Politics

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

Wednesday

Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

Oodles of synthetic outrage at Boris’s PMQs debut

That was fun. Boris Johnson’s debut at PMQs had a bit of everything. Comedy, passion, swearing, name-calling, and oodles of synthetic outrage. Several parliamentary conventions were tested to breaking point. The PM instantly took the fight to his opponents who are conspiring to halt Brexit by passing a delaying measure later today. ‘The Surrender Bill’, he called it. He labelled Jeremy Corbyn ‘a chlorinated chicken’ who believes that Britain’s closest allies reside in Teheran and Caracas, and not in Berlin or the White House. ‘I think he’s Caracas.’ He accused Labour of inciting ‘mobs of Momentum activists to paralyse the traffic.’ He imagined hordes of black-clad rebels blocking bridges, chanting

Charles Moore Charles Moore

There’s nothing wrong with Rees-Mogg lying down in the Commons

In the debate on Tuesday, the standard of speaking was high. As well as Jacob Rees-Mogg, Ken Clarke, Anna Soubry, Nick Boles, Liam Fox and David Cameron’s replacement in Witney, Robert Courts, were all excellent. On the whole, the rebels were the more eloquent, as rebels usually are. Their one false note, however, was that of self-pity. There was too much — from Boles, Soubry and (though humorous) Clarke — about how they had suffered for their faith. This exemplified one of the main reasons millions feel alienated from parliament: so many MPs are ‘up themselves’ about a decision made by the people. Poor Rees-Mogg was much abused for lying prone

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Boris Johnson’s confusing election stance

Does Boris Johnson want an election or does he not want an election? He managed to make both claims this afternoon at Prime Minister’s Questions, accusing Jeremy Corbyn of being a ‘chlorinated chicken’ for not wanting an election, while also continuing to insist that he didn’t want one either. He then – apparently accidentally – told the Chamber that he did want an election. The whole effect was rather chaotic, and Johnson’s demeanour wasn’t particularly prime ministerial. He even said ‘s***’ in the Chamber, which might have been designed to get all the attention in a session where Corbyn unusually had the upper hand. When someone takes on the highest

Steerpike Steerpike

The 50 times Jeremy Corbyn has called for an election this year

Jeremy Corbyn backtracked on one of his core political messages yesterday, when he told Boris Johnson that he no longer wants a general election. The Labour leader is now briefing that his MPs will not vote for an election until a bill has been passed blocking a no-deal Brexit. Is this not quite the U-turn you ask? Mr S certainly thinks so. A quick glance at the House of Commons’ records shows that Corbyn has demanded an immediate election 16 times in Parliament in 2019. Over the same period, the Labour leader has called for an election on Twitter a whopping 34 times as well, bringing the total to 50. It

Toby Young Toby Young

Corbyn, not Boris, was the real loser on Tuesday

The Remainers are celebrating after Tuesday night’s defeat of the government and writing Boris off as a busted flush. ‘Johnson’s Brexit strategy in ruins as anti-no deal MPs inflict defeat,’ says the headline on this morning’s FT. But I’m not convinced this was such a bad night for the Prime Minister. Boris’s response to Tuesday’s loss has been to table a motion calling for a general election. Corbyn’s position, as I understand it, is that he will only agree to an election after the ‘anti-no deal bill’ forcing Boris to ask for an extension of the Brexit deadline on 19 October has been approved by both Houses of Parliament. (Boris

Why Boris Johnson should pack the House of Lords

What should the next steps be in the battle between Parliament and the people? First, Boris should appoint about 500 peers who are committed to leaving the EU. The House of Lords is dominated by Remainers and the appointment of additional peers should ensure that representation of Leavers and Remainers in the Lords is the same as in the 2016 referendum, namely a small majority in favour of leaving. No doubt there will be the usual hyperbole about a coup and dictatorship, but the appointment of peers is morally justified because it will help to ensure that the Lords cannot defy the referendum result, when the people were acting through

Robert Peston Robert Peston

Will Jeremy Corbyn keep Boris Johnson dangling?

Jeremy Corbyn is now in charge – even though he isn’t prime minister. And he faces the most important judgement of his life in the coming days. Does he allow a general election before the EU council of 17 October and take the risk of Johnson winning that election and repealing the law (likely to be passed in coming days) that would force him to ask for a Brexit delay? Or does he keep Johnson dangling, because with the support of the 21 Tory MPs expelled last night by Johnson, Corbyn now has the power to decide when and even whether there is a general election? He could insist that

Bobby Friedman

The political naivety of the Brexit court cases

In a week where Remain MPs have been trying to foist an extension of the Article 50 period onto Boris Johnson, you might be forgiven for thinking that it is Parliament that has provided the arena for the latest battle in the Brexit war. But, if a group of legal campaigners have their way, it will be in the Scottish Courts that the real action takes place. The Good Law Project – the brainchild of tax barrister Jolyon Maugham – has been arguing in the Scottish Court of Session today that it’s illegal for Parliament to be prorogued by the PM. Irrespective of the outcome, it’s likely that the matter

Tuesday

Daniel DePetris

Can Joe Biden maintain his lead over the fall?

It was Labor Day in the United States yesterday, which can only mean one thing—now that the barbecues and swimming at the beach are over, Americans will be tuning in to the 2020 Democratic presidential primary a lot more often. The candidates are entering a fall campaign season that could prove pivotal for their operations, in both good ways and bad. In terms of polling, the numbers have been quite static. Former Vice President Joe Biden is still the man to beat, having sustained a double-digit lead over his competitors throughout the dog days of summer despite numerous mistakes that would have been fatal to any other candidate. Biden, whose first run

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Boris tries to charm Tory MPs in Commons tearoom

The Tory rebels on tonight’s motion are in the process of losing the party whip. There were many more than the whips had expected, but this may well be seen by those around Boris Johnson as being a way of getting rid of the sort of MPs who would always be a thorn in the Prime Minister’s flesh. There is little point in having an election to get a majority if that majority turns out to be hollow, with a large group of backbenchers who won’t actually back the government on the key issue of the day. All this might be true, but the Conservative party tonight is in a

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Government loses vote – Boris Johnson looks to early election

Boris Johnson tonight suffered his first government defeat in his first Commons vote since becoming Prime Minister. Tory rebels joined forces with opposition MPs to take control of the agenda tomorrow – the first stage of their attempt to pass a law to legislate against no deal. The Commons voted 328 to 301 – meaning the government lost by 27 votes. This was on the high end of Tory expectations. 21 Tory MPs rebelled tonight, including Ken Clarke, David Gauke, Rory Stewart and Nicholas Soames. A No. 10 spokesman confirmed that this group will now have the whip removed: ‘The Chief Whip is speaking to those Tory MPs who did not vote

The Spectator

Full list: the Tory MPs who rebelled against Boris Johnson

Rebels against the government have succeeded in their first step of stopping a no-deal Brexit this evening, as MPs voted (by 328 votes to 301) to seize control of the Commons order paper. The House of Commons will now debate a bill tomorrow aimed at preventing Boris Johnson taking the UK out of the EU without a deal, while Boris Johnson will attempt to call a general election. 21 Tory MPs voted against the government tonight, defying Boris Johnson’s threat to deselect them at the next election if they rebelled. Number 10 has confirmed this evening that every one of these MPs will lose the whip. Below are all 21

Robert Peston Robert Peston

Boris may now accept rebel motion – then call an election

I have belatedly worked out that Boris Johnson can and probably will accept the legislation delaying Brexit as the price of going to the country in a general election – because he would campaign on a manifesto of leaving the EU on 31 October. So if he wins the clear Commons majority he seeks, he could repeal that legislation in a single day before 31 October and could insist that the Lords do not block repeal (because repeal would have been in the Tory manifesto). So we are heading for a general election as a proxy for a referendum, with Tories campaigning to Brexit, deal or no deal, on 31 October.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Boris’s no-deal immigration plan

Tomorrow the government will say what will happen to free movement in the event of a no-deal Brexit. I understand that free movement will be replaced by a three-year temporary Leave to Remain Scheme for EU nationals who arrive in the UK before 31 December 2020 and register with the EU settlement scheme. Their three years would start from December 2020. So, in other words, if you are an EU citizen who arrives in the UK in March 2020 you would be entitled to stay until at least December 2023. This is a significant change from previous government plans to end free movement on 1 November in the event of

Steerpike Steerpike

Phillip Lee’s promise to respect the Brexit vote

In a dramatic move earlier this evening, the MP Phillip Lee crossed the House of Commons floor to join the Liberal Democrats, in protest at Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy. The MP, who represents Bracknell (a constituency that voted Leave in 2016), blasted the government in a statement for ‘using political manipulation, bullying and lies’ to achieve its agenda. But Mr S wonders if perhaps Lee should look a little closer to home before he criticises others… Back in 2016, before the EU referendum, Lee spoke at the Frontline Club and emphatically promised the audience and his constituents that ‘if the country votes to leave I will represent the public’s view and

Mark Gettleson

Could the Tory rebels win back their seats at the next election?

Imagine that you’re a Tory MP who wants to vote against the government today – and you’re going to be deselected if you do. What do you do about the next general election? Do you stand as a Gaukeward squad independent? Do you do a Phillip Lee and move over to the Lib Dems? Or, like Justine Greening, give up on Westminster altogether? The answer, and what Boris Johnson’s deselection threat means to potential rebel MPs, is complex and highly dependent on the political outlook of each MP’s seat. For some MPs, Boris Johnson’s threat is very real, and potential rebels will have chosen to walk back from the brink

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Phillip Lee crosses the floor to sit with the Lib Dems

Dr Phillip Lee, the MP for Bracknell, has left the Conservative party to join the Liberal Democrats. In the middle of Boris Johnson’s statement to the House of Commons this afternoon, the ex-minister crossed the floor to sit beside the Liberal Democrat leader, Jo Swinson. In a statement coinciding with his dramatic defection,  Lee blasted the government for ‘manipulation, bullying and lies’, adding ‘the party I joined in 1992 is not the party I am leaving today.’ Meanwhile, everyone’s favourite party-hopper, Chuka Umunna, patted Dr Lee on the arm as he took a seat next to his new colleagues. Mr S is sure Lee will appreciate the support of an MP

Brendan O’Neill Brendan O’Neill

There’s nothing brave about the so-called ‘Tory rebels’

I have a real problem with the term ‘Tory rebels’. Because it’s questionable, to put it gently, that either of these words apply to the Conservative Party MPs who are threatening to side with Labour and the Lib Dems in tonight’s parliamentary battle against no deal. They don’t sound much like Tories. And rebels? Do me a favour. Phillip Hammond, Ken Clarke, David Gauke, Phillip Lee and the others — the ‘Gaukeward Squad’, as some refer to them — pose as valiant insurgents against Boris and his overreaching executive. The media madly flatter these pretensions by talking up the MPs as the bravest politicians in living memory. They’re referred to as

Katy Balls Katy Balls

How the Tory party is changing under Boris Johnson

The Conservative party has undergone significant change in the past 24 hours. As a Brexit showdown looms – and reports of an imminent early election rise – a number of Conservative MPs have announced they will not be seeking re-election. Justine Greening was the first to go today. Announcing her decision, she said her party had become the Brexit party and argued the Conservative party was ‘narrowing down its appeal’ to people across the country. Alastair Burt – the former Foreign Office minister – has also made clear he will not seek re-election. Keith Simpson is also stepping down. However, the MP for Broadland in Norfolk puts this down to reaching

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Phillip Lee joins the Lib Dems – and Boris loses his majority

Phillip Lee, a Tory MP, has just left the party in the most dramatic way possible. He crossed the floor of the House of Commons while Boris Johnson was speaking. For a few seconds the House didn’t realise what was happening, then, as Lee took his new seat next to Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson, cheers broke out, drowning out Johnson. The Prime Minister’s statement was, at this stage, largely about the rainforests and conservation, which seemed rather at odds with what was going on politically. The government has just lost its working majority. Lee has been on defection watch for months. It is not a huge surprise that he