Politics Archives

Wednesday

23 Sep 2009

Banging on about Europe will cost the Lib Dems seats

In his interview with the FT, Nick Clegg says that the Lib Dems have been too “reticent” about making Europe a dividing line with the Tories. There’s little doubt that Clegg, a former MEP is an ideological pro-European. But if he starts banging on about Europe he’ll cause his party problems. The Lib Dems have several seats in the South West, one of the most Euro-sceptic regions of the county. As the European elections results there showed, when Europe is the issue the Lib Dems do badly. If Clegg really does intend to make Europe a key campaign dividing line, then the Tories will fancy their chance of picking up

David Blackburn

What Gordon Brown is really doing in America

It turns out that the PM’s not in America to address the UN about nuclear proliferation and he’s not there to cosy up to the President, although naturally he won’t be able to resist a spot of “Obama Beach-ing”. No, he’s crossed the Pond to be acknowledged as the ‘Saviour of the World’. Iain Martin reports that Brown was crowned ‘Statesman of the Year’ last night by an organisation called, ironically, ‘Appeal of Conscience’, who’ve evidently never heard of 0% spending rises, Damian McBride or Colonel Gadaffi. The PM must be dead chuffed; it’s a very prestigious award: it was presented by Bono. Satire’s dead.

David Blackburn

Gordon Brown gets something right!

Gordon Brown is expected to offer to decommission one of Britain’s four Trident submarines as part of nuclear non-proliferation discussions at the UN today. The Times has the details: ‘Mr Brown will signal tomorrow that he is ready to negotiate at a meeting of the UN Security Council on nuclear non-proliferation. It follows President Obama’s decision to ditch the US missile defence shield in Eastern Europe. That move, and Russia’s delighted response, has bolstered hopes that a new non-proliferation treaty could be agreed next spring. Officials travelling with the Prime Minister to New York insisted that there was no question of surrendering Britain’s independent nuclear deterrent. They claimed that current

Fraser Nelson

‘This job isn’t good for the soul’

Alistair Darling talks to Fraser Nelson about the importance of telling the truth, why Labour’s cuts are ‘kinder’, and the disheartening trudge between Number 11 and the Commons Is Scottish black pudding made from the blood of pig or sheep? Alistair Darling insists it’s sheep. ‘I don’t have any in at the moment, I’m afraid,’ he says, almost apologetically. But he gives me the name of the butcher in his beloved Isle of Lewis — Charley Barley — from whom he orders his supplies. It’s 50 minutes into our interview and a Treasury aide, who had hoped to keep the interview to 35 minutes, throws down his pen, declaring that

Melissa Kite

How far can Balls bounce?

As leadership hopefuls go, Ed Balls is not the most obvious candidate to win hearts and minds. A divisive figure behind the scenes and a stilted performer in front of the camera, he has — to put it politely — not always exhibited the qualities most closely associated with future prime ministers. But his reputation as a strategist is legendary, which is probably why there was a frisson of excitement last week when he made a foray into the Labour leadership debate by expressing a sudden enthusiasm for spending cuts. His swashbuckling pledge to find £2 billion worth of savings raised pulses, not least because Balls has been arguing privately

Martin Bright

It’s over. Labour’s only hope is the next generation

No one in the Labour party now believes the next election is winnable. Last year, there were a few who believed in an outside chance of victory. There are still some who hope that some unexpected catastrophe might yet befall David Cameron. There will be a collective brave face put on by delegates who gather in Brighton next week — but this falls well short of genuine conviction. There is a difference between loyalty and delusion. This time, no one is in any doubt about the defeat in prospect. A rabbit could, of course, be pulled out of the hat at conference. But there would be little point. The polls are

Tuesday

22 Sep 2009

Martin Bright

Politics Home – A Very Sad Development

It is with great sadness that I have tonight resigned as a member of the PoliticsHome panel. I was a founder associate editor of the site and I think Freddie Sayers and his team should be proud of everything they have achieved. It has become the first port of call for anyone with an interest in Westminster politics. But following reports of the purchase of a majority stake in the site by the Conservative Party’s vice-chairman Lord Ashcroft, Andrew Rawnsley resigned as Editor-in-Chief and it is no longer possible to vouch for the independence of the site or the balance of the panel. Tom Watson MP has written about this and

James Forsyth

Lib Dem conference goes from bad to worse for Clegg

After an awful conference so far, the last thing the Lib Dems needed was for another internal row to threaten to overshadow the leader’s speech. But that is what has happened. 18 of the 29 member Federal Policy Committee, which produces the Lib Dem manifesto, have written to The Guardian saying that they will include in it a commitment to scrap tuition fees regardless of what the leadership wants. This is not the only open defiance of Nick Clegg’s authority. Steve Webb, the party’s work and pensions spokesman, has moved on from slapping down Clegg over the possibility of means-testing child benefit to, as The Guardian reports it, ‘saying the

James Forsyth

Tories cock-a-hoop about Lib Dem disarray

Every Tory I have spoken to this week has said the same thing, ‘aren’t the Lib Dems having a terrible time.’ The Tories are particularly happy because they see the Lib Dems’ credibility on economics taking a battering thanks to the total confusion over Cable’s proposed new tax on million-pound homes. They also think that the new Lib Dem policy will hurt the Lib Dems in a lot of the Southern seats the Tories are trying to win—Richmond, Winchester, Meon Valley and Taunton—as well as in three way marginals like Hampstead and Kilburn. The other thing that is putting a smile on Tory faces is the Lib Dems downgrading

David Blackburn

Is bad publicity really better than no publicity?

The Liberal Democrat’s party conference is the one occasion when they are guaranteed what they need most: publicity. This year has seen them dominate the headlines, albeit negatively. Unashamedly public in-fighting followed Nick Clegg’s extraordinary pronouncement about “savage cuts”. Steve Webb’s rejection of Clegg’s plans to tighten up ‘middle-class benefits’ and Charles Kennedy’s thinly veiled call to arms against the proposed abolition of the pledge to abolish tuition fees were minor squabbles compared to the Mansions tax debacle. Yesterday, I suggested the proposal was sensible; it isn’t. In theory it’s not a bad idea for a targeted super tax (a fiscal expedient necessary for tackling Brown’s deficit), but the Lib

Alex Massie

Vince Cable – Clever Chap; Hopeless Politician

The other thing to be borne in mind about the Liberal Democrats – apart, that is, from the fact that they betray proper liberalism every day – is that they’re hopeless at politics. Vince Cable’s proposals on freezing public sector pay, reforming pensions and increasing the personal allowance are actually all very sensible. Good policies in fact! Worth talking about! So what does he do? Only ruin everything by proposing an absurd, back-of-a-napkin plan to tax large houses still further. (That the Lib Dems are, or used to be becauses, really, who can tell these days, in favour of replacing property taxes with a local income tax merely adds to

David Blackburn

Are the knives out for Vince?

This morning it emerged that Julia Goldsworth, the Lib Dems’ communities’ spokesman, who nominally supervises local taxation, knew nothing of the mansion tax until hearing it announced over the radio. The Guardian’s Allegra Stratton writes that Goldsworthy’s disclosure proves that Clegg and Cable run a ‘duopoly on leadership’. Cable is not as popular within his party and resentment is building on the frontbenches. Andrew Neil reports that a private meeting of Lib Dem MPs rounded on Cable and his “suicidal” mansion tax. Also, Stratton was informed by one frontbencher that “Clegg will have to sack Vince” after the election. Cable has begun to resemble the court’s jester rather than its

David Blackburn

Brown: No further action necessary over Scotland scandal

Baroness Scotland has survived. Mr Brown said: “The government takes seriously breaches of this important protection against illegal immigration and as a result Baroness Scotland has made the fullest of apologies and paid the fine. “In line with the Ministerial Code I have consulted the Cabinet Secretary and, given the UK Border Agency is satisfied she did not knowingly employ an illegal worker and took steps to check the documents, I have concluded that no further action is necessary given the investigation and action that has already been taken by the appropriate authorities and her unreserved apology.” This was not a sacking issue – it was a civil, not

David Blackburn

The love that dare not speak its name

The Conservatives’ unrequited love for the Liberal Democrats receives attention this morning. The Times’ Rachel Sylvetser points out that in reality, away from dreams of government and official opposition, the Lib Dems have everything to gain by giving in to David Cameron’s and Eric Pickles’ serenades: ‘They set themselves up as the party of honesty, who will tell the truth about fiscal restraint, but on the issue over which they have most control — the role they would play in a hung Parliament — they offer only obfuscation. They define themselves constantly in terms of the other two parties, then when it comes to the crunch they refuse to say

Monday

21 Sep 2009

James Forsyth

More than half of those who voted Labour in 2005 say they won’t do so this time round

The new ICM poll for The Guardian shows the Tories in an extremely strong position heading into conference season. They are on 43 percent, 17 points ahead of Labour. The extent of Labour’s fall since the last election is illustrated by the fact that only 47 percent of those who voted for the party then intend to do so again. Indeed, even 40 percent of those who have remained loyal to Labour now expect a Tory victory at the next election. The poll also shows that Labour is not seen as credible on the state of the public finances by the electorate. Only 14 percent of voters believe that Labour is

David Blackburn

A dish served better cold

A great piece of digging by the FT’s Jim Pickard: ‘In theory we won’t know the exact line-up at Labour Party Conference until the weekend. But I have it on good authority that David Miliband won’t be talking until Thursday – at which point most sane people will have packed up and gone home. Could this be some kind of punishment for his banana-wielding “disloyalty” at last year’s conference? Perish the thought.’

David Blackburn

Cable’s attack on the Tories does nothing for the Lib Dem’s credibility

Vince Cable’s caricature of Tory economic policy was so disingenuous that it failed to hit its target. He said: “The Tories propose cuts, carried out in secret behind closed doors after the election, if they win.” The Conservatives have pioneered the cuts debate and the other parties have followed. Although I’d like to see more detailed plans of Tory cuts, the party has been upfront about the necessity for and extent of cuts and where they might be made. Then, Cable contrasted Tory secrecy and centralisation with Liberal openness and localism: “We want an open, democratic debate about priorities. They want to control everything from Whitehall – just like Labour.

Alex Massie

Lockerbie & the Scotland Act

Could government ministers in London have stepped-in to prevent the release of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi? A report in Scotland on Sunday yesterday says yes they could: Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy could have overruled Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill and stopped the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi if the case was deemed to have breached “international obligations”. Senior diplomats have insisted there was a “clear understanding” between the UK and the US that Megrahi would serve out his sentence in Scotland. The US Justice and State departments have also insisted they had been given assurances in the 1990s that Megrahi would remain imprisoned under Scottish jurisdiction. […]Andrew Mackinlay, a senior

Peter Hoskin

The Tories must ready themselves for the coming tax battle

You may not agree with the specifics, but one of the successes of the Lib Dem conference so far has been to shift the debate about our fiscal recovery from one wholly about spending cuts to one about tax changes too. This is a necessary step. For reasons which have been delved into by Danny Finkelstein, spending restraint alone won’t be enough to tackle Brown’s debt mountain. There will have to be tax rises. And, what’s more, they will have to be efficient and – as far as possible – fair. These points are made by Jackie Ashley in today’s Guardian, who argues that Labour should move as quickly as

Alex Massie

Could You Vote for the Liberal Democrats?

Sometimes, you know, I wish I could. Then the Liberal Democrats come along to remind one how difficult it is to support them. But, in theory, could one vote for a truly liberal party? Of course one could. And would, if only one were so available. In Massie’s Better Ordered Political Landscape the Liberal Democrats would, roughly speaking, be the equivalent of Germany’s Free Democrats*. It’s true that there are some liberals** in the Lib Dems – one thinks of the gang at Liberal Vision and other bloggers such as Charlotte Gore – but they’re a minority within their own minority. As Mark Littlewood says, a new BBC poll confirms