Politics

Back when John Bercow was in the Commons’ hot seat, a Tory telling-off was part of the daily run of events. Things have changed under his replacement Lindsay Hoyle. But today the speaker took no prisoners as he berated the government over its use of emergency coronavirus powers.  At the start of PMQs today, Hoyle accused ministers of showing ‘total disregard’ and ‘contempt’ for parliament. He said: ‘The way in which the government has exercised its powers…during this crisis has been totally unsatisfactory. All too often, important statutory instruments have been published a matter of hours before they come into force. The government must make greater efforts to prepare measures more

Everyone forgets the third article of impeachment. The charge sheet against Richard Nixon, adopted by the House judiciary committee following the Watergate burglary and a conspiracy to impede its investigation, famously accused the president, first, of obstruction of justice and, second, of violating citizens’ constitutional rights. Thirteen days later, on August 9, 1974, and with impeachment all but certain, Nixon became the first president to resign the Oval Office. What did for him as much as what could be heard on the Nixon tapes was his refusal to hand them over until forced to by the Supreme Court. This formed the basis of Article III of the indictment: that the president

Keir Starmer’s achievement is remarkable: ten months after Boris Johnson’s resounding victory, he has transformed Labour from no-hopers into a force that is terrifying the Tories. As the Conservative tribe prepares to gather for its virtual party conference, the obvious question is whether defeat at the next election is a realistic prospect. The answer, unlike in January 2020 must be: yes. Its likelihood, however, is a different matter.  A wise Tory strategist would be looking at the contrasting elections of 1992 and 1997 and taking note. At the same time, they should heed an important addendum to Denis Healey’s well known First Law of Holes (‘If in a hole stop digging’) that