Politics

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

Steerpike

Watch: Jeremy Corbyn’s Queen’s Speech blunder

‘Do you sit down to watch the Queen’s Speech, Mr Corbyn?’ It’s a simple question, but one the Labour leader appeared to struggle with during his interview on ITV. Corbyn responded by saying: ‘It’s on in the morning, usually we have it on some of the time.’ The only problem? As Julie Etchingham pointed out, the Queen’s Christmas Day address is broadcast at 3pm. Corbyn’s response? ‘Well…’ ‘You don’t watch it, do you Mr Corbyn?’ Etchingham asked the Labour leader. Oh dear. Another broadcast interview success for Corbyn…

Fact-check: Will Labour really save the average family £6,700 a year?

John McDonnell claimed in a speech in Birmingham today that the Labour party’s plans to expand free childcare, cut rail ticket prices, and introduce free prescriptions and free school meals, along with various other measures, would save the average family £6,700 a year. Given how much Labour had allocated for these promises in the costings document accompanying its manifesto, I immediately suspected that their figures would not add up. But having seen the Labour dossier which costs this claim, it is impossible to stress – even by the standards of modern politics – how shoddy these numbers are and how quickly they fall apart. This document comes in two parts, the

Steerpike

Watch: Jo Swinson’s battle bus targeted by climate protesters

Jo Swinson’s campaign ground to a halt this morning in Brixton after climate change activists dressed as bees stuck themselves to the front of the Lib Dem battle bus. The party has gone big in its manifesto on tackling what it calls the ‘climate emergency’, vowing to ensure Britain leads ‘the world in tackling’ the issue. But clearly this is not enough for the trio, reportedly from Extinction Rebellion, who are demanding ‘a new form of democracy’. Swinson hopped out of the bus in a bid to convince the activists into ending their protest. But unfortunately her attempt to do so backfired when one of the protesters said it was

Steerpike

Labour tries to quietly edit its manifesto

During this year’s general election campaign, Labour has attempted to repeat their 2017 strategy of costing each commitment made in their manifesto. Given the sums involved, it seems only fair expect the party to lay out – in detail – what they are planning to spend and how they are planning to pay for it. But perhaps this time, their so-called ‘grey book’ wasn’t quite detailed enough. The party has been caught attempting to amend the costings document after its publication two weeks ago. In the original document, the shadow treasury team appear to have confused ‘profit’ with ‘turnover’. Such a mistake will do nothing to allay the fears those

The disturbing truth is that the British far-left is now awash with anti-Semites

Over the years I’ve often myopically associated anti-Semitism with the far-right or Islamist extremists who harbour a special antipathy for Jews. But a new report, Antisemitism Barometer 2019, suggests Jew hatred in Britain is more prevalent amongst the far-left when compared to the far-right. Perhaps this should all come as little surprise, given Corbyn’s Labour is currently under investigation for allegations of anti-Semitism by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). No doubt it’s an uncomfortable truth for Labour moderates to countenance, especially when the only other party to have been investigated by the EHRC is the BNP, which was forced to change their white only membership policy. This isn’t

Labour’s nonsense about the cost of the state

Less than the cost of a Spotify subscription. Less than Netflix charges you every month. True, you might not be able to get the latest Taylor Swift remix or episodes of Stranger Things, but the Labour Party is trying to reach out to the streaming generation with the claim that the state costs you less than either your music or TV fix. According to its Twitter feed, someone earning just £82,000 a year has to pay only £8.33 a month for ‘free healthcare, free education, properly funding the NHS, lifting children out of poverty, ending the climate crisis, and ending homelessness.’ You earn £82k per year. You pay £9 per month for

Patrick O'Flynn

Nish Kumar and the anti-Brexit comedy club

When I was interviewed a long time ago for admission to one of our ancient universities, a don used the phrase “the maintained sector” to describe my educational background. He meant that I was a state school lad and I suppose his implication was that independent schools were somehow more free-thinking, reliable bastions of excellence. At the time I could only see the other side of that particular argument, but the phrase has come to mind again now in a different context. The disastrous reception given to comedian Nish Kumar at yesterday’s Lord’s Taverners’ lunch is a sign that the maintained sector of British comedy has fallen victim to lazy groupthink

Steerpike

The Lib Dems’ Hugh Grant endorsement backfires

The Lib Dems unveiled their secret weapon to revive their flagging election campaign this week. The party managed to win the backing of actor Hugh Grant, who joined Lib Dem candidates Luciana Berger and Chuka Umunna on the campaign trail to plug a so-called ‘Remain Alliance’ between several parties to keep the Tories out of power. Only it looks as though there might already be trouble in paradise. In a gloating post on social media, the Lib Dems showed off their celebrity backer this morning and wrote that ‘only the Lib Dems can take seats off the Tories’. But their refusal to point out that Grant was actually supporting tactical voting

Steerpike

‘Just say sorry’: Jeremy Corbyn confronted over anti-Semitism

Jeremy Corbyn has finally said sorry for anti-Semitism within the Labour party. The Labour leader was asked five times by This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield to apologise to worried Jewish people. Finally, he backed down and said he was ‘obviously very sorry for everything that has happened’: Schofield: ‘Here is your opportunity now to apologise to the Jewish community for any anti-Semitism by labour members.’ Corbyn: ‘Look, our party…can I make it clear?’ Schofield: ‘Just say sorry’ Corbyn: ‘Can I make it clear? Wait a minute…’ Schofield: ‘No, just say sorry’ Corbyn: ‘Can I say something?’ Schofield: ‘I want you to say sorry’ Better late than never…  

Steerpike

Watch: Did Labour’s NHS trade leak come from Russia?

One of Labour’s key messages throughout this election has been the future of the NHS. The party has used confidential US-UK trade documents to drive home their message that Boris Johnson wants to sell off parts of the health service to American businesses. But last night, social media experts told Reuters that the leak of these sensitive documents had the hallmarks of foreign interference. Jeremy Corbyn has used the leaked paperwork as a campaigning prop on multiple occasions, including on the ITV leader’s debate last month. Having looked through the documents, Mr S has his own views on the veracity of Labour’s claims… Earlier this morning, Labour frontbencher Laura Pidcock was invited on to

Katy Balls

Election Special: who would want to be an MP?

34 min listen

Why would any woman want to be an MP in this general election? In recent years, parliament has been plagued by horror stories of abuse against MPs, especially female ones, with a number of them leaving the job before their time. So does parliament have a woman problem? Katy Balls speaks to a series of guests, especially a handful of the young women who are looking to join parliament this election. With Paul Goodman, Isabel Hardman, Inaya Folarin Iman, Rebecca Smith, Danielle Rowley and Claire Coutinho. Presented by Katy Balls.

Ross Clark

If Labour want cheaper fares then getting rid of train staff is a good place to start

Another day, another uncosted bribe from Labour. This time, Corbyn is promising to slash a third off rail fares and allow children to travel for free. What wonderful, munificent people we have putting themselves forward to lead us. And of course, it won’t cost the taxpayer an extra penny because, as Labour’s transport spokesman, Andy McDonald, said this morning, it is all coming from a ‘repurposed’ pot of money – money raised through vehicle excise duty, which had been earmarked for road-building. Except, of course, road-building is capital expenditure and subsidising rail fares is current spending. For all its guff about investing in Britain’s future, what Labour is proposing is

Katy Balls

Security moves to top of the election agenda

With ten days to go until polling day, the election campaign has turned to national security. Following the London Bridge knife attack on Friday by a convicted terrorist which left two members of the public dead, the Conservatives have made a concerted effort to get on the front foot on the issue. Over the weekend, Boris Johnson announced plans for tougher sentencing for terrorists – including a minimum sentence of 14 years. There’s more to come – with Johnson to announce a five-point plan to prevent serious criminals and terrorists from entering the country after Brexit. Given that this is the week the NATO summit comes to town, the Tories were

The failed lessons of the London Bridge attack

Some readers have been asking me to comment on the latest London Bridge terrorism incident. And if I have some reluctance it is only because although ennui comes from writing the same article over and over again, that’s nothing like the feeling you get from writing the same article so often that you don’t even need to change the name of the location of the attack each time now. London Bridge 2 has been pored over enough in recent days. The heroism of certain members of the public has rightly been noted. Politicians of all the main parties have tried to pin the blame for the attacker’s early release on

The Conservatives should not give up on Muslim voters

Amongst many leaflets posted and campaigns found around this general election, we can see groups setting out to ‘mobilise the Muslim vote’. I find the term stomach-churning. I’m a director of Faith Matters, which seeks to foster good relationships between all faith communities. I don’t believe in seeing people’s political choices as some form of block activity or vote: religious, racial, or anything else. But identity politics is, unfortunately, on the rise – and we can see plenty of it in this election campaign. I’ve seen a mailshot from one group that declares: “we kicked out 8 Islamophobic MPs in 3 general elections. Help us kick out 14 more in this one!” I was

Sunday shows round-up: 74 convicted terrorists have been released early

Boris Johnson – We will end automatic early release The Prime Minister joined Andrew Marr this morning to give his first extensive interview since Friday’s terror attack on London Bridge. Usman Khan, who was previously convicted for his involvement in plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange in 2010, killed 2 members of the public, including 25-year-old Jack Merritt. Khan was sentenced to 16 years in prison, but only served half of that before being released under license. Marr challenged Johnson over why the Conservatives had not changed the previous Labour government’s policy of early release for the most violent offenders: BJ: I think it’s repulsive that individuals as dangerous

Transcript: Boris Johnson on Andrew Marr

Boris Johnson appeared on the Andrew Marr Show this morning. Marr grilled the Prime Minister on everything from NHS spending to Andrew Neil. Read the full transcript here: Andrew Marr: Simple question to start with, how could such a man be released onto the streets of Britain after serving only eight years? My final guest this morning is the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. How could it happen, Boris Johnson? Boris Johnson: Well, I’m afraid that when you look at the case, there are a number of conclusions that one can immediately draw. And that is, of course, first of all, Andrew, that I pay tribute to the emergency services, the

Charles Moore

All belief systems must accept the danger of ridicule

In the ‘whataboutery’ which now dominates British politics, no mention of Labour anti-Semitism is complete without a counter-accusation of Tory Islamophobia. It swiftly followed the Chief Rabbi’s condemnation of Labour anti-Semitism on Tuesday. There may well be people in the Conservative party who have an irrational hatred of Muslims, but the term ‘Islamophobia’ should be absolutely resisted. Unlike anti-Semitism, this is a concocted concept. A strand of Muslim thought sees all criticism of the prophet Mohammed and his faith as blasphemy and labours worldwide to ban it. Such Muslims are driven mad by the way Jews can cry ‘racism’ when they are attacked, whereas they cannot. But in fact this