Politics

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

Wednesday

David Blackburn

Who is missing?

The Cabinet is taking shape, admittedly with one or two surprises and not all of them good ones. There is still a way to go, even though action has already been taken on the NI increase. I understand that Michael Gove will be education secretary, which obviously leaves the hugely impressive David Laws to find another brief. Work and Pensions is a possibility, a job that has also been earmarked for the equally impressive Philip Hammond. There is a very obvious lack of women – Sarah Teather is highly regarded on the Lib Dem side, probably more so than her counterparts on the Tory side. I’ve heard rumours that she’s

David Blackburn

The Cabinet takes shape

New Cabinet Ministers are arriving at their offices. I’ll update this as the day unfolds and we expect 5 Lib Dems to sit in Cabinet, but here’s the order of battle as it stands: Prime Minister: David Cameron Deputy PM: Nick Clegg Chancellor: George Osborne Foreign Secretary: William Hague Home Secretary (And Minister for Women and Equality): Theresa May Justice Secretary: Ken Clarke Business and Banking: Vince Cable Health Secretary: Andrew Lansley Education: Michael Gove Scottish Secretary: Danny Alexander Work and Pensions: Iain Duncan Smith Defence Secretary: Liam Fox Energy and Climate Change Secretary: Chris Huhne Chief Secretary to the Treasury: David Laws Attorney General: Dominic Grieve Transport: Philip Hammond

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

Surely this’ll kill the Lib Dems

Fixed term election? Five years? Can anyone, aside from Clegg, see this arrangement lasting longer than, say, next Friday afternoon at about four o clock? Can you really imagine inner city Lib Dem MPs, and those in the former north west cotton belt, supporting the sorts of cuts we will see in the emergency budget? And if they do support those cuts, they’ll be out of a job very soon indeed. The usually dependable Daniel Finkelstein has heralded all this as a brilliant re-alignment of British politics; but it may finish off the Lib Dems. And all for an honorific title – Deputy Prime Minister (the post used to keep

David Blackburn

Game on for the Labour leadership

The Coalition Cabinet remains unformed as yet – it’s rumoured that Chris Huhne is going to environment and Michael Gove and David Laws are out doing one another in the ‘I’ve no idea where I’ll be’ stakes. All the sounds are very positive but the contents of would-be ministers’ statements are careful, as doubtless final decisions are being made. The Labour leadership has its own spot on Westminster’s backdrop of delicate intrigue. Yesterday, Andy Burnham positioned himself as the candidate of sense, opposing Lib-Lab talks and acknowledging that Labour needed to reorganise itself in the aftermath of defeat. The preferred path to renewal is clearer this morning. Alan Johnson has

Peter Hoskin

The Deputy Prime Minister speaks

Just as the midnight oil burns out, the Lib Dems have finally agreed to a coalition deal with the Tories.  Speaking in Transport House, Nick Clegg confirmed that the parliamentary party and federal executive had “overwhelmingly accepted” the deal.  And … well, that was it, really.  There were few other specifics from the new Deputy Prime Minister.  No confirmations of other Cabinet positions, no firm indications about the Lib-Con policy trade-offs – just “thanks and admiration” for Gordon Brown, and a few assurances that the new government would work towards “fair” ends, even though ” there will, of course, be problems”.  I’m sure that full details will emerge in the

Tuesday

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The government takes shape

Here are some details of the LibCon deal, and my brief comments: 1. Clegg as Deputy PM. It’s a non-job, but a senior one – it means Clegg will take PMQs in Cameron’s absence, and will defend all those nasty cuts (sharing the blame for these cuts is the main rationale for coalition). This follows the 1999 Lib-Lab deal in Scotland, where Jim Wallace was made Deputy First Minister to everyone’s surprise. 2. Laws replaces Gove in education. This has not been confirmed yet, and I will not believe it until I see it. Of all of tonight’s moves this is potentially the most concerning – especially for all those

Martin Bright

Most People Will Give the New Government a Chance

Congratulations to David Cameron and to Nick Clegg. It is a remarkable achievement to have formed this coalition government. Now we shall see whether it can hold together. Some in the Labour Party are already feeling smug about the Liberal Democrats’ discomfort. But this way madness lies.  The Labour Party should begin from the assumption that the new government will not collapse and that most people will give it the benefit of the doubt in the short term.

Alex Massie Alex Massie

And So It Begins

HMQ: Good luck laddie, you’re going to need it… More later, but consider this an open thread to discuss the new government and what I hope will be a new era of Liberal Unionism…

Peter Hoskin

David Cameron is Prime Minister

And he begins his tenure with an unfussy speech outside the door of No.10.  All of the main Tory touchstones were mentioned: the deficit, responsibility, political reform and social breakdown.  But this wasn’t a strident or triumphant performance.  Cameron went out of his way to pay tribute to Gordon Brown and his “long record of public service,” and to highlight the role that the Lib Dems will be playing in a “proper and full coalition”.  Almost with a dash of regret, Cameron noted that this coalition will “throw up all sorts of challenges”. Perhaps he’s had a first taste of those challenges with the protestors who greeted his entry, with

Peter Hoskin

Brown resigns as Prime Minister

That No.10 lectern has had a lot of use over the past two days. Yesterday, it was wheeled out for Brown’s resignation announcement; today, for his resignation proper. It was quite dignified, as it happened. He said that he he loved the job for its “potential to make this country fairer, more tolerant, more green, more prosperous and more just,” and wished his successor well. And he finished by paying tribute to his wife and his children, who he said represented the “most important job” he could ever hold. So that is that, as one T Blair once said. The end.

Peter Hoskin

The waiting game | 11 May 2010

Westminster is working itself into a frenzy as we wait for the official announcements, statements and rituals of state which will surely come in the next few hours.   The very latest is that Cabinet ministers are saying Brown will go either tonight or tomorrow morning; Vince Cable has suggested a Lib-Con deal is “very close”; and all the noises are about a full coalition, perhaps with Nick Clegg as deputy Prime Minister. But enough of that: we shall soon have something more concrete to grasp than all the rumours and helicopter imagery.  And it will be nothing less than the end of 13 years of Labour government.

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Clegg Gets Labour to Drive His Party to the Tories

There’s one thing that may be said of Nick Clegg’s willingness to talk to Labour: it allowed Labour to show Liberal Democrat MPs that a deal with the Tories is the only show in town worth buying a ticket for. Once Labour MPs vowed to derail any plan to force through voting reform without a referendum and once John Reid, David Blunkett and Andy Burnham pointed out the absurdity of a “Loser’s Alliance” that, however constitutionally permissable, would mock the actual, you know, result of the election then even the most sawdust-brained Liberal Democrat MP could appreciate that this bird wouldn’t fly. That leaves a proper deal with the Tories

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Lib-Con deal in the bag

The Lib Dems are holding a meeting of both their MPs and the Federal Executive at 7.30pm. It is now widely expected that this meeting will approve a coalition deal with the Conservatives. Those who have taken the temperature of the Lib Dem Federal Executive say that approval is in the bag.

Martin Bright

The Labour Party Must Accept Defeat and Move On

As I write, the Liberal Democrats and Tories are meeting in the Cabinet Office. The Labour Party should accept this is the end of any hope of a Rainbow Coalition. This election was lost and well lost. The Conservative achievement is substantial. There are now over a hundred extra Tory MPs in parliament and David Cameron has taken his party from being an unelectable basket case to the dominant political force in Westminster. It would be gracious at this stage to admit defeat.  The unwholesome sight of Labour grandees scrabbling around in search of  deal with the Lib Dems is an affront to democracy. The suggestion that Labour has the

Peter Hoskin

Burnham strikes a blow to the Lib-Lab coalition

As James suggested, the mood is shifting against a Lib-Lab coalition this afternoon. And now the idea has been dealt its biggest blow so far: Andy Burnham has spoken out against it public. Taking the kind of deliberate step that suggests he may be up for the Labour leadership after all, the Health Secretary said: “I think we have got to respect the results of the general election and we can’t get away from the fact that Labour didn’t win.” And there’s more. According to the irrepressible Paul Waugh, Burnham first made his discontent known in Labour’s Cabinet meeting last night – where, according to Channel 4’s Gary Gibbon, he

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The obstacles to a Lib-Lab deal

The main development of this morning has been Labour MPs throwing up obstacles to a Lib Lab deal. At the moment there are four main problems. First, David Blunkett and others arguing that Labour would be better off going into opposition and—this is implicit—letting the Tories and the Lib Dems make the cuts. One union fixer told me Labour couldn’t go into a coalition with a party committed to cuts to benefits and tax credits. Second, Jon Cruddas, a champion of party democracy, has demanded that the parliamentary party, the NEC and the unions be consulted on the terms of any deal. Third, there are lots of Labour MPs letting

Peter Hoskin

Whatever happens, Clegg has sullied his credibility with the Tories

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves: some sort of deal between the Lib Dems and the Tories is still a distinct possibility, even if negotiations have been rocked by the events of yesterday. But whether it goes through or not, Clegg has seriously dented his credibility in Tory circles. Backbenchers who were warming to the idea of a formal Lib-Con coalition a few days ago – if only to scupper Labour’s hopes – are now dead set against it. The very notion of Clegg as Home Secretary is becoming a collective anathema. The question now is whether – failing a Lib-Lab coalition – the Tory leadership is more inclined towards