Politics Archives

Wednesday

26 Oct 2016

Alec Marsh

The loss of his knighthood is the least of Philip Green’s problems

The prospect of becoming plain old Mr Green again may be troubling ‘Are-you-staring-at-me’ Sir Philip Green less than we might imagine. Because compared to the other problems facing him, his knighthood is arguably pretty small beer. Take the value of sterling: since the Brexit vote, the collapse in its fortunes has sent the currency tumbling in value by as much as 20 per cent. Then if you consider that almost everything sold in Sir Philip’s shops – be it Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins or Miss Selfridge – is imported from overseas (from places like Bangladesh, China or India), it doesn’t take long to realise that somewhere along the way a sizeable chunk has been gobbled out of his margin. And that’s got

James Forsyth

Jeremy Corbyn lets Theresa May off the hook again at PMQs

Today’s PMQs could have been a tricky affair for Theresa May. Her decision on Heathrow has seen one Tory MP resign his seat and the Guardian’s story about a private speech she gave to Goldman Sachs during the EU referendum campaign clashes with her conference speech rhetoric about being the scourge of unaccountable global elites. But May got through the session fine, Heathrow wasn’t raised until well after 12.30 and no one mentioned her behind closed doors, Goldman’s address. Corbyn’s delivery at PMQs has improved. But he still can’t go through the gears. He started off using the frustration of the devolved First Minister following their meeting with May on

Steerpike

Dave’s bargain basement book deal isn’t quite the big earner he was hoping for

Poor old David Cameron. His defeat in the referendum campaign left critics saying he was the worst Prime Minister ever. Now, it seems, it’s not only his legacy which falls short of some of his predecessors. Having quit Parliament, Dave was planning to use the next year to cash in on his memoirs. When his book was first touted, there was talk of the former PM earning a multi-million pound payment. Some said his advance could even match – or beat – that of Tony Blair, who picked up £4.6m for his book ‘A Journey’. Instead, the actual amount Cameron will earn is something of a disappointment. It’s being reported

Tuesday

25 Oct 2016

James Forsyth

The LibDems will make the Richmond Park by-election into a referendum on Brexit

Zac Goldsmith has announced this evening that he’ll be standing as an independent in the Richmond Park by-election he has triggered over Heathrow expansion. The Tories don’t seem too alarmed and will not be fielding a candidate against him. This means that the by-election will turn into a fight between Goldsmith and the Liberal Democrats (who held the seat until 2010). Goldsmith says he is asking his constituents to give him a mandate to continue his fight against Heathrow and that he wants the by-election to be a referendum on a third runway. But the Liberal Democrats will try and turn it into a vote on Brexit. Lib Dems can point

Fraser Nelson

If Zac Goldsmith is standing again, what is the point of his resignation?

Quite a few MPs are driven by a strange need for validation, but Zac Goldsmith might be the first politician in history to ask his constituents to vote for him three times in two years. Once as Mayor (the less said about that tawdry campaign the better) and, it seems, twice as MP for Richmond Park. He always said he’d resign and trigger a by-election if the Government approved Heathrow, as it did this morning. Originally his threat had force because Richmond was a Tory-Lib Dem marginal and his resignation would mean that the Tories would probably lose a seat. It was Richmond’s way of saying to the Tories: ‘Yes,

James Forsyth

Can the Lib Dems profit from Zac Goldsmith’s resignation?

The political fallout is now coming from Theresa May’s decision to approve a third runway at Heathrow. Boris Johnson and Justine Greening have been granted the right to oppose the decision by Number 10. West London Tories are making clear that they are unhappy and Zac Goldsmith has already told his local constituency party that he’ll resign and trigger a by-election. For his part, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has made it clear he is looking at how he can be part of any legal challenge to Heathrow expansion. A Richmond Park by-election will be interesting, because although Goldsmith backed Brexit, the area voted heavily to Remain and was a Lib

Ross Clark

Let the gruesome legal battle over Heathrow commence

When the history comes to be written of Britain’s descent from a democracy to a krytocracy, the story of Heathrow’s third runway will mark an important point. Is there anyone who really believes that either today’s decision by the government to make Heathrow its preferred option, or the parliamentary vote in perhaps a year’s time, will really be the last word on the matter? It is already 67 years since extra runways to the north of the Bath Road were first proposed for London Airport. It might well be another 67 years before the legal challenges have concluded. Never have quite so many interests been lined up to challenge in the

Steerpike

Labour fined £20,000 for the EdStone

Just when you thought it was confined to political folklore, the EdStone returns again to haunt Labour. Mr S was interested to learn this morning that the Electoral Commission has fined the party £20,000 for failing to declare the money spent on the doomed eight-foot tombstone. Labour failed to declare £7,614 worth of receipts for the stone plinth, which form part of 74 payments worth £123,748 that appear to have been missed out of the declaration of expenses from the 2015 electoral campaign. The commission’s fine is the largest of its kind since it was set up in 2001. Were the receipts lost in the post? Or were they ripped up at the same point

Tom Goodenough

Heathrow or Gatwick: What are Theresa May’s options?

Today, after years of delay, we’ll finally learn what the Government’s answer is to the airport question. Both supporters and opponents of it expect the Transport Secretary Chris Grayling to announce that the Government is backing a third runway at Heathrow. However, it is also likely that the Government will make encouraging noises about further expansion at Britain’s regional airports. A Heathrow third runway isn’t the only option on the table though. Here’s the Spectator’s guide to Theresa May’s choices: Heathrow: A third runway? The Airport Commission threw its weight behind the option of building a new runway at Heathrow last year. After publishing its review into the airport question,

Tom Goodenough

Heathrow’s third runway gets the go-ahead from the Government

As was widely expected, the Government has backed plans to expand Heathrow. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the decision to approve a third runway is ‘truly momentous’. In a statement released moments ago, he said: ‘I am proud that after years of discussion and delay this government is taking decisive action to secure the UK’s place in the global aviation market – securing jobs and business opportunities for the next decade and beyond.’ This morning’s news isn’t much of a surprise, with the Prime Minister signalling last week that she favoured choosing Heathrow over Gatwick, in a decision that matches the Airport Commission’s recommendation. So what happens now? Despite Grayling suggesting today marks an end

Tom Goodenough

Ukip’s leadership race: All the runners and riders

Following Steven Woolfe’s decision to quit Ukip, the party’s prospects don’t look good. Woolfe – who was the frontrunner in Ukip’s leadership contest – said the party was in a ‘death spiral’. And on the basis of a tumultuous summer involving Diane James’s short-lived 18-day reign, a search for meaning after Brexit and that famous ‘altercation’ between Ukip MEPs, it’s hard to disagree. But amidst this turmoil, the hunt for a new leader to replace Nigel Farage is on. So who’s who in the party’s leadership contest? Suzanne Evans: Ukip’s former deputy chairwoman was barred from standing in the summer’s leadership contest as a result of her suspension from the party.

Monday

24 Oct 2016

James Forsyth

Theresa May’s Brexit plan slowly trickles out

A pattern is emerging in the Government’s statements on Brexit to the House of Commons. The initial statement, today by Theresa May on the European Council, says little. But then, in answer to questions, some information slips out. Today’s most interesting nugget was May’s response that staying in the customs union is not a yes or no question. This will add to the sense in Westminster that the Government is looking to stay in the customs union in certain sectors, for instance-car manufacturing, while leaving it in most areas. It is also worth noting when Gisela Stuart, the Labour co-chair of Vote Leave, asked about a 2020 deadline for being

Steerpike

Watch: Ukip leadership candidate says sorry for ‘gay donkey’ gaffe

Steven Woolfe has said Ukip is in a ‘death spiral’ and on the basis of the latest candidate to join the party’s leadership contest, it seems like he might be right. John Rees-Evans announced this morning that he was throwing his hat in the ring to replace Nigel Farage at the top of the party. Rees-Evans is a relative outsider in the race and few know quite what he stands for. But what is known about the Ukip leadership candidate is that he once accused a ‘gay donkey’ of trying to ‘rape’ his horse. And during his leadership pitch on the Daily Politics, he was keen to try and move on from what

Ross Clark

The EU would be mad to start a trade war with Britain. Here’s why

So far, the debate over what happens to UK-EU trade after Brexit has been conducted around a rather odd premise: that the EU will be out to punish Britain by cutting us off unless we sign up for continued membership of the single market, with free movement of people and contributions to the EU budget. Certainly, this is the impression which many EU leaders have been keen to create, and one which the ‘Remain’ lobby is more than happy to promulgate. Yet it sits rather uneasily with reality. As the Leave campaign consistently pointed out before the referendum, the EU would be mad to start a trade war because the

Fraser Nelson

Sturgeon’s secessionist fantasy has been rejected by Europe. So why does she ask Theresa May?

‘Downing Street says the PM is set to rebuff calls for a flexible Brexit, which would allow parts of the UK to have their own arrangement,’ said the BBC radio news this morning. Not quite. This notion has been rejected in Europe, where the idea of doing some kind of separate deal with Scotland or any constituent part of the UK was never a deal. The ‘options’ that the SNP talk about do not exist as far as the EU is concerned: it is a giant bluff. It’s far from clear why she is asking Theresa May for something that the EU has already rejected. Even if Theresa May backed

Sunday

23 Oct 2016

Nick Hilton

Suzanne Evans and Paul Nuttall announce Ukip leadership bids

Suzanne Evans, former deputy chairman of Ukip, has announced her intention to run for the leadership of the party. ‘I think I’m the right person to lead Ukip into the challenges ahead,’ she told Andrew Marr, adding, ‘first and foremost, I think I’m absolutely the right person to champion the cause of those 17.4 million people who voted to leave the European Union.’ Nigel Farage’s former deputy, Paul Nuttall, also announced his intention to run telling Andrew Neil that he would ‘stand on a platform of the unity candidate – Ukip needs to come together.’ Evans and Nuttall are the latest candidates to join a field that includes Raheem Kassam, Farage’s former spin doctor and

The Spectator

Theresa May’s Ukip opportunity

Since Nigel Farage’s latest resignation as Ukip leader, it has become clear that he is the only person who can hold the party together. Without him, Ukip has become a seemingly endless brawl between various hostile factions. Still, this leaderless mess has more supporters than the Liberal Democrats. That’s because Ukip, for all its flaws, has given a voice to those ignored in an overly centrist political debate — first Eurosceptic Tories, then working-class Labour voters. With decent leadership, Ukip could still do to the Labour party in the north of England what the SNP has done to it in Scotland. Steven Woolfe might have been able to supply that

Martin Vander Weyer

Could Jacob Rees-Mogg replace Mark Carney at the Bank of England?

Will Mark Carney go or stay? On appointment in 2013, he indicated he would leave the Bank of England and return to Canada in 2018 (‘We’ll be back in five,’ his wife tweeted), but he has an option to stay a further three years. Theresa May’s criticism of QE in her conference speech was interpreted as an attack, but she and Philip Hammond have subsequently been described as ‘supportive’. Admirers say continuity would be a good thing through the pre-Brexit period, especially if inflation picks up, while detractors such as Nigel Lawson (‘He’s behaved disgracefully’) long to see the back of him. But there’s no big vacancy for him to

Saturday

22 Oct 2016

James Forsyth

Brexit relief as government insiders expect Nissan to announce it is building its new car in Sunderland

Government insiders expect Nissan to announce that it is building the new Qashqai in Sunderland in the next week or so. As I write in The Sun today, the Business Secretary Greg Clark has been in Japan to see Nissan high-ups and the government is now optimistic the deal will be done. This news will be a major relief for the government. It shows that the British car industry isn’t being written off by Brexit and given how some in Brussels seem to think that bad economic news will send this country scurrying back to the EU, will strengthen the UK’s negotiating hand. One can also just imagine how Brexit’s

Charles Moore

We should be flattered not threatened by France’s bid to take on the City

The French are trying to seduce the British to come and work in Paris. A video hymns the delights of La Defense, the Gallic Canary Wharf. It is a healthy Brexit effect that the French now feel that they can no longer fight the City of London solely by trying to regulate it, and must try persuasion instead. The prospect of British departure reawakens the spirit of competition in a continent which had largely replaced it with bureaucracy. By leaving, Britain ought to win first-mover advantage in this contest, but even if we don’t, we will have done a service to our neighbours which we could never have managed if