Politics

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

Tuesday

Steerpike Steerpike

No 10’s SpAd gridlock

Rather than re-energise the Tory party as intended, Theresa May’s new year reshuffle just exposed her weaknesses and managed to annoy a lot of Conservative MPs in the process. What’s more, Mr S understands there is another undesired consequence. Two weeks on and Downing Street is yet to fill a host of special advisor vacancies. Mr S hears murmur of discontent over the way the process is being handled – with complaints of No 10 control-freakery and attempts to thrust candidates on ministers. One aspect of this is a bid to keep the redundancy payments low – so re-appoint those SpAds who lost their jobs rather than go for external

Robert Peston Robert Peston

Is Boris preparing to flounce out of the cabinet?

‘Is Boris preparing to flounce out of the cabinet?’ Not my question, but that of one of his senior ministerial colleagues. Why could that be? Exhibit A. In this morning’s cabinet, he is hijacking Jeremy Hunt’s update about how hospitals are coping with the winter pressures with a headline grabbing and overtly populist demand for the Treasury to find an additional £5bn a year of health spending – which would be a modest down payment on the £18bn (‘£350m a week’) he pledged during the EU referendum campaign. Theresa May won’t be amused. Hunt can’t be sure if Johnson is friend or foe. But it is the kind of typical

Steerpike Steerpike

Theresa May’s Burns Night faux pas

Oh dear. On Monday night, the Prime Minister attempted to show her support for the union by throwing a Burns Night supper at No. 10. Although Theresa May gave a short address at the inaugural event, Steerpike understands it fell to David Mundell – the Scottish Secretary – to address the haggis (a ‘crispy haggis’, served as a starter). Meanwhile, Kristene Hair gave the toast to the laddies. Downing Street has released a list of the guest list for the dinner. Guest list for @theresa_may’s Burns supper tonight. No info on who addressed the haggis… pic.twitter.com/Cdl4bgRYtT — Nick Eardley (@nickeardleybbc) January 22, 2018 Alas, there’s a problem – or several problems

Lauren Mcevatt

Should the Tories consider all-women shortlists?

That’s a question I never thought I’d ask. Women shouldn’t need to be patronised by creating a special class of system to run for election. But with the announcement of the Conservative Government’s PPS list yesterday I was shocked to note that only 8 out of 43 appointments were women. That’s a mere 18.6 percent of the list. At 21 percent of the Conservative parliamentary party, women are still too under represented, despite the valiant efforts of our Prime Minister and Baroness Jenkin through Women to Win and similar party efforts to encourage more female candidates. To give the Prime Minister credit where it’s due, out of all of the

Tom Goodenough Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: Is the party finally over for Ukip?

Ukip has defied predictions about its death before. Yet even the party’s most ardent supporters would find it hard not to feel gloomy about recent events and the party’s downward spiral. Ukip’s leader Henry Bolton clings on, despite losing a vote of no confidence and suffering a raft of resignations among his top team. ‘Is the party finally over for Ukip?’, asks the Daily Telegraph. The paper says that Bolton’s refusal to step down looks like an act of ‘forlorn defiance’, and it seems likely that the party’s leader has lost the trust of members as a result of his relationship with a racist model. It’s worth remembering that Ukip

Monday

Ann Carlton

Do Labour MPs have the courage to stand up to Momentum?

As Jeremy Corbyn’s grip over the Labour party tightens, the threat of deselection for more moderate Labour MPs who do not toe the party line is increasing. Labour MPs who are concerned about their futures may be looking for ways to fight back. I can offer one example of how this can be done, from my time working as a special advisor to the Labour MP John Silkin. In 1981, Tony Benn announced he was challenging Labour’s Deputy Leader, Denis Healey, for his job. Labour MPs, with minds of their own, were appalled. They saw the tactic as part of the nasty war being waged in the constituencies by a

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Staying in the customs union would be a risky bet for May

There’s renewed speculation in Westminster that Britain might end up staying in the customs union. The CBI is calling for the UK to stay in a customs union with the EU and Labour is expected to move to backing customs union membership soon. The argument goes that because customs union membership does not require free movement, it is compatible with the referendum result. Big exporting businesses tend to like the idea as it would ease most of the bureaucratic problems in moving goods around post-Brexit. But I don’t think Theresa May will go for this idea. If Britain stays in the customs union, then it can’t do comprehensive free trade

Tom Goodenough Tom Goodenough

Bolton wanderers: A full list of who has stepped down so far

Ukip’s leader Henry Bolton is under mounting pressure to step down following the scandal over his model girlfriend’s racist text messages. Bolton – the party’s sixth leader in 16 months – lost a vote of no confidence yesterday. He has vowed to stick it out, insisting that he will not resign as party leader. But a raft of resignations makes it look as though the party could soon be having one of its tri-annual leadership contests, with eight resignations in the last 24 hours alone. Here is the full list of who has walked away so far: Jonathan Bullock, energy spokesman Peter Jewell, justice spokesman Julia Reid, health spokeswoman Margot Parker,

Steerpike Steerpike

Labour Against the Witchhunt welcome Corbynista’s appointment as chair of Disputes Panel

Talk of trigger ballots, deselection and factional manoeuvres is rife in the Labour party after three Momentum candidates were elected on the party’s NEC – tipping the balance in favour of the Corbynistas. Since that election, the NEC moved swiftly to vote to oust Ann Black as chair of the Disputes Panel in favour of Christine Shawcroft. The panel is responsibly for deciding whether to investigate sexist, racist, homophobic and anti-semitic abuse – and given that Shawcroft herself was suspended from the party in 2015 (for publicly supporting disgraced Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman), many moderates are concerned over her appointment and what it means for Labour’s disciplinary procedure going forward.

Steerpike Steerpike

Nicholas Soames joins the Boles rebellion

On Friday night, Nick Boles set the cat among the pigeons when he tweeted his frustrations at Theresa May’s timid government: https://twitter.com/NickBoles/status/954409789152514049 With Boles not a typical rebel, his complaints appear to mirror what many MPs have been saying privately. Now, Nicholas Soames has spoken out. Winston Churchill’s grandson has joined Boles in using hashtags to criticise Theresa May. Soames says ‘#wherestheboldandbravesofaritsdulldulldull’ needed to beat the ‘Corbini’: It really won’t be enough to get people to vote against The Corbini they must have really sound reasons to vote Conservative.We really need to get on with this#wherestheboldandbravesofaritsdulldulldull — Nicholas Soames (@NSoames) January 22, 2018 Expect more critical MPs to come out

William Cook

Is Angela Merkel finally closing in on a fourth term?

Is there anything quite so ponderous as the German political process? It certainly provides a useful illustration of the gulf between the British and German way of doing things. Theresa May took only a few days to hatch a deal with the DUP to stay in power. By contrast, Angela Merkel has been trying to build a new coalition since September, and there’s still no end in sight. The latest chapter in this epic saga was yesterday’s vote by Germany’s Social Democrats, on whether to approve the party’s preliminary coalition talks with Merkel’s Christian Democrats. After much agonised debate, SPD delegates voted in favour. So now, at long last, the

Sunday

Steerpike Steerpike

Viral Question Time audience member turns out to be a Labour council candidate

Here we go again. The stand out moment of the latest Question Time saw a young woman accuse a Tory minister of purposefully underfunding the NHS in order to  make the argument for privatisation. The exchange left Margot James, a DCMS minister, insisting that she was ‘not a liar’ and calling out the accusations as false. Since then, the clip of the young woman taking James to task has been widely shared online. Only all is not what it seems. It turns out that the audience member is not your average viewer. In fact, Rebecca Shirazi is a local Labour party candidate. Corbynista Laura Pidcock has been tweeting her praises:

Matthew Taylor

Sunday shows round-up: Emmanuel Macron – a bespoke UK deal is possible

During his visit to Britain to discuss defence and the future of Anglo-French border security, the French President Emmanuel Macron gave an interview with Andrew Marr at Sandhurst. Macron told Marr that a bespoke deal for the UK was on the negotiating table, though he insisted that there must be ‘no cherry picking’, as doing so would dismantle the integrity of the single market: AM: Now you’ve said in the past you can have Canada, or you can have Norway, but you can’t have your own special deal. Is that really fair give how long Britain has been part of the EU? EM: No, it’s not a question of fair

Steerpike Steerpike

Sorry seems to be the hardest word for John McDonnell

Although John McDonnell is supposed to play a key part in Jeremy Corbyn’s drive for a kinder, gentler politics, remarks he made about ‘lynching’ Esther McVey, at a Remembrance Sunday event back in 2014, continue to distract from the message. McDonnell’s defence is that he was quoting someone else who (he claims) wanted to lynch her – rather than wanting to lynch her himself. This morning on the Andrew Marr show, McDonnell was given the chance to apologise for his comments. Alas, he declined: It seems sorry really is the hardest word… Readers can listen for themselves here.  

Saturday

Liam Halligan

Boris Johnson’s proposal for a bridge across the Channel isn’t crazy – but the backlash is

Building a physical bridge between the UK and France is, apparently, ridiculous. I know that because, ever since Boris Johnson raised the prospect at the Anglo-French summit, my Twitter feed has been full of comments from various bien pensants ridiculing the idea. ‘If you like the Boris bridge idea, wait ‘til you hear about Liam’s plans for a zip wire from Washington DC to Washington, Tyne & Wear,’ quipped one commentator, referring not to me (on this occasion) but to Trade Secretary Liam Fox. ‘David Davis wants a pedalo from Boston, Massachusetts to Boston, Lincolnshire!’ parlayed another keyboard wag. As it happens, the construction of a bridge across the English

Ben Goldsmith

Brexit gives us a chance to save our natural world

For people who love the natural world, each new season brings new excitements. We are a nation of nature lovers. We feed the birds in our gardens and we revere David Attenborough. Which makes it surprising that – until now – governments have not cottoned on to how much of a vote-winner concerted action to restore and protect nature can be. Year in year out the abundance of life around us diminishes. Most adults can remember car windscreens splattered with dead insects after even the shortest of summer journeys. No longer. Insect populations are crashing almost everywhere, and with them everything else. Starlings, which were once so numerous that their

Friday

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Why has the SNP inflicted this video on us?

I don’t know where people get the idea the SNP is intolerant of criticism. Scotland’s most open-minded party has released a new video that appears to be an attack on one of its critics dressed up as a party political broadcast. The video depicts a group of thirtysomethings gathered for a house party. They are Scottish but improbably so, smiling excessively and expressing enthusiasm for life. A couple of latecomers are warned that ‘Davey’ is in the kitchen ‘bangin’ on about politics again’ and soon we are introduced to a cartoonish party bore. Stuffy, bespectacled Davey is the wrong side of 40 but sports a hipster-trad three-piece and Brooklyn-worthy beard in the

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Boris Johnson’s bridge over troubled waters

This post first appeared in the Spectator’s Evening Blend email, a free round-up and analysis of each day’s politics. Sign up for free here. Why is Boris Johnson quite so keen on improbable-sounding bridges? The Foreign Secretary became obsessed with the idea of a ‘garden bridge’ across the river Thames when he was Mayor, a project that was cancelled by his successor Sadiq Khan after it became clear that public money would be needed to build the structure, which would then not always be open to the public. Unabashed, Boris is now suggesting something much bigger and more eye-catching: a bridge across the Channel to France. Johnson was talking about

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Nick Boles has said what a lot of Tory MPs are thinking

It’s the end of the week and it’s hard to say what the government has actually achieved. Whether it’s deciding not to launch a judicial inquiry in the John Worboys case or not to tackle the growing pressures on the NHS, the government appears to be in a state of drift. Unfortunately for Theresa May this has caught the attention of one of her more amiable MPs. Step forward Nick Boles. The former minister has taken to social media on a Friday night to criticise his party leader. Boles says ‘there is a timidity and lack of ambition about Mrs May’s Government which means it constantly disappoints’. He concludes that

Steerpike Steerpike

Diane Abbott’s Brexit confusion – part II

Here we go again. For some time now Labour’s Brexit confusion can be described as ‘complicated’ at best. Matters aren’t helped by the fact that Labour shadow cabinet members often go on the airwaves and contradict each others – sometimes even themselves. This was evidenced last month took to the Andrew Marr show to claim that Labour had never supported a second referendum – despite writing to a constituent to say she would argue for the ‘right of the electorate to vote on any deal that is finally agreed’. Now it seems Labour’s ever-changing Brexit position is getting too much even for Abbott. In an interview with Prospect, the shadow home secretary