Politics

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

Thursday

Robert Peston Robert Peston

It’s highly unlikely that May’s deal will pass on the third vote

Everyone is getting over-excited. Calm down. The idea that Theresa May will seize victory from the jaws of humiliation with her constitutionally dubious decision to put her Brexit deal to a vote for a record-breaking third time next week is highly questionable. First even if the Attorney General admits with the full magisterial regret for which he is notorious that he stupidly excused from his initial interpretation of the palimpsested backstop that – after all – there is a unilateral escape route from the backstop via the Vienna Convention, this would be just one hired lawyer’s opinion, and an oddly convenient one at that. It won’t change all Brexiters’ minds.

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Will there be an election?

When a British government loses control over parliament, the natural remedy is to hold a general election. Why prolong everyone’s agony? But despite Theresa May having now failed twice to pass her signature Brexit deal, there is no sign she is willing to go back to the country. Jeremy Corbyn is keen for an early election to break the deadlock and others are beginning to agree with him. Asked this week what would happen if the government’s deal was rejected for a second time, a cabinet minister replied: ‘an election in two weeks’ time’. It’s a sentiment shared by Charles Walker, the vice chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench

James Forsyth James Forsyth

It’s not over yet

Almost three years have passed since Britain voted to leave the European Union, and yet we are still no closer to a Brexit resolution than we were on that June morning. No one is in control and this country’s whole system of governance is creaking. We are in an interregnum that shows no sign of ending. What is remarkable about this moment in our history is that something must break the impasse. This means that, although Theresa May’s deal suffered the biggest defeat ever for a piece of government business and was defeated a second time by a three-figure margin, it is not dead yet. Many cabinet ministers, including several

Martin Vander Weyer Martin Vander Weyer

Reassurance today, excitement tomorrow: your UK Optimist Fund portfolio

The nation certainly needs optimism this week, so what better moment to start building our ‘UK Optimist Fund’ of shares with exciting prospects for the post-Brexit era, for which I invited suggestions last week? I’m grateful to all  respondents but was particularly glad to hear from former minister Edwina Currie — whose stock picks show a penchant for high dividend yields — and this column’s very own veteran investor Robin Andrews, whose market eye has stood Spectator readers in such good stead over the years. Our underlying quest is a serious one. We’re heading into new territory in which businesses will clearly suffer if they previously depended on tariff-free access

Eleanor Doughty

Open access

Rugby was immortalised in Tom Brown’s School Days, but its headmaster, Peter Green, is brandishing another book — a Christie’s catalogue with the school’s name on it. During an attic clear-out items were discovered in an archive room and were put up for sale. They had been given to the school in around 1880 by the Old Rugbeian Matthew Holbeche Bloxam, and included Chinese ceramics and British watercolours. The highlight was a rare drawing by Dutch Old Master Lucas van Leyden, which sold for £10 million. If the decision to sell that seems crass, it isn’t, says Green. ‘Why would we keep it? It has no intrinsic value to Rugby School.

The Spectator

School report | 14 March 2019

Should we scrap GCSEs? A senior MP has suggested getting rid of GCSEs and reshaping A-levels altogether; but not everyone agrees. Robert Halfon, chairman of the Education Select Committee, wants to rewrite the exam system so that A-levels include a mixture of vocational, academic and arts subjects, arguing that ‘all the concentration should be on the final exam before you leave’. ‘All young people should have access to the technical and creative subjects that will give them the skills that employers are looking for,’ says Halfon. ‘We must move from knowledge-rich to knowledge-engaged.’ The Department for Education, on the other hand, shows no sign of dropping GCSEs, describing them as

Wednesday

Andrew Willshire

Jess Phillips says she would make a good prime minister. I’m not convinced

On Saturday, the Times published a much-lauded interview with Jess Phillips. As with all her public outings, she comes across as decent, kind, funny, hard-working, honest, and down-to-earth. These are certainly fine qualities to have in an MP. But the interview concluded with Phillips stating that she thought she would be a good prime minister. Many people concurred. This should make us stop and consider whether we’re looking for the right qualities in a potential PM, especially given that we might be seeking a new one sooner rather than later as a result of Theresa May’s failure to get her Brexit deal through Parliament at the second attempt. Three things are required

Steerpike Steerpike

Mark Francois: I was in the army, I wasn’t trained to lose

Following the government’s defeat on a motion ruling out no deal, Brexiteer MPs in the Tory party will be asking themselves one key question this evening: if Brexit might not happen at all, should I support May’s deal? The issue already appears to have split some of the Brexiteers in parliament, with MPs such as former Brexit secretary David Davis swinging behind May’s agreement, while ERG chairman Steve Baker has said he’ll continue to vote it down. One parliamentarian who doesn’t like he’s going to budge though is Brexiteer and ERG member Mark Francois. Speaking to Sky news presenter Beth Rigby following the vote against no deal, Francois was asked:

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Row breaks out between the whips and Number 10

As if the government did not have enough troubles right now, a major row has erupted between the Whips’ Office and Number 10. The whips think that a Number 10 aide was telling ministers they were safe to abstain on the no to no deal motion, when there was a three-line whip to vote against it. After the amendment ruling out no deal in any circumstances passed, the government decided to whip against its own motion rather than allowing a free vote on it. This irritated a slew of Remain / soft Brexit ministers who wanted to vote against no deal. Sarah Newton resigned as a Minister of State to

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Meaningful vote 3 in the next seven days

Theresa May’s extension motion makes clear that she intends to bring her deal back for another vote in the next seven days. The motion states that if a meaningful vote has been passed by the 20th of March, then the government will request a short technical extension to pass the necessary Brexit legislation. (This request would be made at the European Council meeting next Thursday). But if no deal has been passed by the 20th, the UK would request a much longer extension — which would require the UK to participate in the EU Parliament elections. So, it is clear that the government are going to try and pass the

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Fear and loathing in the lobbies: how the government whipped against itself – and lost

With just a few minutes to go before the division on the government’s motion on no deal, Tory MPs’ phones started buzzing. It was a message from the whips, telling them that the free vote they’d been promised since last night was now subject to a three line whip: the strongest possible instruction on how to vote. But there was no further explanation. A message from Chris Pincher, the deputy chief whip, read: ‘We are voting no to the amended motion. This is a 3 line whip.’ It was sent at 7.31pm. Some Conservatives didn’t get this message until they were walking through the lobbies, still believing that, as Theresa

Katy Balls Katy Balls

The latest government shambles could help May pass her deal

This evening Theresa May’s week went from awful to terrible. After her deal was heavily defeated for a second time on Tuesday night, the Prime Minister had planned to placate MPs by offering them a free vote on whether they wished to try and rule out a no deal Brexit. As Isabel reports on Coffee House, that plan soon backfired. A backbench amendment from Tory MP Caroline Spelman to try and rule out no deal in more explicit terms than the government’s motion passed by four votes. At that point, the government changed its voting strategy and whipped its MPs to vote against the motion – effectively voting to keep

Theresa May

Theresa May: if you don’t accept this deal, there will be a long extension to Article 50

The House has today provided a clear majority against leaving without a deal. However, I will repeat what I have said before. This is about the choices that this House faces. The legal default in UK and EU law remains that the UK will leave the EU without a deal unless something else is agreed. The onus is now on every one of us in this House to find out what that is. The options before us are the same as they have always been: We could leave with the deal which this Government has negotiated over the past two years. We could leave with the deal we have negotiated

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

Tory Brexiteers were wrong not to back May’s useless deal

Amongst the wrath we should pour upon our elected politicians – yes, especially the Tory Remainers and Labour’s bereft and shameless MPs – let’s keep some in reserve for the stoic, hardline, Brexiteers, huh? I’m with them: no deal is better than her deal. I agree. But – and this is the argument I’ve been having with people for the last three weeks, maybe longer – there is no prospect of no deal going through. None whatsoever. You can cleave to the idea of it for as long as you like, but there is not the remotest prospect of it happening. Why do they not understand this? You have to

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Government in chaos after rebel no deal amendment passes

Theresa May has just suffered another extraordinary defeat, losing on Caroline Spelman’s amendment (which rules out no-deal Brexit under any circumstances) by just four votes. This was not expected. Spelman even tried to withdraw the amendment, but was too late. This Spelman amendment said that the House “rejects the United Kingdom leaving the European Union without a Withdrawal Agreement and a Framework for the Future Relationship.”. This is different to the main motion, which offers a caveat: specifically a declaration that ‘leaving without a deal remains the default in UK and EU law unless this House and the EU ratify an agreement’. The Spelman amendment is not legally binding: it’s

The Spectator

Full list: The Tory MPs that voted to keep no deal on the table

Theresa May has just been dealt another blow after the House of Commons voted decisively against a no-deal Brexit. MPs voted by 321 to 308 for a motion which rejects the UK leaving the EU without a deal, under any circumstances. The motion did not force the government to either revoke Article 50 or to request an extension, and so the UK will still leave without a deal on 29 March, until other arrangements are put in place. These are the 265 Tory MPs that did back a no-deal Brexit being kept on the table: Nigel Adams, Adam Afriyie, Peter Aldous, Lucy Allan, David Amess, Stuart Andrew, Edward Argar, Victoria Atkins, Richard

The Spectator

Full list: The Tory MPs who voted to reject a no-deal Brexit

The big news tonight is that MPs have voted by 321 to 308 for a motion which rejects the UK leaving the EU without a deal, under any circumstances. The motion did not force the government to either revoke Article 50 or to request an extension, and so the UK will still leave without a deal on 29 March by law, until other arrangements are put in place. A dozen government ministers defied the government whip by abstaining on the motion, including work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd. The others are Claire Perry, Greg Clark, David Gauke, Stephen Hammond, Robert Buckland, David Mundell, Tobias Ellwood, Richard Harrington, Alistair Burt, Margot

Steerpike Steerpike

Tory MP: Brexit mess is like a ‘cat’s arse’

What’s the best way to describe Britain’s current Brexit situation? ‘Mess’ and ‘disaster’ probably spring to mind. But Mr S would also find it hard to disagree with the verdict of Trudy Harrison. The Tory MP delivered this verdict: ‘We were just discussing in my office how we would describe the current situation, and using good old Cumbrian terminology we were really torn between whether it’s a pig’s ear, a dog’s dinner or a cat’s arse’ Perhaps all three?

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Steve Baker’s catastrophic Brexit interview

Tonight MPs will have their say on whether Britain should leave the EU without a deal. The views of Tory Brexiteer Steve Baker on the subject are unlikely to come as much of a surprise. Baker thinks that taking no deal ‘off the table’ would be a ‘really catastrophic negotiating error’. But Mr S. couldn’t help but notice Baker’s objection to the word ‘catastrophe’ in the same interview with ITV. Just moments later, Baker had this to say: ‘Catastrophe is a word that should be reserved for genuine loss of life. No politician should use it.’   Perhaps it is time for Baker to take his own advice on board…

Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

Is Philip Hammond to blame for the knife-crime epidemic?

The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, breezed into the Commons to deliver a languid and greatly abridged Spring Statement. He had the genial air of a president-for-life emerging from his palace to correct the mis-steps of a bungling and soon-to-be-discarded Prime Minister. He dished out a few hundred million quid on various worthy schemes (save-the-hedgehog projects; free sanitary towels for school-girls) and he added some passing references to Brexit. A ‘cloud’ he called it. ‘A spectre of uncertainty.’ It sounded like a minor niggle which he could resolve while signing his morning correspondence. He used encrypted language, of course. He said that tomorrow’s vote on Article 50 will ‘map out a way