Politics

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

Friday

The Spectator

Catastrophe for the Conservatives as Theresa May blows her majority

Tories lose their majority, falling eight seats short. Labour achieve 40 per cent of the vote, up 9.6pc. This is the biggest increase in vote share since Attlee in 1945. Theresa May has been to Buckingham Palace and sought permission to form a new government, working with the DUP… …in spite of personally engineering a cock-up of historic proportions. The main five Cabinet ministers have all retained their positions; no further appointments will be announced until tomorrow. Paul Nuttall has resigned as Ukip leader, stepping down with immediate effect. SNP lose 21 seats, as Scottish Tories take 12 seats, Scottish Labour takes 7 and LibDems 4. Ousted: Nick Clegg, Alex

Thursday

The Spectator

Barometer | 8 June 2017

X offenders The artist Banksy had to withdraw an offer of a free print to people voting against the Conservatives in Bristol after the police warned that it would be illegal. Some other electoral offences: — Offering food, drink or any other gift specifically to persuade people to vote in a certain way or to refrain from voting. — To go out canvassing if you are a serving police officer. — The Electoral Commission is not sure about the legality of taking a ballot-box selfie, but in 2014 it advised returning officers to display notices prohibiting photography inside all polling stations. Grey power Is politics now an old person’s game?

The Spectator

May needs her party

As if we needed reminding, this past week has shown that the Islamist threat is a truly global problem. In the space of a few days, Isis claimed responsibility for attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market; and elsewhere, for the attack on the Iranian Parliament and the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran. It would be hard to think of more diverse targets than drinkers at London pubs on a Saturday night and the tomb of the theocratic Shia cleric who inspired the 1979 Iranian revolution. Yet for Isis there is logic. All are enemies: infidels, heretics, apostates. The Tehran atrocity shows again that what we are witnessing is

The Spectator

Election Barometer

Turnout was up, with a widespread belief that young people voted en masse. But actually, turnout was the 5th lowest of any general election since 1945   Highest turnouts 1950 83.9% 1951 82.9% February 1974 78.8 % 1959 78.7 % 1992 77.7 % Lowest turnouts 2001 59.4 % 2005 61.4 % 2010 65.1 % 2015 66.1 % 2017 68.7 % In spite of failing to secure a majority, Theresa May won a higher share of the vote than any party since 1997 – and the biggest Conservative share since Mrs Thatcher’s landslide victory in 1983.   Con vote share 2017 42.4% 2015 36.9% 2005 32.4% 2001 31.7% 1997 30.7% 1992

The Spectator

The PM took voters for fools

During the election campaign — or what passed for it — Theresa May would sometimes declare that Britain was facing its most important choice for a generation. If she lost just six seats, she said at one point, then Jeremy Corbyn would be heading to Brussels to negotiate Brexit. But if the risk was so great, why call an election in the first place? She was closer to the mark outside No.10 early this afternoon, when she declared this was a ‘critical time for our country’. All the more critical as a result of her calamitous handling of the election.   This was a needless election, intended to tighten Theresa

Ed West Ed West

Why I’m voting Liberal Democrat for the first time today

From a very early age I’ve been put off by sanctimoniousness; it’s why, I think, I’ve never been attracted to the political Left, which when I was growing up was heavy on the finger-wagging, and why I find a certain style of newspaper column irritating. They remind me of the sour-faced old guys we used to see at church all in competition to see who could look the most serious and disapproving. This whole idea that if you don’t support Labour and the Left you’re not just wrong or misguided but a bad person is what puts me off; this Daily Mash article is depressingly close to reality in my

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The pound plunges as markets start to take in the enormity of May’s blunder

The pound has plunged sharply on the exit poll, as markets start to come to terms with the idea that Theresa May might have blown it. It’s 1.7 per cent down against the dollar, 1.8 per cent against the Euro – expect those gains to deepen if tonight’s results confirm the results of the exit poll. For a simple reason: Theresa May asked for a general election to strengthen her hand in Brexit negotiations. If the public refuses to do so, she will be hugely weakened in the biggest negotiation that any Prime Minister has had to undertake. If, indeed, she survives long enough to undertake it – which is

Steerpike Steerpike

George Osborne’s sweet revenge

According to the exit poll, the Conservatives are on not on course for a majority, instead a hung Parliament is predicted. Given that Theresa May called this election to strengthen her hand and increase the Tory majority, her gamble looks to have backfired spectacularly. Now the polls could be wrong but this doesn’t mean May’s enemies aren’t enjoying the moment. Step forward George Osborne. The former chancellor – who May fired when she came to power – appears particularly revitalised by the news. Following the projection, Osborne – who now edits the Evening Standard – was quick to suggest May’s time could be up. Appearing on ITV, he predicted that

Nick Hilton Nick Hilton

The Spectator Podcast: The jihadi next door

On this week’s episode, we discuss the relationship between Islam and violence, question why Brexit hasn’t been a factor in this election, and ask you to embrace the darkness. First up: in this week’s cover story, Tom Holland considers why Theresa May was wrong to dismiss the London Bridge terror attack as ‘a perversion of Islam’ rather than interrogating its roots in the history of the religion. He joined the podcast along with Christopher de Bellaigue, author of The Islamic Enlightenment. As Tom writes: “Last Saturday night, religiously motivated killing returned to London Bridge. Three men, swerving to murder as many pedestrians as they could, drove a rented van across the very spot where

Brendan O’Neill Brendan O’Neill

How I lost my Tory-voting virginity in the name of democracy and press freedom

Today, for the first time in my life, I voted Tory. And somewhat disappointingly I haven’t sprouted horns yet. I haven’t been overcome by an urge to pour champagne on homeless people’s heads or to close down my local library and guffaw at any rosy-cheeked child who pleads: ‘But I want books, mister.’ I don’t feel evil. Maybe that stuff comes later. Maybe it takes a few days before you turn into a living, breathing Momentum meme, screaming ‘Screw the poor!’ as you ping your red braces. In fact I feel good. It always feels good to vote, of course, to hold the fate of the political class in your

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Ten handy phrases for bluffing your way through election night | 8 June 2017

Every year for the last four years we have had a referendum or a general election, and it’s exhausting. Journalists on TV are so tired that they can hardly be bothered to row with each other any more; they increasingly just grumble about the poverty of the candidates. But a good political bluffer never blames the playing surface; it’s bad form. There is still much gibberish to be spouted about GE 2017, just as there is in any election, and not much time left. So here are a few waffly yet significant sounding phrases to get you through for election day and night. Deploy them carefully and impress yourself. 1)

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Nothing can justify a vote for Jeremy Corbyn

For Labour moderates agonising over whether they can vote for the party led by Jeremy Corbyn, an answer to their dilemma comes from a surprising quarter.  The quandary of party or principles comes down to whether you agree with Margaret Thatcher or Enoch Powell. Early in her premiership, Mrs T paid a visit to the Conservative Philosophy Group and got into an unexpected row with the original tribune of the New Right. Posed a problem — whether one owed first loyalty to country or values — the divergence of Thatcherism and Powellism was stark. Powell said: ‘I would fight for this country even if it had a Communist government.’ Thatcher was horrified:

James Kirkup James Kirkup

To survive, the Tories must compromise with Remainers – and Corbynism

Regardless of who leads it, the Conservative party now has the opportunity to cling to office, possibly even for the rest of this five-year Parliament. They’re the biggest party and a deal with the DUP is the basis for forming a new government. But that’s only the start. To remain in office, the Conservatives are going to have to accept a lot of compromises. They’re going to have to compromise on Brexit, and thus on immigration. They’re going to have to compromise on economic policy (spend more, cut less) and markets (intervene more). They’re going to have to compromise with the Scottish voters who threw them a parliamentary lifeline by

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Generation wars | 8 June 2017

British general elections have often evolved from contests between parties into battles between two opposing themes or ideas. In 1964, it was modernity vs the grouse moors; 1979, trade unionism vs individualism; 1983, Cold War strength vs unilateral nuclear disarmament. This year was supposed to be the Brexit election, yet instead developed into something loosely associated with that, but at the same time quite different: it became the intergenerational election. Jeremy Corbyn was never supposed to have had a shout. Way to the left of any Labour leader who had ever won a general election, his economic policies were considered by many to be simply incompatible with the values of

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

Boris Johnson is not the answer

I would direct you to Liddle passim for why we are now in this state of chaos. Even if Theresa May hadn’t run the worst election campaign in living memory (again, passim) she still wouldn’t have increased her majority by much at all. I knew that as a fact, an absolute certainty, on the day the election was called, and explained why, no matter that the polls were showing a landslide. The decision to call an election was arrogant and complacent — and so was the subsequent campaign. None of us may want the additional chaos of a leadership election, but nonetheless, there should be one. She is, as I

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Nicola Sturgeon, the second biggest loser

Comeuppance is a dish best served scalding hot. That’s the first thing to be said about this glorious election result. Like Ted Heath, Theresa May asked ‘Who governs Britain?’ and received the answer ‘Preferably not you’. Her election campaign — a word that grants it greater dignity than it merits — will be remembered for decades to come as a classic example of what not to do. Until yesterday we had thought her victory would be tainted by the fact she had only beaten Jeremy Corbyn; now we might reappraise our view to note that poor Jeremy Corbyn has been such a hapless leader of the Labour party he couldn’t

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Theresa May has no one else to blame for this chaos

If there is ever an inquest into who torpedoed Theresa May’s chances of winning the 2017 election outright, the answer should not be in doubt. The Prime Minister was the author of her own destruction – or, at least, the staggering and needless destruction of her party’s majority. The decision to hold an early election was taken not in political cabinet, but on a walking holiday with her husband. None of her cabinet colleagues advised her to personalise her campaign to such a bizarre extent; her disastrous manifesto was as much of a surprise to them as it was to the public. Theresa May did all this herself, with a

Jenny McCartney Jenny McCartney

May’s Irish bailout

If the election result has severely weakened Theresa May, it has correspondingly strengthened another female politician – Arlene Foster, the Democratic Unionist Party leader, who could be seen beaming with delighted party colleagues at the election count in Northern Ireland. After a stormy year there — in which the devolved Assembly collapsed amid allegations that Foster was to blame for a costly renewable heating scandal — the Westminster election has restored the DUP’s fortunes beyond its wildest dreams: with the ten seats it has won, the party could now take on the role of ‘kingmakers’ in a minority Conservative government. Early on Friday morning, it was quick to indicate its

Matthew Lynn

Britain is heading for a hard-left Brexit and a crash

Sterling plunges on the currency markets. Middle Eastern oil money flees London. A prime minister resigns in mysterious circumstances, and a government clings on to a vanishing majority. Sound familiar? In fact, it is a description of the run-up to the sterling crisis of 1976, which forced the then Labour government to crawl to the IMF for an emergency bailout. But the parallels with today are spooky. As the catastrophic election result for the Conservative party is digested, sterling is already sinking like a stone. No one has any real idea who will be PM in a few months’ time, whether there will be another election, or who might win

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Why hasn’t the Remain dog barked in this election?

The hopes of those who want Britain to stay in the EU have been dashed by this election. There has been no Brexit backlash. The party that wanted to overturn the result, the Liberal Democrats, have had a minimal impact on the campaign. By the time Britain next goes to the polls in a general election, the deed will have been done: this country will have left both the EU and the single market. Straight after the referendum last year, some Leavers feared victory would be snatched from them. They worried that a general election could lead to a parliament that was prepared to go back on the result. Instead,