Politics Archives

Sunday

24 May 2009

Damaging revelations for the Government

The Telegraph tonight makes two substantial revelations. The first is that nine Cabinet members – including Alistair Darling – have charged the taxpayer for accountants to do their personal tax returns. And while the figure – £11,000 – is bad enough it’s the principle that’s damaging. This government has had millions of British taxpayers submerged in paperwork, with self-assessment turning us into accountants. But they can’t face the burden themselves, so get in an accountant in and send us the bill. I’m especially shocked at Darling – if he can’t handle a tax return on his own, how on earth does he cope with the nation’s finances? But Ed Balls

Fraser Nelson

Brown’s women trouble

So how scared should Gordon Brown be of Caroline Flint? In my News of the World column, I warn against underestimating the wrath of Labour women. They suspect that Brown, in his anger, is now beating up on the female members of the Cabinet and are making a pre-emptive strike. Remember last summer’s rebellion: it was the revenge of the Blair babes. Siobhan McDonagh, Joan Ryan, Fiona Mactaggart, Janet Anderson – with Ruth Kelly being the Cabinet casualty. They all knew they would be briefed against by McBride, that their personal lives would be exposed to the gossip columns. But it was a price they were willing to pay. McBride did an

Saturday

23 May 2009

Stuart Wheeler

Why I’m voting for Ukip

I once gave the Conservatives their biggest ever donation, yet I recently took the difficult decision to support Ukip for the European elections on 4 June. So I have been expelled from the Tory party. I am not an observant person but I do not seem to have been cut by anyone since then; rather the opposite. Goodness knows how many people, ranging from a vicar to a pensioner, have told me that they have voted, and will vote this time, Conservative in all national elections but Ukip in the European elections. Lord Tebbit, while carefully avoiding specifically recommending Ukip, which would have been a catastrophe for the Tories as

The Spectator

Darwin’s birthday present

The appearance this week of Ida, our lemur-like, 47-million-year-old ancestor, is a bright spot in an otherwise troubled world. Ida is being hailed as the original embryonic primate from which today’s great array of monkeys, apes and ultimately human beings sprang. Ida was six months old when she died and has been perfectly preserved in the Messel pit near Darmstadt in Germany, her baby teeth intact, her last vegetarian meal still in her stomach. Is Ida the ‘missing link’? Well, that’s an overused and largely meaningless phrase (every link found of course creates another two ‘missing’) but Darwinius masillae (Ida’s real name) will certainly prove a problem for creationists who

Friday

22 May 2009

The Spectator

The week that was | 22 May 2009

CoffeeHousers pick Frank Field as their choice to be the next Speaker. Fraser Nelson sets out the power of celebrity candidates, and is left unimpressed by Gordon Brown’s press conference. James Forsyth says that talent needs a seat, and wonders whether Vince Cable will be able to resist the tempation to run for the Speakership. Peter Hoskin thinks that Michael Martin’s resignation was a necessary first step, and sets out the Lumley effect. Toby Young believes an anti-sleaze party should contest 100 seats. Martin Bright reports on a collective sigh of relief. Clive Davis asks: where’s Al Pacino when we need him? Alex Massie says that Parliament should be a

Thursday

21 May 2009

Alex Massie

Chipmunk Hunting

Amidst the public riot over parliamentarians’ expenses, the story of Hazel Blears remains oddly fascinating. And story is the operative word, given that she appears to be the sole cabinet minister singled out for opprobrium despite the fact that several of her colleagues have enjoyed equally shady and profitable dealings with the Fees Office. Since she’s had the gall to criticise the Prime Minister you can see why Downing Street is Chipmunk Hunting, making it clear that her actions were “unacceptable” and all the rest of it. But if Blears is guilty – or guilty enough to be forced out of the cabinet – then surely Alastair Darling and Geoff

Wednesday

20 May 2009

Alex Massie

Fixing parliament: We Want 18th Century Men With 21st Century Ethics

Danny Finkelstein’s column in the Times today is very interesting if, perhaps, also a little too neat. On the other hand, I kinda hope he’s right. Large centralised political parties were created because of the existence of the mass media. To make any political impact, an idea or an individual had to find a spot in the limited shelf space provided by the big media giants. This prompted individuals to organise themselves into tight, uniform groupings with a professional staff shaping their message for media outlets. As the mass media became stronger, so did whipping. From this relationship between the media and politicians arose our current form of closed politics.

Lloyd Evans

Cameron’s call for change leaves Brown rattled

The Speaker presided over his own memorial service today. The PM led the tributes by reminding us that Michael Martin had spent thirty years living off the rest of us – sorry – contributing to public life. Cameron said thanks for the help he received as a parliamentary fresher in 2001. Even wobbly-jowled Tory shiresman Nicholas Winterton declared that Martin had been “kind and caring”. It sounded as if he was talking about a spaniel. The main punch-up was much brisker than usual. Someone in Central Office has been playing with a stopwatch and has noticed that Brown only listens to the first five seconds of any question. That’s how

Alex Massie

Parliament Should be a Gentleman’s Club.

Apparently the Prime Minister believes that parliament “cannot operate like some gentleman’s club where the members make up the rules and operate them among themselves”. But if so then that’s only because there ain’t sufficient gentlemen (and ladies) at Westminster. Parliament should be capable of operating like any decent, self-respecting gentlemen’s club. That it isn’t is why we’re in this situation in the first place. And now, in the crazy rush to react to public anger, the Commons seems certain to push thrugh reforms that make little sense and, most probably, won’t address some of the major issues anyway. Certainly, the idea of some external “regulator” is a terrible one.

Toby Young

An anti-sleaze party should fight 100 seats

A week ago, I blogged about the possibility of running for Parliament as an anti-sleaze candidate and the response has been overwhelming — overwhelmingly negative, that is. “When Toby Young puts himself forward, you know the country is in desperate trouble,” wrote Martin Bright. I am probably not the man for the job, but the silent majority deserves to be represented by someone who is serious about holding politicians to account — and I’m not 100 percent convinced that Esther Rantzen is that person. I’ve no axe to grind against Rantzen, who may turn out to be an excellent candidate, but the public’s anger over MPs with their snouts in

Martin Bright

Reselect Democracy

Hats of to Paul Evans of the Local Democracy blog who has come up with a brilliant idea for renewing our political culture: Reselect Democracy. I am happy to endorse it along with Liberal Conspiracy. Here’s the Reselect Democracy pitch to the major political parties: Following recent revelations about the abuse of expenses by a minority of MPs, the public appear to have lost some of their confidence in parliamentary politics. It is easy to conclude that a professional political class – many of whom have no real experience outside of the political bubble – has emerged. One that lives on a different planet to the rest of us. The time has

Matthew Lynn

Brown’s nemesis awaits — and his name is Brian

Who will finally sit Gordon Brown down with a bottle of whisky, a loaded revolver and a copy of his own book on courage, and tell him the game is up? You might imagine the task would fall to Jack Straw, flanked by a couple of union bosses. In fact, it’s more likely to be three men you’ve never heard of: Frank Gill, Arnaud Mares and Brian Coulton. Working respectively for the ratings agencies Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch, this trio have the job of deciding whether the UK can pay back the hundreds of millions of pounds Brown’s government is borrowing every day through the gilts market in

Martin Vander Weyer

Green shoots with shallow roots

It’s true there are signs of an economic recovery, says Martin Vander Weyer, but we should also beware a ‘third wave’ of destruction It’s springtime in North Yorkshire, which traditionally means lashing rain and temperatures like February. But however unseasonal the weather, nature knows when it’s time to wake up: in the first few days of May, my beech hedge always sheds its dead brown leaves and bursts into fresh green. And so it goes — with rather less certainty of timing — for the economic cycle. We may poison the ground with too much fertiliser, we may plant scarce saplings in the stoniest places, we may waste money on

Rod Liddle

Even if the system’s to blame, no one forced MPs to milk it

Rod Liddle says that Sarah Teather, the righteous young Lib Dem MP who refused to claim for a second home, proves that it wasn’t mandatory for MPs to fleece us The worst case of expenses fraud I ever encountered as a journalist came when I worked for the BBC and a foreign correspondent claimed a few hundred quid for a lawnmower. This created a bit of a scandal and the chap was quite speedily sacked. Claiming for a lawnmower was considered not really on at the best of times, but especially so when you lived in a third-floor apartment. And then, back in the early 1980s, a mate of mine

Tuesday

19 May 2009

Martin Bright

A Collective Sigh of Relief

Watching Newsnight tonight it felt like a dam had broken. Three MPs from the main parties having an open discussion about the future of politics post-Speaker Martin, Jeremy Paxman relaxed and cracking jokes about the growing groundswell of support for Chris Mullin to become speaker: it was all rather extraordinary. The three MPs, Chris Mullin, Douglas Carswell and Norman Baker were all unusually courteous and differences of opinion were argued about amicably. All very peculiar. One thing they all agreed on was the importance of strengthening the select committee system. Actually, I think some of these committees do a very good job. But they do not have enough power and

Alex Massie

The Absurdity of Energy Independence

Of all the fatuous “debates” in Washington few can be as absurd or wearisome as the mantra, repeated by politicians of all parties, that it is time for the United States to wean itself off foreign oil and declare “energy independence”. Writing about the discovery of oil in Ghana, Foreign Policy’s Elizabeth Dickinson makes some fair points but, alas, also trots out a familiar refrain: “Wouldn’t it be nice to buy oil from a country with a relatively clean record in human rights, governance, and economic management?” You’d never think that last year just 18% of US oil imports came from the Persian Gulf would you? Or that a mere

Alex Massie

Reviving Scottish Conservatism: A Lost Decade?

A reader asks, not without reason, what I think of the Scottish Tories attempts at a makeover since their wipeout in 1997 and whether, given that I’m generally, broadly speaking, in favour of the reformers when it comes to Project Cameron or Project GOP, I’m also happy with the Scottish Tories softer than softly-softly approach to decontaminating their “brand”. So, not too much to chew on there. The first thing to be wary of is our old friend the Pundit’s Fallacy. That is, the erroneous belief that a given political party’s electoral prospects would be transformed if only they were sensible enough to tailor their policies to fit my own

Monday

18 May 2009

The Spectator

Just in case you missed them… | 18 May 2009

…here are some posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the weekend: Fraser Nelson reveals how Norway won the Eurovision song contest Blair-style, and suggests how David Cameron could expose the long tail of waste. James Forsyth analyses the latest opinion poll findings, and reports on the growing movement against the Speaker. Peter Hoskin tracks Gordon Brown’s efforts to overtake Cameron on expenses, and fisks the PM’s article for the News of the World. Clive Davis reveals how they made the Great Depression even worse. Alex Massie reports on a billionaire’s secret life. And Americano highlights the breathtaking recklessness of Donald Rumsfeld.

Saturday

16 May 2009

Rod Liddle

Why won’t my employer pay me to look after my castle while I’m in London?

Rod Liddle wants to know why the taxpayer has to pay for Douglas Hogg’s moat and Phil Woolas’s groceries, but nobody will subsidise his own extravagant needs — and is offended by MPs’ attempts to posture as the victims of an impersonal ‘system’ The thing that puzzles me is why did Phil Woolas, the immigration minister, need to buy a whole box of tampons? I can understand that he might wish to look at one, out of curiosity. But it seems profligate, if you’re the taxpayer, to shell out for a whole boxload. Couldn’t he have just borrowed one from his missus, if he was that interested? Apparently you are

Martin Bright

Politics | 16 May 2009

The Labour party now has three weeks to save itself from oblivion. The only question facing MPs is whether the open fratricide that would follow a challenge to Gordon Brown would be preferable to the death by a thousand humiliating cuts if the Prime Minister sits tight at Number 10. The European and local council elections on 4 June have been as good as written off by the party. Beyond the Prime Minister’s inner circle there is now a tangible fury at Gordon Brown, with the Damian McBride affair, the Gurkha fiasco and the expenses scandal merely reinforcing what they knew already about the Prime Minister. Where there was once