Politics

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

Wednesday

Karan Thapar

Is Imran Khan Pakistan’s prime minister or a puppet?

When Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan handed the country’s army chief, general Qamar Javed Bajwa, a three-year extension on Monday, press reports didn’t tell the full story. The true picture is very revealing of Khan’s own position and shows how his views have changed dramatically. To start with, this was no simple extension for a man appointed to Pakistan’s most powerful position. That would suggest Bajwa’s term of office had been increased by a limited period. In fact, general Bajwa was given a full second term. The official notification from the prime minister’s office makes this clear: “Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa is appointed Chief of Army Staff for another term of three

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Boris Johnson makes the Germans laugh

Boris Johnson’s critics predicted that he would be something of a disaster on the world stage, but his debut as Prime Minister in Berlin has got off to a good start. Firstly, he avoided the fate of Theresa May, who managed to get locked into her car when she arrived to meet Angela Merkel. And Boris has also cracked the famously difficult German sense of humour. During a press conference with the German chancellor, Boris turned to Brexit and said that he was optimistic that a Brexit deal could be done. He then borrowed Merkel’s own phrase, ‘Wir schaffen das’ – or we can do this – which she famously

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Boris Johnson and Angela Merkel’s optimistic press conference

When Theresa May held press conferences with European leaders over Brexit, they were often a painful affair – with her counterpart quick to suggest little progress had been made. This afternoon Boris Johnson opted for an optimistic approach in his first outing on the world stage. The Prime Minister met with Angela Merkel this afternoon in Berlin for talks ahead of the G7 summit this weekend. In the press conference, Johnson joked that the pair had many things to discuss including the ‘small matter of Brexit’. With figures in Brussels – including EU council leader Donald Tusk – rejecting the demand in Johnson’s letter to ditch the backstop from the

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

France says no deal now the most likely Brexit outcome. But why now?

Why would French government officials brief that they think it most likely Britain will leave the European Union without a deal? Boris Johnson hasn’t even made it as far as his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, and is only just being welcomed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. So why brief that out now, before the leaders have even spoken? The comments appear to be part of the briefing war between European leaders and the British government, with neither side wanting to take the blame for any fallout from a no-deal Brexit. As I explained yesterday, the EU wants to paint Johnson as being set on taking Britain out without

Robert Peston Robert Peston

Boris Johnson’s Brexit opponents are playing into his hands

There is arguably the most important conflict raging in the Tory party since Churchill replaced Chamberlain as PM in 1940. Although we are living through 1940 in reverse, because Johnson is already the self-defined “war-time” PM, the wannabe Churchill, when some of his colleagues want something and perhaps someone else. Forget the battle between government and opposition, what matters most right now is the fight between Boris Johnson and his consigliere Dominic Cummings on one hand against a minority of senior Conservative MPs led by Philip Hammond, David Gauke and Greg Clark – the so-called Gaukeward Squad – over whether a no-deal Brexit is preferable to a Brexit delay. At stake is pretty much

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Theresa May’s cricket ticket freebies

Theresa May spent her first day outside of No. 10 at Lord’s cricket ground, watching the second day of the England match against Ireland. The game proved portentous, with Ireland squaring up to presumed English supremacy before the match was called off due to an imminent storm, all while May and her allies watched from the sidelines. Mr S will resist making any comparison to May’s political career… May’s trip, alongside her former chief-of-staff Gavin Barwell and ex-ministers Greg Clark and David Gauke, was no doubt a much-needed outing. However, a search of the register of members’ interests reveals this particular jolly didn’t come cheap. Both May and Gauke each

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Watch: James Cleverly’s spat with fellow motorist

Conservative party chairman James Cleverly was at the receiving end of another motorist’s ire after a collision on the M11 on Friday evening. Twitter user Asim Khan alleged that the Tory MP clipped the side of his car with his Land Rover 4×4 while he was on his phone. Khan claims that Cleverly accepted liability for the accident, only to retract it later, adding that the Cabinet minister is a ‘Liar of a person’ and ‘is not to be trusted’: A spokesperson for Cleverly said: ‘James was involved in a minor accident with another car on Friday. The matter is now being dealt with by his insurance company.’ Sources close

Tuesday

Alistair Burt

A no-deal Brexit isn’t worth the risk

The heightened rhetoric of the past few days, from talk of collaborators, saboteurs and government of national unity, prompt me to set out what I believe are today’s risks, from one who voted to Remain in the EU, but has accepted the result and voted accordingly in Parliament to leave with a deal ever since. Let me deal with the balance of risks as I see them, saying clearly that this is my opinion, and that there are others contrary to mine. But I’m telling you what I think and why. Firstly, no deal is economically damaging to the U.K. The publication in the Sunday Times of the Government’s own

John Keiger John Keiger

Emmanuel Macron could be Boris Johnson’s Brexit saviour

One thing on which Remainers and Brexiteers can agree is that Brexit delayed is Brexit denied. The government continues to proclaim that the UK will leave the EU on 31 October with or without a deal. But No. 10 is acutely sensitive to the possibility of a parliamentary manoeuvre designed to compel the executive, through legislation, to seek a further extension of Article 50 to delay Brexit yet again. But Boris Johnson should keep calm about this prospect, for an unlikely saviour – the president of France, Emmanuel Macron – could come to his rescue. Whatever Brexit extension legislation Parliament might push through, any further extension of Article 50 requires unanimous

Sumantra Maitra

Don’t blame Britain for Modi’s plan for a ‘new India’

History has a sarcastic sense of humour, just ask Francis Fukuyama. Or eminent historians and literary ornaments of India like Ramachandra Guha, Arundhati Roy, and Shashi Tharoor, who are now mourning the loss of a secular liberal India under a Hindu majoritarian quasi-imperial centre. These four and their fellow academics are the first ones to blame India’s turn for the worse on the British empire, and all that it ‘made, shaped and quickened‘. This is somewhat ironic, given that Modi’s march to Kashmir is as rebellious and subaltern as it gets. Yet India’s post-colonial moral guardians are worried. ‘The passing of the act (which allowed Narendra Modi to overturn 70 years of status

Nicholas Farrell

Will Italy’s warring politicians succeed in shutting Salvini out of power?

What now looks like a distinct possibility in Italy after today’s resignation of Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte is a reminder of a golden rule of modern politics: the liberal left will sleep with any enemy however repulsive to stop right-wing populism. Matteo Salvini, who is by far Italy’s most popular politician, perhaps forgot this rule when he pulled the plug on the coalition government of his radical-right League party and the alt-left Five Star Movement by tabling a no-confidence vote in Giuseppe Conte, which prompted his resignation. Either that or he just could not face another day in a coalition government which was unable to agree anything and which

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

No. 10 hits back in the backstop blame game

The stand-off between Downing Street and the European Union over Boris Johnson’s latest proposal for the backstop boils down to a disagreement over whether the British government really cares about getting a Brexit deal at all. When Donald Tusk rejected Johnson’s plan today, he all but accused him of being set on a no-deal exit, saying: ‘The backstop is an insurance to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland unless and until an alternative is found. Those against the backstop and not proposing realistic alternatives in fact support re-establishing a border. Even if they do not admit it.’ A Downing Street spokesperson hit back at this, insisting that

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Jo Swinson riles up Corbynistas again

Corbynistas are out to get Jo Swinson again after the Lib Dem leader accused Jeremy Corbyn of being a Brexiteer. ‘Jeremy Corbyn didn’t fight to remain in 2016, and he won’t fight for remain now’, said Swinson. It wasn’t long before the usual suspects leapt to the Labour leader’s defence. Step forward, Owen Jones: ‘This is a direct lie. It’s a matter of public record that Jeremy Corbyn campaigned for Remain,’ according to the Guardian columnist. But Mr S isn’t so sure. In the weeks before the 2016 referendum, Corbyn was asked ‘how passionate are you about staying in the EU?’. Corbyn’s response? ‘Oh I’d put myself in the upper

Katy Balls Katy Balls

No. 10’s media strategy – ‘The focus is the country rather than the Westminster bubble’

What is Boris Johnson’s strategy for engaging with the media? Over the weekend reports emerged that the Johnson government’s media strategy would omit Radio 4’s flagship current affairs programme. No. 10 director of communications Lee Cain is said to have told aides that the Today programme is a ‘total waste of time’. He’s not alone. Johnson’s most senior adviser Dominic Cummings also appears to feel little in the way of warmth towards the show – reportedly telling colleagues that he didn’t listen to it once during the EU referendum campaign when he was campaign director for Vote Leave. So is the government at war with the BBC already? It’s a little more

Monday

Steerpike Steerpike

Poetry competition: An ode to Brexit

‘Poetry makes nothing happen,’ a famous poet once said. But Mr S is still disappointed to hear that the nation’s official poet won’t be penning some lines to mark Britain’s departure from the EU. Poet Laureate Simon Armitage said he has ‘no plans’ to commemorate Brexit day on 31 October. Whatever does he do for his annual stipend of £5,750 and the traditional 600-odd bottles of sherry he gets as payment? Then again, maybe Leavers should breathe a sigh of relief that Armitage has chosen to deny us a Brexit-themed ballad. Before his appointment as Poet Laureate in May this year, Armitage put together a so-called ‘film poem’ for Sky Arts in celebration of the

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Jeremy Corbyn, not Boris Johnson, is ‘Britain’s Trump’

Jez he did! Jeremy Corbyn has just surprised absolutely nobody by calling Prime Minister Boris Johnson ‘Britain’s Trump.’ He labelled Boris a ‘fake populist’ and a ‘phoney outsider.’ No doubt Labour speechwriters think this is a great attack line ahead of a general election.  But it might backfire – for two reasons. First, Trump is not nearly as toxic in Britain as everybody in political circles believes. Secondly, for Labour voters, the uncomfortable truth is that the British equivalent of Trump is not Boris, as everyone says. It’s Jeremy Corbyn.  Corbyn, 70, and Trump, 73, have far more in common than Boris and Trump. Jeremy and Donald are both anti-establishment

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‘Shame!’: Journalist heckled at Corbyn speech

Jeremy Corbyn has just given a speech attacking Boris Johnson as ‘Britain’s Trump’. But while the Labour leader is happy to dish out criticism, it seems his supporters don’t like it when the tables are turned. A journalist found that out the hard way when he told Corbyn: ‘It’s clear that you do not have the cross-party support in Parliament to be a caretaker prime minister..’ His comment was met with cries of ‘Shame!’ from those in the audience. It seems that for some Corbynistas, the truth hurts…

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David Attenborough wades in on Brexit

David Attenborough is something of a national treasure, but how has the veteran broadcaster managed to maintain his popularity? ‘It’s easy if you don’t have to do controversial things,’ according to Attenborough, who said in an interview in 2017 that if he does have controversial thoughts, he simply doesn’t share them. That strategy seems to have been ditched. In an interview with Italian newspaper la Repubblica, Sir David has waded in on everyone’s favourite topic: Brexit. Here’s what he had to say: ‘I think that the irritation of the ways in which the European community has interfered with people’s lives on silly levels or silly issues has irritated a lot of people

Sunday

Matthew Taylor

Sunday shows round-up: Remainers say they’ve ‘called the government’s bluff’ on proroguing parliament

Gina Miller: ‘We’ve called the government’s bluff’ Stephen Dixon filled in for Sophy Ridge this week, and began by interviewing Gina Miller. Miller and her legal team are due to bring a court case in early September to determine key questions about the government’s delivery of a no deal Brexit. This morning, Miller claimed a victory for her side as the government has said that they will no longer try to suspend Parliament in order to reach a no deal Brexit without a vote: "We have basically called their bluff."@thatginamiller tells #Ridge the government has conceded and said it would be "illegal" to close down parliament to force through a

Saturday

Charles Moore Charles Moore

Give Hong Kongers real security: a British passport

We seem to be building up to a second Tiananmen Square, 30 years after the first. This time the venue is Hong Kong. As then, the Chinese government longs to kill protestors, but it hesitates because it fears global reaction. It therefore matters greatly that the ‘rules-based international order’ strongly assert that breaking the 1984 Sino-British Agreement would put China beyond the pale. No international discussion of Brexit is complete without a reverent invocation of the Good Friday Agreement (which in fact has almost nothing to do with EU membership). The Hong Kong Agreement should command such reverence, and its pledge of ‘One country: two systems’ should be the test