Politics

Is it the country that has gone mad? Or just a majority of members of the Conservative party? They are the questions that rattle around my brain as the self-styled “sensible” candidate in the Tory leadership campaign, Jeremy Hunt, speaks to me for an ITV interview. He tells me it would serve democracy and save his party from possible extinction for the UK to leave the EU without a deal, even though he agrees with the Bank of England that the rupture from the EU could be almost as big a blow to our prosperity as the 2008 banking crisis. And he agrees with the Chancellor that the shock could increase the

Today was a big day for Nigel Farage’s band of Brexit party MEPs. After 29 of the Brexiteers won their seats in the EU elections in May, they finally headed to Strasbourg today, to take their places in the European Parliament. But it appears that while the party may now be part of the European elite, they haven’t quite signed up to the ideals of the European project in spirit. As the new batch of 751 MEPs were sworn in this morning to open the inaugural sitting of the European Parliament term, a stirring rendition of the EU’s anthem, Ode to Joy, was played from the centre of the Chamber. And while

William Hague is not noted for agonies of self-doubt. But the former Tory leader’s judgement, in his Telegraph column on which of Johnson and Hunt is best suited to lead his party and our country, was not a close run thing: Hunt is one of the most impressive ministers Hague has worked alongside, and might even avert what he sees as the catastrophe of a no-deal Brexit; Johnson has made him laugh. At a time of national emergency, Hague went for the least amusing of the two. None of which will surprise Brexit true believers, because Hague has been saying clearly and loudly for some time that he fears leaving

It’s said that when Iain Dale, overseeing last night’s Conservative hustings in Manchester, announced the news that Oliver Robbins, the senior civil servant in Theresa May’s Brexit team, was leaving his post and the Civil Service, many of the Tory audience cheered. I’m told Iain Dale just read this tweet out at the Tory hustings and there was a huge cheer https://t.co/BxTjMXcdJt — Tim Shipman (@ShippersUnbound) June 29, 2019 By doing so, they underlined several of the most striking, and troubling, elements of Britain’s Brexit drama. First, the cowardice of politicians who seek to blame the civil service for failing to deliver impossible goals and for pointing out that some

Although there’s three weeks until the next Tory leader is announced, the contest is entering what is the most important week of the membership stage. On Saturday (6 July), postal ballots will begin to be sent to the Tory membership. The expectation is that the majority of members will vote quickly rather than wait to see how the contest plays out over the remaining weeks. It follows that each campaign sees this week as pivotal for getting its message out there. In that vein, Jeremy Hunt hardened his Brexit position over the weekend. The Foreign Secretary used an appearance on the Andrew Marr Show to try and beef up his

There has been a lot of talk about how Article XXIV of GATT can provide an alternative to the Withdrawal Agreement. But here’s the deal with Article XXIV of GATT: it is a solution to a problem which is not the problem. Let me try to illustrate this with a story. Imagine a couple – let’s call them Joe and Angela – who are going through a divorce. After a long-drawn process, and hundreds of billable hours, their lawyers have at last produced a draft divorce settlement. The successful business that Joe and Angela have built will continue, but Joe will need to make a series of maintenance payments to