Politics

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

Monday

Peter Hoskin

Another considerable lead

More encouraging news for Boris, on the day that he formally launched his mayoral campaign. The latest YouGov / Evening Standard poll puts the Spectator’s candidate 10 percentage points clear of Ken Livingstone. He also leads Ken on second preference votes.   Admittedly, it’s a bit down on his 12-point lead of two weeks ago. But at least it proves that wasn’t a freak result. The tide is certainly in Boris’s favour. UPDATE: Over at Red Box, Sam Coates wonders whether Boris might scrap the congestion charge.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Come and get me

Charles Clarke’s interview in The Independent is good value. He lets rip with his now trademark straight talk, declaring that he’s “frustrated that Labour does not seem to be doing enough to offer real solutions to the major problems of the future, nor be convincing about our capacity to overcome the challenges we face” and criticising Gordon Brown for “allowing a sense of indecision to develop.” But, interestingly, he issues a ‘come and get me’ call about returning to government in response to a question from one reader: “Would you ever take a Cabinet position under Gordon Brown? Richard Collins by email Yes, certainly but any such appointment is a

The Spectator

Just in case you missed them… | 31 March 2008

Here are some of the posts made over the weekend: James Forsyth reports on how divisions in Team Brown are working against Douglas Alexander. Fraser Nelson decodes Ivan Lewis’ ideas on where the Labour Party should head next. And Peter Hoskin suggests that “Cycle-gate” hasn’t harmed David Cameron, and attacks Michael Martin’s life of luxury.

Sunday

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Decoding Lewis

It’s always a pleasure when a Labour MP – panicked about impending defeat – ruminates about the future for their party strategy. It’s rarer for a minister to do so – which is why Ivan Lewis’s piece in Progress (picked up in today’s News of the World) is worth reading. Here’s my decoder: 1) “We must show we’re on the side of ordinary people if Labour is to win again.” (People don’t think we’re on their side, and we’re heading for defeat.) 2) “The New Labour coalition which has delivered our unprecedented three terms is now under severe strain.” (Now Blair’s gone, the aspirational C1s and C2s are deserting us.)

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Someone really doesn’t like Douglas Alexander

Last Sunday, The Observer suggested that Douglas Alexander’s political career was effectively over after a falling out with the Prime Minister. This Sunday brings another anti-Alexander briefing with The News of the World reporting that he’s been dubbed ‘worst minister ever’ at DFID and that when the cabinet split up into break out groups, a Stephen carter innovation, Alexander was the last to be picked. The string of stories in recent days about divisions within the Brown camp shows that the tensions between the old Brownites and the new Carter-recruited team are a potentially lethal threat to Brown’s premiership. But the briefing against Alexander seems more likely to be a

Peter Hoskin

Is the curtain falling on Mugabe?

The results of yesterday’s elections in Zimbabwe aren’t due out for few more days.  But the opposition MDC party is already claiming victory.  According to their own counts at polling stations, they’ve “massacred” Robert Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party.  Says the MDC secretary general: “We’ve won this election.  The results coming in show that in our traditional strongholds we are massacring them.  In Mugabe’s traditional strongholds they are doing very badly.  There is no way Mugabe can claim victory unless it is through fraud.  He has lost this election.” It’s a risky move.  On the one hand, it takes the fight squarely to Mugabe – almost daring him to fiddle the

Saturday

Peter Hoskin

A life of luxury

£1.7 million of taxpayer’s money. That’s how much Michael Martin’s spent on his home and garden since 2001. Of that, some £700,000 went on merely prettifying the Speaker’s official residence. Well done, Mr. Speaker. You’ve now outdone Lord Irvine. The worst thing is that the system allows all this. But that doesn’t excuse Martin. The point’s been made countless times that the Speaker should set an example. And the above sums are just beyond the pale. Every fresh revelation only strengthens the calls for him to go.

Peter Hoskin

Cycling ahead

This post over at Three Line Whip makes a good point. That fun Mirror story about Cameron “flouting the laws” as he cycled to Parliament doesn’t seem to have done the Tory leader any harm. As far as I can tell, there’s been no widespread anger. No anti-“toff” sentiment. Nothing. Brownites must be terribly disappointed. The Mirror has – I’m sure unwittingly – played a part in the response. They’ve followed their scoop with stories which play-up the comic aspects of it all. But it’s no less encouraging for Team Cameron that the “he’s too posh for the rest of us” charge is failing to stick. P.S. If you’re stuck

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Fear and loathing in Downing Street

Toby Helm’s piece in the Telegraph on the mood in Downing Street is this morning’s must read. Helm reports that it was the Brownite old guard who leaked Stephen Carter’s plan to bring back Tony Blair’s old speechwriter Phil Collins in an attempt to stop it from happening.  It also seems that Brown’s paranoia has returned, Helm recounts that: “The rustling of the Blairites has merely added to Mr Brown’s unease. During a visit to Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium this week with President Sarkozy, the Prime Minister was annoyed to see Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair’s former chief of staff, with whom he never got on, appear through the crowd. Mr Powell

The Spectator

The abolition of fatherhood

The Spectator on the Government’s handling of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill To date, the government’s hand-ling of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill has resembled what might be called ‘Vicky Pollard politics’. Challenged to grant MPs a free vote on these far-reaching and ethically contentious proposals, the Prime Minister’s officials sent hugely confusing signals: ‘Yeah but no but yeah but no but yeah.’ Now the Prime Minister has finally conceded that Labour MPs will be able to vote with their consciences on three key issues: the striking of the phrase ‘need for a father’ from the rules governing IVF treatment; so-called ‘saviour siblings’; and the creation of hybrid human-animal embryos. The

Friday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Harman’s turn in the limelight

Some of the most memorable PMQs of recent times were when John Prescott faced William Hague. The two-men both went at it with vigour and the total contrast in styles made for entertaining viewing. Now, it looks like we’re in for another classic contest because, as Sam Coates reports, Harriet Harman will be standing in for Gordon Brown next week. No official word yet on who will deputise for David Cameron, but if past performance is anything to go by it will be Hague; a Hague-Harman contest would be good for Tory morale if nothing else.

Peter Hoskin

Getting down to business

The problem with speeches on matters fiscal is that they can often be quite dull – full of dreary statistics and technical lingo. The oratory efforts of Brown and Darling are full testament to that. But today – in his speech to business figures – David Cameron makes a good fist of it. It’s fairly engaging stuff.   It helps, of course, that he talks a lot of sense, even if it’s still in quite general terms. Here, for instance, is what he had to say on responding to the banking crisis:  “We need to avoid a rush to judgement and an instant rewriting of all the regulatory rules. Indeed, the worst response to

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The Carter clear out continues

Sam Coates flags up an article in PR Week which says that Stephen Carter is looking for a new speechwriter for Gordon Brown and is considering the position of Deborah Mattinson, Brown’s pollster. It seems that the re-Blairisation of Downing Street has now reached such a point that Carter is approaching Blair’s old speechwriters to see if they can be tempted back into the fold which is quite ironic considering how some of those being invited back were hardly Gordon’s biggest fans.

Peter Hoskin

More good news for the Tories

There’s more poll cheer for the Tories this morning. The latest YouGov poll for the Telegraph puts them on 43 percent (up 3 from last month); Labour on 29 percent (down 4); and the Lib Dems on 17 percent (up 1). Another double-digit lead, then. What’s most encouraging for the Tories is how voters are turning away from the Government over the economy. The “feel-good factor” stands at minus 52 percent, its lowest-ever level. And only 27 percent of respondents think that Labour have the best economic policies, compared to 35 percent for the Tories. Gordon Brown has always boasted that he’s the best man to have at the helm

Thursday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Hillary of Belfast (Again)

Gosh, from this remarkable exchange with Jamie Rubin you could almost be forgiven for thinking that Hillary Clinton had more to do with the Northern Irish “peace process” than, hmmm, David Trimble. As Toby Harnden relates: You can watch the video here. The relevant part starts about 5 minutes and 30 seconds in. Andrea Mitchell is asking him why Hillary Clinton appears to be exaggerating her role, which the former First Lady recently described as “instrumental”. He pulls out a piece of paper and reads a quotation from the late Mo Mowlam, former Northern Ireland Secretary, about Hillary helping to bring about an economic boom. Mitchell: “As you know, there

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Cameron talks tax

David Cameron has an interview with tomorrow’s FT where he comes up with lots of reasons why there will be no tax cuts. Here’s the gist. 1. The tax burden is a not a useful yardstick to judge a government by. As he says: “Using the tax burden is never a good idea because you can reduce or increase the tax burden depending on what you do with government borrowing. It is not a good measure of our success.” 2. The “success” of a Conservative government should be judged not on tax cuts but on whether it delivered economic stability. 3. Public finances are in a “bad state” although that

Peter Hoskin

Prepare for 2010

As Iain Dale reports, Wendy Alexander may have let slip with with the date of the next election.  Here’s what she told the Glasgow Herald: “We’re now in a continuous campaigning environment where we look forward to European elections next year, the General Election the year after that, the Scottish Parliament election the year after that and the council elections the year after, and really transforming our organisation for that environment.” So that makes it 2010.  No huge surprise, but now we can mentally prepare for (at least) two more years of Brownies.

Peter Hoskin

One hundred days

What’s the verdict, then, on Nick Clegg’s first 100 days as Lib Dem leader? Not good, I’d say. Sure, he got off to a solid start – making positive noises on public service reform and the economy. But things went rapidly awry with his appalling actions over the Lisbon Treaty. The bizarre way in which he forced his MPs to back down from a manifesto commitment has quite rightly attracted a lot of negative press. And there will be few more embarrassing incidents than that orchestrated walk-out in this – or in any other – Parliament.   What’s more, the subsequent recovery attempt hasn’t been all that impressive. Clegg’s started to peddle the anti-Westminster approach (Exhibit

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Why Blair backed the Iraq war

Do read Steve Richards in The Independent today. He makes an interesting case that Tony Blair’s decision to support the war in Iraq was a result of political pragmatism not moralism. He also suggests that Blair might have thought that backing Iraq would position him perfectly to take Britain into the euro: “At some stage, Mr Blair wanted to fight a referendum on the euro. If he stayed close to the US on Iraq, he could never be accused of being anti-American and indiscriminately pro-European.” What Richards has also reminded us of, is just how crucial the position of the opposition will be if the Iran crisis reaches a point

Peter Hoskin

Brown turns his back on Ken

According to a Times report this morning, Gordon Brown is set to jump from the sinking ship that is HMS Livingstone.  Downing Street has “all but written off” Ken’s chances, and the Prime Minister will be out-of-the-country when the Mayoral race comes to a climax.  Although – the way things have been going for the Government – it might be a blessing for Ken not to be shadowed by Brown and his pained grin.