Politics Archives

Thursday

15 Jun 2017

Labour’s happy surprise

‘Science,’ wrote Jules Verne, ‘is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth.’ Perhaps this is why politics, which claims to be a science, is so littered with tremendous errors at the moment. It wasn’t just the pollsters and the pundits in Westminster who called this election wrong. People embedded in constituencies couldn’t even correctly predict their own results. These days, politics seems a lot more like alchemy than a real science. On the night before polling day, a group of Labour MPs compared notes about how things were looking in their patches. It was

James Forsyth

The Maybot 3000

Had Theresa May won the election with the landslide she expected, she’d have fired several of the cabinet with her trademark brutality. They knew who they were. And last Monday, three of them took the opportunity to tell the Prime Minister where she had gone wrong. In the first meeting of the political cabinet since she blew her party’s majority, Philip Hammond asked why there had been no economic message in the campaign. Andrea Leadsom said that while May had repeatedly claimed the election was all about Brexit, she had never said what Brexit was actually for. The most pointed contribution, though, came from Sajid Javid, who lambasted the high-handed

Freddy Gray

Corbyn copy

Since the election, Jeremy Corbyn has been parading himself as prime-minister-in-waiting. ‘Cancellation of President Trump’s State Visit is welcome,’ he tweeted this week, ‘especially after his attack on London’s Mayor and withdrawal from #ParisClimateDeal.’ The message was clear: unlike ‘Theresa the appeaser’, Jeremy is willing and able to tell that climate change-denying Islamophobe across the water to get stuffed. Jez we can, Jez we can. There may be another reason why Corbyn is glad to think that Trump might not come to these shores, and that’s because the more the British see of the dreaded Donald, the more they might recognise how much he and the Labour leader have in

James Delingpole

I don’t blame millennials for voting for Corbyn

On the morning after the election I was drinking coffee with one of my heroes, Sir Roger Scruton. We talked about the moment during the 1968 Paris évenéments when Scruton, who had been fairly apolitical up to that point, suddenly discovered he was a conservative. He had watched the educated children of privilege wantonly destroying the property of their social inferiors in the name of something or other, and realised: ‘Whatever they are for, I am against.’ That was the reason he has spent so much of his life since trying to develop a philosophy of conservatism as thorough, persuasive and enticing as the variations on Marxism so compelling to

Jonathan Fenby

The Macron miracle

Paris While Theresa May flounders in a mess of her own making, Emmanuel Macron is striding out on to the sunlit uplands of French politics. Six decades after Charles de Gaulle set up the Fifth Republic, his seventh successor is charging ahead with his attempt to restore a quasi-monarchical authority to the occupant of the Elysée Palace. After three hollow presidencies, the 39-year-old hope of the European reformist centre is bent on turning the clock back in terms of presidential power with a broad-based electoral appeal, positioning himself above the sclerotic political world that has alienated most voters and blocked structural change in France since the 1980s. This has involved

Rod Liddle

Where are the Tory hordes shrieking ‘lefty scum’?

The Conservative party lost the general election, even if they are still in power (at time of writing). It was a defeat — as awful and fundamental a defeat for the political right as any I can remember. Brexit is now endangered. And few would doubt that a subsequent election would mean a victory for a very left-wing and jubilant Labour party. It is, then, a catastrophe for the right. And here’s what hasn’t happened as a consequence: 1. There are no hordes of right-wing demonstrators on Westminster Green screaming ‘Labour scum’ and spitting at anyone they think might be a socialist. Nobody has, to my knowledge, set fire to

Wednesday

14 Jun 2017

Nick Timothy

Where we went wrong

Nobody inside CCHQ was prepared for election night’s 10 p.m. exit poll. Lynton Crosby’s last text to me predicted that we were going to ‘do well’, which according to our expectations would mean a Conservative majority of more than 60. A late projection, based on data from the ground and Jim Messina’s modelling, suggested we would win 371 seats, giving us a majority of 92. In the end, the Conservatives got their highest share of the vote since 1983, and more votes than Tony Blair managed in any of his elections, yet still we ended up with a hung parliament. Skilful leadership may deliver stability, but the absence of an

Stephen Daisley

The Tories must learn fast to avoid the chilling prospect of Prime Minister Corbyn

Nick Timothy has penned an honest and reflective piece about the Tory election boorach. It can’t have been easy to write less than a week on from defeat and his departure from Downing Street. The most important point he makes is substantive. Theresa May abandoned the One Nation vision she sketched out on the doorstep of Number 10 upon becoming Prime Minister. It was a blueprint for a modern conservatism that believed in markets but didn’t worship them, that championed liberty but also the freedom to take advantage of its opportunities. It was a communitarian Toryism halfway between Burke and Berlin — the kind of politics advocated by Robert Halfon, sacked

Tim Farron

Tim Farron: why I had to choose between my Christianity or leading the Lib Dems

This last two years have seen the Liberal Democrats recover since the devastation of the 2015 election. That recovery was never inevitable but we have seen the doubling of our party membership, growth in council elections, our first parliamentary by-election win for more than a decade, and most recently our growth at the 2017 general election. Most importantly the Liberal Democrats have established ourselves with a significant and distinctive role – passionate about Europe, free trade, strong well-funded public services underpinned by a growing market economy. No one else occupies that space. Against all the odds, the Liberal Democrats matter again. We can be proud of the progress we have

Fraser Nelson

Jo Swinson favourite to be new Lib Dem leader as Tim Farron quits

After a fairly disastrous general election campaign, Tim Farron has quit as leader of the Liberal Democrats. You can see why: he wanted to pose as the champion of Remain yet for for the first few weeks he seemed unable to move the conversation beyond his views on gay sex and marijuana. His attempt to rekindle the Brexit wars was a complete flop. The LibDems are an unlikely alliance of evangelical Christians and social liberals, and Farron’s appointment embodied a clash that the media delighted in exposing. He said, today, that has decided that the two are impossible to reconcile: “I have found myself torn, living as a faithful Christian and leading a political party

James Forsyth

Tim Farron quits as Lib Dem leader

Tim Farron has resigned as Liberal Democrat leader. The Liberal Democrats did make a net gain of four seats but this was far lower than what they had been hoping for; early on in the campaign Farron talked about his desire to double the number of Lib Dem MPs. At the same time, their share of the popular vote fell half a percentage point—with them now down to a mere 7.4% share. Given that these were uniquely promising circumstances for the party, they were the only UK-wide party opposed to Brexit, these elections results were particularly disappointing for them. Farron’s leadership style has received much of the blame for their

Katy Balls

The cost of Theresa May’s deal with the DUP

Theresa May’s deal with the DUP has been delayed as the government deals with the Grenfell Tower blaze. Even without the tragic events of last night, there’s reason to suggest that May’s deal with the DUP would not have been signed this week. Although the two parties are said to be finalising the ‘terms and conditions’ of an agreement, behind the scenes the DUP are driving a hard bargain as they attempt to squeeze more and more out of a beleaguered Prime Minister. There is growing anger among Tory MPs that May has misplayed her hand in these negotiations. By announcing that the Conservatives would govern in conjunction with the DUP, she made

Isabel Hardman

What next for Labour moderates?

Normally after an election, the leader of the party that came second comes to the first meeting of their parliamentary party and promises an inquiry into what went wrong. As Katy reported from the Parliamentary Labour Party meeting last night, no such thing happened when Jeremy Corbyn spoke to MPs. He received a standing ovation from all but two members, and the tone of the meeting was very much about how well Labour had done. This is the dominant narrative: that Labour basically won the election by gaining seats, and the Tories lost it even though they remain the largest party. Politically, of course, Theresa May has lost: it was

Will Heaven

Grenfell Tower: It is far too soon for political finger-pointing

It is hard to overstate the scale and intensity of the fire that engulfed Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey west London block of flats, shortly before 1 a.m. this morning. Pictures and video from the scene look like something out of a disaster movie. ‘Inferno’ is the Evening Standard‘s headline. At this early stage, six people have been confirmed dead – but the Metropolitan Police have said that ‘we do expect that figure to rise’. At least seventy-four more are injured and have been taken to six London hospitals, with 20 ‘in critical care’. More than 100 families have been made homeless. The emergency services responded quickly and in large numbers last

Ross Clark

Philip Hammond’s Brexit plan is the worst of all worlds

Had last week’s expected landslide actually occurred Philip Hammond would by now be working on his memoirs. Instead, he is still in his job and demonstrating why, according to rumours, Theresa May might have liked to have removed him from the Treasury. He has reportedly demanded that May’s policy on Brexit be watered down so that Britain remains in the customs union but not the single market. Staying in the Customs Union would be the quickest way to keep the DUP happy as it would make certain that the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic remains open. But in all other respects it is the wrong way round.

Tom Goodenough

Theresa May would be wise to listen to David Cameron

Theresa May has few friends at the moment. But while her Christmas card list might be dwindling, her tally of critics is growing rapidly. Yesterday, John Major urged the Prime Minister to ditch a deal with the DUP or risk jeopardising the peace process in Northern Ireland. Now, David Cameron has waded in, calling for the PM to adopt a ‘softer’ approach to Brexit in the wake of last week’s election disaster. The former PM also said that his successor should change tack and ‘listen to other parties’ on the best way of leaving the EU. So, just another ex-Tory leader with too much time on their hands determined to take up the

Tom Goodenough

Tory leader runners and riders: Who could replace Theresa May?

Theresa May has granted herself a brief reprieve by saying ‘sorry’ to Conservative MPs. But while the Prime Minister’s apology won her some breathing space, in the long term little has changed: the PM’s Downing Street days are numbered. Who could be next in line to take over as the new Tory leader? Boris Johnson Boris remains the bookies’ favourite despite being badly bruised by last year’s bungled bid for the top job. The Foreign Secretary has thrown his weight behind May for now. It’s difficult though to ignore George Osborne’s assessment that Boris is in a ‘permanent leadership campaign’. Boris knows he has popular appeal on his side and his back-to-back wins

Tuesday

13 Jun 2017

Katy Balls

Corbyn-mania hits the Parliamentary Labour Party

It tends to be the case that if you hear cheers from outside a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party, it’s safe to bet it’s not Jeremy Corbyn doing the talking. However, tonight that all changed. The Labour leader received a 45-second standing ovation from his colleagues in what was a positive and productive meeting. After Labour defied expectations in last week’s election, the leader was welcomed by his party with rapturous applause. In his speech to his party, Corbyn said they had shown what they can do when the party is united – and that this must continue as they campaign to win power: ‘Last Thursday, we turned the tables on

Katy Balls

May makes Baker Brexit minister – what does she mean by that?

Theresa May has just appointed Steve Baker as a junior minister to the Department for Exiting the EU. A lead Brexiteer, Baker’s appointment will help to calm nerves among Leave-backing MPs that May is now heading for a ‘soft’ Brexit. The Eurosceptic MP replaces David Jones, who has been sacked as a Brexit minister. Jones was also a hardcore Brexiteer so Baker’s appointment suggests that Jones was not axed as part of a pro-Remain cull, as previously suggested. Baker was instrumental to the Leave campaign. The chair of Conservatives for Britain, he was deployed by Vote Leave as a ‘flying monkey’ to turn up the ‘pressure on David Cameron’ in the Commons – and Baker

Melanie McDonagh

More money for Northern Ireland? At least the DUP and Sinn Fein can agree on that

Well, Arlene and Theresa have met for negotiations about the DUP/Tory deal that a million people got so exercised about, they signed an online petition to have it stopped. And you know what? There is no indication, not a whisper, since those talks broke up, that abortion was so much as mentioned; nor indeed gay marriage. Indeed, the whole notion that the DUP might be out to subvert gay marriage in mainland Britain, let alone do anything about the abortion laws (which undeniably need revisiting – tightening), was simply risible. So much for the scary talk from Ruth Davidson (who proclaimed that one of the things she put above party