Politics

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

Tuesday

13 Mar 2018

Trump to May: I’m with you ‘all the way’ on Russia

Theresa May has been continuing to call Britain’s allies today to discuss the poisoning of Sergei Skripal. She is expected to give a statement to the Commons tomorrow about Russia’s response to the allegation that the state was responsible for the attack, and has been seeking assurances that countries such as France, Germany and the United States are on her side. This evening, she spoke to Donald Trump, who told her that ‘the US was with the UK all the way, agreeing that the Russian Government must provide unambiguous answers as to how this nerve agent came to be used’, according to the Downing Street read-out. You can almost hear

Steerpike

Labour MP deserts Corbyn

Oh dear. Although the Labour party has tried to put on a united front since the snap election, the party remains divided when it comes to Jeremy Corbyn. So, Mr S was intrigued to hear Kerry McCarthy – the Labour MP and former shadow cabinet member – speak frankly about her preference on Labour leaders. Asked on Pienaar’s Politics which Labour leader – out of Tony Blair and Jeremy Corbyn – she would like to be stuck an island with, McCarthy said… Blair: JP: Kerry McCarthy, who would you choose to be marooned with – Tony Blair or Jeremy Corbyn? KM: Oh God… hmm… I would probably actually go for

Nick Cohen

Brexit Britain: confused and alone

Here is a message Russian propagandists are sending to Western commentators. It is from Yuliia Popova of REN-TV (which was once an independent Russian station but sold its soul long ago) to David Allen Green of the Financial Times. Hello David, My name is Juliia Popova. I represent Russian state TV channel. Would appreciate it if Matt Singh or any other political analist [sic] could give us a short comment on the matter of the following. We will be happy to know why the British government tries to blame Russian government for the attempted murder of ex-Russian spy, why is it happening right now when even USA on behalf of

Isabel Hardman

Labour’s HQ exodus continues as Executive Director Emilie Oldknow quits

Labour’s Executive Director for Governance, Membership and Party Services Emilie Oldknow has announced she is leaving, just weeks after Iain McNicol was ousted as General Secretary. At the time, Corbynite insiders had told me that Oldknow was the ‘power behind the throne’ and had been responsible for the real running of HQ as McNicol was increasingly sidelined by the party leadership. Now, that power behind the throne has left too. In a letter to party staff, she says ‘I will be leaving in the summer to pursue some new and exciting opportunities’. Oldknow was a moderate, and had also been sidelined: I understand that she only found out about McNicol’s

Fraser Nelson

Good, bad and ugly: Philip Hammond’s Spring Statement in nine graphs

Philip Hammond declared himself to be an optimist in his Spring Statement today – and he had a few boasts to prove it: manufacturing enjoying the continued longest growth in 50 years, three million more jobs, borrowing down. He was laying into Labour, in a way he wishes he’d been allowed to during the general election campaign. But the news was in the accompanying financial forecasts: here’s what jumped out at me. 1. The Tories have given up trying to balance the books. Hammond didn’t make an announcement to this effect, but he laid out plans for deficits for years to come. George Osborne at least pretended to be, say,

Isabel Hardman

Spring statement: Philip Hammond learns the value of politics

Philip Hammond used to pride himself on being ‘spreadsheet Phil’, the Chancellor who didn’t waste his time on politics because he preferred crunching the numbers. But today’s Spring Statement showed that he has learned the value of being overtly political. It was, as we had expected, an economic statement that was rather thin on the announcements. But what was striking was how heavy this speech was on the politics. Unlike David Cameron and George Osborne, the Tories under Theresa May haven’t spent much time making the argument for fiscal restraint – and the effect has been that Labour has enjoyed much more sympathy for its calls for higher public spending

Freddy Gray

Rex Tillerson’s sacking isn’t about Russia

Sometimes it’s almost as if Donald Trump wants the world to think he’s a Russian patsy. Yesterday, Rex Tillerson, as Secretary of State, warned Putin that Russia’s alleged assassination attempt on British soil would trigger ‘a response’. Today he’s been sacked. But the sacking almost certainly isn’t about Russia. It seems Trump asked Tillerson to go on Friday, a day after Trump agreed to meet Kim Jong-un. So the more likely cause of Tillerson’s departure is the most obvious: the sudden rapprochement with North Korea. Tillerson was reportedly blindsided by the announcement that Trump would meet Kim Jong-un. Apparently, he only learnt about it after Trump made his offer to

The Spectator

Full text: Philip Hammond’s Spring Statement

The UK was the only major economy to make hundreds of tax and spending changes twice a year. And major international organisations and UK professional bodies alike have been pressing for change. In 2016 I took the decision to move to a single fiscal event in the Autumn. Giving greater certainty to families and businesses ahead of the new financial year. And allowing more time for stakeholder and parliamentary engagement on potential fiscal changes. Today’s statement will update the House on the economic and fiscal position. Report progress on announcements made at the two budgets last year. And launch further consultations ahead of Budget 2018, as set out today in

Tom Goodenough

Bercow’s ‘bollocks to Brexit’ sticker disgraces his office

‘I have neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak, in this place, but as the house is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here,’ said speaker William Lenthall, the idea being that it was parliament’s views – not his own – that mattered. John Bercow has a message to his predecessor: bollocks to that. Or more specifically: bollocks to Brexit. That is the message printed on a sticker emblazoned on a car parked in the speaker’s personal parking spot outside parliament, as revealed by Guido Fawkes. If Bercow’s choice of number plate – B13 RC0 – is bad enough, the sticker itself is unforgivable. A speaker is

Freddy Gray

No, Britain shouldn’t invoke Article 5 of the NATO treaty

Theresa May might regret using such strong language in her statement on the Skripal case last night. Saying that there had been the ‘unlawful use of force’ on British soil and that a response would be imminent has led to a lot of people invoking Article 5 of the NATO treaty – something mentioned in newspapers today. Lord Ricketts, a former UK national security adviser, is one of many to say that this ‘unlawful’ act warrants the use of NATO. For its part, NATO has released a statement saying ‘the UK is a highly valued ally and this incident is of grave concern to NATO’. May did not say ‘armed

Steerpike

Theresa May steps up to the plate at British Kebab Awards

Forget secret dining societies, last night the inhabitants of SW1 descended on the Westminster Park Plaza for the British Kebab Awards. The annual event saw the likes of Angela Rayner and outgoing Labour General-Secretary Iain McNicol join forces with Tory MPs Paul Scully and Rehman Chishti to take a break from Russian espionage in order to chow down on some meat and raise a glass to the British kebab industry. The event’s host İbrahim Doğuş, a Labour candidate in the snap election, told the well-hydrated crowd: ‘In an otherwise darkened street, the kebab shop is the light that never goes out’. While there were some mentions of Brexit concerns, the event was not a partisan

Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: Corbyn’s foolish response to the Salisbury attack

Theresa May did not hold back in her Commons statement on the Salisbury spy attack, warning Russia it has until midnight tonight to explain why a Russian nerve agent was used in the incident. The Sun praises her reaction as ‘admirably tough’. But there is criticism for the Labour leader: ‘Never has the gulf between her and Jeremy Corbyn seemed wider’, according to the Sun. While Theresa May was right to rebuke Russia and ‘trust (that) the civilised world will unite behind us’, Corbyn misjudged the mood ‘hideously’. Instead, the Labour leader chose this ‘sombre national moment to advance Labour’s interests’. He started by ranting about ‘Russians “funding the Tory

Monday

12 Mar 2018

Isabel Hardman

Jeremy Corbyn’s stance on Russia is bad for Parliament

Theresa May did a good job in uniting the House of Commons today, but someone who did an even better job in bringing together MPs to praise the Prime Minister was Jeremy Corbyn. The Labour leader’s partisan response to May’s statement on the poisoning of Sergei Skripal so antagonised Conservative MPs and so disappointed many on his own side that much of the session was about the failings of the Opposition, rather than the questions for the Government. He criticised Tom Tugendhat’s earlier comments about Russian aggression, telling MPs that ‘we need to continue seeking a robust dialogue with Russia on all the issues – both domestic and international –

Will Heaven

Will Theresa May invoke Nato’s Article 5 on collective defence?

There was a striking use of language in Theresa May’s statement to the House of Commons on the Salisbury nerve agent attack. Pointing an accusatory finger at Moscow, the Prime Minister declared: Mr Speaker, on Wednesday we will consider in detail the response from the Russian State. Should there be no credible response, we will conclude that this action amounts to an unlawful use of force by the Russian State against the United Kingdom. And I will come back to this House and set out the full range of measures that we will take in response. This is quite something. It suggests the government is treating this as far more than a

Isabel Hardman

MPs avoid turning bullying Urgent Question into a campaign against Bercow

When she was moved to the Leader of the House position, it appeared as though Andrea Leadsom was being given a low-profile job because she wasn’t performing well in the Cabinet. Whether or not that was the case, Leadsom has actually turned out to be exactly the right person for this role. She proved that again today in the House of Commons when answering an urgent question from Caroline Lucas about bullying of House staff. This urgent question was rather odd in itself: it was in response in part to allegations made against Speaker Bercow, who both granted the UQ and then chaired it. Perhaps this was an attempt to

James Forsyth

Theresa May accuses Russia of an unlawful use of force against Britain

Theresa May has given Russia until Wednesday to explain why a nerve agent that it has developed was used in the Salisbury attack. She told the House of Commons that it was ‘highly likely’ that Russia was responsible for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter. She said that Boris Johnson had summoned the Russian Ambassador and put it to him that were only two explanations for what had happened, one that the Russian government itself was responsible or that Moscow has lost control of its stock of deadly nerve agents. I think it is safe to assume that no explanation, at least not one that would satisfy a

Steerpike

Jeremy Corbyn’s Russia hypocrisy

It’s safe to say that Jeremy Corbyn’s response to Theresa May’s statement on Russia has divided opinion this afternoon. The Prime Minister confirmed to the House that a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia was used to poison Sergei Skirpal, the former Russian double agent. She concluded that this meant it was either a direct act by the Russian State or the Russian government had lost control of this potentially catastrophically damaging nerve agent. So, what did Corbyn have to say on the matter? Well, the Labour leader was keen to use the opportunity to criticise the Tories for being too close to Russia. Corbyn complained that there had been

Katy Balls

The latest Labour bullying row highlights the need for an independent body

Labour’s internal complaints body looks set to have a busy few weeks. After Debbie Abrahams was effectively suspended as Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary over allegations of bullying, the Labour MP made a bullying allegation of her own. Abrahams claims she’s the one being bullied – accusing unnamed figures in the Leader’s Office of behaving in an ‘aggressive’ and ‘intimidating’ manner towards her. Adding to those two impending investigations is a report today by the Financial Times alleging that Karl Turner, Shadow Transport Minister, slapped a woman’s buttocks as she walked through his constituency office in the summer of 2015. Now these type of allegations are by no means confined to just Labour.

Steerpike

Minutes of an EU coup: How Martin Selmayr made his move

Martin Selmayr’s power grab, elevating him to the post of Secretary-General and putting him in charge of 33,000 staff, was a brilliantly-executed Brussels coup. As Jean Quatremer reveals in The Spectator, the double promotion of Juncker’s chief of staff was over in nine minutes flat, and was described by one of those present as an ‘impeccably prepared and audacious power-grab’. So how did he do it? And how can such skullduggery be covered up? On Friday, the European Commission slipped out the minutes for the meeting on February 21st at which Selmayr earned his promotion. Early in the meeting, we learn that the job of Deputy Secretary General was vacant: But then

Brendan O’Neill

Vince Cable, not Brexit voters, is the one stuck in the past

Everyone, understandably, is focusing on the white ‘nostalgia’ bit of Vince Cable’s speech to the Lib Dem conference. His slur against older Brexit voters, whom he thinks voted against the EU because they want to go back to a world where ‘passports were blue, faces were white and the map was coloured imperial pink’, has caused a stink, and rightly so. But there was something else in the speech too that ought to send shivers down the spine of all of us who believe in democracy. Something which captured better than anything else in recent months just how fragile the ideal of democracy is in this era of political-class hysteria