Politics

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

Monday

Steerpike Steerpike

Fag Burns

It sounds like an episode of The Thick of It: the government is ploughing ahead with its naff “Stoptober” initiative. Next month the country’s eight million smokers will be encouraged by TV adverts and glossy leaflets to work together to kick the habit. Tory Minister Simon Burns’s move from the Department of Health to Transport couldn’t have come at a better time: the chain smoker managed to get out just before he was forced to take part in the campaign. Bad news though for Liberal Health Minister Norman Lamb, who was promoted to Health to replace Burns. He told the BBC today that he ‘quit smoking last week’. Of course

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Where Brendan Barber has a point

Brendan Barber’s last speech as General Secretary to the annual TUC Congress in Brighton made a salient point about what politicians can learn about the private sector from the G4S debacle. Ministers may well dismiss the majority of Barber’s comments about cuts and labour market reform without poring through the transcript, but there was one attack that he made that will ring true for those on the right as well as the trade union officials sitting in the conference hall. Using the Olympics as his grand theme, Barber said: ‘Private is always better than public, they argue. Not true, as we saw all too clearly when it came to Olympic

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Boris muscles in on Davies’ airport inquiry

Boris Johnson has already denied that the work he is carrying out on airport capacity in London is a rival commission to the one set up by the Government and led by Sir Howard Davies. ‘I was a bit flummoxed by that,’ he told LBC this morning. ‘What we’re doing is we are going ahead with our contribution to the Howard Davies commission.’ It doesn’t actually matter whether the Mayor is holding an inquiry called the Johnson Inquiry Into Airports, with its own logo and press launch, or whether he’s actually just calling experts together to develop a detailed submission to the Davies Commission as he suggests he is. The

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

‘Nobody likes being in coalition’

The coalition’s leaders like to stick to the line that the partnership is professional and business-like when they describe how policy is made. Newly-appointed business minister Michael Fallon struck a slightly different note this morning, though, when he appeared on the Today programme. He said: ‘I think everybody has been frustrated: nobody likes being in coalition and everybody’s impatient for growth.’ He chose his words carefully when describing the ‘different perspectives’ that he and his new boss Vince Cable take on the labour market and deregulation: ‘We’re in different parties, we come from different perspectives and sometimes you’ll see we use different language. But what we’re working together on is

Sunday

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Ed Balls proposes coalition with Vince Cable

Ed Balls has today made his very own full, open and comprehensive offer to the Liberal Democrats – or, rather, to Vince Cable. The shadow chancellor said he could work very well with Vince (but, pointedly, not Nick Clegg). ‘I wish George Osborne would see Vince Cable as a man to do business with and listen to, rather than telling the newspapers he is putting his allies in [to the Business department] to try and surround him and hold him back. Vince should be listened to on banking reform and on the economy. I could work with Vince. I would like the Liberal Democrats to say right now that this coalition

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The Cameroons should be unsettled by Boris Johnson

The stock Cameroon line on Boris has always been that he might be a rival to George Osborne, Michael Gove, Phillip Hammond, Grant Shapps and other future leadership contenders, but he isn’t one to David Cameron. This line, though, is becoming rather tenuous. For it is becoming clear that the London Mayor isn’t thinking about a Tory leadership election as some far-off, distant event. Certainly, the assiduousness with which he and those around him are reaching out to those left feeling bruised by Cameron’s reshuffle suggests a desire to build a support base for a rather more imminent contest. There have been attempts today to laugh off Zac Goldsmith’s offer

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The coalition’s growth bargain

The contents of the coalition’s grand bargain on growth will become clearer this week. On Monday, Michael Fallon will announce plans to scrap half of all existing regulation, and then later in the week Vince Cable will detail the changes the coalition will make to employment law. This combined with the planning reforms announced last week and the expected initiative on mini-jobs is the Tory supply side of the bargain. But there’s also an interventionist Liberal Democrat side to it, with the coalition announcing this week that it is adopting an industrial strategy. This is something that Vince Cable and his Tory deputy David Willetts have been pushing for over

David Blackburn

David Cameron and the Tory troubles

A scoop in the Mail on Sunday: Zac Goldsmith has allegedly told Boris Johnson that if he were to resign over a third runway at Heathrow, then he would encourage Boris to stand in the subsequent by-election (which everyone assumes that the Conservatives would win). Johnson’s aides have rejected the story ‘out-of-hand’, but it has inspired fevered speculation on Twitter, especially among those who dream that Boris is the answer to their electoral prayers. Those voices have also been given air by the revelation that Bob Stewart MP was approached earlier in the summer by a couple of backbenchers to run as a stalking horse against David Cameron. This prompts

David Blackburn

Michael Fallon and Vince Cable join forces

Michael Fallon has given a pugnacious interview to the Sunday Telegraph. He said that Britain must end its obsession with the ‘politics of envy’ and celebrate wealth creators as ‘Olympian’. (I wonder what the minister makes of the Romford Business Awards, which are presented by his colleague Andrew Rosindell, the Conservative MP for Romford.) As well as having venerated wealth, Fallon introduced several policy objectives: a new round of privatisation (Royal Mail being the first target), employment law reform to ease the dismissal of underperforming workers or where working relationships have collapsed, and a sustained attack on 3,000 regulations. The Sunday Telegraph describes Fallon’s ideas as an ‘agenda pursued by Lady

Saturday

Michael Knowles

How Cabinets have evolved over time

Why are cabinets growing in size? The average number is 24 and since John Major’s first cabinet in 1990, there have been none with fewer seats around the table. David Cameron’s cabinet has 23 full members, but a total of 32 ministers able to visit. Prime Ministers have had to adapt their cabinets to meet the demands of changing government. For example, after Tony Blair’s government had the devolution bill passed, positions were created in cabinet for representation for each of the devolved countries. When globalisation become more important, a secretary of state for International Development was created. It’s not clear, though, whether a larger cabinet leads to a more

James Forsyth James Forsyth

How Europe rebels could be in line for promotion

We haven’t yet seen precisely who has been appointed as a PPS following the reshuffle. But I understand that Downing Street has decided that those who defied the whip on the EU referendum motion will be considered for the jobs. However, no one who rebelled on the House of Lords will receive preferment. I suspect that there are three reasons for this. First, the talent pool is simply too small if you rule out anyone from either group of rebels. Second, this is meant to show the Lords rebels that there is a way back for people who rebel on one big issue. Finally, given the Prime Minister’s evolving views

Friday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

How the Cameron project caught up with economic reality

The modernising, Cameron agenda was conceived in times of plenty. It was underpinned by a belief that there would be healthy growth, the proceeds of which could be shared. Since the crash, the Cameroons have—with varying degrees of success—tried to come to terms with the new world around them, and what it means for their political project. Few have grappled harder with this problem than the new planning minister, Nick Boles. Boles was present at the creation of the Cameron project. As one of the founders of Policy Exchange, he is an original moderniser. But since the crash, he has turned his focus to the economy. His Macmillan lecture and

Douglas Murray

Britain must resist Iran’s terror groups

These two stories are unlikely to make big news, but they should. Speaking in Amsterdam on Wednesday night, the Dutch Foreign Minister, Uri Rosenthal, urged fellow European Union members finally to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist entity. Rosenthal said ‘The Netherlands has made another appeal to European Union members to place Hezbollah on the EU list of terrorist organizations.’ Commenting on Hezbollah’s involvement in the violence in Syria Rosenthal added, ‘You see what happens when this organization is allowed to operate freely.’ Then earlier today the Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, John Baird, announced that his country is to suspend diplomatic relations with Iran and expel Iranian diplomats from Canada. Baird also

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Coffee House interview: Roger Bootle

Roger Bootle is managing director of Capital Economics, and winner of the Wolfson Economics Prize. As the government launches another attempt at boosting UK growth, the economist, who describes himself as a ‘rare right-wing Keynesian’ shares his thoughts on ministers’ economic prowess with Coffee House readers. Do you think the government will be able to fight the next general election on the issue of the economy? ‘I think it’s too early to tell, but if the economy is completely flatlining and the deficit does not go down – which seems to me to be perfectly possible, there are strong signs things are going to look bad for them. But the

Martin Bright

David Cameron’s oddballs

I’m coming to the conclusion that the character of the Cameron government is the inversion of the Brown government. During the dying days of New Labour there was a snarling, socially dysfunctional Prime Minister whom most of the electorate found deeply unappealing. But around Gordon Brown was a group of Cabinet ministers who were really pretty impressive and, well, normal. Alistair Darling, Jacqui Smith, James Purnell, Andy Burnham, Ruth Kelly (remember her?), Alan Johnson, Yvette Cooper: these are all people who it was possible to imagine having  a chat or a drink with in the local pub (or perhaps wine bar).  I could go on. The inverse is true with

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Conventional wisdom says the conventions are awful. Conventional wisdom is correct. – Spectator Blogs

My friend Kerry Howley heroically tried to find something nice to say about the conventions now mercifully past; I’m made of cheaper stuff and have written a piece for Foreign Policy that’s a little less enthused by all this cultish, hagiographical absurdity. Sadly the editors removed the line: “Perhaps every aborted fetus perishes for Jesus” but, well, as you can see, if you dig beneath the surface the Democratic party is pretty much as repugnant as its Republican counterpart. My, how each party is doing its best to make the other seem strangely electable. If Republican arrogance grates, Democratic smugness is just as aggravating. […] no sentient person can possibly

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Lib Dems prepare for fight on welfare and taxes

Nothing is certain at a Liberal Democrat conference other than plenty of discussion of benefits and taxes. The left-leaning wing of the party – the Social Liberal Forum – has released a series of potential amendments and emergency motions for the party’s autumn conference. The list is an interesting indication of what the grassroots (the SLF likes to describe itself as the ‘soul’ of the Lib Dems) are most worried about. There’s an amendment from the irrepressible Lord Oakeshott, which adds a line to a motion due for debate on the Tuesday of the conference, called ‘Tackling Inequality at its Roots’. The peer’s addition is, surprisingly, calling for a full mansion

Matt Cavanagh

What’s in Mark Harper’s immigration in-tray?

As an ambitious young MP rewarded with promotion to Immigration Minister, Mark Harper could be forgiven for viewing the job with mixed emotions. Traditionally one of the most senior ministerial jobs outside Cabinet, it will certainly guarantee him plenty of exposure, but not always for the right reasons. His first and biggest problem is the target the Conservatives have set themselves, to reduce net immigration to under 100,000 a year. The latest figures remain more than double this level, despite a series of controversial reforms, and few observers think the target can be met before the next election. The very idea of ‘net immigration’ doesn’t anyhow seem to capture what

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Osborne pushes upbeat message on economy

George Osborne gave a speech to a CBI dinner in Glasgow last night. It wasn’t the ideal day to do it: the OECD did downgrade its growth forecasts for Britain to minus 0.7 per cent, having previously predicted a 0.5 per cent rise. But the Chancellor remained upbeat, saying: ‘The economic outlook remains uncertain but there are some positive sings. Our economy is healing – jobs are being created, manufacturing and exports have grown as a share of out economy, our trade with the emerging world is soaring, inflation is down, much of the necessary deleveraging in our banking system has been achieved, and the world is once again investing

Thursday

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Reshuffle gongs peeve MPs

David Cameron swore the sacked ministers he was conferring honours on to secrecy  before announcing the accolades last night at a dinner with the parliamentary party. If it was supposed to create some fanfare and fuss around the departing ministers, it backfired: senior Conservative MPs were unsettled and annoyed by the decision and its timing. Announcing honours outside the normal twice-annual cycle for the New Year and the Queen’s birthday would have been strange anyway, but this comes just weeks after the Public Administration Select Committee criticised the way politicians automatically receive the accolades, regardless of how well they have performed. Lib Dems are unhappy, too. Bristol West MP Stephen