the Chancellor. On the other hand it might merely concentrate minds on a question which few have yet asked: just why does Theresa May have Tony Blair’s former chief policy wonk seeming to direct Conservative policy on employment? The Taylor review, set up by the Prime Minister

Tom Goodenough Tom Goodenough

Guy Verhofstadt is playing politics with his ‘special arrangement’ offer to Brits

Guy Verhofstadt thinks Brexit is a ‘disaster’, a ‘tragedy’ and a ‘catastrophe’. That verdict, from the European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator, won’t surprise many. But Verhofstadt has a solution to what he sees as a looming crisis for despairing Remain voters. During his interview on the Today programme this morning, he brought up the prospect of British citizens being allowed to keep their EU benefits as part of a ‘special arrangement’. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this pitch from Verhofstadt. Back in November, the Belgian touted the idea that Brits could pay a fee to retain free movement and a vote in EU elections. ‘Many say ‘we don’t want to

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Tories, tax and trust – a warning from history

I was on the Question Time panel last night, and suspected that the issue of National Insurance might crop up – and that Karen Bradley, the Culture Secretary, would be sent out to defend the indefensible. Like all ministers, she has to repeat Philip Hammond’s bizarre claim that the Tories had not broken a manifesto pledge. That when they repeatedly promised not to raise National Insurance they meant only part of the National Insurance. The 2015 Tory manifesto contained no such caveat (I brought a copy along to the studio) and it’s impossible for any minister to claim otherwise. Hammond has already been accused of ‘lying’ – a strong word,

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: David Cameron appears to blast Chancellor’s ‘stupid’ National Insurance rise

As Philip Hammond faces a second day of negative headlines over his decision to break a 2015 Tory manifesto pledge and raise National Insurance for the self-employed, he can take heart that the latest YouGov poll gives the Conservatives a 19-point-lead. Still, not everyone in his party is pleased. On top of the growing number of Tory MPs letting known their dismay over the move, is David Cameron also rather unimpressed? Mr S only asks after ITV’s Chris Ship shared a video of David Cameron talking to Michael Fallon at yesterday’s Iraq service. Cameron appears to say something along the lines of ‘breaking a manifesto promise, how stupid can you get?’ Other interpretations

Tom Goodenough Tom Goodenough

The newspapers dump on Hammond’s National Insurance hike – again

Theresa May and Philip Hammond were in a laughing mood in the Commons on Wednesday. After a second day of dreadful headlines in the newspapers, they certainly won’t be now. The Government’s honeymoon period in the media is over – and the Chancellor’s National Insurance hike for the self-employed is entirely to blame. So far, the Prime Minister has stuck to her guns by insisting the policy will go through (even if the PM did kick it back to the Autumn). If she really is to go through with the controversial policy – and the number of Tory rebels is growing – she’ll have to resist a mounting barrage of

Katy Balls Katy Balls

How many deals will the Department for International Trade have signed by 2020?

Liam Fox has (for a change) unfairly become the subject of much mockery this week, over his department’s plans for ‘Empire 2.0’. The name relates to the International Trade Secretary’s plot to boost trade links with African Commonwealth nations by promising developing nations that their trading relationships with the UK will not get worse after Brexit. Contrary to many online jokes, the name was not concocted by an egocentric International Trade Secretary, but instead Whitehall officials who think it is misguided to place too much importance on trade with the Commonwealth, compared with the EU. It comes as the head of the Commonwealth secretariat has called for Britain to ‘go an awful lot faster’ in

Thursday

The Spectator

Letters | 9 March 2017

On Scottish independence Sir: Alex Massie writes of the order permitting a second Scottish independence referendum: ‘Having granted such an order in 2014, it will be difficult to refuse Mrs Sturgeon’s demand for another’ (‘Back into battle’, 4 March). Surely that is precisely why Mrs May should refuse another? It was the SNP who described the 2014 vote as a chance in a lifetime. The only thing way in which Brexit could have changed matters is if it had been a fundamental and unforeseeable upset. Alex Massie, from this and his previous writings, clearly believes it was. But the Conservatives, at the time of the Scottish vote, had promised to

Ed West Ed West

Why do so many French youngsters support Marine Le Pen?

I’m very sceptical of the idea that the younger generation are more conservative than their elders, and that this makes conservatism somehow cool, which it isn’t. There have been times where the kids are more reactionary than their parents but generally only as a result of religious movements – and Britain is as atheistic as can be. Young Brits are very liberal and cosmopolitan, even compared to their peers in other European countries. In polls they express low levels of pride in their country and an unwillingness to fight in any theoretical war. The Brexit vote, and the big gap between old and young, showed just how liberal the young are.

Paul Johnson

The IFS backs Philip Hammond in National Insurance row

Philip Hammond is under pressure over his National Insurance contributions hike. More than a dozen Tory MPs have so far criticised the plans and Downing Street has refused to rule out a rethink. But the Chancellor does still have some allies; the IFS has just thrown its weight behind the plans. Here’s what its director, Paul Johnson, had to say: ‘Spring Budgets seem to be going out with something of a whimper. Yesterday’s was one of the smallest I can remember in pretty much every dimension – number of policies, scale of policies and size of fiscal impact. I’m not complaining, mind. There will be another Budget in November and the whole

Katy Balls Katy Balls

The IFS throws Philip Hammond a lifeline – will he take it?

As Philip Hammond faces a slew of negative headlines and fields accusations that he is a liar over his decision to backtrack on a 2015 Tory manifesto pledge and raise National Insurance for the self-employed, the Chancellor has been thrown a lifeline by the Institute of Fiscal Studies. At today’s IFS Budget briefing, Paul Johnson offered his verdict on Hammond’s first Budget. While he raised concerns about the government’s sluggish plan to balance the books (warning that it could be delayed past 2025), he welcomed the controversial NIC raise as ‘baby steps in the right direction’: ‘A tax system which charges thousands of pounds more in tax for employees doing the same job

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Philip Hammond squirms as he is accused of being a liar over National Insurance U-turn

The Chancellor has awoken to a slew of bad headlines today following his decision to row back on a 2015 Tory manifesto pledge and raise National Insurance for the self-employed. In an attempt at some damage limitation, Philip Hammond has been doing the usual post-Budget media rounds this morning. Alas his interview with Sky News didn’t go quite to plan. Challenged repeatedly on the broken Tory manifesto pledge, an uncomfortable Hammond was accused of being a liar: Sky News: Were you lying when you stood on that vote, was the manifesto wrong — or have you just decided to renege on it? PH: The manifesto presented a package of measures and we

Tom Goodenough Tom Goodenough

Revealed: The full list of Tory MPs who have spoken out against the Chancellor

Given that Jeremy Corbyn barely seemed to notice Philip Hammond’s Budget blunder, it’s unlikely the Chancellor will be too worried about Labour’s response to the National Insurance rates row. He will be troubled, though, by the rumblings on the backbenches behind him. The prospect of a Tory revolt is now very much on the cards; 18 Conservative MPs – including former leader Iain Duncan Smith and Tory whip Guto Bebb – have publicly spoken out against the policy. Because Tory MPs were voted in on a manifesto pledge not to raise NI contributions – and will inevitably be getting it in the neck from angry constituents over the coming days –

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Philip Hammond’s small print won’t save him from a Tory backbench revolt

George Osborne was famous in Westminster when Chancellor for laying large ‘elephant traps’ for Labour using Treasury policy. He was also famous for telling everyone all about how the trap worked and where it was, before falling into it himself. When Philip Hammond came into the Treasury, it was largely accepted that the days of silly elephant traps were over. But this week the new Chancellor ended up locating one of the last of the Osborne elephant traps which had been lying dormant in the political jungle – and he located it by falling straight into it. The ‘tax lock’, which the Tories announced in the 2015 election campaign to

Martin Vander Weyer Martin Vander Weyer

New European giants? Standard-Aberdeen looks a better bet than Peugeot-Vauxhall

Budget week also turned out to be a week of notable deals. PSA, French owner of Peugeot and Citroën, went ahead with its €2.2 billion takeover of Vauxhall and Opel from General Motors, creating ‘a new European giant to challenge Volkswagen’, according to the spin, and new fears for those who foresee post-Brexit attrition of the British motor industry. By way of reassurance, PSA boss Carlos Tavares said a hard Brexit is an ‘opportunity’ — to beef up the domestic supply chain while reducing component imports from the EU — and that ‘I trust Vauxhall workers’ to improve their productivity. That last bit sounded to me more like a threat