Politics

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

Friday

Peter Hoskin

Have the energy companies damaged Brown’s hopes even further?

Could the news that the Government won’t give cash handouts to those struggling with rising energy bills be another nail in the coffin of Brown’s premiership? The spin he’s putting on it is that there were never plans to offer “short term gimmicks and giveaways”. But the widespread assumption is that the opposite is true, and that the energy companies – rightly fearful of a windfall tax – blocked Brown’s designs. Now the PM’s peddling the message that “long term efficiency” is the solution to people’s energy problems; i.e. that homes should be made more energy efficient, thereby – in Brown’s words – “reducing bills not just temporarily, but permanently”.

Thursday

Peter Hoskin

“The outstanding politician of this era”?

Amid all the Labour backbiting and leadership speculation, there remain some – almost comically enthusiastic – voices of support for Gordon Brown.  Here’s Tony Lloyd, chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, speaking to the BBC earlier: “The truth is most Labour MPs, the overwhelming majority, want Gordon Brown to be the one who delivers the policies, makes sure that they are implemented …. Anybody  who would have taken Gordon Brown on [in last year’s Labour leadership contest] would have been crushed … he continues to be the outstanding politician of this era.” Of course, it’s part of the PLP chairman’s role to both promote and create the impression of unity. 

Peter Hoskin

Is a snap reshuffle coming on Monday?

Just to point out Iain Dale’s post suggesting that Brown will be holding a snap reshuffle on Monday.  The feeling around Westminster is increasingly that one’s coming sooner rather than later.  But aside from whether and when it might be, the other major question is what’s going to happen with Alistair Darling and David Miliband.  The speculation that they’d be swapped with each other has died away, and the safest bet now is probably that they’ll remain where they are.  As I wrote the other day, it’s certainly problematic for Brown – if he doesn’t make some drastic changes, then there’s the chance a reshuffle will be greeted with a collective shrug from the general public.  But is

Peter Hoskin

Grieve responds

Here are Dominic Grieve’s answers to the questions put forward by Coffeehousers: Alex R “Do you understand that your views on the ECHR are in contradiction to those of the huge majority of conservative supporters and potential conservative supporters. Do you understand why many people believe this should disqualify you from ever being Home Secretary in the next conservative government?” I disagree on both counts. I fully support the protections set out in the European Convention on Human Rights as does the Conservative Party. But, I also believe that the government’s approach to human rights – including the Human Rights Act – has created unnecessary uncertainty in Britain, whilst failing

The Spectator

Are Labour the new nasty party?

Have Labour become the new nasty party?  Ross Clark certainly thinks so, and he outlines his reasons why in this week’s Spectator cover piece.  You can read his article here, but – as a taster of what to expect – here’s an extract: “It used to be backbench Tory MPs who made up the ‘hang ’em and flog ’em’ brigade. Watching the crime debate at Conservative conferences used to be an excruciating business as one spotty activist after another tried to trump all who had gone before him by devising a still crueller and more unusual punishment. I have yet to hear Jacqui Smith or Jack Straw demand the return

Daniel Korski

The real war

A few days after the EU summit to discuss Russia’s aggression in Georgia, debate across Europe is dividing into two camps. Not between those who back Russia and those who are baying for conflict, although this dividing line exists and is well-reported. The real division is over the meaning of the war for the future of European politics – and it’s likely to be even more aggressively contested. On the on hand, there are those who believe that this summer’s crisis is a political earthquake, signifying – finally – the end of the 1990s and many of the tenets upon which Europe built its post-Cold War world: continued (if slow)

Peter Hoskin

Clarke’s not done yet

Charles Clarke certainly didn’t say all he wanted to in his New Statesman article yesterday. He’s just filled in some of the gaps, and spelt things out more clearly, with a punchy interview on the Today programme. Sure, we know he’s not keen on Brown, but the severity of what he said was surprising nonetheless. Here’s a selection: “There are many, many people now who are concerned about his ability to win the election. That is an almost universal feeling. But there is no clarity about a course of action …. The first [option] is for the performance of the government needs to improve significantly or, the second is for

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Palin’s speech: the verdict

I was sitting about 30 metres away from Sarah Palin when she walked on stage, and lost all remaining objectivity at that point. She looked bashful and nervous, as well you might if you had 20,000 boisterous Republicans roaring at you. I don’t normally feel sympathy for politicians but there was something about this tiny mother of five being plunged into the toughest bear pit in America that made it almost hard to watch. She stood at the podium for what seemed like an eternity, as the crowd roared. It was as if she was waiting for them to calm down, but they don’t. She had to just start talking,

Wednesday

Peter Hoskin

Charles Clarke throws the cat among the pigeons

As Nick Robinson suggests, this New Statesman article by Charles Clarke will throw the cat among the Labour pigeons.  There are two particularly incendiary quotes in it, both expressing the same sentiment: “…Labour’s current course will lead to utter destruction at the next general election.” And “There is, however, a deep and widely shared concern – which does not derive from ideology – that Labour is destined to disaster if we go on as we are…” Of course, we’ve heard similar from Clarke – and other Labour figures – before.  But it’s the timing of this article which is especially worrying for Team Brown.  The general assumption is that we’re

Peter Hoskin

The media register their vote of no confidence

The media response to Brown’s recovery package for the housing market feels like some kind of milestone.  It’s negative pretty much across the board (as this useful summary by Jenny Percival points out) – picking up on all of the package’s inconsistencies: how it won’t have much of an effect; how it will place undue pressure on the public finances; and how it’s encouraging potential buyers to catch a falling knife.  Of course, you could say that’s exactly the right response, and I’d agree.  But the fact remains that Brown’s measures – and particularly the stamp duty holiday – are, at least, easy to spin in a positive way.  It just seems that no one can now bring themselves to do so. 

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Labour’s punishment freaks are hounding honest citizens

Ross Clark says that far from keeping our streets safer or cleaner, the government’s new force of amateur policemen are ignoring the worst offenders and pursuing law-abiding innocents instead Political brands are constantly changing. For years Liberal Democrats were the party of the environment; now the Conservatives appear to have taken that title. For decades, until Black Wednesday, the Tories were the party of sound money, a role then assumed by Labour until the credit crunch began to bite a year ago. Labour supporters may cite bad luck and international economic pressures in losing that revered mantle. But there is another unwelcome shift in political branding for which the party

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Politics | 3 September 2008

There is something wonderfully Scottish about the way in which Alistair Darling made his move against Gordon Brown. Rather than stage a dramatic ambush in the Commons, as Geoffrey Howe did to Margaret Thatcher, the Chancellor invited a newspaper interviewer to spend two days with him at his family home in the Outer Hebrides. From the safety of his croft, he went on to deliver a series of extraordinary observations which not only reverberated around Westminster, but moved financial markets and changed the political game. For the record, the Chancellor revealed that he regards the economic conditions facing Britain as ‘arguably the worst they’ve been in 60 years’. (He later

Tuesday

Peter Hoskin

The economic storm clouds darken

The respected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has forecast that the UK economy will shrink by 0.3 percent in the third quarter of this year, and by 0.4 percent in the fourth. In other words, they’re predicting a recession for this year.  Ok, so it’s hardly surprising news. After all, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics had the economy at 0 percent growth for the second quarter – indicating that we’re already in recession. But it does add weight to the argument that the Tories need to find an alternative to their “sharing the proceeds of growth formula” sooner rather than later.      

Peter Hoskin

Brown introduces a stamp duty holiday

So Brown has introduced a stamp duty holiday as part of his rescue package for home owners and buyers. From tomorrow until 3 September 2009, properties costing less than £175,000 will be exempt from the levy. Oddly – even though plans for a stamp duty holiday emerged a few weeks ago – it’s still a surprising announcement. Since that initial leak, the government has kept a tight lid on the proposal, and – right up until this morning – it was widely assumed that it had been ditched. There’s evidence to suggest it could prove popular with a public which is increasingly feeling the fiscal squeeze. But I’m still not

Peter Hoskin

The extent of the reshuffle

As usual, Rachel Sylvester’s column in the Times is essential reading. Today, she writes – contrary to Ben Brogan – that relations between Brown and Darling are poor. But goes on to suggest that Darling will hang on to his job in a “limited reshuffle” later this week. Here’s the key passage:   “A limited reshuffle – focused on merging the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland jobs into a single constitutional secretary role – had been pencilled into the No 10 diary for this week. Mr Brown is being urged to postpone it and carry out a wider reshuffle involving Mr Darling. It would be wrong of the Prime Minister

Monday

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Five reasons why things are now looking up for the Republicans

1) Gustav has been downgraded to a Category One hurricane. No levees were breached. So no disaster – and McCain may deliver convention speech in person after all. 2) To an extent, Gustav may atone for Katrina in showing lessons were learned â“ and that McCain is a decisive leader who didn’t dither about the convention. 3) Bush and Cheney cancelled their speeches due today. No one in Team McCain will shed a tear for that. 4) Sarah Palin’s daughter’s pregnancy is an issue, but looks likely to be treated sympathetically and may yet augment her appeal. Time Magazine is on the scene in Alaska, and says it was “no

Daniel Korski

The Tories go nuclear

In a recent conversation with a Cameroon about the Tory Leader’s foreign policy overtures, I was alerted to William Hague’s July speech at the Institute for Strategic Studies during which the Shadow Foreign Secretary said the world faces a “new age of insecurity” unless the brakes are put on nuclear proliferation. In many ways, his concern sits a little uncomfortably with today’s dominant foreign policy narratives. We are meant mainly to talk about home-grown terrorists, climate change and – after Georgia’s buffoonery and Russia’s aggression – the resurgence of Cold War–style confrontation with Moscow as well as the rise of China. But while these challenges are serious and need to

Peter Hoskin

Is bare-knuckle politics the way forward for Labour?

As James wrote yesterday, Stephen Carter’s alleged slide down the pecking order at No.10 suggests that his softly-softly approach to tackling Davids Miliband and Cameron has been thrown out the window.  The assumption now is that the Brownite attack dogs will be let off the leash, and we’ll start seeing some bare-knuckle politics from Team Brown. One question doing the rounds, then, is whether that (potential) new approach will help Labour eat into the Tory poll lead.  I’m inclined to agree with Political Betting’s Mike Smithson that it will do nothing ot the sort.  Two simple, interrelated reasons spring to mind: 1) There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that David Cameron is extremely popular with

Peter Hoskin

Has Balls lost out in the Darling row?

The Alistair Darling story just keeps on rolling.  The latest comes courtesy of Benedict Brogan, who writes on his excellent blog that “relations between Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown remain remarkably good … Talk of rows and explosions since the Guardian hit the streets on Friday night are wide of the mark”.  So might the limelight now fall on Ed Balls?  The schools secretary is widely believed to be behind the spate of “Darling to be axed in a forthcoming reshuffle” rumours circling around.  But if things are good between Brown and Darling – and if that implies that Darling is safe in his job – then the PM may not look

Peter Hoskin

Leaky government

Expect more furious nail-chewing in Downing Street today, after the leak of a pessimistic memo from Jacqui Smith to Gordon Brown.  The picture that the Home Secretary paints, of the effect the economic downturn will have on crime, is a bleak one.  Here are some extracts: “[A downturn] would place significant upward pressure on acquisitive crime (theft, robbery and burglary) and therefore overall crime figures … [this] might require difficult decisions over officer numbers and priorities.” And “There is a risk of a downturn increasing the appeal of far right extremism … which presents a threat as there is evidence that … experiencing racism is one of the factors that can lead to people