Politics

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

Tuesday

Matthew Dancona

Howarth cements the truce

The declaration by George Howarth, the Labour MP for Knowsley North and Sefton East, that “hostilities are over” may not resonate outside the Westminster village but it is highly significant for Gordon Brown’s chances of survival. A Privy Councillor, former junior minister, and select committee stalwart, Howarth is precisely the sort of middle-ranking parliamentarian, little known outside the Commons, who can light the touchpaper that leads to huge political events. In September he wrote unequivocally in the Independent: “I am a loyal supporter of Labour and our Government, so it may be surprising that I believe we now need to have a leadership contest. I nominated Gordon during last year’s

Peter Hoskin

Dithering? Nah, couldn’t be…

Yesterday, I suspected that Alistair Darling’s obfuscating language meant that HMT didn’t really have a clue about how to deal with the market turmoil. But the hope was that, behind the confused – and confusing – rhetoric, there lay substantive action. It would seem not, if the reports of the Chancellor’s meeting with bank officials last night are anything to go by. As Robert Peston outlined on Today this morning, the banks are said to have left infuriated by the lack of any clear plan from the Government. While HMT discovered for the first time that the banks aren’t “too proud” to accept recapitalisation. It’s an astonishing set-up – that,

Monday

Peter Hoskin

Brown’s election climbdown: one year on

As Mike Smithson points out over at the indispensable Political Betting, it’s a year to the day since Gordon Brown called off an Autumn general election in an interview with Andrew Marr.  Watch the footage below to see the moment CoffeeHousers voted as that “where it all went wrong” for our Dear Leader:  

Peter Hoskin

Cameron reshuffles his pack

The Tory reshuffle has taken place, and it’s a small, but welcome, one.  Greg Clark is made the shadow Energy secretary – the equivalent of the role Ed Miliband was given in Brown’s Cabinet reshuffle last week – while Nick Hurd replaces him as shadow Charity Minister.  Clark is one of the brightest rising-stars of the 2005 intake, and Coffee House tipped him for the job last week.  The clashes between him and Miliband should be something to savour.

Daniel Korski

The new defence agenda

The appointment of a new Defence Secretary is one of the best things in Gordon Brown’s reshuffle. Des Browne had grown tired at the MoD, struggling to maintain the respect of the rank and file, battling to oversee two ministerial portfolios and failing to manage crises, like the Iranian capture of British sailors. John Hutton’s appointment is a chance for new thinking. So what should the new defence secretary do in his first 100 days? Here are five ideas. 1) As Charlie Edwards says over on Global Dashboard, John Hutton needs to get himself to Iraq and Afghanistan and take the measure of both campaigns. There is too much confusion

Peter Hoskin

RIP 42-days?

Nick Robinson writes that 42-day detention is “politically dead”, and it’s hard to disagree.  The measure faces the Lords this week and is expected to be voted down by a massive majority, whilst Gordon Brown has allegedly been warned against forcing it through via the Parliament Act.  Any other week, this would be the political story, and Brown would potentially suffer quite a hit from it.  But with all the financial turmoil, the likelihood is that it will remain relatively under-the-radar.  Our PM will be thanking his lucky stars.

Sunday

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

By moving Adonis from his job at education, Brown has ensured the death of Blair’s best policy idea 

I’ve just done the Westminster Hour with John Rentoul of the Independent on Sunday and we agreed afterwards that there is one question we could not have answered. Why on earth did Andrew Adonis accept his new job in the Department of Transport? The City Academies programme was his life. Anyone who knows him knew he went at it with monastic vocation. Every day was a battle against the system. Loosening the fist of government from schools was a task that beat Thatcher and Blair. For all Adonis efforts he about 85 City Academies up, against his target of 400. Given that there are 3,500 state schools, it shows what

Matthew Dancona

Mandelson asked Blair before accepting Brown’s offer of a job

Peter Mandelson has confirmed on Sky News my disclosure in today’s Sunday Telegraph that he consulted Tony Blair before accepting Gordon Brown’s offer of a Cabinet post and that Blair told his old friend that the decision was a “no brainer.” It is, of course, revealing that, in spite of his claim in today’s Observer interview to be “joined at the hip” with Brown, Peter was not willing to splice himself to Gordon without Tony’s approval. He is still a Blair man, first and foremost, seconded as a friendly gesture to the court of Brown. That said, Blair’s enthusiasm for this controversial return does not reflect a desire to place

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Will the Mandelson gamble pay off for Brown?

One of the few history lessons I remember from primary school was how in medieval Scotland, condemned men could choose their executioner. I remember looking around and wondering which of my classmates would best finish me off quickly and painlessly. In my News of the World column today, I argue that Gordon Brown has revived this tradition by appointing Peter Mandelson. No more can you say the Labour rebellion is a shiver, looking for a spine to run down and no more will the likes of me moan about a spineless Cabinet. The Prince is back.   As Matt argues in the Sunday Telegraph today, this could all go badly

Saturday

Charles Moore Charles Moore

The Spectator’s Notes | 4 October 2008

David Cameron’s ‘statesmanlike’ promise on Tuesday to do whatever is necessary to save the nation and reach ‘across the aisle’, as they say in Congress, is one of the dirtiest and oldest political tricks, but no less effective for that. It is an offer which the government suffers from accepting or refusing. Two examples come to mind. One was Tony Blair’s shameless exploitation of the Dunblane massacre of schoolchildren when he was still leader of the opposition. He offered to be ‘united in grief’ with John Major at the ceremony in the town. Mr Major had to agree, and was then comprehensively upstaged. The more relevant comparison here is with

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Poll shows Cameron on course for a 78 seat majority

The News of the World has conducted one of its marginal seat polls, in 192 Labour-held constituencies – details here. Taken Wednesday through Friday, it indicates Cameron is on course for a 78-seat majority with a 15-point lead. As is normal when a party is ahead by such a margin, the Tories are credited with better policies across the board. The Tory vote is slightly harder in the marginals – 62 percent say they’re certain to vote, v 56 percent for Labour supporters. But the good news for Brown in that only 36 percent think he should step down and 58 percent think he should carry on. No real alternate

Friday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Political Advertising 15

An instant classic from 2004 as the Bush campaign returns to a favourite theme, first used, I think, by Nixon in 1972. Note too, whe wussy, hyper-european classical music…

Daniel Korski

Blog-crowing

I don’t know if it’s a word, but it should be: Blog-crow  intr.v. blog-crowed, blog-crow•ing, blog-crows 1. To exult loudly, as when a blogpost is proven right or prescient. First George Osborne picked up on CoffeeHouse’s proposal of a tax stop. On 19th August 2008 we wrote that a tax freeze “would bridge the gap between the tax-cutting instincts of the Conservative base and the concerns of deficit hawks who worry about creating a financial black hole.” This week, the Shadow Chancellor proposed a council tax freeze. But demonstrating that good ideas can find a home anywhere, the Prime Minister has adopted the idea we floated in July of appointing a Secretary of State for

The Spectator

The week that was | 3 October 2008

We’ve uploaded a Web Exclusive report by Lloyd Evans on the latest Spectator / Intelligence Squared debate: “Georgia and Ukraine should be allowed to join Nato”. You can read it here. Matthew d’Ancona says that David Cameron’s speech was that of a Prime Minister in waiting, and gives his take on Peter Mandelson’s astonishing return to Government. Fraser Nelson details your secret £67,300 second mortgage, and claims that Damian McBride’s removal from the frontline will leave Gordon Brown weaker. James Forsyth reviews the glowing press coverage of Cameron’s speech, and suggests the Tories need a top-quality politician to shadow Ed Miliband. Peter Hoskin gives full details of Brown’s reshuffled Cabinet, and

Peter Hoskin

Brown’s press conference: live blog

1615, Peter Hoskin: Welcome to the Coffee House team’s live blog of Brown’s press conference.  You can watch proceedings by clicking here.  Expect much ado about Mandy… 1622, PH: Fascinating footage, so far, of two unattended lecturns.  Word is we can expect Brown and Darling to appear in around 10 minutes. 1624, PH: Scratch that – they’ve appeared now.  Brown kicks off: “These are new times … we’re living through the first truly-international, financial crisis”.  He says his reshuffle will help deal with these new times.  1626, PH: Brown outlines a reorganisation of government to deal with the economy.  A new economic council will convene on Monday. Stephen Carter is to fill a new technology

Peter Hoskin

Brown’s Cabinet in full

Who would have thought it?  The expected “minor reshuffle” developed into the one of the most headline-grabbing reshuffles that you’re ever likely to see, and all thanks to Peter Mandelson’s astonishing return to Cabinet.  I’m sure that would have been towards the forefront of Brown’s mind – to wrest the news agenda back from Cameron, and to maybe dull any post-conference bounce for the Tories.  But there’ll be other reasons too: bridge-building with the Blairites and upping the experience-quotient in government among them.  But will it all back-fire for Brown?  Political bridge-building has a tendency to double up as bridge-burning, and in this case the left of the party –

Peter Hoskin

Post-conference poll boost for the Tories

The latest Guardian / ICM poll records the slightest of post-conference poll boosts for the Tories.  They’re on 42 percent (up 1 on a poll conducted last week); Labour are on 30 percent (down 2); and the Lib Dems are on 17 percent (down 1).  Given that the financial turmoil threatened to make the Birmingham gathering a non-event, I imagine Team Cameron will be happy with this modest upwards shift – although they’ll rightly be waiting for a fuller picture to emerge, as more opinion polls are released throughout October. P.S. Brown’s called a press conference for 1615 today.  We’ll be live-blogging it on Coffee House – stay tuned.

Peter Hoskin

Brown’s Glenrothes gamble

Has Gordon Brown got bold all of a sudden, or is he just desperate? Quite aside from all the reshuffle drama, the Daily Record are reporting that the PM is going to campaign in Glenrothes for the forthcoming by-election.  It sure is a risky move.  Not only does it go against all his previous “PMs shouldn’t campaign in by-elections” talk, but it also fuels the idea that he’ll live or die by the result in Glenrothes.  One thing to look out for: whether Sarah Brown will be joining him on the campaign trail.  I’m sure Team Brown will want to capitalise on the so-called “Sarah Effect”, but they’ll also be

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Removing McBride from the front-line will leave Brown weaker

Damian McBride’s reported departure should be seen as a major part of today’s reshuffles. He has for years been Brown’s real “enforcer”, and – as Martin Bright argued – became a focal point amongst ministers who suspected he was briefing against anyone who defied his master. He was referred to as “McPoison” by none other than Peter Mandelson, so I link Mandy’s return and McBride’s departure – because Mandy knows the real power of spin doctors, would rightly see McBride as one of his major enemies and demand his head as the price of returning to government. Without McBride, Brown’s media operation will take a major hit. McBride was very effective