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Politics

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

Thursday

Conrad Black

Of course president Trump was acquitted

The impeachment of President Trump was unfounded in law and in fact and was never anything but a smear-job organised by the Democratic House intelligence chairman (Adam Schiff) with a pretend whistleblower. Trump asked the president of Ukraine for the facts about the association of former vice president Biden and his son’s activities in Ukraine, not a condemnation; that was not inappropriate. president Zelensky has said there was no pressure, the investigation seems not to have occurred, and the assistance to Ukraine was sent within legislated deadlines. The House of Representatives procedure was spurious; the president received none of the rights accorded to defendants in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights,

Wednesday

Katy Balls Katy Balls

The motivation behind the government’s plans for the BBC

Since Boris Johnson returned to No. 10 with a majority of 80, there’s been a growing sense that the Prime Minister and his team plan to use their newfound political capital to challenge the status quo. High on the list of institutions and conventions that they believe require a shake-up is the BBC. Today Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan began to put the meat on the bones of the government’s vision for the public service broadcaster. In a speech at Policy Exchange on the future of media and broadcasting, the Conservative peer confirmed that the government is launching a consultation on whether to decriminalise non-payment of the licence fee. She also

Steerpike Steerpike

UN climate change summit president: runners and riders

After Claire Perry O’Neill was unceremoniously dumped as the president of the COP26 UN climate change summit in Glasgow, it was revealed today that Boris Johnson had been casting his net wide in search of her successor. It has been reported that Boris asked none other than David Cameron to take Claire Perry O’Neill’s place, before moving on to William Hague. As neither were available (Cameron has said he had ‘a lot of things’ on his plate, Hague said he preferred writing books), Jeremy Corbyn’s office helpfully suggested that Ed Miliband should be given the top job. He certainly has the time, although Mr S thinks he’s unlikely to be

Steerpike Steerpike

Geoffrey Cox’s brave public engagement

Some ministers prefer to jump before they’re pushed. Take Philip Hammond, who opted to walk away last year before the inevitable happened. So Mr S. can’t help but wonder whether Geoffrey Cox is soon to follow suit. Reports have already emerged that Cox is planning a return to life as a barrister. And who can blame the embattled Attorney General? Cox came under immense pressure during last summer’s prorogation wrangle when he attracted criticism for suggesting the suspension of parliament was ‘lawful and within the constitution’. The Supreme Court had other ideas. And it seems Cox may now be preparing to spill the beans on his time in the Cabinet,

Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

Corbyn’s aggressive pessimism was on display again at PMQS

Climate change dogged PMQs today. ‘We are at the eleventh hour to save the planet,’ announced Jeremy Corbyn grimly. The experts who warn of disaster have clearly caught the Labour leader’s ear. ‘Coastal flooding and crop failures could threaten political chaos,’ said Noel Brown, director of the UN Environment Programme. He added that a polar thaw could lift sea-levels by three feet within ten years. Mind you, he was speaking in 1989 so today’s crisis may not be as serious as some like to claim. Corbyn moaned about the upcoming climate change conference in Glasgow which is suddenly leaderless. Ex-minister, Claire Perry, has stepped aside from her role as conference

Richard Ekins

How the crackdown on terrorists can avoid the Human Rights Act trap

Some human rights lawyers have warned that emergency legislation to prevent automatic early release of convicted terrorists – confirmed by Boris Johnson at Prime Minister’s Questions today – may be unlawful and will be challenged in the courts. But the warning should not deter Parliament from enacting this legislation. It is for Parliament, not the courts, to decide how best to protect the public and how to treat convicted terrorists fairly. In the wake of Sunday’s terrorist attack in Streatham, attention has rightly turned to the scandal of automatic early release of highly dangerous terrorists. Sudesh Amman, the Streatham attacker, had been released from custody in late January, having served

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Damian Green made life difficult for Boris at PMQs

Today’s PMQs contained an example of an almost perfect backbench question. Damian Green, who was Theresa May’s number two, asked if the aim was to reduce Huawei’s share of the 5G network from 35 per cent, and when it would hit zero per cent. Boris Johnson replied that the aim was to reduce Huawei’s share but he conspicuously failed to answer when it would hit zero. Green’s question, followed up by David Davis, shows that concern over the Huawei decision has not abated on the Tory benches. Boris Johnson’s commitment to reduce Huawei’s share of the network will be enough for some. But I suspect that until the Government set

Steerpike Steerpike

Diane Abbott: military man ‘unlikely’ to have been bullied by Bercow

John Bercow has come under renewed fire this week over allegations he bullied members of staff while working in the Commons. Former Black Rod David Leakey came forward to claim that Bercow – who denies the allegations – ‘brutalised Commons staff’. And Lord Lisvane, a former chief clerk of the House of Commons has also submitted bullying allegations about Bercow to the parliamentary standards authority. But happily, Bercow does still have some friends in high places to support his battle to gain entry into the Lords, including Labour’s Diane Abbott. The shadow home secretary pledged her support to the ex-speaker this morning. Abbott tweeted that it was ‘unlikely’ Leakey had

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Is Sajid Javid at war with No. 10?

When Boris Johnson oversees his first post-election reshuffle in the coming days, just one of his ministers has been publicly promised that they will stay put: Sajid Javid. Yet this seeming endorsement does not mean the pair have an entirely harmonious relationship. That announcement, made during the general election campaign, was done partly because there was so much speculation that Javid would be fired that it was becoming an unnecessary distraction. Javid’s relationship with No. 10 has been widely scrutinised since he got the job. That bond between a prime minister and their chancellor has the potential to define a premiership – Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s tempestuous relations eventually

Tuesday

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Boris Johnson’s greatest challenge is nothing to do with Brexit

The Scottish papers carry two difficult polls for Downing Street. One, from Survation, puts support for independence at 50/50; another, from Panelbase, has it at 52 per cent in favour and 48 per cent against. The cursed percentages. I say difficult polls for Downing Street rather than Westminster in general because the Union — not Brexit, or terrorism, or northern regeneration — is the number one challenge facing Boris Johnson’s government. I appreciate that I banged on about this as recently as Friday but I intend to keep banging on about it because a) it’s true, and b) I cannot bring myself to care about Nish Kumar. The Prime Minister’s

Nick Cohen Nick Cohen

It’s time to pick a side in Boris Johnson’s war on the media

Boris Johnson is the first party leader of the media age. Winston Churchill and Michael Foot wrote extensively. But Johnson is a journalist. Before he went into politics, producing Tory commentary and editing this magazine were the achievements that defined him. And yet no modern prime minister has shown a greater determination to limit media scrutiny. Whether it is banning ministers from appearing on the Today programme and Good Morning Britain, or banning them and their special advisers from talking to journalists, Johnson is revealing himself to be a brooding suspicious politician, wholly at odds with his cheeky chappie persona. Even when a terrorist attacked civilians on a London street,

Matthew Lynn

Boris’s eco plans will end in tears

At least no one will be able to accuse it of not caring about the environment. The government has just bought forward its ban on all diesel, petrol and hybrid cars to 2035. From that date onwards, you will only be allowed to buy electric or hydrogen vehicles. The gas-guzzling, polluting SUVs we all like so much will be banished from the road, and all those petrol stations will be replaced with sleek charging stations. There is a problem, however, and it is far from a minor one. The government shouldn’t be telling us what to drive – because consumers left to themselves can decide for themselves. True, there is

Steerpike Steerpike

Starmer’s double standards

Keir Starmer has complained to the head of the civil service after a spat between political journalists and Downing Street. The row broke out after No. 10 insisted that only ‘senior, specialist members of the lobby’ could attend a briefing with Brexit negotiator David Frost. Several journalists decided to walk out of No. 10 as a result. But now Sir Keir has come to their rescue. The Labour leadership hopeful has written to Sir Mark Sedwill criticising Boris Johnson’s media operation. In the letter, which carries Starmer’s official campaign logo, the former Corbyn loyalist complained that briefing attendees ‘should not be determined by political favouritism’. The Holborn MP goes on

John Keiger John Keiger

What Macron wants in the post-Brexit negotiations

Since Boris gained his 80-strong majority in the Commons, a chasm has opened up between what the French reckoned they would be able to extract from Britain in the post-Brexit EU negotiations and what Emmanuel Macron will now prioritise. A number of other events have also chastened the French (and Brussels) beyond the election result, such as: Boris’s decision to legislate for no extension to the transition period; the Government’s rejection of Lord’s amendments to the Withdrawal bill; the Chancellor’s message that the nation’s interests come before British business; Washington’s commitment to seal a trade deal with Britain by the end of the year; and London’s decision to begin parallel

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Bloomberg wins the Iowa caucus – by not being in the race

It would be sad if it wasn’t quite so funny. In the race to declare success without knowing the result of the Iowa caucuses, Pete Buttigieg is the winner. But then, as campaigns prepare to release their own data, in lieu of any official results, the real victors are confusion, Donald Trump, and Michael Bloomberg. ‘Quality checks’, ‘inconsistencies’ and ‘technical difficulties’ are the theme of the night. People are already saying that ‘caucuses’ are clearly now outdated and must be abandoned, but the problem seems to be the toxic combination of old electoral practices, half-thought through reforms, and bad new technology. Trump is already crowing on Twitter. Bloomberg hasn’t yet

Steven Fielding

Labour’s class obsession shows how far the party has shifted from its origins

Labour is currently all at sea over class – and at risk of drowning. For a party whose members imagine themselves to be the only legitimate representatives of working people the last election has provoked an existential crisis. George Orwell once said Britain is ‘the most class-ridden society under the sun’. That may no longer be the case, but Labour is determined to prove Orwell right. In December, Boris Johnson smashed Labour’s ‘Red Wall’ and captured constituencies in the north and midlands whose histories evoked some of the greatest moments of proletarian struggle. The resulting symbolism is painful for Labour: the Durham Miners Gala will now take place surrounded by

Monday

Brendan O’Neill Brendan O’Neill

Spare us Nish Kumar and the BBC’s anti-Brexit sneering

Friday was Brexit day. The day that the largest act of democracy in the history of this country was finally enacted. The day when the wishes of 17.4m people finally became a reality. And how did the BBC, the national broadcaster, mark this extraordinary democratic day? With a sneer, of course. A smug, aloof, bitter sneer at the entire country. Not only did BBC reporters huff and moan at the mass pro-Brexit gathering in Parliament Square, coming off like anthropologists who had happened upon some bizarre, exotic tribe. It also chose that day to push out anti-Brexit nonsense via its kids’ wing, CBBC. Yes, even children must now be subjected

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Emergency terror laws set to end early prisoner release

The government has this afternoon unveiled its response to the Streatham terrorist incident on Sunday – which saw a man recently released for terror offences stab civilians in south London. Speaking in the Chamber, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said that the government will table emergency legislation to end automatic early release for convicted terrorists. Under the plans, terror offenders will only be considered for release if they have served two-thirds of their sentence rather than half and then it will be subject to the approval of the parole board. Crucially, this will retrospectively end automatic early release for 220 convicted terrorists who are currently behind bars. Explaining the decision, Buckland

James Forsyth James Forsyth

How the deadlock can be broken in trade talks with the EU

Michel Barnier’s press conference this morning and Boris Johnson’s speech served as reminders as to how far apart on a trade deal the EU and the UK currently are. The EU view is that any tariff free, quota free trade deal must include ‘robust commitments to ensure a level playing field’. The EU seems to be implying that it wants more than just non-regression on this front. But the UK negotiating position, as set out in a written ministerial statement, is that the trade deal cannot include ‘any regulatory alignment, any jurisdiction for the CJEU over the UK’s laws, or any supranational control in any area’. These two positions are

Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson: Britain must become the Superman of global free trade

This morning Boris Johnson spoke at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, setting out Britain’s plans for a trade deal with the EU. Below is a transcript of the speech: “It is great to welcome everyone here to Greenwich and I invite you first to raise your eyes to the heavens. The Vatican has Michelangelo. Greenwich has Thornhill who spent 20 years flat on his back on top of the scaffolding, so rigid that his arm became permanently wonky, and he’s left us this gorgeous and slightly bonkers symbolic scene that captures the spirit of the United Kingdom in the early 18th century. This painting above you was started