Politics

Read about the latest UK political news, views and analysis.

Thursday

8 Dec 2016

A year of revolution

Few years will live as long in the memory as 2016. Historians will ponder the meaning and consequences of the past 12 months for decades to come. In the future, 180-odd years from now, some Zhou Enlai will remark that ‘it is too soon to say’ when asked about the significance of Brexit. The referendum result shocked Westminster. Michael Gove was so sure it would be Remain that he had retreated to bed on the evening of 23 June and only found out Leave had won when one of his aides telephoned in the early hours of the morning. Theresa May admits in her interview with us on p. 26 that

Tim Shipman

Brexit’s breaking points

Trying to write the first draft of history on the EU referendum and the leader-ship mess that followed had both its dramatic and its comic elements. My phone never stopped ringing with Eurosceptics keen to tell me why their contribution to a meeting that had previously escaped my notice was the decisive factor in securing victory. But when a vote is so close — 52 per cent to 48 per cent — then it would not have taken much to push the result the other way. Donald Trump’s victory adds some credence to the idea that Brexit was pre–ordained, part of a wave of history. But the campaign turned on

Germaine Greer

Wildlife Notebook

The morning is cold and dark but the orchard is thronged with birds. Moorhens dash from one side to the other; woodpeckers drill the damp ground for worms; fieldfares bounce from hawthorn hedge to apple tree and back again; magpies terrorise all of them. They freeze when the buzzard comes over until, crows and blackbirds having risen up to harass it, its great wings float it away. The red kites are a different matter. They slice through the air like thrown knives, before the other birds have had time to look up. One of the 50 doves that were wheeling above my workshop now lies panting feebly as a kite

Quentin Letts

My naughty list

In the spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge, here, in no particular order, are my current irritants: • Paddy Ashdown • Lady (Shami) Chakrabarti of Kennington • First Minister Nicola Sturrrgeon • Brussels grands fromages Michel Barnier, Guy Verhofstadt and Monsieur Tipsy Jean-Claude Juncker • Three out of five Newsnight discussions • Dance judge Len Goodman (those teeth are whistling again, Len) • Donald Trump’s hand gestures • Sir Philip Green • Lady Green and that dog of hers • Nicky Morgan • Business Secretary Greg Clark, the cabinet’s fruity-voiced answer to Clifford the Listerine dragon • Benedict Cumberbatch • Caitlin Moran • The National Secular Society • Ukip braggart Raheem Kassam

Piers Morgan

Notebook | 8 December 2016

It’s weird being friends with someone who suddenly becomes President of the United States, not least for the reflected glory that suddenly rains down on one’s own far less powerful cranium. I was roundly ridiculed by numerous high-profile journalists and celebrities for predicting Donald Trump’s victory throughout his 16-month campaign. Now, many of those same egg-faced mockers slither up at festive parties to whisper a variant of: ‘Any chance you could put a good word in for me with Donald?’ To which my preferred response is to place a patronising hand on their shoulder and say: ‘It’s Mr President-elect Trump to you.’ When I spoke to Trump after he won

Emily Hill

Julia’s Baby

Julia should not have come to the wedding. That much was clear as soon as she arrived. Late, she was, and massive in belly. Her hat festooned with tropical fruit; her dress — hideously colourful. She made the hinges shriek on the great church door and winced, as it slammed shut, with a shudder. Puffing out her cheeks, she waddled slowly towards the nearest pew. She had a fist jammed into the small of her back, as if she were expecting to give birth at any moment. Everyone turned round to stare. The vicar got confused, forgot his lines, began to stammer. The bride stood at the altar, in an

Wednesday

7 Dec 2016

James Forsyth

Commons votes in favour of invoking Article 50 by the end of March

461 MPs have just voted for Theresa May to invoke Article 50 by the end of March. The Tory amendment to Labour’s opposition day motion passed comfortably with only 89 MPs opposing it—and Ken Clarke the only Tory amongst them with 20-odd Labour Mps joining the SNP and the Lib Dems in voting against. Now, this vote is not binding and if the government loses its appeal to the Supreme Court will not be sufficient to satisfy the courts. But it does indicate that the government will be able to get an Article 50 bill through the Commons without too much trouble. It does make you wonder why Theresa May

Lloyd Evans

Emily Thornberry’s PMQs performance should worry Jeremy Corbyn

The PM is abroad. Her vacant throne was occupied by David Lidington, the agreeably lightweight Leader of the House. He’s confident, fast-talking, well-briefed but glib and untidy-looking. He doesn’t improvise well. Physically he’s an unrestful presence. He hops and twitches and pecks and dabs like a pigeon attacking a box of Chicken McNuggets. For comic effect he likes to turn sideways with both arms outstretched as if entreating somebody in the wings. A speaking coach would tell him to calm down, put his hands in his pockets and stop head-butting imaginary bees. He made no errors today. He didn’t exactly shine. Bumptious competence was his level. Opposite him was Emily

Steerpike

Bill Cash teaches Ken Clarke a lesson at Brexit debate

In today’s Article 50 debate, MPs from across the House offered their two cents worth on what Brexit means. However, one Remain MP got more than they bargained for when they sparred with Brexiteer Bill Cash in the Chamber. After Cash argued that the vote for Leave was perfectly clear, Ken Clarke intervened with a counter argument. The Tory grandee accused Cash of double standards over referendums. Pointing to the 1975 referendum on Europe, Clarke said that Cash had argued that referendum was ‘purely advisory’: ‘He will recall, he and I took part in a referendum in the 1970s when he was no doubt saddened to find he was on the

Nick Cohen

Marxist-Leninists are now the Labour party’s moderates

There are three misconceptions about the far left. Not one of them is true. And all of them hide the crisis in the opposition, which is giving a dangerously incompetent Government unparalleled and unwarranted freedom of manoeuvre. The first is that its obsession with doctrinal disputes makes far leftists Pythonesque figures of ridicule, rather than a malicious force with malign political consequences. We are then told that the young pass through a ‘left wing phase,’ as if it were a rite of passage like drinking cider or puberty. They believe extreme ideas and shout angry slogans, but when they realise the true nature of the far left they grow up and move on. Finally, moderate commentators always reach

Isabel Hardman

Labour remembers what it’s like to be an effective opposition

Is Labour actually managing to do its job as a decent opposition? Yesterday, the party forced the government into a U-turn over whether the Prime Minister must reveal her plan for Brexit negotiations before triggering Article 50. This was over an Opposition Day debate, which leads to a vote that is not binding on the government, and is therefore normally safe to ignore. Ministers have been even more relaxed about these debates over the past few months given Labour has little political heft at the moment, and has on occasion used its Opposition Day slots as a means of internal party management, such as the debate on Yemen. But last

James Forsyth

PMQs: Emily Thornberry’s battle over the customs union

With Theresa May away, it was David Lidington v Emily Thornberry at PMQs today. The shadow foreign secretary asked Lidington if the UK would stay in the customs union, Lidington danced round the question. But Thornberry, unlike Corbyn, kept coming back to the same question. By the end of the exchanges, it was clear that Lidington wasn’t going to answer the question. Thornberry had also armed herself with a string of pro-Remain quotes from Lidington from before 23 June, which she deployed quite effectively. But Lidington is an effective, enough, despatch box performer and managed to avoid incurring serious damage. Interestingly Thornberry committed Labour to staying inside the customs union—which would

Katy Balls

Calls on Grayling to resign over troublesome trains

Chris Grayling has found himself in the naughty corner today over a leaked letter — to the Evening Standard — from 2013, which appears to show he opposed handing over control of suburban rail to keep it ‘out of the clutches’ of Labour. This is embarrassing — at the very least — for the Transport Secretary as just yesterday Grayling formally rejected Sadiq Khan’s bid to take over commuter routes. Giving the reason for the rejection, Grayling claimed the proposals amounted to ‘deckchair shifting’ with no real improvement for passengers. As Labour accused Grayling of putting party politics before the interests of commuters, Bob Neill — the Conservative MP — added himself to

Steerpike

Watch: Steve Baker wages war on BBC at PMQs

Although the BBC has traditionally been accused of showing anti-Conservative bias, since Jeremy Corbyn’s election as Labour leader the party has found itself waging war with the Beeb on numerous occasions. However, today Steve Baker swung it back to the Tories. The Brexit-backing backbencher used a question at PMQs to accuse the BBC of breaking its charter obligations by trying to ‘create problems for the government’: ‘I’m sure my honourable friend will be astonished if not aghast to learn that a succession of journalists from the BBC have contacted me seeking to create to manufacture stories of backbench rebellion on the issue of the EU. Will he agree with me

Fraser Nelson

In defence of Niall Ferguson | 7 December 2016

Niall Ferguson’s belated decision to back Brexit has aroused a lot of mockery today. Unkind souls are presenting him as a historian in a muddle, but for followers of his writing his new pro-Brexit stance really isn’t so surprising. He says that he had been inclined to support David Cameron and George Osborne, his friends. A noble reason. But it led him into making arguments inconsistent with those that he has been making most of his career. “Brexit woke me up, and reminded me that I needed to pay much more attention to what the non-elite majority of voters were feeling. And on the issue of EU performance, I think they were right,”

Isabel Hardman

Nicky Morgan’s wrong trousers

Does Theresa May understand what life is like for the just-managing families she purports to stand for? The Tory party has seen a fair bit of snipping over the past few days over whether the Prime Minister’s £995 Amanda Wakeley trousers, which she wore for a newspaper interview and was then ridiculed about by one of the Cabinet ministers she sacked. Nicky Morgan told the Times that ‘I don’t think I’ve ever spent that much on anything apart from my wedding dress’ and that the pricey garb had been ‘noticed and discussed’ in party circles. You might expect that in order to look the part on the world stage, a

Steerpike

Nigel Evans’ Trump card for Christmas

Christmas doesn’t start until Nigel Evans sends out his annual card. This year’s is no exception, with the Conservative MP’S 2016 offering as modest as ever. He has, however, decided to share the spotlight with another man this time around. Step forward Donald Trump. Perhaps Evans could help No. 10 forge ties with the president-elect should Farage’s offer fail to appeal.

Tom Goodenough

Spectator live blog: The Supreme Court’s Brexit hearing, day three

It’s day three of the Supreme Court’s landmark case on the triggering of Article 50. Here’s how the day unfolded: 4.15pm: The Supreme Court hearing has now finished for the day. The Lord Advocate, Lord Wolffe has been putting forward the Scottish Government’s case. So far, he has told the court that using prerogative powers to trigger Article 50 would be an ‘unconstitutional’ step. But he makes it clear that the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to veto Brexit. You can read the Scottish Government’s full submission to the Supreme Court here. 3.30pm: Ronan Lavery now takes up the argument on behalf of Northern Ireland. Lavery warns that Brexit

Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: Brexit, political pygmies and repentant Remainers

MPs will vote for the first time today on the Government’s Article 50 timeline. While Labour have said the decision to spell out the plan for Brexit is a ‘welcome climbdown’ by ministers, is this afternoon’s debate merely delaying the actual process of Britain leaving the EU? That’s the Sun’s verdict on today’s proceedings, with the paper saying a ‘coalition of political pygmies’ are ‘stringing out the process in Parliament’. It goes on to say that Theresa May’s opponents ‘should stop pretending’ they are worried about democracy and Parliamentary sovereignty and instead own up to ‘their true aim’ – ‘reversing the referendum result’. The Sun reserves its biggest ire for what

Katy Balls

Theresa May agrees to publish Brexit strategy before invoking Article 50

With the Supreme Court ruling on the government’s Article 50 appeal not expected until the new year, Theresa May is facing a more immediate Brexit headache. After around 20 Conservative MPs were expected to back a Labour motion today — tabled by Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer — calling for the Prime Minister to ‘commit to publishing the government’s plan for leaving the EU before Article 50 is invoked’, No. 10 has staved off the rebellion by agreeing to Labour’s demand. Accepting Labour’s motion, ministers have added an amendment of their own — that the House should ‘respect the wishes of the United Kingdom as expressed in the referendum on 23 June; and further calls on the