Politics

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

Saturday

8 May 2010

Gordon’s ghost

Gordon Brown’s physical presence in 10 Downing Street, while irksome, was not really the problem. Gordon Brown’s physical presence in 10 Downing Street, while irksome, was not really the problem. As Prime Minister, he struggled to achieve anything positive: his skills lay mainly in destroying rivals and terrorising Conservatives. The power he exerted derived from his ability to programme the government machine, and advance his agenda: five-year plans, faith in bureaucracy and the idea that money was the solution to every given problem. It is these ideas, not the man himself, which David Cameron must vanquish. In many respects, Mr Brown can be regarded as an astonishingly successful politician. His

Alex Massie

Let’s Talk About Tax

We know that europe and perhaps electoral reform will be difficult for the Tories and Lib Dems to agree upon. So let’s talk about something else: tax. Cameron’s email to Tory members today strikes just the right tone and says most of the right things. It makes it clear that he thinks there’s a deal to be done and, importantly, reminds the membership that the Tories will have to give some things up too if the partnership is to be stable enough to last at least two years. That’s important because it’s one way of building trust and convincing the other party that you’re serious. So, on tax, I’d suggest

Alex Massie

A Better Electoral System?

As I say, FPTP is a defensible system and so is STV and so is AV: each brings something useful and each has its drawbacks. But why limit ourselves to these options? From a voters’ point of view I think there’s something to be said for adapting the French system. It’s a majoritarian system that would sit comfortably with British traditions but, importantly, it also allows voters to make a more informed choice. It is also simple. If any candidate wins more than 50% of the vote in their constituency he or she is duly elected after the first round of voting. Something like half of all our constituencies fall

Daniel Korski

Cameron’s Clause 4 moment

David Cameron never really had a Clause 4 moment. True, the Conservatives never believed anything so absurd as socialist economics. But the fact that he never had a genuine dust-up with his party made many voters think that he had rebranded but not reoriented them. In the end, it made many would-be supporters wary of voting Tory. Now, the Tory leader may have a Clause 4 moment thrust upon him by virtue of the Lib Dem talks. For if a Con-Lib pact is to be made, it will include a lot of things the party finds unpalatable. Like Tony Blair’s experience with the Labour Party over the Clause 4 discussions,

Peter Hoskin

Clegg laps it up

Ooh, a touch of drama just now, as Nick Clegg addressed the 1,000 or so protestors calling for voting reform in Smith Square. He said that the demonstration was “wonderful,” and got big cheers for saying that PR is “in the national interest”. But there were no hints, either way, about how the Lib-Con talks are going, or whether PR was a dealbreaker – which may have left the people shouting “Don’t sell out!” a little dissatisfied. For all the banners and flags, this one will still come down to the decisions of men in suits, behind oak doors. UPDATE: The Beeb’s Laura Kuenssberg tweets that the protestors are moving

Peter Hoskin

Where are Labour’s manners?

For all the feverish political activity in Westiminster today – and beyond the occasional voting reform protest – there’s a strange, impermeable calm to the situation. Everything is going on behind closed doors, and everyone is remaining relatively tight-lipped. Signs are, we may have to wait a couple of days before any light breaks through the fog of discussion and counter-discussion. One thing, though, is already becoming increasingly clear: 13 years of tribalism haven’t done Labour much good when it comes to cross-party negotiations. There are, of course, the rumours that Gordon Brown had an – ahem – “unconstructive” meeting with Clegg last night. But I more have in

Martin Bright

Time for a National Government? (Revisited)

If there is one lesson to be drawn from the television debates, it is that people have grown tired of politicians slagging each other off. David Cameron promised an end to “yah-boo” politics, but the institution of parliament makes this near-impossible in practice. However, while parliament is out of action, there just might be the possibility of creating something genuinely ground-breaking: a government of national unity. I first suggested this idea in the New Statesman during the 2008 Labour Party conference: “If the financial crisis is as serious as many in the government suggest, then extraordinary times require bold solutions. There is an argument for saying that the Prime Minister should

Alex Massie

It’s Time to Hug a Lib Dem

Ben Brogan says that all the talk of the Tories offering three cabinet positions to the Liberal Democrats is premature. I dare say it is. Nevertheless this is a blog and speculation is good for blogging. I rather think we’d have a better* government if Nick Clegg was Home Secretary, David Laws put in charge of Welfare Reform and Lord Ashdown sent to the Ministry of Defence. This latter clearly won’t happen but, whatever you think of his past, Ashdown is an asset who ought to be used by the new government – even if we end up with a minority Tory ministry. But the Tories ought not to be

David Blackburn

It’s obvious that Brown’s the impediment, why doesn’t Labour strike?

Well, Brown the Statesman was a short-lived incarnation. The BBC reports that Brown and Clegg exchanged ‘angry words’ yesterday evening and that Brown delivered a characteristic private political conversation: ‘a diatribe laced with threats’. Clegg and Brown simply cannot work together. This inability to put aside personal differences is far from magnanimous of both men, but it is plain that Brown no longer commands the authority to shape the nation’s future. If there’s no hope of a Lib-Lab coalition with Brown at the helm, then the knives will be sharpening – again. From Labour’s perspective, delaying the inevitable would be fatal as it gives Cameron more time to negotiate with

David Blackburn

Electoral reform is the deal maker

Former Tory MP and current associate editor of Conservative Home, Paul Goodman, has analysed where Cameron and Clegg can accommodate one another. It’s a must-read and gives enough hope that Cameron and Clegg may ally to keep a thoroughly discredited Labour party from office. The Tories and Lib Dems share common ground on the bland areas of policy; and, as one expects, they diverge over more contentious issues. Much is made of Clegg and Cameron’s passion for all things green and renewable. This encompasses such thrilling pastures as home insulation, carbon capture and emissions targets. The grander aspects of energy policy will necessitate accommodation through compromise. Does Britain’s energy security lie

James Forsyth

Now that the election is over, let the arguments and explosions begin

James Forsyth reviews the week in politics ‘He who controls the past, controls the future’ as George Orwell reminded us. This means that a battle breaks out in every party after every election to explain the result, to determine which policies helped and which policies hindered. Win or lose, the various factions inside parties race to establish a narrative that is helpful to their cause. Straight after Labour’s landslide win in 1997, it was declared that ‘we campaigned as New Labour and we will govern as New Labour’. The Blairites were so eager to establish this point that they even considered putting it into the Queen’s speech. The message to

Stephen Pollard

It was Mandy wot lost it

It’s time to drop the myth of Lord Mandelson as a political genius, says Stephen Pollard. No one has done more to wreck the Labour party Whatever the election result, one thing is sure: industrial quantities of obloquy will be heaped on Gordon Brown as the man responsible for Labour’s result. But if the party is after the real villain of the piece, it is looking in the wrong place. Mr Brown was, it was clear from the start, never suitable for the job of Prime Minister. By last summer, such a conclusion was not merely clear, it was being beamed in blinding neon lighting from the door of 10

Matthew Parris

Why has the war in Afghanistan barely been mentioned during this election?

During this election campaign a figure of speech passed from novelty to cliché: ‘the elephant in the room’. Various elephants — spending cuts, the national debt, the reform of the NHS — were nominated for the role. But one poor beast never even got into the room. The Afghan war has been distant from our thoughts. Dismal trumpeting sounds have been barely audible from savannahs far away. This was the subject from which, after a polite cough, everybody moved away. The only party prepared publicly to question the wisdom (as opposed to the conduct) of this war has been the British National Party. We should be ashamed. We’re embroiled in

Martin Vander Weyer

Can the Greek bailout contain the oil slick of sovereign debt?

Martin Vander Weyer’s Any Other Business The downside of globalisation is contagion. That was the lesson of the Icelandic ash that damaged the livelihoods of Kenyan rose-growers, and it’s the lesson of this week’s Greek bailout. The deal that will see Greece’s euro partners stump up E80 billion, plus E30 billion from the IMF, touches millions of people who have never given a thought to the parlous state of Greek public finances. Crude oil blipped up on ‘buoyant sentiment’ while the Mexican peso looked perky, reflecting a view that riskier assets might be back in fashion. US Treasuries dipped as institutional investors felt less need for the refuge of US

Friday

7 May 2010

David Blackburn

The need for speed

The markets have spoken, and they’ve done so with menace. The FTSE 100 closed down 138 points, which, though not a complete disaster, is far from encouraging. You might argue that the multinationals that comprise the FTSE 100 are more affected by the fortunes of international markets and commerce. Whilst that’s true it must be conceded that there is little comfort in the FTSE 250, a figure that provides a closer expression of domestic economic confidence, which closed down by 410 points. At the time of writing, Sterling, another bellweather indicator, is mired. The Pound is worth $1.47, and at one point it was at its lowest level against the

Fraser Nelson

A deal that would kill Gove’s agenda at birth

While both the Conservatives and LibDems support the idea of Swedish schools, a Lib-Con deal could kill the agenda stone dead. David Laws is proposing to allow local authorities to have the power to veto new schools – which would, in effect, mean no rollout. As we all know, this could strangle the Gove school agenda at birth. Local authorities, whether Labour or Tory, will hate the idea of competition in the provision of education. The local authorities and teachers’ unions are incredibly powerful, and defeated Thatcher, Adonis and Blair. They have also nobbled the LibDems to the extent that, I understand, David Laws believes that he could not get

Alex Massie

Do the Deal, Dave

Tories are supposed to be pragmatists. That’s why they’re the traditional party of coalition in this country. On that front, it is interesting to see that John Major is suggesting that, to advance the cause of stability, Cameron should offer Clegg a number of cabinet seats. This seems sensible and, happily, would also improve the quality of the cabinet since, lord knows, there are a good number of Tories who ought to be kept well away from the Red Boxes. More interestingly still, it was notable today how both Dan Hannan and Douglas Carswell were warm on the idea of a coalition and even, if necessary, some kind of electoral

Alex Massie

Cameron Should Also Talk to Alex Salmond

Whither Scotland? Well, apart from Labour regaining the two seats it lost in by-elections not a single seat changed hands north of the border. Indeed there was a swing to Labour and I suspect that Brown and Jim Murphy won votes when they warned that a vote for anyone else was a de facto vote for the Conservatives. Such is life and it’s remarkable how these ancient ghosts still retain the ability to spook the populace. So why should Cameron speak to Salmond? Well, because he should be able to get the SNP to at least abstain on a putative Tory budget. Cameron has already said that the Scottish government’s

Peter Hoskin

Cameron offers the hand of coalition to the Lib Dems

Woah, I didn’t think Cameron would go that far. In his statement just now, the Tory leader started off by talking about minority government, as one might expect. But he soon skipped past that, and onto what sounded like a more formal coalition with the Lib Dems. He called it the Tories’ “Big Comprehensive Offer”. This offer trumped the one that Brown put forward ealier by virtue of its clarity. Where Brown had hints and innuendo, Cameron had an itemised list of policies and specifications. And so the Tory leader set out the areas where he wasn’t willing to compromise with the Lib Dems: Europe, cutting the deficit and immgration.

Alex Massie

Clegg Costs Cameron Dear

OK, so the exit poll wasn’t bonkers after all. And Cleggmania evaporated like so many other summer romances. But it’s the Lib Dems, in many ways, not Labour who have cost Cameron his majority. Of the top fifteen Lib Dem held targets, the Tories seem to have won just five. Doubtless the Lib Dems were helped by a measure of tactical voting but also, of course, the reality that in many of these constituencies voters could as easily reject Labour by voting Liberal as by voting Conservative. The haggling here was over the details of change, not its necessity. And now, with few hard feelings, Cameron is putting the ball