Politics Archives

Sunday

18 Feb 2018

Sunday shows round-up: Guy Verhofstadt – A trade deal will not be agreed before Brexit

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s chief representative in the Brexit negotiations, sat down with Andrew Marr to discuss at length the UK’s future relationship with the EU. Verhofstadt told Marr that a trade deal between the United Kingdom and the European Union will not be finalised before the 29th of March 2019. Instead, Verhofstadt hinted that this would take place during the two year transition arrangement, putting him at odds with the UK government’s policy that everything would be agreed ‘at the same time’: AM: Is it at all possible that by the time we formally leave in March next year, there will be a free trade agreement? GV: I

Katy Balls

The latest Labour bullying row highlights the moderates’ dilemma

Although it’s the Conservatives nowadays who are best known for in-fighting, this weekend we were offered a reminder of the divisions in Labour. At a meeting of the National Policy Forum (NPF), a row broke out between the Momentum contingent and the moderates. The subject of the row was – once again – Ann Black, the veteran activist who was ousted as chair of the Disputes Panel last month (and replaced with Corbyn favourite Christine Shawcroft) after the Corbynistas won a majority on the National Executive Committee. Black was expected to defeat union representative Andi Fox to be elected as chair of the policy forum, which sets Labour policy for future

Lucy Vickery

Spectator competition winners: The Love Song of Donald J. Trump

For this year’s Valentine-themed challenge you were invited to provide a poem entitled ‘The Love Song of [insert name of a well-known figure here]’. There was no obligation to write in the style of Eliot, but a few brave souls did so. David Shields’s ‘Love Song of Kim Kardashian’ (‘I have measured out my life in selfie sticks…’) made me smile. Max Gutmann’s ‘Love Song of Larry Nassar’(‘In this room the gymnasts come and go/ Saying, “My injury’s not near my — oh!”’) made me wince. High fives to Ralph Rochester, Nicholas Stone, Mike Morrison and Mike Greenhough. The winners take £25 each. Bill Greenwell The Love Song of F.

Charles Moore

What Prince Charles should say to the Commonwealth

The Queen is Head of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is headquartered in London, in the splendour of Marlborough House. The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Lady Scotland, is British (and also Dominican). Britain is about to take the chair of the Commonwealth for the customary two years, and so the next Heads of Government Conference — probably the last to be attended by the Queen — will take place in London in April. At the same time, Britain is leaving the European Union. So it would seem that circumstances combine to favour a push by the British government to make the Commonwealth work much more actively in our favour. Being a

Saturday

17 Feb 2018

Ross Clark

White heat: How is tech changing politics?

Jeremy Corbyn began the 2017 election campaign 20 points behind the Conservatives in the polls; he ended it just two per cent behind in the actual vote. The remarkable turnaround has been attributed by many to his effective use of social media, which allowed him to broadcast his message to people whom traditional campaigning fails to reach, people who in some cases may never have voted before. Social media is one aspect of how technology is changing politics – an issue debated at a recent Spectator lunch, in association with Michael Tobin OBE and involving a notable collection of people from the worlds of politics and technology. Do the unexpected

Freddy Gray

Brexit Britain could do with some cricket diplomacy

Peter Oborne, The Spectator’s associate editor, is something of a legend in Pakistan — as least among the defence establishment types we met there. That’s because every year he takes a cricket team on a tour of the country. Last September, in Miranshah, they played a ‘Peace Cup’ match against an XI consisting of current or retired Pakistani internationals in front of a crowd of about 15,000. The Pakistan army turned the occasion into a PR stunt, since Pakistanis love cricket and the military elite wants young people to take up sport rather than global jihad. I don’t want to detract from Peter’s efforts. Surely, though, our government should do

Friday

16 Feb 2018

John Waters

Baby, the rock n’ roll spirit should be on your side

I am a rock ‘n’ roller by origin and inclination. I started off in rock journalism writing about bands and song and gigs. I wrote a book vaguely about U2, though not really. I loved the blues, where the whole thing started: the cry of the slave waking up to the theft of his life. I revered Lennon and Dylan because they tuned into that cry and sought to mobilise its power into the modern world. For a few years in my youth I nestled into the cool embrace of modern rock ‘n’ roll culture of protest and hope. But then I began to sense something amiss. Rock stars were talking

Katy Balls

Theresa May and Angela Merkel’s curious conference

There was a cold front in Berlin today as Theresa May took to the stage for a joint press conference with Angela Merkel. The Prime Minister is in Germany to discuss post-Brexit security – with a speech scheduled tomorrow in Munich – but all anyone wanted to talk about today was Merkel’s Davos joke. The German chancellor is said to have regaled hacks at the meeting of the global elite with an anecdote about May having no idea what she wants from Brexit. Asked in the Q&A today whether she understood Merkel’s frustration that she is still unable to say what Britain wants, May insisted the government had a clear

James Forsyth

Labour deny that Jeremy Corbyn was a paid informant during the cold war

The case of Jeremy Corbyn and the Czechoslovakian diplomat has taken another turn today. The officer who met Corbyn has alleged that Corbyn took money from them and was a paid informant. The Labour leader’s office has vigorously denied the charge, citing the director of the Czech security force archive who has said that their records don’t back up this version of events. There’s clearly a contradiction between the accounts of Corbyn and the Czechoslovakian diplomat—and the Labour leader is entitled to the presumption of innocence on this point. Corbyn, though, would undoubtedly be the most anti-Western figure ever to become Britain’s Prime Minister. His record show that he has

Steerpike

Gavin Williamson’s diplomatic incident

Since Gavin Williamson was appointed as Defence Secretary, the Conservative MP has been in a rush to prove his credentials. From battling the Treasury over proposed military cuts to posing with rescue dogs, Williamson certainly seems a man in a hurry. However, with speed comes mistakes. Today’s Financial Times reports of a diplomatic gaffe committed by Williamson this week. Ahead of Theresa May’s speech this weekend in Germany on a new security relationship with the EU, the Prime Minister has been doing her best to charm European leaders – recently hosting Emmanuel Macron. However, this week Williamson dismissed the importance of one of France in defence matters. Asked about the French President’s

Steerpike

Tory MP’s Glastonbury blunder

George Freeman doesn’t have the best record with regards to the Glastonbury music festival. The Conservative MP found himself the subject of light mockery this summer over his plans for a ‘Tory Glastonbury’. Freeman organised the Big Tent Ideas Festival to try and reinvigorate his tired party. Now, he has tried to take aim at Glastonbury for failing where his festival will succeed. On hearing that plastic bottles will be banned at next year’s Glastonbury festival, Freeman asked: ‘why not THIS year?’ He went on to say that – by comparison – there won’t be any plastic bottles at this year’s Big Tent (so there): Only there’s a problem. The

Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: Why Corbyn cannot be allowed the key to No10

Jeremy Cobyn has been condemned by a former head of MI6 for reportedly meeting a Communist spy in the House of Commons. Richard Dearlove says that the Labour leader – who denies the accusations as a ‘ridiculous smear’ – was either ‘incredibly naive or complicit’. The Sun condemns Corbyn in its editorial this morning, saying that it is clear the Labour leader undoubtedly has ‘questions to answer’ over the alleged contact. His reported meeting is further evidence of Corbyn’s ‘shocking judgement’, according to the Sun, which says there is no doubt he was ‘wrong’ to meet with a Czech diplomat at the height of the Cold War, whatever was being discussed.

Thursday

15 Feb 2018

Peter Jones

Article 50 and the Athenians

Europe, a majority of MPs (party loyalties aside), the Lords, the civil service, the BBC and the CBI are all determined to keep Britain in the EU. To that end, emitting crocodile tears, they would welcome a final Brexit deal that is effectively worthless. That, they hope, will cause a second referendum, resulting in a ‘remain’ vote. The Athenians knew how to deal with that sort of situation. Athens from 508-322 bc was a direct democracy, in which all decisions were taken by male citizens over 18 meeting in assembly. But since they could not just turn up and wonder what to talk about, a council of 500, appointed by

The Spectator

Justice for jihadis

The success of the military campaign against Isis in Syria and Iraq has left behind a diplomatic and legal problem: what to do with the British citizens who travelled to join and fight with Isis, but who have survived hostilities. The problem has been brought to a head by the capture, by a group of Syrian Kurds, of El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey — two Londoners who were members of ‘the Beatles’, a group which tortured and beheaded at least 27 hostages. There is little use in looking to the government for consistent guidance as to what should happen to the two men, who have been stripped of their

Steerpike

Sarah Champion does a Leadsom

Here we go again. During the last Conservative leadership campaign, Andrea Leadsom came under fire for suggesting that having children made her a better choice to be prime minister than Theresa May. In an interview with the Times, the mother of three said having children meant she had ‘a very real stake’ in Britain’s future. The furore over Leadsom’s comments was a contributing factor in her decision to pull out of the contest. Now it seems that Sarah Champion has taken a lesson from the Leadsom rule book. In an interview with the House magazine, the Labour MP suggests that tackling child sexual abuse has taken a back seat since Theresa

Steerpike

Ukip’s woes go from bad to worse

Poor old Ukip. The party is already in dire straits, with its collapsing vote share, lack of funds and a laughing stock for a leader. You might think that things couldn’t get any worse for Ukip. But you’d be wrong: the party’s troubles look to have just increased dramatically. Ukip has just been ordered to shell out for part of a £670,000 legal bill brought about as a result of a libel action made by three Labour MPs against Ukip MEP Jane Collins. The court order says: Ukip is already said to have little left in the bank, with reports that the party could struggle to afford to pay for

Katy Balls

How should the Tories attack Corbyn on foreign policy?

How should the Tories attack Jeremy Corbyn on foreign policy? Today’s Sun splashes on a story about the Labour leader and a Czechoslovakian communist spy. The paper claims that Corbyn briefed a communist spy – masquerading as a Czechoslovakian diplomat – during the cold war. Gavin Williamson has been quick to denounce Corbyn’s behaviour as a ‘betrayal of this country’. As for Corbyn’s response, his spokesman says he did meet with a diplomat but insists he ‘neither had nor offered any privileged information’. The story has divided opinion online with Corbyn’s critics quick to cite it as further proof that he hates the West and Corbyn’s fans quick to slam it as another

Stephen Daisley

The SNP should reinvent itself

The SNP, you’ll be distressed to learn, are having a time of it. The party is embroiled in a deputy leadership contest that could have been designed by their worst enemies. Angus Robertson, who lost his Moray seat last June, has resigned, depriving the party of one of its most formidable and respectable advocates. His departure couldn’t have come at a worse moment. The SNP has tried Scots’ forbearance for constitutional agitation and now has a reputation for banging on about independence that more justly belongs to Ruth Davidson’s Tories. After more than a decade in power, the SNP government shows signs of wear and tear and perhaps some structural

Siobhan Fenton

Could direct rule solve Northern Ireland’s political crisis?

Power-sharing talks at Stormont have dramatically collapsed again. This is a shock to many in Northern Ireland, where an apparent thawing in the relationship between the DUP and Sinn Fein led to speculation that the announcement of a deal was imminent. Instead, the stasis continues. Northern Ireland has now been without a functioning government for just over 13 months, since Sinn Fein first plunged Northern Irish politics into limbo by pulling out of their pact with the DUP in January 2017. The reason for their decision to back out of the power sharing agreement was Arlene Foster’s apparent complicity – which she has denied – in the botched ‘cash for ash’

Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: Boris has been rumbled

Boris Johnson painted Brexit as a source of ‘hope not fear’ in his speech yesterday. The Foreign Secretary said that Britain’s departure from the EU was not a ‘great V-sign from the cliffs of Dover’. ‘That’s how you do it!,’ says the Sun in its editorial in which it urges other members of the Cabinet to follow Boris’s lead. His barnstorming speech ‘laid out the exciting case for a truly global Britain’ and was the same ‘vision’ which persuaded 17.4million Brits to back Brexit in the first place. ‘Too often’ other Ministers ‘treat our exit like a problem to be managed rather than an opportunity to be seized’. Philip Hammond