Politics Archives

Wednesday

2 May 2018

Steerpike

Revealed: the truth about Evening Standard’s Conservative MP ‘defection’ letter

Although the Conservatives have managed a successful expectation management campaign ahead of the local elections, were the Tories to lose control of Kensington council, it would be hard to spin it as anything other than a total disaster. So, a letter from a former Conservative MP in today’s Evening Standard declaring his intention to vote Labour in the borough appears to be a taste of bad things to come. Keith Raffan – the Conservative MP for the Welsh seat of Delyn from 1983–92 – says he was left with no other choice after meeting two less than ideal Tory candidates: However, before the Tories get too worried it turns out Raffan’s

Lloyd Evans

Jeremy Corbyn’s PMQs capitulation

It was a masterclass in capitulation, a stunning act of self-slaughter. And yet, in a way, it was pitifully inept. At PMQs, Corbyn behaved like a quicksand victim who sucks in his breath in order to speed his descent. May arrived at the House in trouble. Her Home Secretary has resigned and the PM has not yet picked her way clear of the Windrush omnishambles. Corbyn seemed unaware that Amber Rudd’s scalp was dangling from his belt and he surrendered the trophy as soon as he opened his mouth. He blamed Windrush on ‘successive home secretaries’. May pounced on this lazy soundbite, and extended its scope: ‘Including the last Labour government.’ For

Alex Massie

The Brexit delusion

As time passes, some things become clear. The problem isn’t Brexit; the problem is the Brexiteers. Or, to put it slightly differently, while Brexit may be sub-optimal, the Brexiteers are much worse than that. They are awful. Extraordinarily, Jacob Rees-Mogg is now the bookmakers’ favourite to be the next prime minister. As the champion of the backbench Brexiteers he can no longer be dismissed – or, indeed, indulged – as an enjoyable eccentric. He is serious and perhaps now merits being taken seriously himself. As an intellectual matter, Brexit remains a respectable cause. The vision of Brexit imagined by The Spectator has much to commend it even if I think

Steerpike

Chris Williamson’s Russia Today ‘scandal’

Chris Williamson is no stranger to appearing on Russia Today, and it seems the Corbynista MP is not going to break the habit any time soon. Or could he? The latest register of interests reveals that Williamson landed himself £300 for a TV appearance back in January. So where was the money from? Williamson declared that the cash was paid by Studio Sixty Billion, the producers of Russia Today show ‘Sam Delaney’s News Thing’, which he popped up on earlier this year. That appearance was, of course, before John McDonnell urged Labour MPs to have nothing to do with Russia Today in the wake of the Salisbury poisoning. And after the

Steerpike

Gavin Williamson channels his inner Churchill

Although Gavin Williamson has managed to get through the week without telling any world leader to ‘go away and shut up’, he’s also had to deal with a new leadership rival entering the scene in the form of Amber Rudd’s successor Sajid Javid. Not one to be outdone, Williamson has made sure to have a rather packed schedule himself. On Monday, the Defence Secretary told hacks at the Irish Embassy that the Prime Minister had told him to be ‘more diplomatic in your language, in your tone’ following his Russia comments: ‘Gavin, it’s all well and good being a direct-speaking Yorkshireman but as Defence Secretary you have Being Defence Secretary

Tuesday

1 May 2018

Steerpike

Watch: Former Bercow staffer – ‘There was bullying’

Although John Bercow once said he would only serve as Commons Speaker for only nine years, the Conservative MP has since suggested that he plans to stay on longer. But will he get a say in the matter? Mr S only asks as Bercow is in the line of fire after an explosive Newsnight package on more bullying allegations against the Speaker. Bercow’s former private secretary Angus Sinclair has told the current affairs show that he was subject to angry outbursts and obscene language when he worked for Bercow. As for the reason Sinclair is going public now, he says he was paid £86,250 in 2010 as part of a

Isabel Hardman

What’s the point of the women and equalities Minister, anyway?

Lucky Penny Mordaunt. She’s the latest minister to find themselves the holder of the women and equalities brief in the great pass-the-parcel of this role. It was created for Harriet Harman under the Labour government, and she knew exactly what she wanted to do with it. Since then, though the Tories have never quite understood what this Minister should do, other than chivvy other departments, they daren’t abolish it, lest they seem to be anti women and equalities. The women and equalities pass the parcel has been incredibly awkward at times, with the job skipping Nicky Morgan, for instance, because of her opposition (at the time) to gay marriage. It

Toby Young

Justine Greening is wrong to pick on Eton

The former education secretary, Justine Greening, has urged firms to discriminate against applicants from Eton on the grounds that it is easier to get good A level grades if you’ve been to Eton rather than a comprehensive. There are several odd things about her statement. First, why single out Eton? In terms of A level passes at grade A* or A, Eton is 12th in the independent school league table, behind Westminster, Wycombe Abbey, St Paul’s and City of London School for Girls, among others. Cardiff Sixth Form College is top, with 91.9 per cent of its students gaining A* or A in their A levels last year. I guess urging

James Kirkup

Why are some MPs trying to shut down the transgender debate?

Even if you don’t know who Stephen Doughty MP is, if you’re vaguely familiar with the history of New Labour, you’ll know his story: Oxford, a job for a senior Labour politician and a brief spell working in charities. Then selection for a safe seat in his early 30s, thanks to a combination of talent and friends in the right places. Now 38 and having resigned from Jeremy Corbyn’s front bench over, well, Jeremy Corbyn, Doughty sits on the Home Affairs Committee, which, among other things, is inquiring into hate crime, and its causes. To that end, the committee last week took evidence from a bunch of newspaper editors about

Monday

30 Apr 2018

Katy Balls

Sajid Javid promises to put his own stamp on the Home Office

Sajid Javid has only been Home Secretary for seven hours but already he appears to have settled into the role with gusto. In his first appearance at the despatch box as Home Secrtary, Javid was greeted with cheers from the Tory benches before warning Diane Abbott – his opposite number – that she did not have a ‘monopoly’ on anger over the Windrush debacle. Javid also made sure to put some clear blue water between himself and his predecessor’s predecessor – one Theresa May. Asked by Labour’s Stephen Doughty whether about the net deportations target, Javid said he was not currently aware of any cases of wrongful deportation – before adding

Tom Goodenough

Can May’s Brexit stance survive its latest Lords defeat?

Another day, another Brexit defeat in the House of Lords for the Government. This time around, peers have voted to back an amendment to the Brexit bill which would hand Parliament, rather than ministers, the power to decide what to do if MPs reject the final deal agreed with Brussels. The margin in today’s vote was considerable: 335 to 224. But more worrying for the Government is the number of times it has been now been defeated in the Lords on Brexit, with this afternoon’s vote marking the seventh time peers have gone against the Government on the issue. Among those who backed the amendment were 19 Tory lords, including

Ross Clark

Is Brexit a human rights emergency? The UN seems to think so

How easy it would be to be goaded by the visit of Tendayi Achiume, the UN’s “Special Rapporteur on Racism” to Britain. “My mission…will focus on explicit incidents of racism and related intolerance as well as attention to structural forms of discrimination and exclusion that have been exacerbated by Brexit,” she says, as well as “xenophobic discrimination and intolerance aimed at refugees, migrants and even British racial, religious and ethnic minorities”. How tempting it will be for some to tell her to bug off and deal with some real human rights abuses. But I am not going to be goaded, even if there will be many left-liberal-types who will be

Isabel Hardman

Can James Brokenshire fix the Tories’ housing woes?

James Brokenshire is back in government after his illness. He is the new housing secretary, which marks quite a change from Sajid Javid. Brokenshire is one of those ministers May trusts deeply: he worked with her in the Home Office where she found him to be a quietly loyal colleague. What does this mean for housing policy? It means May has now got one of her people overseeing this crucial policy area: Javid is not known for his quiet loyalty, as yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph interview showed. He is also known for his desire to push May to back radical ideas to get housebuilding going. Had Javid been serving under a

Fraser Nelson

Sajid Javid could be the radical Home Secretary we need

The appointment of Sajid Javid is something quite rare: a bold move, rather than a defensive one, by Theresa May. He was furious about the Windrush debacle and it was his pressure that made 10 Downing Street realise how politically toxic it could be. Not just because – as he put it in the Sunday Telegraph – this could have been him, or his parents. It’s because the whole episode embodies what he most hates about politics, and he had a shrewder eye for its wider implications than many others. When I first interviewed him for The Spectator he said that, when he first went into politics, his family friends

Steerpike

Watch: Diane Abbott dodges illegal immigrant questions

Amber Rudd’s resignation is something of a coup for Diane Abbott, who has spent the last week calling for the Home Secretary to go. But Abbott’s disastrous interview on Good Morning Britain might well have cut Labour’s celebrations at Rudd’s departure somewhat short. The shadow home secretary was asked repeatedly what Labour’s policy on illegal immigration is. And six times, she refused to say: Piers Morgan: ‘…I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask the shadow home secretary, in light of this massive scandal, what Labour’s policy on illegal immigrants is. Do you think that they should be removed from the country, or should they be allowed to stay here?’ Diane

James Forsyth

Why Sajid Javid’s appointment as Home Secretary is striking

Sajid Javid is the new Home Secretary. His appointment is striking in several ways. First, he and May have clashed repeatedly in the past—Javid was one of the ministers most frequently briefed against during the May ascendancy. He was also brutal in the first post-election political Cabinet in detailing all the problems with how May’s Downing Street had been run. So, the promotion of this independent-minded individual suggests that May is now prepared to accept some fresh thinking in the Home Office. This is desperately needed. The tens of thousands immigration policy looks at the whole issue in the wrong way. Immigration shouldn’t be a numbers game, rather it should be

Stephen Daisley

The Home Office is Whitehall’s ultimate hostile environment

Theresa May’s tragicomic run of rotten luck continues. Amber Rudd has self-deported to the backbenches and the Prime Minister will have to find a credible replacement at a moment of acute strife. Why anyone would want the job is a mystery to most of us, but then we lack that combination of ambition and self-delusion essential to political life. The Home Office is where potential is thrown on the rack and brutalised, where careers go to die slow, ignominious deaths; it is Whitehall’s ultimate hostile environment. (Ministers disagree and began speculating about a Rudd return with unseemly haste. They may be right but they could at least feign a bout of reflection

Steerpike

Tory MP points the finger of blame at May

When Nick Boles tweeted in January to complain about the ‘timidity and lack of ambition’ in Theresa May’s government, the Conservative MP kickstarted a mini-revolt which saw the party come close to turning on May. So, it doesn’t bode well for May that Boles appears to level some of the blame for Amber Rudd’s departure with one Theresa May. The Conservative MP – and close Michael Gove ally – has taken to social media to share some ‘wise words’ from Julian McCrae of the Institute for Government. And these wise words are? ‘Make sure Secretary of State has experienced junior ministers supporting her (don’t change immigration minister in Jul 16,

Katy Balls

Who will replace Amber Rudd?

With Amber Rudd gone, talk has turned to who will replace her as Home Secretary. Downing Street has suggested that hacks should be on standby for an announcement later today. However, choosing a successor will be no easy task. The bookies’ favourite is Michael Gove, the government’s resident eco-warrior who currently resides at Defra. However, this seems unlikely for two reasons. Firstly, up until now, May has always worked to preserve the Remain/Leave balance of her Cabinet. It follows that she’d ideally want to replace Rudd with a fellow Remainer. To upset the balance so close to crunch talks on the customs union would be a bold move. Secondly, Gove

Sunday

29 Apr 2018

James Forsyth

With Amber Rudd gone, the Windrush scandal moves closer to Theresa May

Alastair Campbell denies that he ever said that no Cabinet Minister can survive a negative story lasting ten, eleven or 14 days. But even if he didn’t say it, it is not a bad rule and one that Amber Rudd has fallen foul of. Rudd’s resignation is a result of the fact that more and more keeps coming on this story, and she is now faced with admitting that she either deliberately misled parliament or really didn’t know what was going on. She has gone before Monday’s statement in the Commons which would have been an exceptionally difficult moment for her. At some point, there is only so much a senior