Politics

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

Tuesday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

What’s next? | 13 May 2008

John Rentoul, who has always been sceptical of Brown’s chances and abilities, thinks that Frank Field’s attack on Brown might have been a tipping point: “But his personal unkindness may have broken some kind of barrier, and now all the scenarios for how Brown might go are being canvassed and seem plausible. What, now, if ministers were to resign, saying that the party cannot win with Brown as leader?” In the febrile atmosphere at Westminster at the moment, anything seems possible. Rumours that would have been dismissed out of hand just a few weeks ago, now seem plausible. If Labour does lose the Crewe and Nantwitch by-election, the temperature will

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Brown loses his Compass

Given the speed and nature of current events, there is a real danger that we in the press start to hyperventilate, declaring the Brown government doomed before breakfast every day. But the piece by Neal Lawson, the chair of Compass, in The Independent calling on Brown to return to the Treasury for the good of the movement does seem like a seismic moment. (Although, Compass has been critical of Brown recently this is the first time it has called on the leader to step down)  Compass cannot be dismissed as a fringe group. It is representative of the broad left—just look at the list of speakers it has lined up

Monday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

The Brown Chronicles: The Laughing Stock Years

Memo to Gordon Brown. This sot of caper explains why people are beginning to think you are in fact a fool: div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited { color:#06c; } Gordon Brown will not receive the Dalai Lama in Downing Street in an effort to avoid confrontation with China over Tibet, The Times has learnt. The Prime Minister will, instead, see the Tibetan spiritual leader in Lambeth Palace, home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, enabling him to claim to the Chinese that he is receiving the Dalai Lama in a spiritual rather than political capacity. What is the point of this nonsense? It’s like the decision to sign the Lisbon

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Balls on everything

Good old Ed Balls. He has just given a lobby briefing attacking Tory education plans – at least that was his plan. But he ended up speaking about everything under the sun – Cherie’s pregnancy, the wickedness of Frank Field, the hopelessness of Crewe, the errors of the 10p Budget, why Labour is “behind the curve” on family finances. He walked into bear trap after bear trap. The lobby loved it, unable to believe their luck. All of this eclipsed his orginal attack message. As CoffeeHousers know, I’m keen on education so I, at least, wanted to know how Balls would attack the Tory policy. He suggested teachers would get

Peter Hoskin

Labour supporters think Brown should go

If you want an idea of the pessimism and despair among Labour supporters at the moment,  do check out this running LabourHome poll.  Its headline finding, so far?  That some 49 percent of respondents think Brown should be sacked, as opposed to 34 percent who think he should stay on.  49 percent also believe that the 42-day detention plan should be dropped, and only 10 percent think the HQ team should remain as it is.  Hardly a grassroots endorsement, then, for our beleaguered Prime Minister.

Peter Hoskin

Offensive defence

And so – predictably – Ed Balls defends Brown against the allegations made by Frank Field yesterday.  Or, rather, he sticks the boot into Field, hoping that amounts to the same thing.  Here’s what he had to say: “I think people took [Field’s] views [about the 10p tax row] at face value. They thought that to negotiate with him was the right thing to do… …I think people could look at what he was saying a few weeks ago and believe at that time that his intentions were honourable… …As for what he said this morning I think I leave you to draw your own conclusions from that… We have

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Livingstone’s revenge

Ken’s article in The Guardian last week, emphasising how Labour had done better in London than the rest of the country, strongly suggests that he is not done with public life yet. Earlier today, someone with an insight into his thinking suggested a route for Ken back into electoral politics. The theory goes that Lee Jasper is acting as a stalking horse for Ken in Vauxhall and that if Kate Hoey is de-selected for taking a role in the Johnson administration and flirting heavily with supporting him before the election Ken would then step in to this very safe seat. In the meantime, Ken will use his forthcoming book to

Matthew Dancona

Breaking up

Politics is moving at an astonishing pace. Frank Field has upped the ante with his extraordinary remarks on the BBC World Service – that Gordon will not lead Labour into the next election, and that he should ask his loved ones when would be best to leave. Every time the PM raises his head above the parapet he is walloped by another memoir or hit by shrapnel from a backbench rebellion, actual or threatened. It will be hard to top Alan Johnson’s response on the Today programme. Evan Davis asked him about the turmoil and the Health Secretary actually said: “You’re breaking up.” Superb.

The Spectator

Just in case you missed them… | 12 May 2008

…here are some of the posts made over the weekend: Fraser Nelson is amazed at how quickly the public are turning against Gordon Brown, and highlights the Blairites’ coordinated effort to undermine the Prime Minister. James Forsyth wonders how the Blairs will fit into the next general election campaign. And, over at Americano, James also discusses the battle to define Barack Obama.

Peter Hoskin

Another bad start to the week for Brown

It’s not a great start to the week for Gordon Brown, as he prepares for relaunch no.29. After the pummelling he received from John Prescott, Cherie Blair and Stephen Byers over the weekend, more (former) Blairites have entered the fray. Foremost among them is Lord Levy, who’s conducted a series of interviews to hawk his new book. Here’s what he had to tell the Telegraph, when asked whether Brown should resign: “You don’t really need to ask me that question … you need to look at the polls and see what the public believes and feels. I am actually stunned at what the polls are showing. That’s a question that

Sunday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Stick a Fork in Brown…

More and more, it seems that Gordon Brown’s government becomes eerily reminiscent of John Major’s hapless ministry. Each day brings a fresh wave of damaging stories that sink the government further into the mire, providing material for fresh bouts of recrimination and acres of still more devastating coverage. Major, of course, was more unfortunate in having a smaller majority and a more awkward squad of unhappy, self-centred backbenchers. In fact just about the last people to realise the extent to which the Tories were doomed was the New Labour leadership itself. Still, the parallels remain strong. Exhausted? Check. Bereft of ideas? Check. A Prime Minister who becomes a figure of

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Byers remorse

Just after Christmas, Stephen Byers declared Tony Blair to be history and that Labour needed to unite behind Gordon Brown if it was to win the next election. Byers was asking that the policy ideas that he and fellow Blairites put forward be seen not as mere mischief-making but as genuine contributions to the debate.  One suspects, though, that Brown sees Byers’ article in The Sunday Times as the former rather than the later. This is Brown’s loss as the reforms that Byers is proposing to the tax system—raising the personal allowance to take more people out of tax, hypothecating more and coordinating the tax and benefits systems to lower

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Working-class hero?

From Prescott’s interview in Sunday Times news review, this description of his home jumps out. “Here is not a working-class hero… but an Englishman in his castle, complete with turrets, eight bedrooms, servants’ staircases and electric gates”.  This recalls what Littlejohn said a while ago: “There have been times I’ve regretted ever inventing the nickname Two Jags.  It helped turn Prescott into a figure of fun, disguising the fact that he is in reality a loathsome, Soviet-style political thug on the make.  The satirical version of The Red Flag — ‘The working-class can kiss my arse, I’ve got the foreman’s job at last’ — could have been written for him.”

James Forsyth James Forsyth

What they spend your money on

The Portcullis column in The Sunday Telegraph has a quite astonishing tale of how the Department for International Development uses its money: “Diligent Tory researchers have established that the ministry spent £8,500 on a survey to find out what sort of gifts British couples buy each other on February 14.” When you think about the Department’s responsibilities this kind of wastage is really quite obscene. One wonders who on earth signed off on it. 

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The writing’s on the wall

There is a housing development in Brockley, south east London, with an extraordinary piece of graffiti. “Thanks to Gordon Brown, I will never buy a house,” it says, and in super-large lettering no less. It is not without economic rationale. Brown’s easy-money policy at the Treasury led the Bank of England to chase a dodgy inflation measure – therefore, making credit too cheap, and, therefore, inflating an asset bubble. Also Brown’s failure to reform planning laws put an artificial restriction on supply of UK housing in the face of ever-rising demand. But is Brown entirely to blame for housing boom? Not even I would go that far. But this isn’t

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Prescott adds to Brown’s woes

On Saturday it was Cherie talking about what went on behind the scenes during the Blair / Brown era, today it is John Prescott. The result: more bad headlines for Brown. Interestingly, Prescott comes down heavily on Brown’s side–“I have no doubt that Tony was most to blame. He broke his agreement with Gordon, not once but several times”—but with Blair having left the scene, the criticisms of Brown for being moody and difficult to work with receive top billing. The Sunday Times splashes with the headline, “I told Tony to sack Gordon, says Prescott.”

Saturday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Blairs on the trail

Reading through the Cherie interviews in the papers today I was struck by this part of her reply when she was asked if she took any pleasure in Brown’s difficulties: “I would be delighted to campaign for them.” One of the key strategic decisions that Brown will have to take about the general election campaign is how the Labour party uses the Blairs. The Cabinet has very few big beats and there’s no doubt that out on the stump, Tony Blair could drive the news agenda in a way that none of the current cabinet could. But equally, sending Blair out there would remind people both of just how long

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Lost in the shuffle

Peter Hyman’s piece in The Times today is well worth reading if only for this anecdote about one of the Blair reshuffles. On another occasion an MP was sacked for doing nothing wrong. It was merely that when she was replaced in her current job, someone forgot to pencil her in for a new one. The mistake was only realised once the reshuffle had been completed. Mr Blair had to come out with the implausible sounding football manager’s response, telling the shell-shocked MP that he “was playing a rotation system, and she would soon return to government”. Hyman’s serious point—that David Miliband should be made Chancellor—is revealing of the mindset

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The Blairites bite back

Turns out the mystery story is a Cherie Blair interview being run jointly by The Sun and The Times. The Sun promises to run the “bomshell” interview on its website at midnight. Andrew Pierce (an expert at nicking rivals’ scoops) has the lowdown in the Telegraph – Tony Blair censored his wife’s book, he says, so she’s letting rip in an interview instead. But the extracts suggest even this is far from bilious. Knowing Cherie, all will have all come at a price – hence the expectation and secrecy. You might say: so what, we all know Cherie hates Gordon. But to my mind, there is greater significance of this