Politics

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

Thursday

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

If Alex Salmond thinks posh boys are cowards, he should visit Eton’s war memorial

 Alex Salmond’s brand of populist nationalism involves portraying the Tories as the party of the class enemy. But his latest attack on David Cameron and the TV debates has crossed the line of decency. ‘Like most posh boys, given half a chance, he’ll run away from a fight,’ he said yesterday.  This is bigotry, pure and simple, and Salmond disgraces Scotland with such inverted snobbery. Would he (or anyone else) talk about ‘poor boys’ in such a way?  If Salmond intends to use this line in the general election campaign he will find, as Labour found, that Britain does not share the prejudice which animates some of its politicians. Voters don’t really

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Wanted: a party leader willing to talk about defence

[audioplayer src=”http://rss.acast.com/viewfrom22/the-death-of-childhood/media.mp3″ title=”James Forsyth and John Bew discuss the lack of foreign policy in the election campaign” startat=928] Listen [/audioplayer]In the 1984 US presidential election, Ronald Reagan came up with an effective way of embarrassing his rival Walter Mondale over defence. ‘There’s a bear in the woods,’ ran his television advert, showing a grizzly bear wandering through a forest. ‘For some people, the bear is easy to see. Others don’t see it all.’ During the British general election campaign, the Russian bear isn’t making any attempt to hide — it is standing on its hind legs and pawing at the trees with its claws. Although everyone can see the bear,

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Andy Burnham interview: ‘I wanted a different approach, because I’m mainstream Labour’

Time was when Andy Burnham passed for a middle-of-the-road Labourite: he was deemed insufficiently dramatic and impressive to secure much support when he stood for leader five years ago. But these days, his colleagues — and the bookmakers — consider the shadow health secretary the frontrunner in any new contest. At an otherwise funereal Labour conference last year, his speech received standing ovations. In three months’ time, Burnham will either be health secretary or a serious contender for Labour leader. He has already survived calls from within his party to remove him from the health brief, though he claims Miliband has never raised the prospect. We meet in the smaller

Emily Hill Emily Hill

The teachers who (quietly) miss Michael Gove

‘Michael Gove,’ the joke goes, ‘you either loathe him or hate him.’ According to one poll (by Ipsos Mori) the former education secretary is by far the most unpopular politician in Parliament, with a net likeability rating of minus 32. A video of him falling over has been watched 487,000 times on YouTube, you can buy crocheted pin cushions of his head for £25 and teaching groups loudly accuse him of ‘doing to children what Thatcher did to the miners’. So why does my mother love him? It’s pretty simple. She’s been a primary school teacher for more than 20 years, and she says her pupils are producing better work than

Sebastian Payne

Seb Payne’s schooldays

The 17th of December 1999, nothing more than an ordinary school day close to the Christmas break. But to my family, it was a devastating moment. That morning a letter dropped on to the doormat informing us that I would not be attending Emmanuel College for my secondary education. Places at Emmanuel, one of the original city technology colleges, were the most coveted in Gateshead. It’s easy to see why: a school with no fees offering a top-notch education. It was such a successful venture that it inspired Andrew Adonis to start the academies programme during his time as schools minister. Five years later, the Paynes were waiting for another

Will Heaven

Britain’s educational empire

Late last year Britain’s independent schools received a wake-up call. Andrew Halls, headmaster of King’s College School in Wimbledon, delivered it. Far too many of them, he said, have become the ‘finishing schools for the children of oligarchs’ because of an ‘apparently endless queue’ of wealthy foreigners who have pushed fees sky-high; there’s a ‘fees time bomb ticking away’ and one day, when it explodes, a lot of these schools are going to be screwed. It really was that blunt. Cue cheers from struggling parents all over the country, and squeals from school governors, who’d rather no one asked too many questions about the £30,000 price tag on a child’s yearly education.

Wednesday

Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

PMQs sketch: Miliband could have lost the election today

Was this the day Ed Miliband lost the election? Only two PMQs remain before polling day and the Labour leader used all six questions to ask David Cameron one thing: when might he ask him more questions? Nothing on policy. Nothing on convictions. Just questions about questions. He meant questions outside the House, of course. On telly. That’s the difference, according to Labour. A televised head-to-head debate is nothing like parliament. Except that PMQs is a televised head-to-head debate. To quiz the PM about quizzing the PM is hardly the tactic of a confident popular leader about to sweep to power. But Miliband had made a calculation. Previously, Cameron had

Steerpike Steerpike

Labour’s lame ‘same-name’ email campaign

‘Labour has vowed not to feature Prime Minister David Cameron on billboards ahead of the general election,’ reported the BBC last month. ‘The party said it would focus on issues rather than personalities. and not use negative personal campaigning.’ It seems that has not stretched to the party’s email campaigning though. Steerpike’s inbox has been inundated with fundraising emails from all of the parties, but a particularly naff example is doing the rounds today. Labour appear to have enlisted the help of people with identical names to Tory leaders to send out emails. Such as: I couldn’t resist jumping on the bandwagon here! I’m a Labour Party member of 25 years’ standing. I am

Daniel Jackson

MPs back plain cigarette packets. Smokers, get over it. Or switch to pretty e-cigs

MPs are voting today in favour of the introduction of standardised cigarette packaging. There hasn’t even been a debate on the issue and the BBC thinks the result is a foregone conclusion. That’s bad news for the tobacco industry, hardline libertarians and Nigel Farage. It’s been amusing watching the Tobacco Manufacturer’s Association carve out its nuanced – almost schizophrenic – position on the matter. Smoking is bad for our health and it is impossible to argue otherwise. So they don’t. Theirs must be the only industry which is resigned, ostensibly at least, to deterring potential customers. Big tobacco firms have an obligation to their shareholders, so they have to say something in their own defence. Their position is

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Both leaders had their lines to push at PMQs

Rather predictably, Ed Miliband went on the TV debates again today at PMQs. Labour believe that Cameron’s refusal to do a head to head debate, despite having previously indicated he would, can be turned into an issue of character. Miliband today labelled Cameron a bully who runs away when someone stands up to him. But Cameron had his own line to push, that Miliband wanted to crawl into Downing Street on the SNP’s coattails. Every jibe from Miliband was met with this response. It was not an edifying spectacle and the glee with which the SNP watched proceedings did make one wonder where this tactic could lead. But Tory MPs,

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Speaker Bercow apologises for comparing a minister to a washing machine

If ever you needed evidence that politics at the moment is a bit, well, weird, John Bercow has just apologised in the House of Commons for comparing Esther McVey to a washing machine. At Work and Pensions Questions in the Commons on Monday, the Speaker cut the minister off during an answer by saying ‘I am reminded of the feeling when one thinks the washing machine will stop—but it does not!’ Today, in response to a point of order from Tory Heather Wheeler, Bercow said: ‘I hope I ordinarily treat members with great courtesy, it was an off-the-cuff remark, it may have been a foolish one, and I apologise for

Sebastian Payne

Cameron’s reputation takes a knock over TV debates — but will it affect how people vote?

Do voters care about David Cameron’s decision to avoid some of the TV debates? A new poll from ComRes/ITV News out today suggests that although his reputation may be suffering from his current position, it won’t make any difference to how people will vote on May 7. Just under two thirds agreed that Cameron had damaged his reputation over the debates furore, while 59 per cent thought he was being ‘cowardly in trying to avoid the debates’. According to the poll, 71 per cent said they thought the debates should go ahead if Cameron does not take part and 63 per cent believe there should be an empty chair left out for the

Steerpike Steerpike

Gordon Brown’s jewellery gaffe at No.10

Sarah Brown has teamed up with Astley Clarke to bring out a bracelet to raise funds for her Theirworld children’s charity. At the jewellery launch at Mondrian London, the company’s founder Bec Astley Clarke described how she first met Brown. ‘Eight years ago when Astley Clarke was a slightly smaller business, I was sitting at my desk looking at web orders that had to be dispatched that day, and I got quite excited. One of the dispatches was going to none other than number 10 Downing Street. I thought to myself  “that is so sweet, the Prime Minister has taken time out of his busy schedule to buy his wife a romantic

Alex Massie Alex Massie

The latest economic statistics are a disaster for the SNP (not that it matters)

That, pictured above, is what the Scottish government wants you to remember about the latest GERS (Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland) figures released today. It’s not, at least according to these calculations, an untruth. Per capita revenues from Scotland are indeed higher than per capita revenues for the UK as a whole once – importantly – a geographical share of North Sea revenues are assigned to Scotland. Hurrah! Winning! Except, of course, these are Revenue and Expenditure figures. And the latter confirm that, once again, per capita spending in Scotland is significantly higher than in the UK as a whole. Some £1,200 per head higher. 1200 is a larger number than 400.

Mark Gettleson

David Cameron wants to party like it’s 2011

This was a landmark week in this long election campaign. It was the first this year in which two pollsters (YouGov and Lord Ashcroft) each posted a Conservative lead outside of the margin of error. A 4 per cent lead for the blues may not sound like much – but it represents the largest Conservative lead on YouGov in more than three years. Indeed, of the 12 polls published so far this March, Labour have led in just 4 – compared to 27 leads out of 39 throughout February. It may be nothing. But I somehow suspect otherwise. If you said to me following the 2010 election that Ukip would

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

How to make a row about defence worse

There are many quite understandable reasons for not promising to protect the defence budget. Some are pragmatic: there’s not much room in Whitehall for more budgets to be protected once you take into account those that already are. Some are theoretical, including the argument Clare Short advanced on Newsnight yesterday, which is that if your economy grows, you have to spend more on defence in order to keep meeting the target of 2 per cent of GDP set by NATO, and that has nothing to do with whether you need to increase spending but with statistical releases from the ONS. But whatever the good arguments, they aren’t being made nearly

Ed West Ed West

The Labour party loves to hate Tony Blair

I’ve met people at political events who seem otherwise normal, and then Tony Blair’s name is mentioned and their eyes light up in a way that suggest a chemical reaction has taken place in their brain. Likewise whenever the former Labour prime minister is mentioned online, it’s like a hand grenade has been thrown into the loony pond. Up they all chirp on social media, announcing how the war criminal must be sent to the Hague one day. The most recent case was Tony Blair’s offer to fund Labour candidates at the election, and the decision by two of them to turn it down; in both constituencies, Northampton North and Dundee East,

Tuesday

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

I suspected the ‘liberal’ fascists would eventually get Jeremy Clarkson

I read that Jeremy Clarkson had been suspended by the BBC for ‘a fracas’ with a producer. We don’t know what happened yet – but that hasn’t stopped my phone ringing with requests for interviews from Channel Four News (natch) and, yes, the BBC – the producers beside themselves with glee. And already one witless columnist – the staggeringly hopeless Deborah Orr in the Guardian, who nobody has ever read voluntarily – demanding Clarkson resign. Before this imbecilic woman knows even the slightest about what has taken place. Strike one up for the usual ‘liberal’ fascism. What’s he done? Dunno – but sack the bastard anyway. Evil, stupid, people. I

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Justine Miliband rushes to her husband’s defence

Justine Miliband has given an interview to the BBC, a sort of ‘back my husband, my hero’ contribution to the Labour election campaign. She starts by talking about the pressures on the family and how ‘being a working mother’, she hasn’t really had a chance to think about what it would be like for the family with Ed in Downing Street. ‘I’ve thought about this and I think it’s going to get worse, I think over the next couple of months it’s going to get really vicious, really personal, but I’m totally up for this fight and I’ve thought about the reason why and the reason is because I think

Steerpike Steerpike

Jeremy Clarkson suspended from Top Gear

Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended from Top Gear following an alleged ‘fracas’ with a producer. What’s more, there will be no episode airing this Sunday while the BBC looks into the incident. A BBC spokesman confirms the suspension: ‘Following a fracas with a BBC producer, Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended pending an investigation. No one else has been suspended. Top Gear will not be broadcast this Sunday. The BBC will be making no further comment at this time.’ While no more details are currently known regarding the incident, the news is likely to cheer Clarkson’s critics who have been calling for his suspension for some time now. Last year the Top