Politics

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

Thursday

Martin Bright

Bonfire of the Quangos – Full Version

I had the pleasure of chairing the Editorial Intelligence/Policy Exchange/Policy Review/Cass Busines School (Phewee!) debate on the future of the quangocracy last night. I was expecting little common ground between Douglas Carswell, the Tory hammer of the quangos and an audience I thought would be packed with his ideological enemies. But it wasn’t like that at all.  Carswell was a very entertaining turn, describing the House of Commons as “monumentally spineless and useless”. His view was that select committees should be given the job of holding quangos to account, including making them justify their budgets on an annual basis. This, he said, would at least give give MPs something worthwhile to

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Clarke tries to get a left hook through Brown’s defences

Charles Clarke has sounded off so often during the Brown premiership that it is tempting not to pay too much attention when he does. But his latest broadside is interesting in that Clarke is having a go at Brown as much from the left as from the right. He again attacks the abolition of the 10p rate and calls for Trident not to be renewed, two things that please the left. But he follows up with two new criticisms of Brown that will play well with the left. He says that Brown’s “toleration of UK tax havens has been a disgrace” and calls for “genuinely fair” corporate taxation. The plot

Peter Hoskin

A question of commitment

Punchy stuff from Michael Fallon in today’s Telegraph.  The Tory deputy chairman of the Treasury Select Committee sets out five ways for his party to “get real” over public spending cuts.  Over at ConservativeHome, Tim Montgomerie dwells on perhaps the most striking of those five: a recommendation that the Tories should think again about national pay bargaining in the public sector.  But, for those interested in interal Tory politics, Fallon’s first point also stands out: “No, if we really want to cut public spending, there are five things we need to do. The first is to convince the shadow cabinet. There’s little evidence that it has the faintest idea of

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The thinking behind Mandelson’s double-dip warning

Peter Mandelson’s warning of a double-dip recession is in pretty much all the papers today. There’s no doubt that there is a risk the recession could turn into a W shaped one because the underlying problems in the financial sector have not been properly dealt with. But it also plays into Labour’s political strategy which is to argue that the situation is still so serious that it remains no time for a novice. ‘Don’t let the Tories ruin it’ or ‘Don’t let the Tories throw it away’ are both being mooted as possible Labour election lines. Brown apparently believes that Churchill’s fate shows that the people must not think the

Peter Hoskin

More fuel for the fire of leadership speculation

So the Daily Mail has another anti-Brown plot rumour for the collection; this one based around the idea that a “Gordon must go” candidate could run for a seat on the PLP’s Parliamentary Committee: “Rebels are planning to put up a candidate for the Parliamentary Committee, a panel of senior backbenchers which meets once a week with the Prime Minister, when MPs return to Westminster next month. The ‘coup candidate’ will run on a single platform – a call for Mr Brown to stand aside and let someone else lead Labour into the General Election… …MPs will then be able to vote in secret for Mr Brown to stand down,

Wednesday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

How the Tories will repeal the hunting ban

The Guardian has a story today about how field sports enthusiasts are donating heavily to Nick Herbert, the shadow DEFRA secretary. The paper links the donations to the fact that the Tories are committed to holding a vote on the repeal of the hunting ban. As the Norwich North by-election showed, Labour will have a go at turning this into an election issue—hoping that it will aid their attempt to paint Cameron and Osborne as people most interested in looking after their wealthy friends. Norwich North suggests this attack won’t have that much cut through. But once elected, the politics of repealing the hunting act will be tricky. It would

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Playing the war game

Over at ConservativeHome, Tim Montgomerie has written about a ‘war game’ that Portland PR held yesterday. The idea was to explore the various challenges that would face the next government. Portland had gathered together an impressive group including key Tory advisors, a senior figure from the Blair government, a former US government official, a senior military bod and a fair few hacks including yours truly. The thing that struck me once the exercise was done was just how buffeted by events the Cameron government is going to be. It will inherit a global situation that is as bad as the economic situation, if not worse, and a slew of other

Peter Hoskin

On second thoughts, maybe Labour should keep Brown in place…

Over at his essential blog, Benedict Brogan says that Dave ‘n’ George deserve some praise for Moody’s decision to retain the UK’s AAA credit-rating.  His thinking: that because Messrs Cameron and Osborne have been going on about debt and the need to cut spending, investors – anticipating a Tory government – are more confident about Things to Come. A similar point is made by Edmund Conway in a comment piece for the Telegraph today: “Part of the reason the debt markets have remained relatively sanguine in the face of a staggering collapse in tax revenues and increase in the deficit is that they are assuming a Conservative victory: when the

Peter Hoskin

Will Brown accept the TV debate challenge, after all?

Kevin Maguire, who is keyed into Team Brown more than most journalists, writes that it’s looking more and more likely the PM will participate in a televised party leader debate: “Talking to people in and around Downing Street I reckon the odds are shortening (if you can get odds) on Brown agreeing to a TV election debate. It’s a no-brainer for a Prime Minister well behind in the polls. There’s a touch of the stunt about the Sky News empty chair threat but the channel deserves credit for helping focus minds. Brown’s view, I’m told, is now isn’t the moment to decide or announce what he’ll do in the campaign

Peter Hoskin

Mission accomplished for Cameron’s cost-cutting speech

So what has David Cameron achieved with his speech on “cutting the cost of politics” yesterday?  Quite a lot, judging by this morning’s papers.  The coverage it receives ranges from wholehearted scepticism in the Guardian to front-page celebration in the Daily Mail, but – more importantly, from a Tory perspective – it steals the thunder from Alistair Darling’s public spending speech.  The Chancellor’s innuendo about “nasty Tory cuts” is much less resonant when juxtaposed against the Tory leader calling for cuts in MPs’ perks, whether those cuts are regarded as populist or not. What’s more, Cameron has drawn quotes from Labour and the Lib Dems that may look a little

Richard Orange

The dark heart of India’s economic rise

Richard Orange investigates endemic corruption, from pilfering and kickbacks to mafia rackets, in the state-owned coal mines that provide almost half of India’s energy needs The first sign of illicit industry in the West Bengal district of Raniganj is the number of bicycles wobbling precariously down its village tracks, their panniers piled to an improbable height with coal. Then there are bullock carts and the occasional truck, all carrying the same cargo. At New Kenda Colliery, one of the underground mines owned by Coal India, the state coal monopoly, it becomes obvious where it’s all coming from. A couple of dozen blackened villagers squat over a coal stockpile the size

Trevor Kavanagh

The new politics of decline

Trevor Kavanagh says that Britain’s pitiful standing on the world stage is not just about al-Megrahi or the recession, but is the result of Labour’s disastrous mismanagement. Everything now depends on Cameron For the incurable optimist — of which there are no doubt several in the Downing Street bunker — there are signs that Britain is starting to recover. The stock market is booming once more, confidence is returning to the housing market and the recession may soon be over. Is it possible Gordon Brown really has saved the world — even if it is too late to save himself? Or, as Labour used to warble, might things only get

Tuesday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Cruddas’s intervention

Jon Cruddas’s speech tonight poses a question that cuts right to the heart of Gordon Brown’s leadership, ‘what does Labour stand for any more?’ There is no clear answer to this question, which explains why Labour has no clear domestic policy message. The retreat into ‘the philosophical framework of the right’, Cruddas argues, means that Labour has lost its language, empathy and generosity. Considering Cruddas’s decision to stay on sidelines during the most recent leadership plot played a key part in saving Brown, this is a pretty devastating assessment (it also suggests that Cruddas made the wrong call in not intervening then). The speech is making clear that the soft

Martin Bright

Labour Leadership Speculation is Back with a Vengeance

Rachel Sylvester’s column today provides more than the usual share of insight and high-level gossip — what more do you want from a political columnist? The following paragraph is devastating about the Prime Minister’s handling of the Megrahi affair: “Even members of the Cabinet who remain publicly loyal are privately scathing about Mr Brown’s performance in recent days. “We can’t go on like this,” says one minister. “It’s beyond difficult — it’s farcical. We’re going from one fiasco to another and Government by fiasco doesn’t work. I’ve never been a plotter but I feel total exasperation.” Rachel is right to say that this is the Labour Party’s Groundhog Day.  As

Peter Hoskin

One giant leap for David Cameron?

It’s a busy day here at Spectator Towers, so we’ll have more on Cameron’s speech on “cutting the cost of politics” later.  For now, here’s Sky’s edited footage, and you can find a great summary over at ConservativeHome.

Peter Hoskin

Will Polly Toynbee have to eat a rack of hats?

In today’s Guardian, Polly Toynbee sets out a shopping list of policies by which Labour could “set national politics alight”; everything from personal carbon trading to bringing back media ownership rules.  But she adds that she’ll “happily eat a rack of hats if any of this happens”. In which case, part of me thinks that Toynbee may have to start investing in some hats and some ketchup, as I wouldn’t be massively surprised if Labour did put its name to one of her proposals.  Namely, this one: “Spread the pain of the recession: make the coming 50% top tax rate start at £100,000, as those in good jobs are doing

Peter Hoskin

Sir George Young to replace Alan Duncan

After Alan Duncan’s demotion, it’s emerged that Sir George Young is to fill the position of shadow leader of the Commons.  It’s a canny move by David Cameron: Young is the chairman of the Commons’ Standards and Privileges Committee, and was a popular choice among Tories to replace Michael Martin as Speaker.  As Paul Waugh says, Young did get the Telegraph Treatment, but you imagine he’ll be seen as a much cleaner pair of hands than Duncan, especially in the wake of the infamous “rations” video.  Now, how long before someone points out that Young is another Old Etonian…

Peter Hoskin

Labour’s cutting confusion

Yesterday, the Guardian told us that the health and overseas aid budgets wouldn’t be spared from Labour cuts.  But, today, Steve Richards suggests that may not be the case: “The preliminary manoeuvring begins today when the Chancellor delivers a lecture on the principles that will guide the Government’s approach, in effect arguing that while the Tories ‘wallow’ in the prospect of spending cuts he will take a more expedient approach, in terms of timing, pace, depth and in his view that the Government can still play a creative role as an enabler in the delivery of public services. But even this early message is hazy. Contrary to some authoritative briefings,

Monday

Peter Hoskin

Alan Duncan demoted from shadow cabinet

So was the “rations” video a gaffe too far?  The news has just come in that Alan Duncan has been demoted from the shadow cabinet, going from shadow leader of the Commons to shadow prisons minister.  Having spoken to various Tory sources, I understand that the decision was made in an “amicable” meeting between Duncan and Cameron – where the former acknowledged he has become a “lightning conductor” for public anger over expenses – and that, apparently, Duncan is “relaxed and relieved” to be working under Dominic Grieve. Some people might be surprised at the timing: many expected Cameron to hold off until next year, so as not to rile

James Forsyth James Forsyth

New Com Res poll has the Tories 16 points ahead

Andrew Grice has just blogged about a new poll in the Indy tomorrow which has the Tories 16 points ahead. The poll also shows that the majority of the population favour scrapping Trident. However, the public wants real term increases in health and education spending every year.