Politics Archives

Wednesday

28 Jun 2017

Theresa May diverts Grenfell blame onto Tony Blair

It was the first PMQs since Mrs May crawled triumphantly back into Downing Street after her humiliating victory in the general election. She has brilliantly disposed of her cumbersome Commons majority – always a drawback to a statesman – and replaced it with a thrillingly unstable parliament and a government characterised by its ruthless indecision and single-minded hesitancy. The genius of Mrs May is to keep her gift for politics so fully concealed that it appears to be non-existent. And the historic alliance she has forged with her despised colleagues in the DUP looks set to endure for a hundred years. Or maybe days. The high-rise crisis dominated the session.

James Forsyth

Theresa May reassures Tory MPs at PMQs

This PMQs was always going to be a very different affair for Theresa May. Post-election, her aura has gone and, for the first time, Jeremy Corbyn now has his benches behind him. Given the circumstances, Theresa May turned in one of her best PMQs performances. She has never been a natural at the despatch box, but she was solid today. Her performance will have reassured Tory MPs that she is able to keep going. Jeremy Corbyn began on the Grenfell fire. At first, his questions were detailed and precise. He got May to admit that her understanding is that the cladding on Grenfell tower was not compliant with building regulations. But

Katy Balls

Why Philip Hammond will spend the Autumn down the back of the sofa

The government is considering lifting the 1pc public sector pay cap in the autumn Budget. In the post PMQs briefing, a No 10 spokesman said they had ‘heard the message’ from the ‘weary’ electorate and would look at recommendations from review bodies on the issue. However, just hours later at the afternoon lobby briefing, hacks were given mixed messages. The Prime Minister’s spokesman said ‘the policy has not changed’. Now there are a few things to note here. Firstly, the fact they are even looking at the pay cap is a win for Labour. Not only have they tabled amendments to the Queens’ Speech calling for the cap to be dropped, it

Steerpike

Even the BBC’s Business Editor struggles to explain the deficit

With austerity so last election, voters no longer seem too fussed by the deficit. It may be that they no longer think it’s a problem, with polls showing that the average voter thinks that debt is going down. Why? Because they keep being given that impression by broadcasters who talk about ‘deficit reduction’ while wrongly thinking that people know what this means. ‘Deficit’ is a Westminster wonk word, used nowhere outside of politics. Reducing the deficit means cutting down the annual government overspend, but you won’t hear the state-funded BBC using phrases like that. The BBC might be state-financed but this is not a conspiracy. The greater scandal is how few of BBC

Isabel Hardman

Theresa May will be feeling the heat at today’s PMQs

What a very different atmosphere the House of Commons Chamber will have today for its first PMQs since the election. In the week before Parliament dissolved, Tory MPs were in a most obsequious mood, reciting the ‘strong and stable’ slogan that Theresa May started her campaign with, and even telling the Prime Minister that ‘I am confident that the country will be safe after the election under strong and stable leadership’ (sadly Peter Lilley, who made this prediction, stood down at the election and so is not in Parliament to offer his insight into how he feels about the state of the country now). It will be interesting to see

Joanna Williams

Jeremy Corbyn: the nation’s therapist

Comparisons between Jesus and Jezza became commonplace long before he chose to end his election campaign with a rally at a church in Islington. As far back as August 2015, which in today’s political currency is at least two lifetimes ago, commentators were asking, ‘Is Jeremy Corbyn The New Messiah?’. It wasn’t just the shared initials (it’s a sign!) but the crowds he drew and the tearful adulation among his audience. But Corbyn is not messiah-like – indeed his very lack of magnetism is part of his appeal. And neither does Corbynism fill some Christianity-shaped hole in British life. The old religion demanded confession, sacrifice and a commitment that extends beyond

Tuesday

27 Jun 2017

Isabel Hardman

While Theresa May retreats, the Tories must reform

It’s hardly a surprise that the Tories aren’t pushing ahead with plans for new grammar schools, and hardly a surprise that Education Secretary Justine Greening confirmed this quietly in a written answer to a parliamentary question. They neither want to cause an upset with a policy not universally supported by Tory MPs when they now have no majority to pass it, nor draw attention to the fact that the party can no longer be a radical reforming force in Parliament. Greening wrote in an answer published today that ‘there was no education bill in the Queen’s Speech, and therefore the ban on opening new grammar schools will remain in place’. It

Alex Massie

Nicola Sturgeon asks Scotland for one thing: patience

Ever since the general election Nicola Sturgeon has lurked in her tent, contemplating the future. The result of that election, in which the SNP’s share of the vote fell by 13 points and in which it lost 21 seats, demanded a period of ‘reflection’ from the first minister. Where does Scotland stand now? The answer, which was wearily predictable, is just where it stood before. Nicola Sturgeon emerged from her period of reflection yesterday with a simple message: nothing has changed. Sure, she talked about ‘resetting’ her timetable for independence, confirming that she would not this year introduce a bill at the Scottish parliament seeking the Section 30 order from

Katy Balls

Sturgeon won’t give up on IndyRef2

Unionists hoping Nicola Sturgeon would use her statement today to call off her plans for IndyRef2 have been left disappointed. Instead, the First Minister simply said she would ‘re-set’ her proposal in light of her party’s disastrous election result, which saw the SNP lose 21 seats and half a million votes. Sturgeon’s concession is simply that the party no longer plans to call a referendum on Scottish independence ‘immediately’. She said plans for a second referendum bill would be shelved until autumn 2018 at earliest – to when ‘it is clearer what Brexit will involve’. What’s striking is Strugeon’s insistence that she still plans to call one in this Parliament – so before

Steerpike

Jon Snow embraces his inner Corbynista at Glastonbury

Of late, Channel 4 appears to be on a mission to rebrand itself as home of the Corbynista, with the broadcaster angling much of its coverage at those who backed the Labour leader in the snap election. But has Jon Snow taken things a step too far? Mr S only asks after coming across the Twitter account of a Glastonbury reveller by the name of Daniel. Daniel has posted a picture of himself with the Channel 4 presenter. He says that he had a ‘boss’ time at Glastonbury – helped by the fact he got to have a dance with Snow, who Daniel alleges shouted ‘f— the Tories’. Alas Jon Snow

Brendan O’Neill

Grenfell Tower: a political prop in a morality play

John McDonnell’s use of the M-word in relation to the Grenfell inferno marks a new low in the political milking of this catastrophe. I’m not normally squeamish, but I must say I have found the marshalling of the Grenfell horror to political ends, the transformation of this human calamity into effectively a meme saying ‘Austerity Bad’ or ‘Tory Scum’, deeply disturbing. And now McDonnell has dragged it down to its nadir, with his claim at Glastonbury that the residents of this tragic block were ‘murdered by political decisions’. The entire setting of McDonnell’s comments feels nauseating. Here we had the shadow chancellor of the deceptively bourgeois Corbynista movement shoring up his party’s

Monday

26 Jun 2017

David Gordon

Give the DUP a chance

A political party barely known outside Northern Ireland now holds the balance of power in Parliament. Nobody saw it coming, but then that’s the new catchphrase in politics. So who are the DUP? And do they deserve the pillorying that has been coming their way since the general election catapulted them into the spotlight? I have been watching the party up close for decades. Yet while the DUP isn’t always a pretty sight to behold, the party is much more complicated than the hysterical stereotyping makes out. It’s true that the DUP has its roots in uncompromising unionism and religion. And for many years it was little more than a one-man’s fan club: the political extension of Ian Paisley’s hardline

Alex Massie

England, you wanted Brexit so you can pay for it

The message to be taken from today’s Downing Street proceedings is a simple one: England, you wanted Brexit so you can pay for it. That, in essence, is the meaning of the confidence and supply agreement brokered between the Conservatives and the Democratic Unionist Party. That the DUP favoured Brexit too is of no account and nothing more than a cute irony. Nobody gets between an Irish politician and their pork. ’Twas ever thus, north and south of the border, and ’twill ever be thus. This is the word of the book, you know. Enough too, please, of pretending to be shocked by the shocking discovery that politics is a

Nick Hilton

Corbynism is bigger than Glastonbury and avocado toast

Glastonbury is notorious for being one of the most irritating spectacles in the British calendar, so it is hardly surprising that, when combined with a smattering of Jeremy Corbyn fanaticism, it has gone down badly. There is obviously something repellent about watching 100,000 yuppies – who had paid £238 for the privilege of standing in a field, listening to Ed Sheeran – chanting Corbyn’s name and extolling the virtues of a socialist utopia. But, beyond this, there is something more telling to the newspaper headlines and editorials: the right simply doesn’t have a clue what’s going on with the left. Take, for example, the so-called ‘Day of Rage’ last week (where

Katy Balls

Labour’s nonsensical Brexit position is perfect opposition politics

After Theresa May received a hostile response in Brussels, perhaps she was hoping for a more amiable reception today in the Chamber when she revealed more details of her pitch to EU nationals living in the UK. In a statement, the Prime Minister told MPs that hers was a fair and serious offer (confirming she remains opposed to European Court of Justice adjudicating on rights of EU nationals after Brexit) but went one step further – telling EU nationals: ‘we want you to stay’. Alas, her words did little to appease Jeremy Corbyn. Boosted by rowdy opposition benches, he accused the government of treating EU nationals like bargaining chips. The Labour leader said

James Delingpole

Despite everything, I love Glastonbury – and I wasn’t the only one booing Jeremy Corbyn

‘You don’t look like Radiohead fans, lads,’ said the old fashioned Northern lady as she served Boy and me our post gig donuts and plastic cups of proper Tetley tea. I suspect that like us, but unlike most of Glastonbury, she had this time last year voted Brexit. ‘What do Radiohead fans look like?’ I asked. She nodded towards a thirty-something walking past in chinos and one of those trendy woollen tops with the zip on the top. Ah. She meant ‘wankers’. And I did see her point. I felt it particularly strongly during that moment in one of the gaps in Radiohead’s Pyramid Stage set when their audience broke

James Forsyth

Why some Tories are deeply worried about the DUP deal

The Tory DUP deal has been signed in Downing Street this morning, the text of it is on the government website and there’ll be a statement in the Commons on it later. This is as formal as a confidence and supply deal can get. So, why were the Tories so keen on such a formal deal? Well, there were three reasons for it. The whips’ office wanted the certainty of a written agreement rather than having to survive hand to mouth; note that the deal was signed by the chief whip not the Prime Minister. The whips’ hope that this certainty will mean both that the government can get its

Tom Goodenough

Theresa May’s Government is safe – for now

The Government’s deal with the DUP is done – but it has come at a price. The confidence and supply agreement – which falls short of a formal coalition but will be enough to keep Theresa May in power – will set the Government back £1bn. The deal spells out £200m for infrastructure, £75m for ultra-fast broadband, £100m over five years to tackle deprivation, £50m on health and education, £100m on health service reform and £50m on mental health funding in Northern Ireland. Despite the cost, though, there’ll be a big sigh of relief among the Conservatives that the deal (which you can read here) is now, finally, across the line. With a

Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: Corbynism isn’t funny any more

The laughing should stop, says the Sun, which calls Corbynism a ‘joke’ which ‘simply isn’t funny any more’. The Labour leader has now said himself that he could be PM within six months. If he does make it to Downing Street, ‘terrifyingly, says the Sun, Trident could be gone’. And in just a few days ‘Corbyn would leave Britain open to attack’. A Corbyn government would also be ‘financially ruinous, militarily empty and so confused on Brexit and immigration that his own party contradicts itself at every turn’. After Corbyn’s rapturous reception over the weekend at Glastonbury, ‘let’s hope’ says the Sun, that the ‘enthusiasm’ for Corbyn ‘remains in a

Alex Massie

Britain is in desperate need of a truly national party

I am not sure I can think of any great public assembly in Britain I’d enjoy less than Glastonbury. Within reason, I’m not sure you could even pay me to go there. Glastonbury is a place for dear Hugo Rifkind not for me, and that’s the way I imagine we both prefer it. Still, there was something worth seeing at Glastonbury this year. Jeremy Corbyn, obviously. His appearance was remarkable, even if it has also prompted a fresh outbreak of one of Britain’s under-appreciated traditional sports: members of the middle-class sneering at other members of the middle-class. Even so, two things can be said about this. First, the Labour party