Politics

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

Monday

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Boris Johnson: Visa plan is unclear

It is just two weeks since Boris Johnson came over all loyal at the Conservative party conference. The Mayor, it was reported, was putting his weight behind David Cameron because of the presence of Lynton Crosby and the apparent private offer of a safe seat. But it looks like he’s back to being troublesome by immediately questioning the government’s announcement that it will be relaxing visa rules for Chinese tourists. He told the World at One: ‘Well, we’ll have to see how this scheme actually works because the detail is a little bit unclear to us at the moment and I’m initially very, obviously very supportive and would hope that

Melanie McDonagh Melanie McDonagh

Britain’s stated aim of getting Turkey to join the EU is mad

Rather to my embarrassment, I find that I missed last night’s episode of the BBC2 three-part series on The Ottomans, Europe’s Muslim Conquerors, in which I briefly featured. So Heaven knows what I actually said in it; it’s been a while since filming. But I’m rather hoping that the point I wanted to get across did, viz, that it’s nuts, barking mad, insane, away with the fairies, for Britain to be agitating for Turkey to be part of the EU. On David Cameron’s last visit to Turkey in 2010, he expressed anger at the delay in Turkey’s admission to the Union and blamed opponents for playing on fears of Islam

Steerpike Steerpike

Who wants to be Deputy Speaker?

A new Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons will be elected on Wednesday. Eleanor Laing is said to be the favourite; but Mr S has been reading the runes for the other candidates. Henry Bellingham surprised colleagues by giving a solid speech last week that, according to one backbencher, was ‘witty and had gravitas’. Bellingham, though, is probably too posh to pick up Labour votes. I detect a growing element of ‘who does Simon Burns think he is’ among Tory MPs: Burns is just out of government and now he wants to march straight into a new paid job. Burns is probably seen as too close to the government to

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

No 10: PM has ‘sympathy’ with calls for partial lift of hunting ban

Number 10 didn’t make any effort to shoot the fox hunting story that’s doing the rounds at today’s lobby briefing. Responding to calls from a cross-party group of MPs for a partial lifting of the hunting ban to allow farmers to use a full pack of dogs to flush out foxes, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said this morning that ‘the Prime Minister has some sympathy with these concerns’ around ‘the impact is has on particular farming communities such as hill farmers’. He added that it was significant that these questions had been raised ‘by MPs from across the house’, saying: ‘Given the cross party nature of concerns that have

Simon Hart

The hunting debate returns – and with it, the chance to strengthen the rural vote

So hunting returns to the front page of the Telegraph, just like old times. But today provides an intriguing variation on the norm. Instead of Tories calling on the Prime Minister to scrap the Act (my preferred route) we have Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru leading calls to make some relatively minor changes in the light of a new study into the Hunting Act’s failings. The detail is simple, if a little dull. At the moment farmers can only use two dogs to locate and flush a fox into the open so it can be shot to protect his livestock. The research shows that if you use two dogs instead

Steerpike Steerpike

What do you think of the EU now, Sir Richard?

So goodbye then, Sir Richard Branson. Just one question before you go: will you, from the comfort of your sunny Caribbean tax haven, continue to lecture us about the merits of remaining in the ruinously expensive EU? It would look a little off, no?

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

The global race means swallowing pride every so often

George Osborne is in Beijing at the moment, drumming up support for Britain in the global race. Although that doesn’t quite work because Britain is obviously racing China in this global race, but all the same, he wants China to run alongside Britain cheering it, rather than sledging as it steams ahead. And to be able to do that, this country apparently needs to swallow some of its pride about the sort of country that China is. Osborne told Radio 4 this morning: ‘Well what we’ve said is the Prime Minister is not planning to meet the Dalai Lama but of course he did meet the Dalai Lama as previous

Sunday

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

The truth about Tristram Hunt’s ‘conversion’ on free schools

Much rejoicing in the ranks of education reformers today as just one sinner repents. Tristram Hunt has toldthe Mail On Sunday that Labour doesn’t think free schools are just for ‘yummy mummies’ and that now his party does support free schools, but under the ‘parent-led academies’ banner. This is supposed to be a Damascene moment for Hunt, but really he’s just explaining with greater clarity the stance his predecessor Stephen Twigg took in June. Here is the key line from the MoS: Will PLAs offer everything free schools have got? ‘Yes, but in an area of need, absolutely,’ Hunt enthuses. ‘The innovation, creativity, community engagement you see in the best

Saturday

Melanie McDonagh Melanie McDonagh

The BBC’s bias on abortion in Northern Ireland is breathtaking

The establishment has a target in its sights; you can always tell from the tone of the Today programme. In this case, it’s Northern Ireland’s abortion law. The occasion is the genuinely tragic case of Sarah Ewart, who travelled to Britain this week in order to abort a foetus with the most severe case of spina bifida, which meant it didn’t have a head. She didn’t want to carry the pregnancy to term and Northern Ireland’s abortion laws at present don’t allow for abortions where the foetus does not actually threaten the life of the mother. Not unlike the intention behind the 1967 abortion law here, then, which is meant

Friday

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The Spectator’s two-letter response to politicians’ plans for licensing the press

What part of ‘no’ don’t they understand? Our politicians have proudly unveiled their new plan to license the press, as if this was is in their power to do so. In fact, the press in Britain has been free from political interference for generations. The British government simply does not have the power to regulate the press, so it’s not clear why ministers have wasted their time acting as if this is their problem to solve. The mechanics of the new charter released today are not the issue. What the politicians propose is a near-duplication of the regulation which the press has already  to set up: the £1 million fines, the

Steerpike Steerpike

Further proof that politicians can occasionally be funny

On Wednesday I brought you the news that a politician could actually be funny occasionally. Many of you were shocked, disparaging or simply could not agree, so here is the case for the defence. I’ve got hold of the video of  Nick Clegg’s comedy turn at the LBC 40th Birthday party, so you can be the judge. Eat your heart out, ‘Slacker Johnson’.

David Blackburn

Have Edward Snowden and the Guardian started a ‘debate’?

The Snowden files continue to dominate the news today. Vince Cable has said that the Guardian newspaper had provided a ‘considerable public service’ by publishing Edward Snowden’s leaked material. This contrasted with Nick Clegg’s effort on LBC Radio yesterday (above). Clegg said that it was important to have a debate about technology and privacy, before condemning the Guardian for releasing ‘technical’ material that would have interested ‘those who want to harm us’. Rarely have the tensions running through the Liberal Democrats (a protest movement and an aspiring party of government) sounded more clearly in my ear. Our own Douglas Murray is rather more clear-minded than either of these august gentlemen.

Sebastian Payne

Len McCluskey: Miliband is brave and a genuine radical

Len McCluskey is doing Conservative HQ’s work for them. The emboldened Unite leader is welcoming the return of socialism under Red Ed. Last night at the annual Jimmy Reid lecture, McCluskey spoke passionately of Miliband’s bold new agenda: ‘Ed Miliband’s speech to the Labour conference was – some would say – the most genuinely radical we have heard from a Labour leader for nigh on 30 years.’ He also welcomed the end of New Labour’s ‘neo-liberal’ dogma (you know, the policies which resulted in three general election victories). In reference to Ed’s energy policy: ‘that is not just a break with the coalition’s policies, it also represents Labour turning its

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Good capitalism vs. Bad capitalism

The Royal Mail privatisation has been a resounding success: shares were priced at the top range of 330p and are now trading at 440p. The 99.7 per cent of Royal Mail staff who took shares have today seen the value of their stake jump by a third. Ditto the 15,000 Royal Mail middle managers who applied for a medium-term share programme and will keep the stake for three years. For once, I disagree with Spectator associate editor Allister Heath: he’s appalled that the government denied any shares to those who asked for £10,000 or more so all of those who applied for £750 could be satisfied. I’m delighted, and say

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Why won’t the SNP embrace the shale gas revolution?

One of the odder elements of the current energy debate at present is that the political party that spends the most time talking about energy – that’s the SNP by the way – is strangely reluctant to chase the opportunities afforded by the imminent shale gas revolution. It’s a subject I consider in a column for The Scotsman today: Scotland’s oil resources are a vital national asset. Everyone, I think, knows this. If there were no remaining oil reserves waiting to be exploited in the North Sea, the economic case for independence would be severely weakened. Oil is a cushion and a comfort blanket. But the Nationalist’s determination to make

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Royal Mail shares surge in early trading

Royal Mail shares are currently trading at 421p, 91p above its 330p opening price. This morning, the shares hit 456p before falling back slightly. This increase of more than a third in value and the fact that the share offer was so oversubscribed has led to lots of claims this morning that Royal Mail was undervalued. But it is worth remembering that when the government announced it was going to privatise Royal Mail, there was lots of chatter about how the government would struggle to get it away. It was argued that it was foolhardy to sell it into a strike by postal workers. On its current price, the Royal

Thursday

Peter Jones

Livy on Ed Miliband

What should we make of Ed’s support for his father Ralph against the Daily Mail? Livy’s life of Torquatus suggests two possible responses. Torquatus was the obtuse, inarticulate son of the vicious and overbearing consul Manlius who, wanting to disown him, sent him off to work in the fields. But in 362 bc Manlius was threatened with a court case by the tribune of the plebs, Pomponianus. When Torquatus heard of this, he begged for a private audience with the tribune. The tribune agreed, expecting the abused Torquatus to support his case. Instead Torquatus threatened to kill him on the spot, unless he signed an oath not to proceed. The

The Spectator

George Osborne is blowing bubbles

In opposition, George Osborne said that you cannot borrow your way out of a debt crisis. In government, he has proved it. Since entering No. 11 Downing Street, his strategy has been to talk sternly about austerity while borrowing more than anyone else in Europe. With every budget he has presented, the deadline for balancing the books has slipped further forward — now it’s 2020. Britain’s AAA credit rating has gone, we’re paying billions more in debt interest payments as a result. The Chancellor has brilliantly spun all this as the problems of austerity rather than his own profligacy, but for three years he has had no good news to report.

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Gove sets early policy test for Tristram Hunt

The congratulations have been flowing in from across the Labour party for Tristram Hunt as the new Shadow Education Secretary. But there is no praise higher for the newly promoted MP than to get a detailed letter from Michael Gove testing his mettle just a few days into the job. Gove saw Stephen Twigg as someone he didn’t need to worry about a great deal, more of a distraction from his daily hobby of provoking the teaching unions than a mighty threat. But Hunt, while still possibly in danger of proving too Blairite for his party’s tastes, appears a mightier candidate. Education Questions in the Commons will certainly be an