Politics Archives

Wednesday

22 Nov 2017

Philip Hammond is not the man to take the battle to Jeremy Corbyn

Philip Hammond began his first Budget, in March, by playing down its importance — for his big ideas on fiscal policy, he suggested we would have to wait until the autumn. It was a wait which was very nearly extended to eternity as he narrowly avoided losing his job in a post–election reshuffle. We found out this week that it was a bluff: he doesn’t have many big ideas, just a selection of small ones. Which, under the circumstances, is something of a relief. The Chancellor is getting better at telling Britain’s story, boasting about record employment and how the best-paid 1 per cent pay 27 per cent of all

Steerpike

Watch: John McDonnell’s BBC asset manager barney

As Jeremy Corbyn worked himself into a bother over Philip Hammond’s Budget in the Chamber, Labour’s shadow chancellor busied himself on the airwaves. Keen to show there was a better – more socialist – way, John McDonnell tried to explain to Andrew Neil why Labour had a more credible grip on the economy than the Conservatives. In order to try and make this point, McDonnell claimed many asset managers were impressed by his proposals – which include plans to invest through nationalisation. Given that Labour’s nationalisation plans include the government deciding how much to pay private companies for the assets, the presenters were intrigued to hear the claims: JM: When

Isabel Hardman

Corbyn’s anger gets the better of him in his Budget response

If we accept the usual caveat that it’s difficult for any Opposition leader, no matter how good, to respond well to a Budget straight after it has been delivered only in its broad-brush form, then we might conclude that Jeremy Corbyn’s response today was pretty good, all things considered. The Labour leader was angry and passionate, drawing a strong contrast with the endless wisecracks from Philip Hammond in his own statement. He decided to focus on how people would still be feeling after this Budget, which is a useful device when you simply have not had time to go through the small print that trips a chancellor up. He repeatedly

Katy Balls

Five things you need to know about Hammond’s Budget

After months of Tory nerves, Philip Hammond has just finished presenting his Autumn Budget in the Chamber. Among the main giveaways, the Chancellor announced more funding for the NHS as well as pitching to the young with his housing proposals and 18-30 railcard. He also announced measures to ease out the rollout of Universal Credit – including a one week reduction to the wait time. However, although the Chancellor was at pains to sound optimistic and shake off his Eeyore image, this was made difficult thanks to some grim statistics from the OBR. The OBR has revised down its forecast for annual growth quite significantly – lower than envisaged after the Brexit

Isabel Hardman

Jeremy Corbyn says the B word during PMQs

Jeremy Corbyn rarely talks about Brexit at Prime Minister’s Questions, and it is interesting that he chose today’s session, which will get little attention as a result of the Budget, to probe Theresa May on the matter. The Labour leader did have a good stint, quoting a number of European negotiators, Tory backbenchers and Cabinet Ministers who have made comments to the effect that the British government doesn’t know what it is doing on Brexit. He also accused the Tories of blocking measures protecting workers’ rights and acknowledging that animals are sentient beings. But Theresa May was on good form, too, continuing to appear as though she is regaining her

Tuesday

21 Nov 2017

Steerpike

Watch: David Davis crashes out

David Davis has just given a speech on the Brexit transition period – intended to prevent Britain from crashing out of the EU in a disorderly manner. But at the end of his address, it seems that he was personally advocating a different type of transition. As Davis said his goodbyes, he took a tumble. Mr S hopes it’s not a sign of things to come…

Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: The EU is in the grip of chaos

Donald Tusk’s jibe that Britain was no longer attempting to have its cake and eat it in Brexit talks was a clear dig at the Foreign Secretary. But now the EU is guilty of adopting the same approach, according to the Sun. Michel Barnier said yesterday that ‘he wants all his demands met’ on various issues, and also ‘wants a monstrous exit bung from Britain’. Theresa May has reportedly received the backing of her Cabinet to up this payment to £40bn. Yet this ‘won’t nearly suffice’ for the EU, says the Sun. And even if Brussels does agree, what will we get in return? ‘A trade deal which would still

Steerpike

The tin-eared chancellor: Philip Hammond’s ten worst gaffes

Tomorrow is D-day for Philip Hammond. As the Chancellor puts the finishing touches to his Budget, Tory MPs wait nervously – hoping it will be a day free of gaffes. Unfortunately, history suggests that this is unlikely. Over the years Hammond has earned a reputation for being tin-eared and ham-fisted. To get readers in the mood for his Budget, Mr S has compiled a list of the Chancellor’s worst gaffes: 1. There are no unemployed people Just this weekend, Hammond proved why he makes his colleagues nervous. Appearing on the Andrew Marr show, the Chancellor managed to turn one of his party’s top achievements into a toxic issue. Asked about

Steerpike

Sarah Olney causes a stir at Lib Dem HQ

Oh dear. Trouble is brewing at Lib Dem HQ over Sarah Olney. After losing her seat by 45 votes in the snap election, Olney was quickly appointed as Vince Cable’s Chief of Staff – beating several more conventional candidates (i.e. trained press officers) to the coveted job. At the time, Olney made a verbal agreement with Cable that she would not stand as a Parliamentary candidate – given that this would mean she would be unable to continue as Chief of Staff. So there was much surprise this month when Olney stepped down from the role so she could campaign to retake her old seat. At the time, Vince Cable

Monday

20 Nov 2017

James Forsyth

What fresh German elections would mean for Brexit and Europe

Angela Merkel’s declaration that new elections would be better than a minority government suggests Germany will be heading back to the polls soon. Though, it should be noted that the decision on whether to call fresh election is technically the German president’s, not Merkel’s. The so-called Jamaica coalition, bringing together Merkel’s CDU, the CSU, the Greens and the economically liberal Free Democrats, can’t be made to work as the collapse of the talks last night showed. The other alternative that would produce a majority government, another grand coalition between the CDU and the SPD, remains highly unlikely. The current consensus in the SPD is that the party needs a spell

Ross Clark

For real political chaos, take a look at Germany

The female leader of a prominent European country fails to win a majority in an election and then struggles to form a coalition. Meanwhile, her government limps from crisis to crisis and finally negotiations break down, leading to another general election just weeks later. Not Theresa May, obviously, because she had little difficulty in forming a workable coalition with the DUP. But it is the situation in Germany where today Angela Merkel said that she has given up on trying to create a workable government with the Free Democratic Party, the Christian Social Union and the Greens. There will now almost inevitably have to be another general election, with Angela

Isabel Hardman

Atkins’ confident start as a minister bodes well for tricky bill

Vicky Atkins was the first MP from the 2015 intake to become a minister, and had been preparing assiduously for doing so. She asked loyal questions of the Prime Minister and beavered away on the Home Affairs Committee and the joint committee examining the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill. But it was obvious that this very capable backbencher wanted to join the government – and that she was very likely to do well as a minister. Today’s Home Office questions marked her first outing on the frontbench in the Commons – and therefore the first glimpse of what someone who has been auditioning to be a minister is going to be

Steerpike

Conservative MP resigns from board that doesn’t exist

Oh dear. As resignations go, there has been some tough competition for the most newsworthy in recent years – from Nigel Farage’s unresignation to the entire Labour shadow cabinet’s to Priti Patel’s last week. However, up until now, Mr S had yet to come across a resignation from a job that it is unclear they still held. Step forward George Freeman. This afternoon Labour have gone on the attack over the news that Freeman – as he himself announced in a ConHome blog this morning – has ‘stood down‘ from his role in No 10. Given that just last week Freeman wrote to Theresa May (in a letter which mysteriously

Tom Goodenough

Michel Barnier’s Brexit trade deal warning

The furore over the Brexit divorce bill has been such that it is easy to forget that it isn’t the only major sticking point in talks with the EU. Theresa May looks set to up Britain’s offer this week (from €20bn to around €40bn), in the hope that more cash on the table will unlock the next stage of negotiations. But Michel Barnier’s speech today should serve as a warning to the British government: things won’t necessarily get easier when the Brexit divorce bill is sorted. In fact, Barnier makes it clear that talks could get even more difficult. The EU’s chief negotiator hinted that Britain would still miss out

Steerpike

Scottish Labour leader: If it’s England vs Scotland, I support England

This weekend, Richard Leonard proved that an Englishman can succeed in Scottish politics. The Corbyn ally – who hails from Yorkshire – beat Anas Sarwar to be crowned the leader of Scottish Labour. However, it remains to be seen whether an Englishman can ever be First Minister. While Scottish Labour members may be over to get over their leader having an English accent, Mr S wonders if the latest confession by Leonard will prove a step too far when it comes to the general public. With England and Scotland enjoying a fierce rivalry in sport, Leonard was asked today, on Radio 5live, what side he was on when it comes

William Cook

Germany’s political crisis puts Merkel’s future in doubt

When I had lunch with a senior CDU politician in Düsseldorf on Saturday, there was no sign that Germany’s coalition talks were about to break down so abruptly, plunging the Bundesrepublik into a political crisis with no solution in sight. Sure, negotiations had dragged on for weeks, said the man from Merkel’s party, but that wasn’t unusual here in Germany. They’d probably drag on until January, but the participants would eventually work something out. The next day his comfortable prediction was confounded, as Christian Lindner’s Free Democratic Party walked out of the coalition talks. ‘It became clear that the parties weren’t able to develop a common idea of how to

Mary Dejevsky

The riddle of Theresa May’s Russia policy

It is just a week since Theresa May used her Mansion House speech to launch a broadside on Russia. During a wide-ranging survey of the international horizon, it was Russia she singled out for special criticism and it was her Russia attack that attracted (and was surely intended to attract) the headlines. Just a reminder of what she said. Russia was ‘chief’ among those who seek to undermine ‘our open economies and free societies’. Not only had it annexed Crimea illegally, but it had fomented conflict in the Donbas, repeatedly violated the national airspace of several European countries, and waged a ‘sustained campaign of cyber espionage and disruption’. And this

Fraser Nelson

The collapse of coalition talks in Germany makes a ‘no deal’ Brexit a little more likely

The Cabinet is expected to resume talks about Brexit today, reportedly nudging towards a £40 billion offer ahead of a meeting on Friday – but is there much point? Germany still has no government with Angela Merkel’s coalition talks having collapsed. The chairman of the Free Democratic Party ended talks with Merkel last night and her old coalition partners, the Social Democrats, refuse to enter a deal as this would confer opposition status on the populist AfD and thereby augmenting the progress they made in the recent federal elections. All of a sudden, Merkel’s fourth term has been thrown into question, and there’s talk of her doing a Theresa May

Sunday

19 Nov 2017

Steerpike

Martin Freeman’s Labour loyalty issues

Although Jeremy Corbyn has seen a number of celebrity supporters come and go, Martin Freeman has at least proved loyal. The Hobbit actor has spoken in favour of the Labour leader – and appeared in party broadcasts. Indeed on the Andrew Marr show this morning, Freeman once again endorsed Corbyn. Only this time he added a caveat – making clear he supported Corbyn primarily because he was the leader of the Labour party as given that Labour is his ‘team’, he would support whoever held that role: AM: You quite like Jeremy Corbyn as a man, don’t you? MF: Yes, generally I think most people do, a lot of Tories

Matthew Taylor

Sunday shows round-up: John McDonnell says Labour’s nationalisation programme is no ‘magic card trick’

Philip Hammond – ‘We are delivering homes at record numbers’ Philip Hammond is set to deliver his second budget on Wednesday, which many believe will be make or break for his future at No. 11 Downing Street. He faces a difficult balancing act with challenges on many different fronts, including how to address the UK’s housing crisis. The Chancellor defended the government’s record on housing, though he acknowledged that the government did need to intervene in an area that he referred to as a ‘priority’: AM: Almost everybody agrees that there is a housing crisis in this country. Sajid Javid was sitting in that chair a few weeks ago and