Politics Archives

Saturday

14 Apr 2018

Theresa May’s Syria strikes statement, full text

Last night British, French and American armed forces conducted co-ordinated and targeted strikes to degrade the Syrian Regime’s chemical weapons capability and deter their use. For the UK’s part four RAF Tornado GR 4’s launched storm shadow missiles at a military facility some 15 miles west of Homs, where the regime is assessed to keep chemical weapons in breach of Syria’s obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention. While the full assessment of the strike is ongoing, we are confident of its success. Let me set out why we have taken this action. Last Saturday up to 75 people, including young children, were killed in a despicable and barbaric attack in

James Forsyth

Theresa May reveals her hawkish side

So, what are strikes on Syria meant to achieve? Well, as I write in The Sun today, Boris Johnson was clear at Thursday’s Cabinet what they aren’t trying to do. The Foreign Secretary emphasised that this wasn’t about regime change in Damascus or altering the course of the Syrian civil war. Instead, it was about maintaining the prohibition on the use of chemical weapons. The aim is to ensure that Bashar al-Assad’s regime realises that if it uses gas, it will face consequences. If no action is taken, Assad’s forces will step up their use of chemical weapons. Why, because they are trying to clear out opponents who are dug

Owen Matthews

What does Russia want?

With Russian poisoners stalking the streets of Salisbury and the real possibility of a hot war with the Kremlin’s troops in Syria, The Spectator’s debate this Wednesday – What does Russia want? – could hardly be more timely. The line-up of guests we’ve assembled promises to be an explosive mixture. Russian Presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak, who made a doomed run against Vladimir Putin in March’s elections on a platform of liberal reform, will lead the anti-Kremlin side. Sobchak is more than just a prominent liberal politician – she’s the ultimate political insider. Sobchak’s father Anatoly was an iconic liberal mayor of St Petersburg – and was Putin’s boss and political

Friday

13 Apr 2018

Katy Balls

Theresa May is losing the PR battle on Syria

After Theresa May’s Cabinet agreed on the ‘need to take action’ in Syria, it seems a matter of when, not if, military strikes against the Assad regime take place. But the strikes won’t be the end of the matter politically. Labour have been quick to stir up trouble, with Jeremy Corbyn describing the government as ‘waiting for instructions’ from Donald Trump. The British government is also struggling to keep up with a Russian propaganda barrage. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has rejected claims that there is evidence proving the Assad regime is behind the alleged attack – instead claiming its specialists have evidence that it had been faked: ‘We have

Jacob Heilbrunn

Is Trump the Neville Chamberlain of our time?

So Britain is responsible for staging the Syrian gas attack? According to Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov: “We have evidence that proves Britain was directly involved in organizing this provocation.” Evidence, shmevidence. Next thing you know Moscow will be offering to assist Yulia Skripal. Oh, wait. It already did. Vladimir Putin cannot conceal that his regime is complicit in some very odious deeds—and that it’s feeling increasingly confident about taunting the West. The Russian claim is deliberately preposterous. The new report from UK national security adviser Mark Sedwill says there is “no plausible explanation” for the attack on the Skripals other than by Russia and indicates that Putin’s

Steerpike

Jeremy Corbyn: ‘you’d better make f—ing sure I don’t get elected’

At times it has seemed as though Labour under Jeremy Corbyn has not seen winning power as a top priority. Now it seems that winning the Labour leadership contest wasn’t even Corbyn’s desired result in the beginning. In an interview with Owen Jones, Corbyn ally Jon Lansman reveals what Corbyn said when he made it onto the ballot paper: OJ: Do you remember what Jeremy Corbyn said when he got on the ballot paper? JL: He said ‘you’d better’… am I allowed to say ‘f–cking’ OJ: Yes JL: He said ‘you’d better make f—ing sure I don’t get elected’. Mr S suspects Corbyn has since changed his tune…

Tom Goodenough

Why can’t Diane Abbott be honest about Labour’s Syria stance?

Why can’t Diane Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn be honest about Labour’s real stance on Syria? The shadow home secretary is demanding an ‘independent, UN-led investigation’ into what happened in Douma to determine whether chemical weapons were used in the attack this week. This is the line parroted by the Labour leader, who has said: “Britain should press for an independent U.N.-led investigation of last weekend’s horrific chemical weapons attack so that those responsible can be held to account.” But as Abbott and Corbyn know (or should know) only too well, an independent UN-led investigation is for the birds; it won’t happen. So Abbott and Corbyn would be more honest if

Thursday

12 Apr 2018

The Spectator

Crown and countries

Next week, 53 world leaders arrive in London for the Commonwealth summit. It is hard to imagine a better network for the globalised age. Leaders of countries with a combined population of more than two billion will come to discuss issues of common interest. There will be a banquet hosted by the Queen — in her role as the Head of the Commonwealth — at Buckingham Palace, and a day-long leaders’ retreat at Windsor Castle. A nod to history, to be sure, but if the Commonwealth was just about nostalgia the summits would have stopped long ago. The G53 will have much to discuss. The Commonwealth has a shared language,

Freddy Gray

Parliament got Syria right in 2013 – it deserves to vote again

As I’ve said before, but it needs saying again because these people never stop — the let’s-bomb-Syria brigade has never quite gotten over the horror of being rebuffed by Parliament in 2013. And this week, what with the latest reported use of chemical weapons by Assad in Syria, they’ve got their tails up again. We don’t need Parliamentary approval for military action, they say, and Parliament got it wrong last time so go go go! George Osborne’s Evening Standard is adamant. So are Tom Tugendhat MP and Nick Boles MP. So is Johnny Mercer, who says that voting against military action is a ‘vanity vote’, which is itself a vain statement. Their line

Steerpike

Labour frontbencher: Corbyn should stop commenting on foreign policy

There are many figures in the Labour party who wish that Jeremy Corbyn would stay schtum on foreign policy. Whether it’s his anti-West views, warm feeling towards his ‘friends’ Hamas or complicated relationship with Russia, when the Labour leader turns to international affairs, many of his MPs look on in despair. But up until now Mr S had thought that the shadow cabinet were at least on his side. Perhaps not. In an interview with the House magazine, Kate Osamor – the shadow international development secretary – suggests Corbyn should stop commenting on foreign policy and ‘just let his spokesperson speak’. Referring to Corbyn’s comments this week on the situation

Katy Balls

Not all Tories are gung-ho for intervention in Syria

As Theresa May meets with her Cabinet to discuss a possible response to the suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, it’s widely expected that any action she does take will be actioned without a vote in Parliament. The Prime Minister does not need to have approval through a Commons vote but recent precedent means that a lot of MPs think that she should. In that vein, today Jeremy Corbyn warned that MPs must be consulted on any UK military action. This is unsurprising but May’s bigger problem is that a sizeable portion of the Tory party is also sceptical of the merits of intervention. Were the decision to go to

Mark Greaves

Can Britain’s life sciences sector thrive after Brexit?

The Spectator, in association with MSD, brought together MPs and representatives from Life Sciences on 20th March, to discuss the future of Life Sciences after Brexit. Can the UK life sciences sector thrive after Brexit and what needs to be done in order to ensure that it does? This is a report of the discussion which followed: Of all the industries that the Government has been keen to reassure since the Brexit vote, the life sciences sector comes out near the top. It’s no wonder: Britain is one of the best places in the world for life sciences, thanks in part to the five world-leading universities clustered around Oxford, Cambridge and

Isabel Hardman

What’s the point of a Commons vote on striking Syria?

Theresa May is holding an emergency Cabinet meeting today on how to respond to the latest chemical weapons attack in Syria. Already sources are briefing that the Prime Minister is prepared to take military action without a vote in Parliament, which has naturally enraged a number of parliamentarians. Jeremy Corbyn has said that ‘parliament should always be given a say on military action’, and the SNP have said that a failure to do so would be a ‘scandal’. As we know from the military interventions of the past few years, parliament does not have any formal right to a vote before action, but since the Iraq War, it has become

Steerpike

Simon McCoy adds yet another BBC gaffe to his list

Simon McCoy has a reputation for being the BBC’s most gaffe-prone presenter. On Wednesday, he reminded viewers why. As Jane Hill presented the news, McCoy wandered onto the set and walked into the line of the camera: https://twitter.com/liarpoliticians/status/984054620392652802 Here’s a brief reminder of some of McCoy’s greatest hits: Simon McCoy ‘no news’ royal baby broadcast Standing outside St Mary’s hospital in Paddington, McCoy showed no signs of experiencing royal baby-mania: ‘Well plenty more to come from here. Of course, none of it news, because that will come from Buckingham Palace. But that won’t stop us. We’ll see you later.’ 2. Simon McCoy takes a nap… on air We’ve all been

Stephen Daisley

The SNP is paying the price for whipping up the ‘cybernat’ mob

I’m not one to say ‘I told you so’ but the thing is, I did. At the SNP’s mass-recruiting, concert-touring, swingometer-skelping zenith, I warned that the party’s failure to rein in its most fervent ideologues, not least the digital stormtroopers known as cybernats, would do it a mischief one day. Instead, the Nationalists not only tolerated cybernats, but some got in on the act themselves. None more so than Pete Wishart, the sneer on the snarl of Scottish nationalism, whose late-night maledictions against ‘nawbags’ and ‘wanks’ had the faithful testifying and retweeting with equal fervour. Now the boot is on the other foot and he is coming in for a

James Forsyth

A new world role for Britain

Britain’s imperial past distorts the debate about our place in the world, but not in the way that is commonly assumed. It is often asserted that claims about this country’s international importance are a form of nostalgia. It would be more accurate to say that Britain tends to underestimate its power because it is no longer the global hegemon. Britain might not be, in 1066 and All That terms, ‘top nation’ any more. On any objective reading, however, the United Kingdom is still an influential global player. It is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the sixth largest economy in the world, a nuclear weapons state, a member

Wednesday

11 Apr 2018

Steerpike

Euan Blair to the rescue?

This week Tony Blair managed to say something surprising. In a rare sighting of modesty, the former prime minister said that he was not the man to lead a new centre party. But could another Blair be the man for the job? Mr S only asks after the Guardian reported that the new centre party in the works – linked to LoveFilm’s Simon Franks and £50m of potential funding – has links to Blair’s son Euan: ‘One person who was approached to join the fledgling organisation was told Euan Blair was on its board, and his father, the former Labour prime minister, had been helpful in recommending potential donors. Other

Steerpike

Lynton Crosby’s consolation prize

Theresa May’s ‘strong and stable’ election campaign was nothing short of a disaster for the Tories. But it isn’t all doom and gloom for everyone concerned. Step forward Sir Lynton Crosby. Crosby’s firm CTF Partners helped to mastermind the Conservative campaign. Although that didn’t play out exactly as intended, the company has just reported a profit of £4.46m for last year, according to a copy of the company’s accounts seen by Mr Steerpike. CTF Partners’ profit rose by almost a million on the year before. As for that campaign, as revealed last month, Crosby’s campaigning firm charged the party £4 million for advice in the run-up to the general election campaign.

Tuesday

10 Apr 2018

Steerpike

Nick Griffin backs Corbyn

This afternoon Jeremy Corbyn received the news that Israel’s Labour party are to suspend relations with him – accusing the Labour leader of sanctioning anti-Semitism. However, Corbyn can at least end the day even – having won a surprise endorsement. Former BNP leader Nick Griffin has taken to social media to say that he plans to vote for Labour for the first time – on the condition that Corbyn ‘sticks to his guns’ and ‘refuses to blame Assad’ for the suspected chemical attack in Syria: IF he sticks to his guns then for 1st time in my life I will vote #Labour – right now NOTHING is more important than resisting

Bruce Anderson

The paradox at the heart of the Good Friday agreement

Today marks twenty years since the Good Friday Agreement. Here, Bruce Anderson writing in the Spectator in April 1998, talks of Tony Blair’s key role in securing a deal: Occasionally, one is glad to be wrong. In this column last week, I wrote about the imminent collapse of the Ulster peace process. It seemed then as if everything was unravelling; the gaps between the various sides had been narrowed and narrowed, but still seemed insurmountable. The ball had brushed the fielder’s fingers, but was now plunging irrevocably to the ground. For the previous three months, heads of agreement had been established, along similar lines to the Sunningdale agreement of 1973. The