Politics

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

Monday

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Danny Alexander: David Cameron is an ‘enemy of aspiration’

As coalition rows go, today’s ‘spat’ over who is most supportive of aspirational voters really is the more boring for a while. David Cameron has been talking about Britain’s ‘tax moment’ (hopefully with an accompanying PPB with Burt Bacharach as the soundtrack), but Danny Alexander wants to pick a fight with his Coalition colleague. Last night the Chief Secretary to the Treasury released analysis saying the Coalition’s decision to increase the personal tax allowance has benefitted more than 8 million households to the tune of £1,330, and claiming credit for the Lib Dems. This was a deliberate act of sabotage ahead of the Prime Minister’s own ‘tax moment’. And today,

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Why are renewable technologies held to a different set of standards?

The House of Commons’ Environmental Audit Committee wants a moratorium on fracking so that what it calls the ‘huge uncertainties’ of its impact on the environment can be resolved. If they hadn’t noticed, we already have had a moratorium on fracking. All activity ceased in 2011 after a couple of minor earth tremors near Blackpool were linked to exploratory drilling by Cuadrilla in the area. What the company now wants to do – and in which it is being frustrated at present by Lancashire’s planners – is to resume exploration, having changed their procedures in response to the tremors. If there are ‘huge uncertainties’ over fracking, how would they ever

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Berlin’s nightmare is coming to pass

In recent weeks, European diplomatic sources have regularly argued that Syriza would have to moderate its demand in office. They argued that Syriza wouldn’t win a majority and that to form a coalition it would have to compromise. But this morning, Syriza has formed a coalition with a party that takes just a robust view as it on the need to renegotiate the terms of the Greek bailout, The Independent Greece party. Independent Greece and Syriza have little in common other than their view on the bailout, Independent Greece sits in the same group as the Tories in the European Parliament. That Alexis Tsipras has chosen to do a deal

Steerpike Steerpike

Dave’s chillaxed approach to keeping fit

First it was George Osborne on the 5:2 diet, then the Prime Minister revealed he had ‘given up bread’ in an attempt to shed some pre-election pounds. Today, Cameron has revealed further details of this vigorous health kick. Speaking in Hampshire, he claimed he rambles through the Oxfordshire countryside with his daughter Florence upon his shoulders ‘to add to the exercise regime I am undertaking’. You be careful there, Prime Minister. Don’t exert yourself too much.

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

UK politicians squabble over whose point the Greek elections prove

What are the lessons for British politicians from Syriza’s victory in the European elections? They’re certainly very keen to tell voters what lessons we should be drawing. Last night Nigel Farage focused on the failure of Europe, while David Cameron pointed to the importance of a strong – you guessed it – long term economic plan. This morning George Osborne underlined that point on the Today programme, saying: ‘I certainly understand that if you have unemployment at 25%, if your economy has shrunk by 20%, as the Greek economy has over recent years, you are looking for other answers, alternatives – because ultimately this is just the latest chapter in

Steerpike Steerpike

Revealed: Nigel Farage once voted for the Green Party

Nigel Farage’s secret is out. In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, the leader of Ukip let slip that he once voted for the Green Party. ‘I voted Green in 1989 in the European elections,’ Farage admits. While he fails to give any further explanation of why he supported a party that appears to be at loggerheads with his own views, Farage does go on to reveal the most insulting names he has been called. ‘I was called a football hooligan once in public and I didn’t like that. I am many things but a hooligan I am not. I have been called everything this year, absolutely everything, racist, xenophobe – there’s

Abbie Martin

Greece lightning: six things you need to know about Syriza’s victory

It’s official: Syriza, the Greek anti-austerity leftist party, has won the general election. With 98pc of the votes counted it is looks to have taken 149 out of 300 seats, just two short of an overall majority but still in a very strong position. Syriza is pro-EU but anti-austerity – so will soon face a confrontation with the Troika (the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund). Germany has indicated that it’s less worried about Greece leaving the EU, so won’t bend over backwards to accommodate demands. The brinkmanship will now begin. 1. Background – the Greek economy Over the last four years Greece has suffered from a depression comparable to 1930s America, resulting in

Sunday

Fredrik Erixon

Syriza’s rule will be short-lived: the EU will never give what it wants

So Alexis Tsipras is Greece’s new Prime Minister. Syriza, the extreme-left party he leads, may end up (just) short of an overall majority. But it won a landslide today – and no one will stand in the way for making government policy of its party programme. This means we’re guaranteed turbulence ahead, both in Greek and Eurozone politics. Syriza is no club for chic leftist posturing, nor is it a discussion circle for grey-haired Marxist academics. It is a coalition of hard and soft communists, violent and peaceful revolutionaries, eco-warriors, radical socialists and a hotchpotch of lefties that think it is an act of fascism to take away bonuses to public servants for washing

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

How will the Greek elections change the political debate in the UK?

If you were looking for clues as to how the result of the Greek elections will affect our politics in the United Kingdom, here’s a handy hint. This is the statement Nigel Farage has released, before the official result has even been declared: ‘This is a desperate cry for help from the Greek people, millions of whom have been impoverished by the Euro experiment. An extraordinary game of poker will now begin with Chancellor Merkel, with the ECB powerless to do much than be an observer.’ Ukip will want to make the result and fallout from this election about the failure of European elites and the slow death of the

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Anti-austerity party Syriza celebrates as exit polls put it ahead in general election

Exit polls published in past few minutes suggest that anti-austerity Syriza are on course to win the Greek general election. One put Syriza on 35.5 per cent of the vote, and other at 39.5 per cent, with New Democracy behind on 23-27 per cent. Another one puts Syriza on 34.5 – 40.5 per cent of the vote. This would translate to around 146 – 155 seats out of 300 in the Greek Parliament. The party has already declared a victory, tweeting ‘hope has won’ following the poll results: Η ελπίδα νίκησε! #syriza #ekloges2015 pic.twitter.com/7mFdzHyTON — ΣΥΡΙΖΑ (@syriza_gr) January 25, 2015 If the party gets an overall majority, then as James

Sebastian Payne

Watch: Natalie Bennett demonstrates how Green policies don’t add up

Do the Green Party’s policies stack up? Although its membership and prominence have rocketed in recent weeks, little focus has been put on what the party campaigns for. Green leader Natalie Bennett was subjected to a dissection of her party’s principles on the Sunday Politics today (watch above) and demonstrated why most of its proposals are pipe dreams. Bennett said her party wants to ensure ‘nobody is living in fear’ but exactly how they would pay for that remains unanswered. One of its policies would be a ‘Citizens’ Income’, ensuring everyone has a minimum weekly income of £72. This would cost up to £280 billion and Bennett said it would be funded in part by abolishing Jobseeker’s

Sebastian Payne

Five points from Nigel Farage’s interview on Marr

First Cameron, then Miliband – now it was Nigel Farage’s turn to be granted the status of a January interview on the Marr sofa. And there was plenty to discuss: the Sunday Times’ splashes on the story  that a party official joked that Ukip represents ‘hundreds of thousands of bigots all over Britain’, the Sunday Mirror’s splash on the same official saying the NHS is a waste of money — plus the Sunday Telegraph’s news of MEP Amjad Bashir’s defection to the Tories, and carries an interview with him saying the Tories (with their referendum pledge) are the true flag bearers of Euroscepticism. Whether it’s dry January or a restful period away from the spotlight, Farage did a good job of looking not

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Greece votes, Europe waits

Greek voters are currently going to the polls in an election that will have profound consequences for the Eurozone. If the anti-austerity Syriza party wins, as the polls suggest it will—and its lead has actually been increasing in the past few days, the Eurozone crisis will enter a new and more acute phase. Syriza will demand a softening of the terms of the Greek bailout. But the Merkel government, the European Central Bank and the European Commission are adamant that they’ll be no leeway given. With Merkel already deeply unhappy about the ECB’s quantitative easing programme, she isn’t going to sign off on any concessions to Athens. Another reason why

Saturday

Sebastian Payne

Do these allegations explain why Ukip’s Amjad Bashir defected to the Tories?

Ukip MEP Amjad Bashir has defected to the Conservative Party this evening, following an internal party investigation. Tomorrow’s Sunday Telegraph reports that Bashir, who was the party’s communities spokesman, says Ukip are a ‘party of ruthless self-interest’ as well as ‘pretty amateur’. He also says Ukip has a ‘ridiculous’ lack of policies. David Cameron has declared himself ‘absolutely delighted’. Just before news of his defection broke, Ukip released a statement announcing Bashir had been suspended pending an investigation into ‘extremely serious’ issues: ‘The UK Independence Party has a zero-tolerance policy and takes the matters at hand extremely seriously. The allegations against Mr Bashir are of a grave nature and we will

Friday

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Labour signs up to debates as broadcasters threaten an empty chair

So the broadcasters have done what many thought they’d be too afraid to do and have threatened to empty chair David Cameron – or anyone else who refuses to take part – in the TV debates. In a statement released this afternoon, BBC, ITV, Sky and Channel 4 said ‘in the event that any of the invited party leaders decline to participate, debates will take place with the party leaders who accept the invitation’. They have also said the debates will all take place within the short campaign, which Cameron didn’t want either. Labour has said it will sign up to the debates, while others continue to grumble. But naturally

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Conservative Central Office appears to be working for the SNP

Even by the standards of the Conservative and Unionist (sic) party this is an impressively stupid poster. Do they really want to encourage Scots to vote for the SNP? Evidently they do. Of course we know why. Every seat Labour lose in Scotland makes it less and less likely Labour will emerge from the election as the largest party. Consequently, every SNP gain makes it a little more likely David Cameron will have a chance of cobbling together a second ministry. But, my god, think of the price at which that comes. In their desperation to stop Miliband the Tories are prepared to risk the future of the United Kingdom.

Steerpike Steerpike

Louise Mensch blasts David Cameron for King Abdullah tribute

Although Louise Mensch was once heralded as a ‘Cameron Cutie,’ the former Conservative MP’s relationship with the Prime Minister has soured after he paid tribute to the late King Abdullah. The Saudi Arabia monarch’s death was announced yesterday, with the cause of death thought to be a lung infection. Speaking following the news, Cameron gushed that he would be remembered for his ‘commitment to peace and for strengthening understanding between faiths’. However, the fact that his reign in Saudi Arabia has seen a higher number of beheadings than those carried out by Isis appears to have not escaped Mensch’s attention. She took to Twitter to say that if Cameron or any other Conservative politician dared praise Abdullah in spite of his treatment of women, she would

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

I can’t stand the Green Party but they probably deserve their place in the TV debates

An email arrives from the excellent Zoe Williams, Guardian columnist and leftyagitfem middle-class propagandist. It requests that I should sign a round-robin petition to ensure that the Green Party is included in these proposed TV general election debates – much as David Cameron has, rather disingenuously, demanded. I couldn’t sign the petition. I can’t think of a reason why the Greens should be excluded from the debates if, say, Ukip is to be there as well. The Greens’ current opinion poll standings put them level with the hapless Lib Dems. They have an MP. They should probably be in there, somewhere – even if they lose their sole MP come May,

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Confusing politics encourages leadership intrigues

This election is going to be terribly confusing, something the latest TV debate proposals from the broadcasters highlight very nicely indeed. The debates are starting to resemble an episode of Take Me Out with the number of parties who’ll be standing behind lecterns growing – and calls for even more to join. One of the things that’s adding to the confusion is that no party appears to have the momentum, and what momentum there is has become difficult to discern in the usual ways as Parliament is emptying on a Wednesday night as MPs head off to take part in 650 by-elections. Because no one party has momentum, both main

Thursday

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Labour rising star: Party cannot afford to sound like ‘the moaning man in the pub’

Liz Kendall is a real rising star in the Labour party. Few colleagues have a bad word to say about her, and indeed many have a great deal of good words. Tonight the House magazine publishes an interview with the Shadow Health Minister that contains a number of rather strong comments that she’s made about the party that she has a good chance of one day leading. The line that’ll get most attention is this: ‘You can’t be the moaning man in the pub. Actually the moaning man in the pub often has a real point underneath it all. But mostly you end up not listening.’ And then there’s the