Politics Archives

Sunday

4 Jun 2017

Stand up to terrorism? Count me out

Are we all standing united, then? Not letting anything divide us? Not giving way to bigotry or intolerance or hate? And we’re all going to be terrifically brave and go out to vote on Thursday, because that’s what the terrorists don’t want us to do… do they? When I heard the news about the London Bridge attack, I felt a number of emotions pretty well together. Oh God, not again, was the first, followed by indignation, compassion, sympathy and admiration as appropriate for perpetrators, victims, police, passers by and the have-a-go cab driver. But the very next, perhaps simultaneous, reaction was ennui. Here we go again. Not another attack, not

Katy Balls

Theresa May says ‘enough is enough’ following latest terror attack

Theresa May has said ‘enough is enough’ in a robust statement following last night’s terror attack, which left seven people dead and 48 injured. Acknowledging that this is the third terror attack Britain has experienced in three months, the Prime Minister said that while the three attacks were not connected in their planning, they are bound together by one thing: Islamist extremism. May said that the attacks highlighted ‘a new trend’ in the threat we face, and one that needs to be responded to accordingly: ‘We believe we are experiencing a new trend in the threat we face, as terrorism breeds terrorism and perpetrators are inspired to attack not only on the basis

Katy Balls

Terror strikes London again

Seven people were killed and at least 48 injured after a van and knife attack in the London Bridge area. The police have declared the incidents as terrorist attacks. The Conservatives, Labour and the SNP have suspended their national election campaigns for the day. Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command have arrested 12 people in Barking in connection with the attacks. The police have confirmed that incidents at London Bridge and Borough Market at about 10pm last night were terrorist attacks. Seven people were killed and at least 48 injured after a white van mowed into pedestrians in London Bridge before three attackers emerged from the vehicle and stabbed a number of people.

Saturday

3 Jun 2017

Fraser Nelson

Theresa May’s popularity rating turns negative, but Tory lead remains intact

When the Conservatives were rebranded “Theresa May’s team” and the party’s name purged from its literature, there were two explanations. One, that the UK system of Cabinet government doesn’t suit the Prime Minister, so wants an election where she’d campaign by diktat in order to govern by diktat. She’d go fetch a three-figure majority, then her Cabinet meetings would be a bit like the Spitting Image sketch about vegetables (above). The other explanation was more plausible, and benign: that her personal approval ratings were the highest recorded for any Prime Minister so it made sense for the Tories to campaign on the leader. A poll for ComRes this evening shows that her approval

Carola Binney

Corbyn supporters are peddling ‘fake economics’

Labour have been up-in-arms this weekend about a viral Conservative campaign video, which used some dubious editing to suggest that Corbyn said ‘No’ when asked whether he would condemn the IRA. In fact, he said ‘No, I think what you have to say is all bombing has to be condemned and you have to bring about a peace process.’ This still doesn’t sound like a full-bodied condemnation, but, that aside, the Tory video still has far fewer views than a similarly dubious one by a Labour supporting group. The clip, entitled ‘We’re all in it together’ was uploaded by The People For Jeremy Corbyn, a grassroots organisation, last weekend. It features a

James Forsyth

Brexit and tax to be Tory focus in campaign’s final days

The Tories want to make their closing argument in this campaign about Brexit and how Labour would raise taxes, I write in The Sun this morning. I understand that Lynton Crosby held a meeting with senior Cabinet Ministers on Tuesday which set out this strategy. I’m told that the meeting made clear that Crosby is now in charge and that this will be the party’s closing message. It is, though, a sign of how narrowly run this campaign has been that several of those present say that this was the most they have been consulted on—or informed—about the party’s strategy in this election. Interestingly, Philip Hammond wasn’t at this meeting.

David Butterfield

Theresa May isn’t the first to make the mistake of claiming to be ‘strong and stable’

Theresa May’s ‘strong and stable’ strapline has apparently been withdrawn after the electorate started to sway with nausea. Yet the words remain emblazoned on the ‘battle bus’, still crop up in interviews, and continue to litter campaign material across the country. To little effect. The phrase was soon found to be a blunt weapon, not cutting through to voters but bludgeoning them into a stupor. To be ‘strong and stable’ is so self-evidently desirable that to say so is vacuous and empty. In fact, as we have seen, this limp phrase has recently rebounded with some force: ‘strong and stable’ has become the benchmark against which to judge a Prime Minister stymied by handbrake

Friday

2 Jun 2017

James Forsyth

Confident May tells audience, I had the balls to call this election

Theresa May turned in what, I think, was her best TV performance of the election tonight. May engaged with the questions more than she has in previous TV events, and was more confident and fluent than she had been on Monday night. After a prolonged Tory wobble, her performance will have steadied jangling Tory nerves. May pitched hard for the Brexit vote. She said that she had called the election ‘for Brexit’ and that if you voted Leave, you needed to make sure you got it. When she was accused of calling the election for political gain, she hit back saying that she had had the balls to call an

Katy Balls

Jeremy Corbyn hammered on defence in Question Time special

Tonight Jeremy Corbyn faced his toughest media appearance of the campaign as he took questions from a live studio audience in the Question Time Leaders Special. Although the audience appeared more favourable to him than Theresa May at first (with the Labour leader receiving a loud whoop as he entered the stage), the format actually ended up working against him. With audience members asking the questions rather than a presenter, Corbyn struggled to change the subject on uncomfortable topics and appeared rattled when pressed on his views on small businesses, Trident and the IRA. He also failed to alleviate Labour’s credibility problem when a voter asked him if Labour’s manifesto

Fraser Nelson

Why we can’t be sure that Theresa May won’t blow it

We’ve just had our pre-election meeting at The Spectator, and agreed the usual drill for the big night. Election day itself is dead: we relax and steel ourselves for the evening. There’ll be the normal 8.30pm curry as we wait for the exit poll and we’ll lay on some wine (and desk space) for contributors who’ll be near our Westminster office. Katy Balls will stay up late – that’s how she likes it – and I’ll try to grab some sleep early and come into the office for 2.30am. Katy, James Forsyth and Tom Goodenough will do the night shift; Will Heaven, John O’Neill and I will do the early morning

Alex Massie

Theresa May has become the Tories’ Gordon Brown

At the outset of this general election campaign one thing seemed clear: Labour would get everything they deserved but, alas, the Tories would not. That is, Jeremy Corbyn would lead Labour to a thoroughly-merited disaster and Theresa May would gain an ill-deserved, but whopping, victory. Well that was then and this is now as it looks, at least for the moment, as though this scenario could be reversed. The Tories, enduring a stinker of a campaign, may be punished just as thoroughly as they deserve to be but, if that is the judgement of the British people, it also requires voters to treat Labour with a gentle indulgence the party

Tom Goodenough

Corbyn bursts through 40 per cent in latest Ipsos Mori poll

Only a few weeks ago, the polls brought nothing but joy for the Tories. With just six days to go until election day, that’s no longer the case. An Ipsos MORI survey out today cuts the Conservative lead down to just five points. Labour’s support has burst through the 40 per cent mark – rising by six points since Ipsos MORI’s last poll on May 18th. The poll comes off the back of this week’s shock YouGov estimate, which suggested we could be heading for a hung Parliament. And YouGov’s updated election model for today doesn’t bring any better news for the Tories: it suggests that Theresa May will now fall

Tom Goodenough

Tory candidate Craig Mackinlay charged with election offences

Craig Mackinlay, the former Tory MP and the party’s candidate in South Thanet, has been charged with election offences. The decision by the CPS – which comes less than a week ahead of the snap election – was made following an investigation by police into Conservative Party expenses during the 2015 General Election. In that election campaign, Mackinlay defeated then-Ukip leader Nigel Farage by less than 3,000 votes in South Thanet. The CPS announced its decision moments again, saying that MacKinlay – along with two others – will face trial charged with offences under the Representation of the People Act 1983. Here’s their full statement: “On 18 April we received a file of evidence

Steerpike

Theresa May performs yet another U-turn

Given that Theresa May hasn’t performed one of her customary ‘strong and steady’ U-turns for over a week, it was about time she changed her mind on something. So, Mr S was relieved to read her interview with City AM editor Christian May. While the Prime Minister promises to defend the City in EU negotiations, it was the quick fire round that caught Steerpike’s attention. May is asked to pick which restaurant out of Coq D’Argent or Simpson’s Tavern she prefers: CM: Coq D’Argent or Simpson’s Tavern? TM: Simpson’s Tavern. When May plumps for Simpson’s Tavern, the editor lets her know this is also Nigel Farage’s favourite: CM: When I point out this is Nigel

Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: Are we heading for a coalition of chaos?

Theresa May’s warnings about a ‘coalition of chaos’ used to sound like empty threats. Not any longer. Since the publication of this week’s YouGov poll which suggested we could be heading for a hung Parliament, the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn making it to No.10 suddenly seems less unbelievable than before. But if May does lose her majority, Corbyn would not be able to govern alone. Make no mistake, says the Sun: ‘Labour could not govern without a coalition with the SNP’. So whatever Jeremy Corbyn might say about his plan for governing – and Brexit- there’s little doubt that it would be the Scots who ‘would call the shots’. The

Thursday

1 Jun 2017

The Spectator

Barometer | 1 June 2017

Afrodisiac Diane Abbott likened her rejection of earlier pro-terror sympathies to losing her afro hairstyle. To African-Americans in the 1960s, the afro was a rejection of black attempts to ape white styles. Yet 100 years earlier it was seen as an epitome of white beauty. In 1864, a P. T. Barnum show in New York, featured a ‘Circassian beauty’, said to be from the Northern Caucasus. A German physiologist had cited these Black Sea people as the ‘purest example’ of the white race. The woman had a huge ball of moss-like hair. Some say the style came from Circassian women captured as sex slaves for Turkish harems — their hair

The Spectator

May’s mistakes

On the eve of the US presidential election, experts at Princeton university decided that Donald Trump had a 1 per cent chance of being elected. Before the last general election, Populus, the opinion poll firm, gave David Cameron a 0.5 per cent chance of winning a majority. Much is made of the need to look at ‘the data’ when considering political arguments, but so often it is a wildly inaccurate guess with a decimal point at the end to give an aura of scientific specificity. So when we read that Jeremy Corbyn has just a 17 per cent chance of becoming prime minister, this does not mean that the election is in

Charles Moore

The Spectator’s Notes | 1 June 2017

At Mass on Sunday, we were issued with a letter from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, entitled ‘The General Election 2017’. It set out questions which Catholics should ask candidates. These included the ‘uncertain future’ of EU citizens in Britain and British citizens in the EU, rehabilitation in prisons, immigration, overseas aid, welfare services. All important issues, of course. But it was striking what we were not invited to raise. Nothing about how high spending and taxation might burden poorer taxpayers. No subject in which the interests of UK citizens (who, after all, are the people for whom any British election takes place) come first. No mention of the difficulties of

Fraser Nelson

Diary – 1 June 2017

In such gorgeous weather the best part of Scotland to visit is not (as so many seem to think) the West Highlands but my native north-east. Moray, a region of whisky and white beaches, has long been the country’s best-kept secret, but it has become rather spoiled of late by its new status as a battleground seat. Plenty of its SNP supporters voted for Brexit, leading to a conflict of loyalties that seems to have been resolved in favour of the Tories. They almost won the council last month and if they take the constituency they’ll depose Angus Robertson, leader of the SNP in Westminster. Nicola Sturgeon is worried enough

Stephen Bullivant

Labour’s abortion stance is the final straw

Well, that didn’t last long: in April, I rejoined the Labour Party. Last Sunday, I cancelled my subscription and cut up my membership card. Being part of the official opposition to a Tory Government, my conscience can live with; being the official opposition to the unborn, it cannot. I’ve always leaned towards backing Labour. And while my radicalism may have mellowed somewhat in my old age, I would certainly have voted for Jeremy Corbyn in the first leadership contest. So when the snap election was called, it seemed like an obvious move to put my money where my ballot is. But the first sign of trouble came almost immediately afterwards, when Labour’s