Politics

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

Wednesday

Peter Hoskin

What are Hoon and Hewitt hoping to achieve?

The secret ballot story is still ongoing – so it’s a little early to be drawing conclusions just yet.  But, for now, it’s worth thinking about what H&H are hoping to achieve by all this.  If it’s true that they haven’t discussed their plans with Cabinet ministers, then why are they sticking their heads above the parapet?  It’s not as though they’re the most widely popular members of the Labour backbenches, who could manage to influence huge swathes of the PLP.  Without a mass of pre-existing support, they surely can’t have much hope of getting the ballot they’ve called for. Which just throws up more questions.  Should we simply take

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Mandelson’s statement scarcely endorses Brown

Peter Mandelson’s much-awaited statement does not seem particularly full-throated in its support of the Prime Minister. ‘No one should over-react to this initiative. It is not led by members of the government. No one has resigned from the government. The prime minister continues to have the support of his colleagues and we should carry on government business as usual.’ There is no praise for Brown and it almost reads as if someone did resign we would be into a totally different ball game.

Peter Hoskin

Mandelson intervenes

Is this the endorsement that Brown was looking for?  Sky and the BBC report that the Business Secretary is putting out the message that the PM has the support of his Cabinet colleagues. Meanwhile, the good folk at Comment Central are running a Cabinet Watch, tracking which members of the Cabinet have come out in support of Brown.  Only three, so far – although they haven’t added Mandelson yet (or Ed Balls, who is currently on Sky talking about “getting on with the job”).  All eyes on Darling, Johnson, Harman and Miliband now.

Martin Bright

It Really is Now or Never this Time

As Ben Brogan has pointed out, if the GH/PH plot was not conceived with the say-so of Peter Mandelson (or at least the nod) then it won’t be going anywhere. At the same time, if Mandy tells Gordon that he must agree to the secret ballot then he will find ot very difficult to resist. But this really is the crunch time for the Labour Party. If it wants to avoid a decade of  wilderness it needs to nail this issue once and for all. The point is that David Cameron knows that the Prime Minister is his greatest electoral asset and without him all bets are off. It has

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The plot is on life support

The Hoon and Hewitt attempt to force a secret ballot on Brown’s leadership is not off to the best of starts. If it is not dead on arrival it is certainly on the critical list. Even those who think Labour would be better off without Brown are unimpressed by this attempt. One texted me just now saying ‘outcome same as previous crap attempts: no change at top but shave 5% in polls.’ Certainly, the timing seems poor. Trying to compete with the snow is not the best idea nor is launching this campaign at a time when Labour had managed to score some points against the Tories.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

A narrowly constructed plot

Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt’s letter calling for a secret ballot on the Labour leadership has wiped out a decent performance by Gordon Brown at PMQs and will revive stories about Labour division and Brown’s unpopularity. It is a massive bonus for the Tories in what had been a disappointing week for them up to now. Hewitt is definitely a Blairite but Hoon is one of those who crossed over to the Brown side while Blair was still PM. However he is a disappointed man, he hoped for the Europe job that Baroness Ashton got to everyone’s surprise. If Brown is to be ousted, though, I doubt it will be

Martin Bright

Gordon’s Winter of Discontent

This really is a clever little wheeze from Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt. Why did no one think of a secret ballot before? People have been fixated on Cabinet delegations and rebels instead of calling Gordon Brown’s bluff on this most serious of issues – democracy. The Prime Minister whom no one has voted into office, who stood unopposed for the leadership and who has surrounded himself with unelected ministers is now offered the perfect opportunity to give himself a mandate. Will he take it? I very much doubt it. My feeling from talking to backbenchers and ministers is that there is now a solid consensus that Gordon Brown is an

Peter Hoskin

Is there a Cabinet minister?

There are rumblings in Westminster that a Cabinet minister is preparing to join Hoon and Hewitt in calling for a secret ballot on Brown’s leadership.  H&H are claiming, quite laughably, that this whole process could actually strengthen Brown’s position.  But ministerial involvment would clarify, beyond doubt, that this is actually a rebellion designed to weaken Brown.  After all, this is hardly the kind of thing which falls under the banner of collective responsilbity… The question now is: who, if anyone?  Obviously, the bigger the name, the more destabilising it would be.  Indeed, you feel that a Big Name might be required to give this sufficient momentum.  Could it be Tessa

Peter Hoskin

Full Hoon and Hewitt letter

Courtesy of Guido: Dear Colleague, As we move towards a General Election it remains the case that the Parliamentary Labour Party is deeply divided over the question of the leadership. Many colleagues have expressed their frustration at the way in which this question is affecting our political performance. We have therefore come to the conclusion that the only way to resolve this issue would be to allow every member to express their view in a secret ballot. This could be done quickly and with minimum disruption to the work of MPs and the Government. Whatever the outcome the whole of the party could then go forward, knowing that this matter

Peter Hoskin

Breaking: Hoon and Hewitt call for secret ballot on Brown’s leadership

So says Nick Robinson.  More soon. UPDATE: The Standard has a copy of the letter which Hoon and Hewiit have sent out to Labour MPs.  Here’s a key extract from the article: “Mr Hoon and Ms Hewitt warned: ‘There is a risk otherwise that the persistent background briefing and grumbling could continue up to and possibly through the election campaign, affecting our ability to concentrate all of our energies on getting our real message across.’ Mr Hoon and Ms Hewitt added: ‘In what will inevitably be a difficult and demanding election campaign, we must have a determined and united parliamentary party. ‘It is our job to lead the fight againstour

Peter Hoskin

PMQs live blog | 6 January 2010

Stay tuned for live coverage of PMQs from 1200. 1159: Should be kicking off soon.  You can watch proceedings live here. 1202: And here we go.  Brown starts with the usual condolences for fallen British servicemen – and adds a tribute for the late Labour MP, David Taylor. 1204: Brian Donohoe asks for an update on the attempted terrorist attack on Christmas Day.  Brown lists new security measures, and says that he’s looking to better coordinate intelligence efforts. 1206: Cameron now.  He adds condolences for British servicemen and David Taylor. 1207: The Tory leader starts with our debt problem.  He lists international organisations – the OECD etc. – which have

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Mandelson is tiring of his ‘toy’

Patrick Wintour’s piece on Peter Mandelson in today’s Guardian is the most thorough explanation that we’ve had yet of Mandelson’s ‘Garbo-esque silence’ since the PBR. Mandelson was clearly intensely frustrated and disillusioned by the PBR, and the presentation of it, backing away from his smart cuts strategy and instead returning to the crude investment versus cuts dividing line. One also gets the impression that Mandelson was irritated by Brown’s fundamental failings as a politician. Wintour writes that those who spoke to Mandleson before Christmas “heard a man frustrated by the prime minister’s lack of focus, decision-making capacity, and strategic guile.” One thing that jumped out at me is that Ed

David Blackburn

Labour’s imminent bloodbath

The latest instalment of the Labour leadership saga is available at a newsagent near you. Writing in the Independent, John Rentoul argues that Labour must avoid the ‘Oyster Card Error’. That is, ‘the gate beeps and the sign says, “Seek Assistance”. But do they? No, they try again.’ Loyal as ever, Rentoul believes that the party can only be renewed by the heir to Blair, David Miliband; Gordon Brown’s politics must be consigned to the footnotes of history, and Amen to that. However, whilst defeat at the polls will remove Brown it may not break his dedicated parliamentary support. The plans, plots, schemes and ploys against the PM have been

Tuesday

Martin Bright

Bring Back Party Animals

Apart from the odd terrorist plot and the beginning of an already very nasty election campaign, nothing much has happened in my absence! Yes I had a nice Christmas and New Year, thanks. It certainly made a change from being threatened with a libel action by an Iraqi billionaire as I was last year. And yes, I was not entirely serious when I described the festive break as Winterval in my last post. I even attended a very traditional village nativity play and loved it.  The telly was traditionally dreadful. But one of the highlights of my Christmas was watching Matt Smith regenerate as the new Dr Who, which confirmed

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Vote for Mr None of the Above!

If another 650 or so candidates did this then the new parliament could be rather interesting: An aspiring MP has gone to extreme lengths to protest against the three main political parties. Adam Osen, 50, has officially changed his name to None Of The Above and hopes to attract support from disillusioned voters as an independent parliamentary candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green. The move was suggested by Mr Above’s brother, Gideon, who took the idea from the film Brewster’s Millions, which sees a character run a political campaign under the same slogan. The former Mr Osen, a painter and decorator of Woodberry Way in Chingford, said his wife, Rebecca,

David Blackburn

The Tories are frustrating, but Labour is unelectable

Ok, Coffee House has given the Tories short-shrift in recent weeks, but this is a reaction born of frustration. The election should be a walkover. At their best, the Tories have the radical policies, and to a certain extent the team, to rescue Britain from its current Labour-inflicted quandary. Yet the party remains tentative, fearful of its own shadow. It should not be. Labour deserves to lose, and not only in retribution for its record: the governing party has embarked on an open internecine war and is completely unelectable in consequence. Rachel Sylvester describes the paralysis: ‘Lord Mandelson is advocating a campaign based on aspiration, public service reform and fiscal

Peter Hoskin

Brown and out?

Whether anything comes of it is a different matter altogether, but this insight from the Standard’s Joe Murphy deserves pulling out: “A senior minister is said to be close to quitting in a move to destabilise Mr Brown, the Standard has been told. There is speculation among MPs that a big beast such as Chancellor Alistair Darling, Lord Mandelson or Justice Secretary Jack Straw might be willing to tell Mr Brown to go if the party falls into fresh turmoil.” Paul Waugh and Channel 4’s Gary Gibbon have more on the story, here and here.  As I pointed out at the weekend, it looks as though the rumblings about Brown’s

Peter Hoskin

Is this Labour’s election slogan?

I wouldn’t be surprised if this Gordon Brown snippet gets deployed ad nauseam between now and the next election: “[Brown] described Labour as the party of ‘prosperity not austerity'” If so, it’s worth noting that it’s a phrase that Ed Miliband used in several speeches last year (e.g. here, here and here).  But, whoever its author, it’s hard to imagine it working for a governing party which has presided over one of the most spectacular busts in our history.

David Blackburn

Oh dear, Gordon’s done it again

The knicker-bomber must love this. Twice Gordon Brown has jumped on the bandwagon and bounced straight off on both occasions. Sky News reports that the UK did not pass vital information to the US, despite the claims of a Downing Street spokesman. Here’s the key section: ‘During a briefing to journalists today, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “There is no suggestion the UK passed intelligence to the US that they did not act on.” But Sky’s political correspondent Joey Jones said it had been an “awful” briefing. “He tried to clear things up but only succeeded in muddying the waters still further,” Jones said. “After he read Downing Street’s statement,

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Will CCHQ impose an all women shortlist in East Surrey?

East Surrey will be the first seat where Tory central office gets to impose a shortlist of three candidates on a local association. Peter Ainsworth, its MP, has today announced that he is stepping down and because he has waited until the New Year to make this announcement CCHQ’s emergency candidate selection rules now apply. The first thing to watch for is whether the Tories go for an all women shortlist. When Cameron said in October that the party would have some “all-women shortlists to help us boost the number of Conservative women MPs” there was a furious reaction from some sections of the grassroots. There was even talk of