Politics

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

Thursday

5 Jun 2014

Peter Jones

What Julius Caesar would have done about Nigel Farage

Our politicians are desperately keen to turn the toast of the people, Nigel Farage, into toast himself. But is that wise? Time to consider the career of the Roman general Marius (157–86 BC). Noble families — i.e. those who had held high office — dominated Roman politics. Marius did not come from a noble family, but it was wealthy, and it did have good connections, which Marius later improved by marrying an aunt of Julius Caesar. Thanks largely to his considerable military prowess, he worked his way up the slippery pole, and made his mark in 107 BC when he became consul on a people’s programme, and six times subsequently. First,

The Spectator

Now it’s Gove vs May – will Tory wars ever stop?

[audioplayer src=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/TheViewFrom22_5_June_2014_v4.mp3″ title=”Zac Goldsmith, Chris Skidmore and Fraser Nelson discuss the latest Tory wars” startat=40] Listen [/audioplayer]Modern Conservatives seem to be allergic to success. Every time things are going right, the party spasms. Sir John Major’s government nurtured a remarkable economic recovery, yet was beaten after its infighting appalled voters. In opposition, David Cameron acquired a habit of blowing opinion poll leads — a habit he did not, alas, shake off in time for the general election. And now, just as a Conservative victory at the next election looks likely, the party has decided to lose its head again. The feuding between Michael Gove and Theresa May is, in part, a problem

Charles Moore

Jean-Claude Juncker is stale, grey and likes his booze. That’s why Cameron should back him

David Cameron is surely right to think that Jean-Claude Juncker is not the man to relieve the European Union’s woes, but I wonder if it is worth a fight. It reminds me of a similar battle by John Major, in 1994, to prevent a fat Belgian called Jean-Luc Dehaene from getting the job, on the grounds that he was too federalist. The post then duly went to Jacques Santer — like M. Juncker, a Luxembourgeois with an alleged fondness for alcohol (he was known as ‘Sancerre’). M. Santer was no better, from the British point of view, than M. Dehaene, and some European diplomatic chips were pointlessly used up. Given Mr Cameron’s stated

The Spectator

Is it normal for monarchs to abdicate? Yes!

Game of thrones The Spanish king, Juan Carlos, announced that he is to abdicate in favour of his son, Prince Felipe. Is the Queen becoming unusual among Europe’s remaining monarchs in declining to abdicate with age? Belgium: Philippe became king in 2013 following the abdication of his father, Albert II, at the age of 79. Denmark: Queen Margrethe, 74, became queen after the death of her father, Frederik IX, in 1972. Luxembourg: Grand Duke Henri ascended after his father, Grand Duke Jean, abdicated in 2000 aged 79. Netherlands: Willem Alexander became king after the abdication of his mother, Queen Beatrix, in 2013 aged 75. Norway: Harald V became king on

The Spectator

As it happened: Newark by-election results

Welcome to our live blog for the results of the Newark by-election. We’ll be providing commentary and analysis throughout the night. This page will automatically reload every minute. 4:00am: James Forsyth concludes our live blog with his take on the by-election results: The Tories have held Newark with a comfortable majority of 7,000 plus. The party will be relieved to have won and delighted with the size of their majority over Ukip which was far larger than the 2,500 that Nigel Farage had been predicting earlier in the night. There will be relief in Downing Street and CCHQ that they have sidestepped this banana skin. Considering that the by-election was

Charles Moore

What’s the fuss about Juncker? Better a drunken, useless federalist than an effective, sober one

Peter Robins

Clement Attlee’s conversion

In the early 1960s, The Spectator ran a series called ‘John Bull’s first job’ – reminiscences by various prominenti about how they started out. One of the most startling, published in the 13 December 1963 issue, was by the former Labour prime minister Clement Attlee, respectfully bylined ‘Lord Attlee’, on his time as a young barrister. His verdict on himself was characteristically terse and frank, and gives a vivid impression of a turning point in his life: ‘I got very few briefs and occasionally devilled for someone else, but made very little headway. I was at the time ridiculously shy. I was not really much interested in law and had

James Forsyth

Nigel Farage is trying to modernise Ukip

Get Nigel Farage talking about Ukip and its political strategy, and you’ll soon notice how he uses the phrase ‘New Ukip’ to describe the party’s more targeted approach. It is a sign that, unlikely as it may seem, Farage is a moderniser. Farage knows that Ukip needs MPs at Westminster if it is to become a permanent presence on the political scene. He also knows that to win these seats it is not enough to just appeal to disillusioned Tories. So, Ukip trying to broaden its reach, to win over disaffected Labour voters even at the risk of alienating some of its existing support. The party made some inroads into

Bruce Anderson

MP recall is a populist gesture that cheapens our democracy

Anger is a bad counsellor. A lot of voters are angry with MPs and want to punish them. They believe that during the recent economic crisis, many MPs had only one priority: to fatten their expenses claims. Such voters have only one complaint about the proposed recall bill. They would like it to be tougher. All this is unfair, inaccurate and damaging. The vast majority of MPs – in all parties – are dedicated and diligent. They came into politics to do good. At least on the Tory side, many of them are making financial sacrifices in order to stay in Parliament. MPs are not well-paid. Moreover, if your conditions

Patrick Marnham

France’s political system is crumbling. What’s coming next looks scary

[audioplayer src=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/TheViewFrom22_5_June_2014_v4.mp3″ title=”Freddy Gray discusses the end of the French republic” startat=1844] Listen [/audioplayer]Last week President François Hollande, following his party’s humiliation in the European parliamentary elections (his Socialists won roughly half as many seats as the National Front), decided to cheer himself up. He left Paris and travelled to Clairefontaine to mingle with France’s World Cup football squad. ‘If you do win the World Cup final on 13 July,’ he told the millionaire players (most of whom avoid Hollande’s taxes by being paid outside France), ‘you will deserve a triumphant welcome. But we will not be able to give you the reception you will deserve, because the Champs-Elysées is

James Forsyth

Nigel Farage is becoming a moderniser

[audioplayer src=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/TheViewFrom22_5_June_2014_v4.mp3″ title=”James Delingpole and Michael Heaver debate whether Ukip stands for anything” startat=1222] Listen [/audioplayer]There are many words that you might associate with Nigel Farage, but moderniser probably isn’t one. Yet the Ukip leader is embarking on the process of modernising his party. He has concluded that it cannot achieve its aims with its current level of support. So he is repositioning it in the hope of winning new converts even at the risk of alienating traditional supporters. If this sounds similar to what David Cameron did after winning the Tory leadership in 2005, that’s because it is. Interviewing Farage during his triumphant European election campaign, I was struck

James Delingpole

Does Ukip believe in anything any more?

[audioplayer src=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/TheViewFrom22_5_June_2014_v4.mp3″ title=”James Delingpole and Michael Heaver debate whether Ukip stands for anything” startat=1222] Listen [/audioplayer]I’m worried about Ukip. It’s possible that my concerns are entirely misplaced but let me give you some examples of what I mean. First, a tweet from Ukip’s Newark candidate Roger Helmer (whose heroic stance on energy and climate change I greatly admire): ‘Meet Robert Jenrick, the Tory candidate for Newark: Gilded youth. Posh Tory boy. London property millionaire.’ Second, the party’s official response to a local newspaper interview given by Donna Rachel Edmunds, one of Ukip’s new councillors in Lewes, East Sussex, in which she argued — on perfectly sound libertarian principles — that businesses should

Martin Vander Weyer

I salute the wisdom of young Scots on independence (they’re voting No, by the way)

It’s a constant theme of this column that today’s young need to stop whingeing about their prospects and get on with making their own future. But a quick north-of-the-border tour as official campaigning kicks off for the Scottish referendum persuades me that the pessimism of the generation about to enter the world of work is for once well justified — and may play a key role in averting the potential economic disaster of independence. When SNP leader Alex Salmond chose to give 16- and 17-year-olds a say in September’s poll, he must have presumed that teenage Scots — if they could be bothered to vote at all — would be

Wednesday

4 Jun 2014

Sebastian Payne

Audio: Penny Mordaunt gives the ‘Loyal Address’ following the Queen’s Speech

Penny Mordaunt, the Conservative MP for Portsmouth North, become the second women in the Queen’s reign to give the Loyal Address — Parliament’s formal thanks to the Monarch for her speech — this afternoon. It’s a fantastic speech, full of gags which had the House in stitches. As James remarked, Tory associations will be queueing up to book her for after dinner speeches. Listen to the audio in full here: listen to ‘Penn Mordaunt’s loyal address’ on Audioboo Don’t have time for the whole thing? Here are the highlights: Mordaunt was one of two women involved in the Loyal Address – it was seconded by Lib Dem Annette Brooke. Are

Sebastian Payne

Video: Zac Goldsmith says Queen’s Speech is ‘conning’ the public over recall of MPs

Four years after promising a recall system for MPs, the coalition has delivered on its promise in today’s Queen Speech. Or has it? The Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith doesn’t think so. The long-time campaigner for a proper recall bill believes that the proposals announced today are a ‘pretence’. On this week’s View from 22 podcast, Goldsmith reveals why he doesn’t believe the recall announced is really a recall: ‘Under the government’s proposals, there isn’t a recall referendum…effectively the [Parliamentary Standards] committee decides an MP qualifies for recall, they’re finished. That’s it. It’s all power to the committee, all to the institution and no to the voters’ Goldsmith also thinks that

Isabel Hardman

Gove and May ensured the Queen’s Speech wasn’t the day’s main story

Downing Street must be hopping mad with Theresa May and Michael Gove for pursuing their own row on the day of a Queen’s Speech that was carefully crafted so as not to rock the boat. This morning, a ‘spokesperson for Michael Gove and Theresa May’ – a role which hitherto has never existed – issued a statement saying ‘the Department for Education and the Home Office take the problems in Birmingham schools and all issues relating to extremism very seriously. Michael Gove and Theresa May are working together to ensure we get to the bottom of what has happened in Birmingham and take the necessary steps to fix it.’ But

James Forsyth

David Cameron’s inaction has fuelled the row between Michael Gove and Theresa May over extremism in schools

The row between Michael Gove and Theresa May over how best to tackle Islamist extremism in schools is typical of how tense things get between these two whenever the subject of Islamist extremism arises. Gove wants to wage intellectual war on Islamist extremism, taking on the argument wherever it raises its head. May, heavily influenced by the civil servant Charles Farr, who is very much part of her circle, thinks that a distinction has to be drawn between extremism and violent extremism. But this problem would never have arisen if Number 10 had made the Prime Minister’s writ run on this subject. Cameron in his 2011 Munich speech made clear

Rupert Myers

Notes from a Tory foot soldier in Newark

Newark has become a destination for Conservative campaigners demoralised by the local & European results. Around this Nottinghamshire market town there are whispers of victory in the by-election on Thursday. If Robert Jenrick wins big, then the momentum created by that, and the effect upon Conservative volunteers will be great. Defeat or narrow victory here could cause some to doubt their faith. The operation for the Conservative party, led by George Hollingbery, has been impressive. Evidence of how seriously the party takes Newark is in front of any volunteer: the wall to the right of the entrance is one long roll of honour, the signatures and dates of MPs who

Christian Guy

Forget zombies – the Queen is fighting slavery

Two years ago a well-known MP told me that the Centre for Social Justice was wasting our time chasing political action against slavery, because it wasn’t a ‘doorstep issue’. I’m rather glad I didn’t take that advice because, as Theresa May has said, our 2013 report It Happens Here sparked the vital changes we will hear from the Queen today. Later this morning Elizabeth II will open Parliament for the 61st time. Labour claims she’ll have nothing much to say, with Shadow ministers attacking an impending ‘zombie parliament’. This is unfair. Especially because nestled in Her Majesty’s speech will be a landmark Modern Slavery Bill. The publication of that Bill,

Steerpike

Lord Dobbs to the Lib Dems: time to sod off

‘There are three stages to any coalition,’ House of Cards creator Michael Dobbs told me at Tuesday’s annual Macmillan Lords vs Commons tug-of-war in the grounds of Westminster School. ‘First there is the seduction, tearing off each other’s bodices over five days of negotiations. Then came the consummation in the Rose Garden, followed later by a period of sober reflection.’ And which stage are we in now? I asked the Tory peer ‘The “sod off” stage.’

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