Politics Archives

Tuesday

21 Mar 2017

Tintin is an EU hero – but is Captain Haddock on Britain’s side?

Blistering barnacles! Thundering typhoons! What dastardly double-dealing! To bolster their puny team of pen-pushing, quota-quoting civil servants, those fiendish Brussels bureaucrats have recruited Europe’s greatest investigative reporter. With Tintin on the EU’s side in the forthcoming Brexit negotiations, do our valiant Brexiteers stand any chance at all? No idea what I’m on about? Then let me explain. As the Daily Telegraph has revealed, the European Council’s Brexit task force has enlisted Tintin as their cheerleader, by hanging a poster of the intrepid journalist in their Brussels war room. This poster is a mock-up of a new Tintin book called Tintin and the Brexit Plan. The picture shows Tintin and Captain

Nick Cohen

The Brexit bunch are the real referendum whiners

In an age of fanaticism, it was always unlikely that the urge to censor would be confined to the left. If you think that the insults conservatives have thrown at liberals will not boomerang back to injure them, consider the following examples of right-wing invective. Conservatives claim millennials are ‘special snowflakes,’ unable to handle criticism – a generalisation that crashes and breaks on the vast number of exceptions. To concentrate on specifics for once, it is a matter of fact that the world’s most special snowflake is Donald Trump. He and his supporters target judges, journalists and any other critic. No slight is forgotten or forgiven. Their skin is so

Brendan O’Neill

‘Ultra Brexiteers’: the new menace to polite society

For someone who once branded his own Cabinet colleagues ‘bastards’ — and two decades later said he only called them bastards because they were bastards — John Major has of late become weirdly sensitive to rough, colourful language. He’s peeved at what he calls ‘ultra Brexiteers’, who are big meanies, apparently. These ultras are launching ‘vitriolic and personal attacks’ he says, and they seem hell-bent on ‘shouting down anyone with an opposing view’. Their behaviour is ‘profoundly undemocratic and totally un-British’. In short, they’re bastards. Just say it, John. Major’s not at all vitriolic attack on those he considers ‘ultra’ — people who are ‘excessive; extreme; fanatical’ — is seen

Sarah Sands

In defence of George Osborne (by the Evening Standard’s departing editor)

So I am feeling a bit better about my lack of radio experience. These are exciting times for free movement of labour and with Westminster under the control of Tory and Labour cabals, lovely jobs outside Parliament are tempting. George Osborne is no more qualified to edit the Evening Standard than Tristram Hunt to run the V&A, but now art and antiquities scholars have dried their tears, that is turning out splendidly. The late Nick Tomalin pointed out that success in journalism requires only ‘ratlike cunning, a plausible manner, and a little literary ability’. The trade is temperament as much as technical skill and Osborne has a journalistic love of

Steerpike

Jacob Rees-Mogg leads the celebrations at Article 50 party: ‘to the Brexit heroes of Islington!’

Was it a case of fate or a helpful tip off from No 10 that meant Brexit Central‘s Brexit party fell on the same day Theresa May announced the date she would trigger Article 50? Either way, it made for a joyful atmosphere as the likes of Vote Leave’s Matthew Elliot, Nigel Evans and James Cleverly gathered in the Barley Mow to celebrate the UK’s impending departure from the EU. Leading the celebrations was arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, who used his speech to rebuff suggestions that Leave supporters lack answers; ‘we know the road — and it’s a good road, it’s a high road. It’s a high road that we built before —

Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: Jean-Claude Juncker’s ‘deluded’ Brexit punishment talk

Finally, we have a date: March 29th will see Theresa May trigger Article 50 and set the Brexit train in motion. After all the hype, what can we expect? The Sun says it hopes that the European Parliament will handle things better than its ‘muppet of a President’. Jean-Claude Juncker, who the paper says is a man who sees his bottle as ‘completely empty’ rather than half-full, has surpassed himself with his latest ‘belligerent Brexit outburst’, according to the paper. Juncker, who suggested that Britain’s Brexit punishment will put other countries off from jumping ship, clearly thinks he can use ‘fear’ to ‘whip millions of disenchanted voters across Europe into line’,

Steerpike

Andrew ‘Calamity’ Cooper – the man who blew Remain – in talks to take on Scotland project

Scottish nationalists may want to get the champagne at the ready. Word reaches Steerpike that Andrew ‘Calamity’ Cooper – the serial bungler whose last project was the EU Remain campaign – is being sounded out to lend his expertise to Scots trying to save the union. The SNP want a referendum within two years; Theresa May has said ‘not yet’ but plans are being made by unionists. Unsurprisingly, Cooper has been at a bit of a loose end since the EU campaign. A campaign is currently being set up in preparation of a second independence referendum — with the working title ‘New Direction’. It’s thought that Populus, Cooper’s firm, is the frontrunner to be

Monday

20 Mar 2017

Steerpike

Caption contest: Theresa May’s Vogue shoot

Brexit and Budget ‘omNICshambles’ are enough to keep any Prime Minister busy. But even with her bulging in-tray, the Prime Minister has still made time for a vital appointment: her photoshoot with US Vogue magazine. Theresa May is pictured relaxing at Chequers and is also photographed on a well-dressed stroll with her husband Philip. In the accompanying interview, May insists Donald Trump was just ‘being a gentleman’ when he held her hand during her US visit: ‘We were about to walk down a ramp, and he said it might be a bit awkward’. After her last photoshoot in the Sunday Times sparked a row over the PM’s decision to wear a pair of leather trousers

Tom Goodenough

Revealed: the 63 Labour seats the Tories could snatch at the next election

Theresa May has once again ruled out a snap general election but that doesn’t mean the temptation to hold one will go away. Today’s ICM poll shows why: the Tories, on 45 per cent, have a 19-point lead over Labour. This pushes the Government’s poll lead up by three points following a fortnight dominated by Philip Hammond’s Budget debacle, his subsequent u-turn over hiking national insurance rates and Theresa May coming under pressure from the SNP. With Jeremy Corbyn in charge of the Labour party, the usual rules that a government would be punished for a bungled budget need not apply. In fact even after a raft of dismal headlines for Philip Hammond,

James Forsyth

How quickly can a reciprocal rights deal be done for UK and EU citizens?

The EU has been adamant that there will be no negotiation with the UK without formal notification that Britain is leaving. But next Wednesday, Theresa May will formally trigger Article 50—beginning the two-year process for Britain leaving the EU. Many in government expect the start of the talks to be difficult: ‘get ready for a spot of turbulence’ says one of those intimately involved in the preparations for the negotiations. The expectation is that the EU will insist that the so-called ‘divorce bill’ must be settled first while the UK is adamant that it will only discuss that if the future trade relationship between the UK and the EU is also on

Steerpike

What hard-left plot? Corbyn and Watson go on ‘away day’

This morning, Tom Watson kicked off the day with an appearance on Sky News, where he complained that the hard left are behind a secret Momentum plot to ‘take over the Labour party’ and secure a Corbynite as Jeremy Corbyn’s successor. The comments have provoked a bout of civil war in the shadow cabinet, with John McDonnell accusing Watson of dragging Labour into an unnecessary row. With that in mind, it may well be a bit awkward the next time Watson runs into Corbyn and McDonnell. So, it’s a case of rather unfortunate timing that today is also Labour’s ‘shadow cabinet away day’. Yes, the entire shadow cabinet have decamped to an unknown location

Hugo Rifkind

Our prisons are a mess – and Amazon’s ‘bumphone’ reviews reveal why

On the Amazon page that sells the world’s smallest mobile phone, the reviews are mainly about putting it into your bottom. ‘What more can you ask for,’ writes a man called John Doe, ‘than this ergonomic phone that fits snugly in your rectum?’ Sean writes, ‘No anal problems!!! Didn’t hurt my bum at all!’ Pookey says it’s ‘easy to butt dial’, although may be talking about something else. For another customer, the big problem is that ‘you can barely feel the vibrate function when it is concealed’. Although don’t worry, because ‘Bluetooth reception is OK’. Why ever take it out? Many of these phones are advertised under the slogan ‘Beat

Tom Goodenough

Theresa May will trigger Article 50 next week

The wait is over. Almost. Theresa May will trigger Article 50 – the first formal step in Britain’s departure from the EU – on March 29th, Downing Street has confirmed. Brexit Secretary David Davis said: ‘Last June, the people of the UK made the historic decision to leave the EU. Next Wednesday, the Government will deliver on that decision and formally start the process by triggering Article 50. We are on the threshold of the most important negotiation for this country for a generation.’ The announcement means that the Prime Minister will make good on the pledge she made at the Tory party conference to kick start the process of Brexit

Steerpike

George Osborne finds old habits die hard

George Osborne became the subject of much mockery over the weekend after Rohan Silva let slip that the former chancellor had only decided to apply to be editor of the Evening Standard editor after friends had come to him for help with their own applications. While Mr S has since advised readers not to approach the MP for Tatton for career advice (unless one is sure Osborne would not be interested in the job for himself), it may be best to avoid going to Osborne for help full stop. Mr S couldn’t help but recall an interview the Tory politician gave to the Mail on Sunday, in which he revealed how he met his

Fraser Nelson

If the EU didn’t like Boris’s prison guard joke, why conform to the stereotype?

A few weeks ago, Boris Johnson made a point about the EU negotiations and the futility of the idea of punishing Britain for the sake of it. ‘If Monsieur Hollande wants to administer punishment beatings to anybody who chooses to escape’, he said, ‘rather in the manner of some World War II movie, then I don’t think that is the way forward, and actually it’s not in the interests of our friends and partners’. Cue howls of outrage. ‘Abhorrent and deeply unhelpful’, said Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator. But was Boris really so wide of the mark? Yesterday Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, gave an interview

Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: Why Tony Blair is still wrong about Brexit

Why did 17.4m people vote for Brexit? A long list of reasons have been put forward but Tony Blair thinks he has the definitive answer: ‘authoritarian populism’. The Sun is not impressed; the paper says that it’s a sorry spectacle to see former Prime Ministers ‘slinging insults’ at voters having been ‘defeated and rejected by the people they used to govern’. What’s more, Blair’s attempt to explain away the referendum shows he is missing the point. After all, the paper argues, Blair seems rather less keen to ‘acknowledge the effects of the uncontrolled immigration he forced on British communities’ in determining the outcome of the referendum. But Blair isn’t alone. Sir

Katy Balls

George Osborne trolls MPs

After George Osborne was announced as the new editor of the Evening Standard on Friday, there was uproar across the House — with Labour writing to the Cabinet Office to complain about the appointment while Tory MPs took to their WhatsApp threads to sulk. Today the drama moved into the Chamber thanks to an Urgent Question from Labour’s Andrew Gwynne. Asked about the ministerial code relating to Osborne’s latest job, Ben Gummer — speaking for the government — said the advisory committee on business appointments has received a letter from George Osborne about his appointment as editor of the Standard. The minister for the Cabinet Office said the committee were ‘considering’ the request and would publish

Sunday

19 Mar 2017

Steerpike

Boris Johnson and the Cursed Theatre Trip

Spare a thought for Boris Johnson. Ever since the Brexit vote, the Foreign Secretary has struggled with the often hostile reception he now receives in London from angry remain-ers. Now it seems things have got so bad that he can’t even enjoy a quiet night out at the theatre. Thandie Newton — the Crash actress — tells the Sunday Times that her teenage daughter, Ripley, spotted Johnson in the audience on a recent trip to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Palace Theatre. Alas Ripley doesn’t hold such a high opinion of the Conservative politician and she proceeded to seek him out to alert him to this fact: ‘She

Matthew Taylor

Sunday political interviews round-up

Tim Farron’s fearsome foursome: May, Le Pen, Trump, Putin What can Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats, do to get attention? He had an idea for the party’s conference in York today: suggest that the world is in the grip of a fearsome foursome: Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Marine Le Pen… and Theresa May. He claimed that have the same traits in common: being “aggressive, nationalistic, anti-Nato, anti-EU. It is the post-war internationalist consensus unravelling in real time. Winston Churchill’s vision for a world that achieves peace through trade, common values and shared endeavour evaporating before our eyes.” Clegg: Bring on the election. The Lib Dems couldn’t do any worse BBC1’s Sunday

Ferdinand Mount

Is the main purpose of the cabinet secretary to frustrate the PM?

The minister’s private secretary wrote to another cabinet minister about the previous day’s cabinet meeting: They cannot agree about what occurred. There must have been some decision, as Bright’s resignation shows. My chief has told me to ask you what the devil was decided, for he be damned if he knows. Will you ask Mr G. [Gladstone] in more conventional and less pungent terms? That was in 1882. Twenty years later, the fog still reigned. Sir Robert Morant, the driving force behind Balfour’s 1902 Education Act, wrote: Impossible to find out after a cabinet meeting what has actually been the decision. Salisbury does not seem to know or care, and