Politics Archives

Tuesday

9 Jul 2013

Who owns Labour? Unite turns on the Right

Ed Miliband’s speech today isn’t an attempt to close down the row over Falkirk, but to get back on top of the issue, rather than appearing to be bounced along by events. What it will do is open a huge row with the union bosses: one the Labour leader needs to be seen to have won at the end of it all. Here is a briefing on what to expect from Miliband. The Tories are pleased this morning that Len McCluskey has written in this morning’s Guardian that ‘switching to an “opt-in” for the political levy wouldn’t work… would debilitate unions’ ability to speak for our members and would further

Monday

8 Jul 2013

James Forsyth

Can Ed Miliband dodge the ‘weak’ tag?

When a political party repeatedly uses an attack line it is nearly always because their polling shows that it works. This is certainly why the Tories keep calling Ed Miliband ‘weak’. Indeed, they’re so keen to keep hitting him with this charge that they’ve stopped accusing him of knifing his brother for fear of undercutting it. This is one of the many things that makes Miliband’s speech tomorrow so important. The Tories are desperate to portray Miliband as a weak leader being pushed around by the ‘bully boys’ of the trade union machine. If Miliband is seen to have ducked the issue, the Tories will have yet more ammunition for

Isabel Hardman

The long-term political benefit for both Coalition parties of Abu Qatada’s deportation

If you had the misfortune to miss Theresa May’s statement on the deportation of Abu Qatada this afternoon, it would hardly stretch your imagination to work out how the occasion went. It involved MPs cheering May, May making it clear that the government has done very well and then pointing out (again) that she does want reform (which the Lib Dems disagree with). MPs took care to praise the Home Secretary, mindful of all the chatter about Qatada’s departure being good for her own leadership ambitions. Even if you’re not on the TM4PM bandwagon, you might as well ingratiate yourself with her in case something unexpected happens. All pretty formulaic

Steerpike

Top spin, Dave

The prime minister’s appearance at Wimbledon yesterday, and his invitation of Andy Murray to Downing Street, has got some miserable lefty tongues wagging. No doubt they are livid that the ‘Curse of Cameron’ has lifted, while the memory of Gordon ‘Jonah’ Brown putting the mockers on British sporting endeavour lives. Moaners will always moan that our politicians try to muscle in on sporting greats; but there is no doubt that the Prime Minister is a tennis fan. Despite his rather odd decision to wear a dark business suit on the hottest day of the year, he was clearly enjoying himself in the Royal Box and his face was a picture of delight

Isabel Hardman

Exclusive: How the Tories plan to attack Ukip

Last week Lynton Crosby and David Cameron briefed Conservative MPs on the threat posed by Ukip. Their timing was impeccable: today’s YouGov poll showing 19 per cent of Conservative members would seriously consider voting for Nigel Farage’s party could have sent Tory MPs into orbit, but instead they have been reassured that the party has a proper plan to deal with the enemies to the right, rather than the messy ‘fruitcake’ strategy of the past few years. I am told by a number of MPs who were present that Crosby talked generally about what attracts people to Ukip, rather than the specific problem of next year’s European elections. This was

Isabel Hardman

Mayor of London’s quiet attack on the creaking government machine

It is interesting enough that Boris Johnson has attacked high-speed rail in today’s Telegraph: the Mayor is undermining the priorities of the current government (while attacking Labour a little too), and reminding them that they are dithering on aviation policy. He warns that the project’s costs will balloon to well over £70 billion. But the Mayor makes one very important comment about the government machine that should not go unnoticed. He writes: Talk to the big construction firms, and they will tell you the problem is not the cost of actually digging and tunnelling and putting in cables and tracks. Those are apparently roughly the same wherever you are in

Boris Johnson

A phallic protrusion and a whopper: Boris Johnson goes fishing

You remember the climax of Jaws — the primeval moment when Quint the crazed Ahab-like fisherman goes mano a mano with the monster of the deep? He comes to the rear of the listing boat and straps on a leather belt with a phallic protrusion: a metal receptacle into which he shoves the haft of his puny fishing rod. And you look at this terrifying mismatch between a man’s tackle and the might of nature, and you think, ‘How the hell is that going to work?’ Such were my feelings, amigos, on a blustery day in the Indian ocean when I realised I had a whopper on the line. ‘That is a big fish,’

Isabel Hardman

New curriculum offers political points to Tories

The funny thing about the new National Curriculum, published today, is that after all the fuss of the past few months, particularly over the history curriculum, it’s probably the last ever national plan from the government. As more and more schools convert to academy status, and more free schools pop up to compete with poorly-performing schools, there will be fewer and fewer who must conform to this: the rest have been given freedom to teach what they judge is best for their pupils. Michael Gove’s critics like to argue that he is a great centraliser, dictating the curriculum from Westminster while claiming to give schools freedom. But he only remains

Sunday

7 Jul 2013

Steerpike

Coffee Shots: Wimbledon special

Forget the expressions of joy and pain flitting across Kim Sears’ and Judy Murray’s faces as Andy served, volleyed and leapt to win Wimbledon: David Cameron and Alex Salmond’s reactions to the match were far more entertaining. Cameron seems to have spent more of the afternoon looking behind him to check what it was that Salmond was up to: …which was entirely unsurprising, given this photobomb from Scotland’s First Minister: Meanwhile Salmond seemed a little disturbed by one of his fellow spectators: Mind you, at least Cameron and Salmond did enjoy most of the match… …while Ed Miliband seemed a little, well, distracted: Perhaps he was thinking about doing this:

Isabel Hardman

Ed Miliband prepares for his most testing week yet

While the Tories bask in the glory of Abu Qatada’s deportation, the progress of James Wharton’s Private Member’s Bill, and the general good atmosphere in the party, Labour is trying to work out what the best response to its terrible week is, and how to get to a situation where it is on top of the story, rather than jogging after it. The Independent on Sunday quotes one senior figure today as saying that Ed Miliband only has two weeks in which to resolve the Falkirk row, and his acolytes were out in force today to underline that the fightback is already under way. Michael Dugher has just appeared on

Fraser Nelson

Audio: Wimbledon champion Andy Murray says he’s ‘a British winner’

A Scot has ended Britain’s 77 years of hurt: it’s a glorious day, and Andy Murray’s was a glorious victory. Anticipating this, there were three party leaders watching. From the moment Alex Salmond settled down in Centre Court, you knew what he was up to: he’d have packed a Saltire in his lunchbox and would wave it when the cameras were on him. He was planning to photobomb. Why? Because, to the SNP, sport is more political than politics: their world is all about what flags you wave, which sportsmen you cheer – and which you don’t. The First Minister even tried to hawk the idea of ‘Scolympians’ last year,

Steerpike

Sorry, Salmond, but Britain is cheering a British champion at Wimbledon

The Wimbledon men’s final is now underway and the glamorous (Victoria Beckham, Colleen Rooney) are being joined by the wannabe-glamorous (Miliband, Cameron and Salmond). Mr Steerpike noted Dave – who was gladhanding all and sundry on the way in – was coldshouldered by Salmond. The curry king – who had also been quick to stand and greet everyone else passing – stayed glued to his programme and pretended nothing was happening as the PM loitered to his left. Dave quickly moved on. For Salmond, sport is more political than politics. To the nationalists, it’s all about flags and identity, who you cheer on and who you don’t. Salmond would love

Friday

5 Jul 2013

Isabel Hardman

Ed Miliband and Len McCluskey’s acrimonious rally

Wham! Len McCluskey and Ed Miliband have spent this afternoon hitting criticisms back and forth over the Falkirk row. Earlier, the Labour leader sent a challenge shooting over the net to the Unite boss, telling McCluskey he ‘should be facing up to his responsibilities’. Then the Labour party said it was referring the matter to the police. McCluskey slammed back on Sky News, saying Unite had ‘done nothing wrong’. He said: ‘I’m afraid the way it has been handled by the Labour party headquarters is nothing short of disgraceful.’ And he warned Ed off having a confrontation with the unions: ‘It’s depressing that Labour leaders seem to want to have

Isabel Hardman

MPs back EU referendum bill 304 votes to 0

James Wharton’s Private Member’s Bill has passed its second reading in the House of Commons by 304 votes to 0. The Labour Party’s decision to abstain on the vote, and Conservative backbenchers’ insistence that a vote be held does make the chamber look rather North Korean this afternoon. But what have we learned from just under five hours of debate? Tory HQ’s answer would be five neat points, all entitled ‘Only the Tories will Let Britain Decide’. In reality, the result of the debate wasn’t very interesting (aside from which Labour MPs backed the bill, on which more shortly), but there are still some useful lessons from the debate itself

The Spectator

Sir Ian Kennedy’s speech on MPs’ pay

The Chair of IPSA, Sir Ian Kennedy, gave a speech at the IPPR this morning on MPs’ pay. Here’s what he said: There’s never a good time to do anything about MPs’ pay. The pressing issues of the moment always make it a bad time. This is the sad history of attempts to introduce changes in the way MPs are remunerated. It’s a history that goes back centuries. It’s a history punctuated from time to time by some long overdue catch-up or some kind of fix. There was even a time during the Middle Ages when each community paid its own MP. A number of cunning plans emerged – some

Isabel Hardman

‘Len McCluskey should be facing up to his responsibilities’: Ed Miliband stands up to Unite

Ed Miliband’s supporters have been arguing that he needs to show muscle on the Unite row before his opponents successfully argue that he is a weak leader in thrall to the union puppet masters. While Conservative MPs joked abut Tom Watson’s ‘Buddha’ comments in the Chamber this morning, the Labour leader did speak out about Len McCluskey and the Falkirk row. To his credit, he has shown that muscle. He is referring the Falkirk allegations to the police this afternoon, and this morning, he said: We will act without fear or favour. Instead of defending what happened in Falkirk, Len McCluskey should be facing up to his responsibilities. He should

John Baron

Why Parliament must have a say before Britain decides to arm the Syrian rebels

The uprising against President al-Assad shows little sign of reaching a conclusion. The civil war is causing huge suffering – with atrocities perpetrated on both sides. There are no easy answers. Some in Government actively push for Britain to supply weaponry to the rebels. But this would be a mistake of historic proportions, as it could tilt the conflict towards a truly regional war. This is one reason Parliament should be consulted before lethal support is provided to the rebels. Our debate next week attempts to draw this line in the sand as we head into the summer recess. So far the debate about providing lethal support has been confined

Steerpike

Coffee Shots: Shock Unite resignation

Lib Dem MP Martin Horwood resigns from Unite after taking offence at jokes made by Labour MP Ian Davidson about ‘snivelling liberals’ in the House of Commons. Here is the exchange: Ian Davidson: Well, the Whips have been to see me and they deployed the ultimate threat. They said, “If you think of voting for this, we will send round Len McCluskey.” I said, “I know Len McCluskey. Len McCluskey is a friend of mine. I had Len McCluskey’s support in the last general election. I had the support not only of Len McCluskey but of the GMB, Unison, UCATT and the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen, while

Isabel Hardman

Douglas Alexander’s evasive EU referendum speech suggests his party could change its mind

The Tory party have been having a very fun morning in the Chamber so far. The debate about James Wharton’s Private Member’s Bill for an EU referendum has had the atmosphere of a children’s party. David Cameron was smiling on a frontbench like the indulgent father watching his child getting a little over-excited. William Hague played the part of conjurer, producing a magnificent speech attacking Labour and, to a lesser extent, the Lib Dems, for not giving voters a say. listen to ‘William Hague speaking at the European Union (Referendum) Bill Second Reading’ on Audioboo Dennis Skinner even offered a quick performance at the start, but this time he wasn’t

Isabel Hardman

#letbritaindecide fever grips excited nation

It’s eurosceptic party-time in Westminster today. Finally, the time has come for the Conservatives to show that they are the only ones who will #letbritaindecide. When I arrived in Parliament this morning, I was half-expecting a brass band and bunting to celebrate the momentous occasion of the second reading of James Wharton’s Private Member’s Bill, so excited are Tory MPs. But instead, CCHQ has placed digital posters at a number of sites across London, including the Vauxhall roundabout. You could be forgiven for thinking that the general election is this year, not 2015. The Bill is highly likely to pass its second reading, and the chances are that the Tories