Politics Archives

Monday

7 Oct 2013

Reshuffle: the full list of jobs | 7 October 2013

In Rob Wilson – PPS to George Osborne Gavin Williamson – PPS to the Prime Minister Judith Jolly – whip in the House of Lords (LD) Anna Soubry – Parliamentary Under Secretary at Ministry of Defence (Con) Tina Stowell- Parliamentary Under Secretary at DCLG (Con) Kris Hopkins – Parliamentary Under Secretary at DCLG (Con) Wayne David – PPS to Miliband (Lab) Amber Rudd – assistant whip (Con) Claire Perry – assistant whip (Con) Gavin Barwell – assistant whip (Con) John Penrose – assistant whip (Con) Karen Bradley – government whip (Con) Douglas Alexander – chair of General Election strategy, as well as shadow foreign secretary (Lab) Emma Reynolds – shadow minister for Housing, attending shadow cabinet (Lab) Gloria de Piero

Isabel Hardman

Andy Burnham’s last stand

The details of the government reshuffle are currently being hammered out at the 8.30 Downing Street meeting. But as MPs and ministers nervously wait for the call from the Number 10 switchboard, Ed Miliband will be plotting his own changes to his top team for later this week. And as key Shadow Cabinet members such as Liam Byrne look vulnerable, one shadow minister who is holding on with all he’s got is Andy Burnham. The Shadow Health Secretary is very popular with the party’s grassroots, but he is also politically vulnerable because of his connections to the previous Labour government. But though Ed Miliband failed to publicly back Burnham at

The Spectator

As it happened: Government and shadow cabinet reshuffle

The Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats undertook reshuffles today. As it happened, here is how Fraser Nelson, James Forsyth, Isabel Hardman and Sebastian Payne reported the day’s events. You can see a list of who’s in and out here. 1839: So in the end three reshuffles that could have toiled on all week are pretty much wrapped up by the end of play. Here are our top lines from tonight’s Evening Blend: All three parties reshuffled their frontbench ranks, with a cull of the Blairites in Labour and jobs for rising stars and allies of George Osborne for the Tories. …while Nick Clegg showed his brutal side by sacking popular Home

Sunday

6 Oct 2013

James Forsyth

Female and northern MPs charge your phone, the reshuffle is on

There are two more government resignations ahead of tonight’s reshuffle. John Randall, the deputy chief whip, has gone as has Chloe Smith, the Cabinet Office minister. Randall’s retirement has been overdue for a while now in the opinion of many in Downing Street. There is irritation at the way he put pressure on David Cameron to get rid of Andrew Mitchell during the plebgate affair. His departure and the expected elevation of several whips—Nicky Morgan and Karen Bradley are both in line for promotion—paves the way for a freshening up of the whips’ office. Chloe Smith quitting is going to tempt everyone to dust off the footage of that Paxman

Isabel Hardman

Will Number 10 policy team get reshuffle boost?

As the reshuffle heaves in to view, plenty of names are in the frame for promotion, both on the backbenches and junior ministerial ranks. Some of those names include members of the Number 10 policy board, chosen for that role because they were all deemed to be talented individuals. This means they are also considered rising stars and suitable ministerial material. But I’ve heard that the PM’s thinking is to leave the policy board well alone, partly because its members have already had their promotion, and others still languishing on the backbenches deserve a chance too. In a coalition, you don’t have as much luxury to promote every promising MP

Isabel Hardman

Chloe Smith and John Randall quit government ahead of reshuffle

In the past few minutes, Deputy Chief Whip John Randall and Cabinet Office Minister Chloe Smith have quit the government ahead of an expected reshuffle this week. James outlined some of the movers and shakers in his column today, and we will bring you full details of the departures and moves as they come, although the word from Downing Street is that there will be no more departures tonight. Smith had the distinction of being able to announce her own departure on Twitter, saying she decided last month:- Stepped down as Minister,proud of record.Told PM of my decision in Sept:my constituency work has always mattered most http://t.co/kfsf8ZE2Xk — Chloe Smith

James Forsyth

George Osborne attempts political jiu-jitsu on Ed Miliband

If this conference season is remembered for anything, it will be for Ed Miliband’s pledge to freeze energy prices. This pledge might be economically flawed but it has given the Labour leader a retail offer to voters and rebutted the charge that he doesn’t have any policies. Initially, the Tories were uncertain of how to respond. But, as I write in the Mail on Sunday, the Tory leadership has now decided what it wants to do. In George Osborne’s autumn statement, they want to remove some of the seven green taxes and levies that are driving up energy bills. Not only would this reduce the salience of Miliband’s pledge but

Conor Burns

Take it from a eurosceptic: Adam Afriyie’s plan won’t give the British people a say

I shared the surprise of most Conservative colleagues when I read Adam Afriyie’s proposed amendment to the European Referendum Bill currently going through Parliament. I thought in recent months we had established something that has eluded my Party for most of the time of my membership – a unity and consensus on matters European. The Parliamentary Party overwhelmingly backs the Bill being brought forward by my good friend, the talented and warm James Wharton. That offering is simply: if the Conservative Party wins the 2015 election there will be an In/Out referendum by 2017. David Cameron will get his chance to get powers back and the people will make their

Isabel Hardman

Confused eurosceptics dismiss Afriyie amendment as ‘career hara-kiri’

Adam Afriyie has certainly chosen an odd time to sow discord in Tory ranks over Europe. The party is so happy that it appeared oddly sedated at its conference last week. Even normally grumpy MPs are chuffed with the way Lynton Crosby and Grant Shapps are sharpening the Conservative message. And the PM has, in his own way, been trying his best to make backbenchers feel loved. But Afriyie has also chosen an odd way of causing trouble in the party, possibly so odd that his amendment won’t have the desired effect. Not a single hardcore eurosceptic that I’ve spoken to this morning heard from the rebel MP before he

Isabel Hardman

Referendum now: Tom Watson backs Tory rebels calling for early EU vote

When Tom Watson left the Labour frontbench, he was fulsome in praise (in the correct sense of the phrase) for his leader. But since then, he’s not exactly been trying that hard to keep Ed Miliband in a state of zen-like calm. He told the Marr Show this morning that he would support Adam Afriyie’s troublemaking amendment to the EU referendum bill: ‘I don’t want to add to the PM’s panic but I will probably be supporting Adam Afriyie with his amendments so… I think there are a lot of people on both sides of the House who think we need clarity on this now. And the country has asked

Isabel Hardman

Has Adam Afriyie jumped the shark? Number 10 hopes so.

James Wharton, the Tory MP leading the EU referendum bill through the House of Commons, has become something of a minor celebrity in the party, with admiring young things approaching him at the Conservative conference last week as though he were a minister of Ken Clarke’s standing, not a backbencher. His performance with the legislation so far suggests that he is destined for great things, but he’s currently rather preoccupied with the attempt by one of his backbench colleagues, the even more ambitious Adam Afriyie, to sabotage the bill. Afriyie writes in the Mail on Sunday that he is tabling an amendment to the legislation calling for a referendum on

Saturday

5 Oct 2013

Tim Bale

Get a sense of humour: the Tories and coalition

Like so many pundits before me, I had earnestly hoped never to begin a piece on coalitions by quoting Disraeli. But since I was asked by Bright Blue and the Electoral Reform Society to join Mrs Bone’s husband, as well as Ms Hardman and Mr Oborne of this parish, on the Tory fringe in Manchester to discuss whether the country would ever love coalitions, it has sadly proved unavoidable. I can only apologise. My answer to the question, in case you were interested, was that England might not learn to love coalitions but that, like Scotland and Wales before it, it has very quickly come to accept them and that,

Friday

4 Oct 2013

Melanie McDonagh

If you think the House of Lords is bad for democracy, try the Irish senate

Waves of apathy, a tsunami of indifference, engulfed Ireland for today’s constitutional referendums. When I was over there last week, I was more interested in the thing than anyone I met; the turnout in some places was one in ten – miles lower than in high-octane votes, like the ones affecting the EU. The main issue is the government’s proposal to do away with the upper house, the Seanad, or Senate, which reached its zenith of interest and relevance when WB Yeats was a member (his views on contraception and divorce make notable reading) and has failed ever since to capture the remotest public affection. If you think the House

Isabel Hardman

Brian Binley tells Coffee House he’s set to stand for Deputy Speaker

Simon Burns isn’t the only Tory MP who fancies a crack at the Deputy Speakership, even if, as James has blogged, he might be the preferred Number 10 candidate. Other names include Nadine Dorries and Eleanor Laing. But I’ve just spoken to Brian Binley, who says that he has pretty much made up his mind to stand too. Binley said: ‘I haven’t completely made up my mind but I’ve had a lot of support. I’ve pretty much decided but I just want to be in the House when it is sitting to see what the mood is there. All the support I have had so far suggests that it is

James Forsyth

Bercow baiter Simon Burns to run for deputy speaker

We’re about to find out what Tory MPs really think of John Bercow. Simon Burns, Bercow’s biggest Tory critic–and that’s says something, has resigned his ministerial post to run for deputy speaker. If he wins, the Speaker will be forced to work day in, day out with someone who, as Tim Shipman who broke the story points out, once called him a ‘stupid, sanctimonious dwarf’. David Cameron’s very warm letter accepting Burns’ resignation suggests that the Prime Minister is rather amused by the prospect. I also suspect that he’s grateful for Burns freeing up a ministerial post ahead of the reshuffle next week. The vote for deputy speaker is a

Isabel Hardman

The knives are out for Andy Burnham

When David Cameron first addressed Parliament on the Francis Report, he told MPs that he didn’t want to seek scapegoats. Some of his MPs were disappointed that the Tory leadership wasn’t going after Andy Burnham or Sir David Nicholson. Well, the latter has left, and the former is looking vulnerable in a forthcoming Labour reshuffle, and for months the gloves have been off. After gaining access to a dossier of emails suggesting that Labour tried to stop the Care Quality Commission informing the public about failings at Basildon Hospital, Tory MP Stephen Barclay, who has been digging away on this for months, has called for Burnham to resign. He said:

Ed West

Ukip’s supporters are anxious, not awkward

I guess the ‘unite the Right’ memo has not got through to some Tories, with Michael Heseltine calling Ukip ‘a racist party’ and James Wharton saying they’re ‘an awkward group of strange people’. That may be unwise — rather like attacking your customer-base — but it’s also untrue. Small Right-wing parties have a huge disadvantage because, although lots of people are socially conservative, soc-cons tend on average to be low in social skills and charisma and so the normals are easily driven away by the weirds, especially when immigration is an issue. But the early stages are the hardest, when any party right of the mainstream can become toxified and

Lloyd Evans

Sketch: Question Time is no longer an honest debating chamber

A good honest debating chamber. That’s how Question Time is billed. In fact it’s an unseemly gold-rush for applause. The panelists are a set of needy egos with semi-fictionalised hairdos. And the audience is composed of wonks and party activists posing as disinterested voters. Last night’s episode was particularly fractious. The crowd was keen to hear about the Daily Mail’s attack on Ralph Miliband ‘as the man who hated Britain.’ But the first question concerned benefit reductions for the under-25s. Quentin Letts, of the Mail, seemed uncharacteristically nervous. He said his ‘prejudice’ would be to target cuts on the young rather than the elderly. He meant ‘preference’. Rather a shaky

Fraser Nelson

Vultures are circling Britain’s free press. Again.

My first job in journalism was with the Glasgow Herald, which then had a bar built in to the complex. I was taken under the wing of the legendary James Freeman, who taught me the ways of the jungle. ‘You see that journalists always drink in groups of three?’ he told me in the bar one lunchtime. ‘That’s so, when one goes to the toilet, the other two can slag him off.’ And it’s true: my profession is notoriously bitchy. I was reminded of this when switching on the BBC news to find, yet again, that the transgressions of the Daily Mail and its spat with Ed Miliband is deemed

Isabel Hardman

Miliband vs Mail reveals Labour leader’s belief about the role of politicians

It’s hardly a surprise that Ed Miliband has called for another inquiry following the row about the Daily Mail’s treatment of his father. The Labour leader is always calling for one inquiry or another. But normally these inquiries are led by someone outside the organisation that Miliband is taking issue with: his latest call is in fact for Lord Rothermere to investigate the culture and practices of his own newspapers. Now, there is nothing wrong with the Labour leader wanting to defend his father: that is quite natural and few would disagree with such an instinctive reaction. And there is nothing wrong with him objecting to a reporter turning up