Politics

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

Wednesday

Ed Howker

Exclusive: Gove’s free school policy gets Labour support, finally

This week’s Spectator reveals the rather tantalizing fact that Peter Hyman, Tony Blair’s former director of strategy, is setting up a Free School in East London. This – I kid you not – is a very good thing. Newham School 21 will teach kids between the ages of 4 and 18 – an ambitious span of ages – and will open its gates in September 2012 if all goes to plan. Whatever you think about Blair, Hyman is a quietly impressive figure, coining the phrase “Education, Education, Education” and then leaving Downing Street in 2003 to become a teaching assistant. Now, as the deputy head of a school in Ealing,

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Attacking Harry Flashman is a Fool’s Game

So Ed Miliband brought up the Flashman thing at Prime Minister’s Questions today. How rum. Now I think it would be sensible for the Prime Minister to be polite to his opponents. There’s no need to belittle Mr Miliband when he does such a good job of doing so himself. If Labour think attacking Cameron’s privileged background is a winning tactic then good luck to them. I rather suspect the public have already priced that in to their view of Cameron (and George Osborne) and so this ploy cannot do much more than entertain Labour’s backbenchers. I suppose Labour are thinking of the Harry Flashman* of Tom Brown’s Schooldays.That Flashman

Jonathan Jones

The Coffee House A-Z of the Coalition: G-M

Here are letters G to M in our alphabetical guide to the Coalition’s first year. A-F were covered here. G is for Gaffes The coalition, happily, has not endured anything like a Gillian Duffy moment. But there has been a decent smattering of embarrassments and gaffes. Below is a brief selection, but CoffeeHousers can nominate others in the comments section: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nOhqo-47P8 H is for Hidden talents A brief mention for those ministers who have exceeded expectations, or who have been quietly effective in their roles. Foremost among them has to be Theresa May, the Home Secretary. She underwhelmed in Opposition, particularly when in charge of the Tories’ welfare brief, but

Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

Lib Dem polarity

For the Lib Dems this was the first day of the afterlife. Booted off the AV-train which was supposed to fast-track them to power, the minority party now looks politically homeless. Everyone in parliament makes jokes about them but the gags never raise a laugh. Pity intervenes. At today’s session Ed Miliband was haranguing Cameron for ‘dumping on’ his ministers as soon as their policies run into trouble when he broke off to indulge in a Lib Dem-kicking moment which he felt would cheer his troops. ‘And the poor deputy prime minister,’ chortled Miliband, ‘gets dumped on every day of the week!’ Sad laughter followed. No one’s heart was in

James Forsyth James Forsyth

A mixed bag for the coalition at PMQs 

So much for the de-Flashmaning project. At PMQs, a tetchy Cameron doled out his usual number of insults, comparing Ed Miliband to Eddie the Eagle Edwards. Frankly, I don’t think this really matters as long as Cameron appears to be in control of his temper, which isn’t always the case. But Ed Miliband definitely raised a chuckle when he told Cameron to ‘calm down, dear.’ But, perhaps, the most noticeable thing about today’s PMQs was the behaviour of the Liberal Democrats. Nick Clegg joined in with all the jeering at the Labour front bench, something which he very conspicuously didn’t do in the last few weeks. Chris Huhne happily chatted

Peter Hoskin

PMQs live blog | 11 May 2011

VERDICT: An inconclusive sort of PMQs, where neither leader particularly triumphed, nor particularly sank. Ed Miliband was persistent, and more aggressive than usual, with his questions on the NHS — but failed, really, to properly discomfort the PM. Cameron dwelt lazily on the extra money going into the service, but it was enough to carry him through the session. Perhaps the most striking moment was when, during the backbench questions, Cameron pointed out that “[the Tories] were the only party at the last election to promise [real-terms spending increases for health]. If it wasn’t for us, it wouldn’t be happening.” This is, I suspect, all part of the new drive

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Not so flash, Dave

The papers report this morning that David Cameron has been urged by his aides to be more polite to his opponents at PMQs or risk playing into the Flashman stereotype of him as a cocky public school bully. Now, as with all advice about making PMQs a calmer affair (remember how Cameron pledged an end to Punch and Judy politics), this is easier said than done. The confrontational atmosphere of PMQs means that it is hard for those involved to resist a withering put down or to meet insult with insult. But if Cameron does learn to rein himself in, it will be a triumph for his new chief political

Jonathan Jones

The Coffee House A-Z of the Coalition: A-F

The coalition is 1 today. Unfortunately, we can’t serve jelly and ice cream over the internet — but we can write an A-Z to mark the first year of Cameron and Clegg’s union. Below is the first part of that, covering the letters A to F. But, first, a little piece of political nostalgia for CoffeeHousers. A year ago today, this happened: And now for the A-Z… A is for Andrew Lansley Rap John Healey, make way for MC NxtGen. The Loughborough rapper may not be part of Her Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition, but his three-minute denunciation of the coalition’s health reforms — video above — did the job better

Daniel Korski

Libya: Bombing does not preclude preparing a Plan B

The PM is looking to intensify the military campaign in Libya. Losing is not an option. Just think about it. The US gets its man; Britain gets angry, bombs a bit and then goes home. The dictator lives on in infamy: very Clintonesque. To avoid such an ignominious end, a delegation from Benghazi has been called to London in order to hatch a plan with Britain and her allies. But at the same time it may be prudent for someone in government – quietly and out of sight, of course – to look at a Plan B. Not for execution now, but ready in case the time comes. Why a

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Just Say Yes, Dave

When David Cameron was a backbench MP he condemned the “abject failure” of the War on Drugs. And when he campaigned for the Troy leadership he said it was time for “fresh thinking and a new approach” to drug policy. He correctly noted that “Politicians attempt to appeal to the lowest common denominator by posturing with tough policies and calling for crackdown after crackdown. Drugs policy has been failing for decades.” While a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee he said the then-government should “initiate a discussion” at the United Nations to consider “alternative ways – including the possibility of legalisation and regulation – to tackle the global drugs

Tuesday

Peter Hoskin

Breaking Laws | 10 May 2011

When David Laws resigned from government last year, his return was thought to be only a matter of time. Today, it is looking considerably more indefinite. Not only has Cameron been talking down the prospect of a reshuffle any time soon, but the Evening Standard is reporting that Laws has been found guilty of breaching six — six! — Commons rules related to his expense claims. No word, yet, on the details, or whether there will be any formal punishment for the former Chief Sec. But it doesn’t look good for him, nor for his ministerial prospects in the short-term. Sky’s Sophy Ridge tweets that certain Lib Dems are “still

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Aunt Annabel Departs But the Tories Can Live Again

So farewell then, Annabel Goldie. As Hamish Macdonnell says, your position was weakened by the inquest into last year’s disappointing (let’s be kind, here) Westminster results. But Miss (never Ms) Goldie can step down knowing that her party is better-off than either Labour or the Liberal Democrats. A cynic might suggest it’s easy for a leader to be honest when they know they have little chance of being invited into government, no matter what result the election might produce. And cynicism always appeals. Nevertheless – a very Annabelish word – the election campaign went almost as well for the Scottish Tories as could have been hoped. True, they lost a

Peter Hoskin

Cameron sets out the bounds of Lib Dem assertiveness

Our coalition government was forged one year ago tomorrow — and we shall have more on that then. But the Sun has already marked the occasion by publishing an interview with David Cameron today. It is a wide-ranging sort of conversation, touching on everything from the Prime Minister’s workload (“every day feels like a week”) to the shelf life of the government (“five years”), although much of it is unsurprising. It does, however, contain one or two useful insights into how the coalition’s game of give-and-take is going to operate from now on. First up, Cameron’s insistence — contra Clegg — that the Lib Dems should not be portrayed as

Daniel Korski

The Dame departs

Pauline Neville-Jones was a first. She was one of the first women in the Foreign Office to climb the department’s male-dominated ladder, serving as Lord Tugendhat’s chef de cabinet at the European Commission, obtaining the coveted post of Political Director and eventually becoming JIC Chairman. She led the British delegation at the Dayton Peace Accords and she probably thought she would be the first British National Security Adviser. But it was not to be. Her usefulness to the Prime Minister seems to have been mainly in opposition, where she could add a voice of knowledge to a Shadow Cabinet with very little governmental experience. The Tory Green Paper on National

Hamish Macdonell

A leadership contest might be just what the Scottish Tories need

That’s it, the full house. Alex Salmond has seen off all three main opposition party leaders before the Scottish Parliament has even convened for the first time in this new session. Yesterday afternoon, Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie joined her Labour and Liberal Democrat counterparts (Iain Gray and Tavish Scott) in standing down. The Conservatives did not do quite as badly as either of the other two opposition parties in the election – they went down two seats, from 17 to 15 – and many will see that as the reason Miss Goldie delayed her resignation for a few days, to work out of she could continue. But, in reality,

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Labour’s New Strategy: Fight the Tories

You might think this should have been their strategy all along. But just as Labour in Scotland misidentified their primary enemy, concentrating on the Conservatives when they should have been opposing the SNP so Labour in London has spent the past year looking for monsters in all the wrong places. Peeved by being thrown from office after saving the world, Labour have since moaned and whined and whinged about how beastly the Lib Dems are and how, in some rum fashion, it’s unfair that they’ve broken their promises and are dancing with the Conservatives. Never mind that the Tories made a better offer.  Still, while this has not been much

Monday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Credit where it’s due

One of the worries of Tory modernisers about the coalition back in May last year was that the Tories would end up being seen as being responsible for all the tough but necessary stuff, eg deficit reduction, while the Lib Dems would claim the cuddly stuff, for example the pupil premium — a policy that was in both the Tory and Lib Dem manifestos.   David Willetts in a piece in the Telegraph today, taken from a speech he’s giving tonight, makes this point anew in the context of the new, frostier coalition relations: “This agenda is shared, so it would be a mistake to get into a game of

Daniel Korski

Can Lansley stay?

The Prime Minister, it seems, is now finally accepting what everyone else has been saying for a long time: that the NHS reforms were dangerous and would hurt the government. If Nick Clegg forced a re-think — even one that is supported by many Tories — then he may, in the end, play a greater part in delivering the next election for Cameron’s party than many triumphalist right-wingers now realise. For CameronCare was badly-timed, poorly-delivered and strikes at the heart of the PM’s message that the Conservative Party can be trusted. Large-scale reforms need time. Time for people to accept a problem. Time for people to accept the solution.  Where

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The Lib Dems’ hostage situation

Norman Lamb’s comment on the Daily Politics about the Lib Dems having become a “human shield” for the government sums up the mood on the Liberal Democrat benches. Lamb went onto wonder whether this was inevitable: “Whether that’s inevitably the case for the junior partner I don’t know… But we are in this for the long term.” The bad news for the Liberal Democrats is, I fear, that it is. On Friday I was having a discussion with a senior Labour figure who was explaining how the party was now going to concentrate its fire on Cameron not Clegg. But within two minutes, we were back to discussing the Liberal

Peter Hoskin

It’s all in the cost

I’ve just caught up with Tim Montgomerie’s exhaustive and tremendously insightful account of the successful No to AV campaign. For those CoffeeHousers who haven’t yet had their fill of last week’s referendum and its implications, I’d heartily recommend it. Numerous points stand out, of which Paul Waugh has already highlighted one of the most vivid. But here is another: “Lesser individuals would have crumbled before Fleet Street’s pens but the battle-tested Labour figures in the No campaign and Cameron’s Political Secretary, Stephen Gilbert, gave [Matthew] Elliott the reassurance he needed to stay on course. They were right to do so. The cost arguments against AV moved voters more than any