Politics Archives

Thursday

18 May 2017

Ten Labour MPs that Tories should vote for

The Conservatives are going to win the election — that much we know. The question is what kind of opposition Britain is going to be left with. If a slew of moderate Labour MPs are swept out, the Corbynite grip on the party will strengthen. The leader will not go and Labour will take a great leap forward in its journey to oblivion. Tories should not relish this outcome. It would do serious violence to our parliamentary democracy, which was not designed to cope with one dominant party and no real opposition. Legislation would not face proper scrutiny, ministers would become less accountable, and the business of government would be less

Fraser Nelson

Red Theresa

Never has the Conservative party been more confident about winning a general election. Theresa May’s popularity ratings have broken all records; her aim in this campaign is not just to defeat the Labour party but to destroy it. The Tory MPs who talk about ten years in power are the more cautious ones; some talk about staying in government until the 2040s. The party’s name is seldom mentioned in this campaign. We instead hear only about ‘Theresa May’s team’, and voters seem to approve. As to what the Conservatives stand for, they’d rather not say. At times it seems they’re not even quite sure. The Tory messages revolve around Jeremy

David Goodhart

Middle May

Once, politicians remained in their safe spaces and elections were fought in a handful of swing seats. This time Theresa May is campaigning in Labour heartlands, pitching herself at people who have never considered voting Conservative before. Tories are targeting seats they have not held since the 1930s and social class seems almost irrelevant. Pollsters YouGov recently observed that class now tells us ‘little more about a person’s voting intention that looking at their horoscope or reading their palms’. As Tony Blair might have put it, the political kaleidoscope has been shaken and the pieces are in flux. A picture of a Britain with new fault lines is emerging. To

Quentin Letts

‘Our children are horrified’

Wrexham, North Wales To window cleaner Andrew Atkinson, Theresa May’s ‘blue-collar Conservatism’ is not just a slogan. It’s what he is. For the duration of the general election, gap-toothed, 32-year-old Atkinson has hung up his chamois leathers and water-fed poles and taken to campaigning on doorsteps in a bid to become Wrexham’s first Conservative MP. The campaign is costing him a fortune in lost jobs. Atkinson is a broad-shouldered lad who left home at 17 to earn a living as a self-employed squeegee wallah (‘glass hygiene technician, please,’ he jokes). He has the square jawline of Buzz Lightyear and an unaffected way with housewives. You half expect them to

Camilla Swift

Swiss trains

When Theresa May went off to Switzerland on a walking holiday last August, she said it was the ‘peace and quiet’ that drew her there — but I can’t help thinking there’s more to it than that. The Swiss are famous for their efficiency — and if there was ever a Brit who would appreciate things happening on time, it’s Theresa May. Yes, it is something of a cliché to say that no one does timekeeping like the Swiss. And in fact in 2014 a scandal erupted when statistics showed that only 87.5 per cent of trains arrived within three minutes of their scheduled time. Fortunately, Swiss Federal Railways managed

James Delingpole

We owe it to hunt staff to repeal the ban

Though I don’t think much of Theresa May’s paternalistic soft-left politics, I do like her no-nonsense style. That Q&A she did for the Sunday Times where she was asked ‘Sherlock or Midsomer Murders?’ — ‘I’ve watched both’ she replied — was hilarious in its Olympian imperviousness to the convention, established by Tony Blair, that prime ministers must kowtow at all times to popular culture and sentiment. So too was the extraordinarily unevasive answer she gave when asked recently why she was committed to allowing Conservative MPs a free vote on rescinding Tony Blair’s fox-hunting ban. ‘As it happens, personally, I’ve always been in favour of fox hunting,’ she said. Me

Rod Liddle

Corbyn is the real heir to Blair

Alastair Campbell once famously punched the Guardian’s Michael White in the face. A commendable thing to do, undoubtedly, as Mr White is the very incarnation of pomposity and self-righteousness. Quite possibly the best thing Campbell has ever done. But the brief spat (White hit back, according to White) was revealing in another way. Robert Maxwell had just drowned by falling off his yacht and Campbell, then working in the lobby for Maxwell’s paper, the Daily Mirror, took exception to White’s glee at this watery end to the proprietor’s life. ‘Captain Bob, Bob, Bob!’ White chortled, so Campbell punched him. He adored Maxwell and was his ‘close adviser’, no matter that

Wednesday

17 May 2017

Matthew Taylor

Liberal Democrat 2017 Manifesto: full text

Lib Dem Manifesto 2017 In every other manifesto, a Liberal Democrat leader has set out a vision for government. However, I want to make a different case to the British people in this election – an election that has been called by Theresa May, very cynically, with the sole purpose of putting the Tories in a position where they can do what they like unchecked. To be clear, Theresa May’s Conservative Party is on course to win this election. Unless we make a stand, they will walk away with a landslide. We risk the arrogance and heartlessness with which she has governed for the last 10 months being reinforced by

Steerpike

Listen: Boris Johnson gets into a spot of bother on the campaign trail

Oh dear. After batting off accusations that he has been put into hiding for the course of the general election campaign, Boris Johnson today resurfaced on the campaign trail in Bristol. Visiting a Sikh temple in St George’s, Boris spoke positively about the opportunities that would come with Brexit — including ending tariffs on whisky between the UK and India. However, a female worshipper took exception to the Foreign Secretary’s words as she took him to task for daring to ‘talk about alcohol’ in a Sikh temple. In response, Johnson apologised profusely. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has apologised after saying this, during a visit to a Sikh temple in Bristol today…

Katy Balls

The Lib Dems want what remains of the Remain vote

Tim Farron is in Bethnal Green tonight launching the Liberal Democrats 2017 manifesto. As the party try to keep hopes for a ‘Lib Dem fightback’ alive, the policies on offer appear to be aimed at winning the youth vote. They include introducing an NHS tax, raising £1bn in tax from proposals to legalise cannabis, help to get on the property ladder and bus passes for young people. However, it’s Brexit that lies at the heart of the manifesto — or, to be more precise, the party’s opposition to it. The Liberal Democrats say they would hold a second EU referendum on the final Brexit deal which would ‘give the final say to

Melanie McDonagh

Is Tim Farron prepared to defend any of his beliefs?

Are there any matters of principle, do you reckon, that Tim Farron isn’t prepared to give up on under pressure from a television journalist? After caving under repeated questioning from Channel 4’s Cathy Newman (how brave, Cathy!) to declare that he does not, in fact, consider homosexual acts to be sinful, he’s now had to conform again, this time on abortion. In an interview with ITV, he said he strongly believed that ‘when procedures takes place, it should be safe and it should be legal,’ and supported the law as it stands. Pressed on his personal view, he said: ‘Again, what one believes in one’s personal private faith is just

The Spectator

Britain has no need to fear Fortress Europe

It’s now a tradition for an incoming French president to make his first foreign trip a visit to Berlin. Yet even by past standards, Emmanuel Macron’s dash to meet Angela Merkel on the day after he was inaugurated seemed indecently quick. The lightning meeting at the German Chancellery was a statement of intent by the pair that the European Union is not only far from finished but that they intend to carry on with an even deeper union. Macron says he wants no less than a ‘historic reconstruction’ of Europe, with a single finance minister to cover the eurozone. Contrary to his reputation as an internationalist, he called for a

Steerpike

Diane Abbott exits stage left, then right

Diane Abbott isn’t having the best election campaign so far. Although her seat is safe, the shadow home secretary has come under fire for her attempts to explain Labour’s plans to put more police on the beat. So, her appearance yesterday at the Police Federation conference was bound to be testing. After voicing her concerns on the use of spit hoods (which are designed to protect police from suspects spitting at them), Abbott was heckled by a number of attendees. She then had a slight hiccup exiting the stage — walking off only to have to return and leave by the centre exit: Diane Abbott made an awkward exit after giving a

Douglas Murray

Private Manning’s freedom comes at the expense of US security

Barack Obama’s decision to commute the prison sentence of Private Manning was a final, disgraceful undermining of American interests by the outgoing US President. Today, Manning has been released from prison after serving seven years for leaking thousands of diplomatic cables and military files to Wikileaks. Manning’s decision to dump vast swathes of stolen information with the Wikileaks organisation, which then published them, caused untold and untellable damage to America and her allies. It revealed operational details which should never have fallen into the hands of America’s enemies. Manning ensured that they were available not just to such groups and nations but to the entire world. And of course leaks encourage

Charles Moore

Jeremy Corbyn, the new Worzel Gummidge

Lord Ashcroft’s reports from his election focus groups give a flavour of attitudes. All group members were asked to name a fictional character whom each party leader most resembles. One suggested Worzel Gummidge, the scarecrow, for Jeremy Corbyn. That was what everyone called Michael Foot in 1983. I wonder if the group member was old enough to remember this, or whether the comparison just swam naturally into her mind. This is an extract from Charles Moore’s Notes. The full article is available tomorrow.

Katy Balls

Conservatives’ pointless press conference backfires

Although Theresa May insists that she is not complacent about the election result, the Conservatives do feel confident enough to hold press conferences even when they have nothing much to say. Today the lobby trooped 20 minutes east on the Jubilee line to Canary Wharf to hear Theresa May and Philip Hammond repeat yesterday’s Conservative attack lines about Labour’s manifesto sums not adding up. Aside from coming out with the usual buzzwords (stable, strong etc), May did reveal that the Conservative manifesto — which will launch tomorrow — will cite the five great challenges facing the UK over the next five years and say how a Tory government would respond. But they stopped short

Helen Nugent

Over-45s fear for retirement if the Tories reduce the state pension

With the news dominated by the political parties’ respective manifestos, there’s a lot of information to digest. At the time of writing, the Conservatives are attempting to demolish Labour’s economic pledges, the Lib Dems have pledged a second EU referendum, and the UK Independence Party is, well, who cares what UKIP is doing. At the heart of party policies for pensioners is the triple lock. This pension guarantee stipulates that the state pension will increase every year by the higher of inflation, average earnings or a minimum of 2.5 per cent. It’s an important element of pensions, and effectively protects pensioners from meaningless increases, such as the much-derided 75p a week

Steerpike

Theresa May’s woman in Hove causes a stir with the local press

Oh dear. Given the number of complaints from local Conservative groups about the amount of CCHQ control freakery involved in candidate selection for the snap election, one would have thought that those who made the cut would be the crème de la crème of the party. So, Labour’s Peter Kyle ought to count his lucky stars that his Tory opponent Kristy Adams appears to have slipped through the net. With the Conservatives hoping to take Hove from Labour come June, Adams has given an interview to the local paper — the Argus — in a bid to win voters. Alas Mr S suspects that it may instead have the opposite effect. With Hove

Tuesday

16 May 2017

Rod Liddle

Corbyn’s limited ‘respect’ for press freedom

A stirring defence of press freedom from Jeremy Corbyn at his party’s manifesto launch. Urging the booing Momentum authoritarians to have ‘respect’ for the press, Jezza commented: ‘We also recognise that in many societies around the world very brave journalists have lost their lives or are assassinated because they have uncovered the truth about brutal regimes and abuses of human rights. Journalists and journalism and free journalism and free press are intrinsic to a democracy and a free society. I fully understand that.’ Excellent. Corbyn then allowed precisely two questions from the print media about his manifesto. One of them being from the Daily Mirror. The other from some desolate

Stephen Daisley

The one question Theresa May should ask Labour voters — in order to win them over

Prime Minister, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that you have been denounced in the letters page of the Daily Telegraph. One correspondent huffs: ‘I wonder if Theresa May and her small group of advisers closeted in Westminster are aware of the fact that each initiative they introduce in an attempt to win over traditional Labour voters risks having the opposite effect on traditional Conservative voters.’ Another damns your energy price cap as ‘wrong-headed’ and even accuses you of ‘play[ing] into the hands of Jeremy Corbyn’s muddle-headed electioneering economics’. Lord Tebbit echoes these fears: ‘The further Labour goes Left, that would mean the further we go