Politics Archives

Tuesday

28 Jul 2015

Jeremy Corbyn 20pts ahead in leaked poll — while Cooper heads into second place

Jeremy Corbyn is still on track to be the next Labour leader, according to leaked private polling. Tomorrow’s Daily Mirror reports that this poll puts Corbyn on 42 per cent of the first preference votes, with Yvette Cooper comes in second place on 22.6 per cent, Andy Burnham on 20 and Liz Kendall on 14. Until now, Burnham’s campaign has maintained their man is the only one who could beat Corbyn after the votes have been redistributed. But the Mirror reports that once Kendall has been knocked out and her second preferences sent to other candidates, it is a dead heat with Corbyn on 51 per cent and Cooper on 49 per cent —

Rod Liddle

Jeremy Corbyn won’t destroy Labour. But he might yet destroy the country

Imagine, for a moment, the following scenario. In 2017 Britain votes narrowly to remain within the European Union, despite the Prime Minister having achieved little in attempting to renegotiate the terms of our membership. The ‘out’ campaign — which after 2016 was no longer led by a marginal party, Ukip, but by the majority of the parliamentary Labour party, under its new leader Jeremy Corbyn — came mightily close to securing our withdrawal, and thus, as it is put by proponents, our independence. Subsequently, Labour receives the same sort of bounce in the opinion polls as the SNP enjoyed following the equally close independence referendum in Scotland — helped by

Sebastian Payne

What if Jeremy Corbyn wins?

A Jeremy Corbyn victory was once a hilarious joke but now it seems possible, even likely according to some. If the Labour party wakes up on September 13 and the bearded leftie is its new leader, what happens next? There are three likely scenarios. Following Corbyn’s victory, the assumption is that he would attempt to put together a shadow cabinet and Labour would carry on as Her Majesty’s opposition. This will not be an easy task, as many in the Labour MPs have already said they would refuse to serve under him. The first scenario is one where Corbyn manages to put together a team and makes it through the first few turbulent

Steerpike

Labour: Derek Hatton’s membership application has been rejected

Last night Derek Hatton claimed that he has successfully rejoined the Labour Party 29 years after they expelled him. Hatton — who joined Labour with the Trotskyist group Militant — boasted about his membership on Newsnight while defending Jeremy Corbyn. ‘In my pocket I’ve got a Labour Party card,’ he said, after tweeting a picture of his card earlier this year: https://twitter.com/DegsyHatton/status/603809448004562944 While he may have the card, Mr S is sorry to report that he doesn’t have a vote. The Labour Party are adamant that he is not a member. Bizarrely they say cards are sent out automatically before the membership is approved: .@BBCNewsnight No – he applied to join earlier in the

Douglas Murray

What is it with the far-left and violence?

Thanks to Guido Fawkes, I learn that the left-wing author Owen Jones has just appeared at the Sinn Fein summer school in Ireland. According to Sinn Fein’s own newspaper, Owen used the opportunity to praise Sinn Fein’s ‘progressive’ politics, suggest that people take inspiration from the 1916 Easter Rising and announce what a ‘passionate believer’ he apparently is in a united Ireland. There are a number of interesting things about this. The first is that it exposes what a sham the far-left’s attitude towards political violence really is. Owen isn’t the first person of his ilk to have supported Sinn Fein. For decades there has been a dirty line-up of far-left figures

Steerpike

Jeremy Corbyn takes part in Mumsnet chat: ‘I do not have a rare skin condition’

This morning Jeremy Corbyn told Radio 4’s Women’s Hour that a thread on Mumsnet in which he was described by one user as being ‘attractive in a world weary old sea dog sort of way’ was ‘the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever heard’. So it must have been with some trepidation that Corbyn agreed to take part in a Mumsnet Q&A this lunchtime alongside his Labour leadership rival Liz Kendall. Would the lusty online mothers be able to put their amorous feelings to one side and ask a sensible question? The chat began with Corbyn answering a question regarding whether he has what it takes to handle the media scrutiny a party leader often

Steerpike

Friends reunited: how George Galloway hopes to ‘work closely’ with Jeremy Corbyn

Things could start to get very strange indeed if Jeremy Corbyn is successful in his bid to be the next Labour leader. Corbyn’s old chum George Galloway has today voiced his hopes that he will be able to ‘work closely’ with Corbyn in his bid to be the Mayor of London: I'm running for Mayor of London. I hope to work closely with the new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Please help….galloway4london@gmail.com — George Galloway MP (@georgegalloway) July 28, 2015 While Labour will have their own mayoral candidate, Corbyn may decide to reach out to Galloway — who is entering on behalf of his Respect Party — given their mutual appreciation for

Steerpike

Revealed: the Andy Coulson joke that Nick Clegg cut from his conference speech

Although Nick Clegg is under increasing pressure in some quarters to write a tell-all book about his time in coalition, the closest he has got to this so far is by signing up to an agency that has advertised his services for up to $55,000 per speech. Happily, Clegg’s former speechwriter comes at no such cost. Phil Reilly has started a blog detailing his time working for the former deputy Prime Minister. In this, Reilly recalls a phone hacking joke he wrote for Clegg back in 2010: ‘For days, Nick Clegg had been toing and froing over whether he could tell a joke about Andy Coulson. It was September 2010 and

Alex Massie

Is another referendum on Scottish independence actually inevitable?

So here we go again. Alex Salmond, popping up on the Andrew Marr show while Nicola Sturgeon is in China, makes news without saying anything new about the circumstances in which the SNP might – or might not! – press for a second referendum on Scottish independence. David Cameron, also overseas, responds saying there’s no need for any such plebiscite at any point in this parliament. Calm down, Jock. This will, I am sure, be well-received. All of which should surprise precisely no-one. Seventy percent of SNP supporters want another referendum before the end of this parliament; 90 percent want one within ten years. In such circumstances, you can understand why Salmond thinks another

Sebastian Payne

Lord Sewel resigns from House of Lords — here comes the inevitable calls to scrap it

Lord Sewel has announced he has resigned from the House of Lords this morning. 48 hours after the first stories and videos about his alleged use of drugs and prostitutes appeared in the Sun, the former deputy speaker has released this statement: ‘I have today written to the Clerk of the Parliaments terminating my membership of the House of Lords. The question of whether my behaviour breached the Code of Conduct is important, but essentially technical. The bigger questions are whether my behaviour is compatible with membership of the House of Lords and whether my continued membership would damage and undermine public confidence in the House of Lords. ‘I believe the

Monday

27 Jul 2015

Sebastian Payne

Lord Sewel takes leave of absence from Lords

Lord Sewel has announced he is taking a ‘leave of absence’ from the House of Lords. In a statement sent to the Parliamentary authorities this evening, Sewel says he will be stepping out of the limelight until the investigation into his alleged behaviour is complete: ‘I wish to take leave of absence from the House as soon as it can be arranged. I also wish to make clear that in doing so I have no intention of returning to the House in any way until the current investigations have been completed, when in the light of their outcome I will review my long term position. I believe this is compatible

Brendan O’Neill

Lord Sewel, you’ve made me proud to be British

The Lord Sewel scandal makes me feel proud to be British. For here, thanks to some glorious John Wilkes-style dirt-digging by the Sun — in your face, Leveson! — we have a proper political scandal. This ain’t no yawn-fest about MPs claiming the cost of a Kit-Kat or accidentally favouriting a gay-porn tweet: sad little pseudo-scandals which in recent years have tainted the good name of ignominy. No, the fall of Sewel is a full-on, drugged-up, peer-and-prostitutes scandal, of the kind Britain used to be pretty good at before the square Blairites and cautious Cameroons took over. The disgracing of Sewel is a reminder of British politics at its saucy

Sebastian Payne

The old Labour right tells the new right to pull its finger out

Keeping Labour grounded to the centre is proving a tough battle for the moderates. Labour First, a pressure group of the old right within the party, has penned a public letter urging the Progress think tank, a voice from the new right, to put aside ideological purity and do whatever it takes to beat Jeremy Corbyn. Progress, which hosted Tony Blair last week, has naturally endorsed Liz Kendall for leader — but it has not instructed moderate voices to put Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper into second and third preferences to stop Corbyn. Labour First thinks this is a folly and urges Progress to take the necessary steps to beat Corbyn: ‘Within

Sebastian Payne

Lord Sewel’s greatest crime is damaging the House of Lords’ reputation

Lord Sewel’s career is well and truly over. His alleged participation in illicit activities involving drugs and prostitutes, as reported by The Sun, has caused fatal damage to his little-known reputation. It’s hard to see how he could excuse the behaviour caught on camera, but Sewel will be all too aware that his actions have damaged public perceptions about the House of Lords and Westminster generally. In an age where elected politicians are highly scrutinised, the public has little understanding of the House of Lords, who ends up in there and what it does. When a scandal such as this breaks, it only confirms their worst fears about politicians and peers. As

Sunday

26 Jul 2015

Sebastian Payne

Alex Salmond explains how a second Scottish independence referendum will happen

He once said that the independence referendum was a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity but Alex Salmond has brushed aside any illusions that the SNP are not desperately hoping, and planning, for a second vote. On the Andrew Marr Show, Salmond said that another referendum is ‘inevitable’ and the only question is of timing — something he said is ‘very much in the hands of Nicola Sturgeon’. Salmond went on to explain three criteria that could be used to show ‘material change in circumstances’ for Scotland and thus trigger another referendum: ‘I can see three issues which are moving things towards a second referendum on a timescale yet to be determined. One is

Sebastian Payne

Ed Miliband’s legacy: 140,000 new hard-left members sign up to back Corbyn

If Jeremy Corbyn becomes the next Labour leader, there will be a lot of finger pointing at Ed Miliband. Today’s Sunday Times reports that 140,000 new members are projected to sign up to vote in the leadership contest — the equivalent of the entire Conservative party. According to the paper, many of these new activists are taking advantage of Miliband’s voting reforms and come from hard-left groups. It’s a fair assumption to say they are joining to back Corbyn for leader. If this projection turns out to be true, it might explain Corbynmania, as well as raising the possibility that Corbyn might actually win. The MP for Bassetlaw John Mann has called upon

The Spectator

In defence of Boris Johnson’s water cannon

The spat between Boris Johnson and Theresa May over the acquisition of three second hand ones from the German police has the air of a dormitory water pistol fight that has left an unprepared Johnson standing in dripping pyjamas. It has become a received wisdom that the incident raises questions about Johnson’s fitness for high office. But does it? May’s claim that water cannon are dangerous is somewhat at odds with them being in routine use in Northern Ireland and deployed 364 times in the past four years without problems. The 67 reported issues regarding the ex-German water cannon are mostly trivial and have all been resolved to the satisfaction

Steerpike

‘Prosecco socialist’ Charlotte Church backs Jeremy Corbyn

As Jeremy Corbyn edges closer to victory in the Labour leadership race, his critics grow more vocal with both Tony Blair and John McTernan attempting to thwart his campaign this week. However, for all the naysayers, Corbyn is at least managing to slowly amass a celebrity fan club. After Steerpike reported that the Silk actress Maxine Peake had got behind the Corbyn campaign, classical singer turned ‘prosecco socialist’ Charlotte Church has voiced her support for the leadership hopeful. Church – who attended the VIP area of an anti austerity march with Russell Brand after the election – has written a blog in support of Corbyn. Eloquently titled ‘T-O-N-Y! You Ain’t

Matthew Parris

William Waldegrave: too nice ever to have been PM

‘Lobbying,’ writes William Waldegrave in this extraordinary memoir, ‘takes many forms.’ But he has surely reported a variant hitherto unrecorded in the annals of politics. The Cardinal Archbishop of Cardiff (‘splendidly robed and well supported by priests and other attendants’) had come to lobby him (then an education minister) against the closure of a Catholic teacher-training college. After discussion the archbishop suggested their respective entourages leave the room. Face to face and alone with Waldegrave, the archbishop told him he had a distinguished 16th-century ancestor, who was a candidate for beatification. The unspoken implication was left hanging. ‘The Roman Catholic college duly closed,’ adds Waldegrave, ‘and I heard no more

Saturday

25 Jul 2015

Rebecca Coulson

Welcome to the exhausting era of political spam

What does John Major have in common with Nancy Dell’Olio? Click on the image to read in full. Clearly, a love of speech-writer-style paragraphing, sans-serif fonts, and free drinks. (I’m sure Major’s a lot of fun – he’s always been my favourite prime minister – but would he really have put those words in bold?) The best thing about no longer being a parliamentary candidate is that my inbox has been liberated from its endless national campaign spam. ‘Support us!’ they cried, ‘Then, support us some more!’ Even though I already was. It was inexhaustible briefcase verbiage – written either by someone who hadn’t thought about it all, or, sadly,