Politics

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

Tuesday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Don’t worry Darling

David Cameron is calling for his head, the City has lost confidence and the bookies are offering 5/2 that he will be gone from the Treasury by the end of the year. Yet, I suspect that Alistair Darling has more job security than most. Darling was a temporary appointment; no one believes that Brown will keep him in post after the next election which explains why some young Brownites were so keen on an early election. But to move Darling before polling day would be a huge risk. First of all, it would call into question Brown’s judgement in appointing him in the first place. Second, it would add considerably

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Taking the puppet-master with him…

A few months ago, I rather unkindly suggested that Alistair Darling is no more a Chancellor than Captain Scarlett was an actor. This may now be his salvation. Reading Rachel Sylvester’s column, we learn that Brown watered down capital gains tax reform and made his volte-face on Scottish tax proposals without consulting his Chancellor. If Darling is letting it become known that the strings are indeed being tugged from No10 then he’s also saying that if this puppet goes down, he’ll take the puppet master with him. A stand-off to savour.

Rani Singh

Shock defeats for pro-Musharraf party chiefs

Staunch Musharraf allies and Pakistan Muslim League (Q) supremos, Party President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussein and former federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed both lost their supposedly safe seats. According to reports, former federal minister and former PPP Secretary General Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar has comfortably defeated the PML (Q) Chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussein by at least 13293 votes. Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, the former Chief Minister of Punjab, cousin and brother-in-law of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussein, and President of the PML (Q) party in Punjab, has lost too – a huge blow to the pro-Musharraf party and a slap in the face for the three feudal politicians. The news is making top story on

Monday

Rani Singh

Violence & vote-rigging, as results come in

PML (N) and PPP in front for National assembly; many more results expected Asif Ali Zardari is reported to be in Islamabad tonight for an emergency strategy meeting with Nawaz Sharif and other party leaders amid widespread fears of rigging. Results are coming in, but the picture can still change. The PML (N) and the PPP, formally known as the PPPP (Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians) to differentiate them from other PPP factions, are in front of the pack as far as National Assembly results are concerned. If they hold their joint lead then this will be a dramatic result but, I repeat, the night is still young. Provincially, Balochistan has

James Forsyth James Forsyth

So much for a united European front

The issue of whether or not to recognise Kosovo demonstrates once again why the idea of a common European foreign policy is absurd. On this issue—as on pretty much any other contentious foreign policy decision you can think of—the European Union is split. 17 of the Union’s 27 members either have recognised Kosovo or will do so in the next few days. A common European policy would have had to gone against the wishes of one of these groups. Ironically, for years it was thought that the European Union was the solution to the Kosovo question. Serbian officials dropped heavy hints that they would accept independence for Kosovo if Serbia

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The Chancellor’s lucky break

Alistair Darling really should send Mohamed al-Fayed a thank you note. Fayed’s testimony is bound to bump Northern Rock off at least the front pages of the tabloids tomorrow. Perhaps this knowledge explains why Darling produced a calmer and more confident performance in the Commons today than many of us expected he would. The most effective speeches came from Vince Cable and Ken Clarke. Cable took a well deserved victory lap and landed as many hits on George Osborne as Darling; Cable is clearly keen to keep ownership of this issue. While Clarke pointed out in his typical saloon bar style just what a distorting effect on the market the

Rani Singh

Polls are closed

The polls have now closed and counting has begun. There have been shootings in Hyderabad and bomb blasts elsewhere, the latest murder tally for Monday can be viewed on the Geo TV website ; reporters are saying there is an “average number of killings for Pakistan”. Next door, Delhi is in a state of alert as India fears a fallout across the border.   If Musharraf’s PML(Q) party manages to pull off a majority with its chief ally the MQM, there could be widespread agitation by the supporters of the main opposition parties the PPP and the PML(N). There have already been public meetings between Nawaz Sharif of the PML(N)

Peter Hoskin

Far from secure

Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling have just delivered an absurd medley of deceptions, unwarranted boasts and blame-shifting.  Their Northern Rock press conference in brief: everything’s the fault of global forces, and we can be happy that Brown’s “long-term decisions” will stave off the worst of it all.  There’s plenty of material there for the Spectator’s Brownies campaign. The worst part, though, was Brown’s claim that “the reputation of London [as a financial centre] is secure”.  In truth, there are few scenarios which will dissuade foreign investment more than the forced nationalisation of a bank.  When you factor in the Chancellor’s track record – the misguided capital gains and non-dom tax proposals, and the attacks on executive wages – then it’s clear that this Government has massively undermined business confidence in the

James Forsyth James Forsyth

How bad is it Darling?

The Prime Minister and his puppet Chancellor are currently facing the press and engaging in furious damage limitation. After that, the Chancellor will have to make a statement to the House where he can expect to be mocked by George Osborne and dissected by Vince Cable, who is the only politician to come out of the Northern Rock affair with his reputation enhanced. This is not quite a Black Wednesday moment but it is a huge blow to the government’s record for economic competence. In many ways, nationalising Northern Rock was the easy bit. The government now has a whole bunch of problems on its hands; John Redwood has a

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Sifting through the Northern Wreckage

Perhaps, the greatest political danger for the government from yesterday’s nationalisation of Northern Rock is that it fits so neatly into the narrative of a government that is incapable of making a decision. On The Today Programme this morning, Alistair Darling was repeatedly pressed on the question of why this step was not taken earlier and had no adequate answer. Darling’s performance this morning revealed just how vulnerable the government is over Northern Rock. The Chancellor could not parry the charge that allowing then bank to continue doing business even now it is nationalised is unfair competition. Anatole Kaletsky rips into this decision in The Times today: “To use nationalisation

Sunday

Peter Hoskin

The nationalisation of Northern Rock

The BBC are reporting that Northern Rock is to be nationalised.  The move comes after Richard Branson’s overtures to the beleaguered company were rejected. It’s yet another case of Government dithering, and one of the most monumental yet.  This was true back in January – when the Chancellor had allegedly found a private sector solution to the saga – but it’s even more marked now.  Darling has reached this end by the most circuitous route possible, and the calls for him to lose his job must only be amplified. But worse than the dithering is the fact that even further liability will be heaped upon the taxpayer.  If we had

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Are the Tories doing well enough?

Even David Cameron’s most enthusiastic backers in the 2005 leadership contest might have thought it unrealistic to imagine that after a little over two years in the job he would have opened up a nine point lead over Labour. But despite having done this, Cameron is still plagued by the question of whether the Tories should be further ahead. Certainly, the Tories haven’t batted Labour out of the game and they are doing nowhere near as well as Tony Blair was in the mid-1990s. However, as Andrew Rawnsley reminds us in The Observer this morning, that was an exceptional time. Rawnsley, though, thinks that the Tories can not become the

Saturday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Is Labour not doing the business any more?

New Labour’s relationship with business is at a low ebb. As George Parker argues in the FT this morning, the changes to capital gains tax and the whole non-dom business have alienated many—something the Tories are eagerly exploiting. But Labour’s problems go beyond policy here. Business had no fear that Tony Blair intended to make the pips squeak, he seemed entirely simpatico with their get rich agenda. Equally, Ed Balls fitted in well with City types who respected his intellect and proximity to power. Now, the City feels it doesn’t have a champion anymore. Kitty Usher, the City Minister, is on maternity leave with her job parcelled out to other

Anne Mcelvoy

Britain just got Weller: meet the Jam Generation

What do David Cameron, David Miliband, Nick Clegg, Yvette Cooper, Michael Gove and (just about) George Osborne have in common? They are part of the Jam Generation: a powerful cross-party phenomenon laying the foundations of our political futures. The soundtrack to their formative years is Paul Weller’s tuneful, raucous songs of the 1980s: ‘The public gets what the public wants/ But I don’t get what this society wants/ I’m going underground . . .’ Now they are at, or near, the top of politics: two party leaders and the foreign secretary are sons of the Weller years. So are the fast risers in Gordon Brown’s latest Cabinet reshuffle. Some, like

Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

A morning cigar and a glass of wine with Sir John

At 84, John Mortimer is still thrilled by his latest theatrical success, appalled by the cult of ‘health and fitness’ and sorry that the Labour party he loved has vanished. At 84, John Mortimer is still thrilled by his latest theatrical success, appalled by the cult of ‘health and fitness’ and sorry that the Labour party he loved has vanished. By Lloyd Evans The pubs in Paddington open at 8 a.m. It was a glorious winter’s morning and though I was tempted I decided against a pick-me-up. I was on my way to interview John Mortimer, the socialist bon viveur who famously enjoys a glass of champagne at sunrise, and

Nick Robinson

Trying to work out what David Cameron really thinks, I had a strange sense of déjà vu

He is the longest serving of our major party leaders. He could be Prime Minister next year. He has had publicity that many a politician would kill for. Yet how many voters can answer a simple question — what does David Cameron really think? That is what I have been trying to do for a documentary on BBC Radio 4. My producer Martin Rosenbaum and I have spoken to those who know Cameron best — his friends, his colleagues and a few of those who he’s crossed over the years. Eighteen months ago we made a programme which asked the same question about the man who then looked set to

Friday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Come off it, Ken

At yesterday’s green hustings, Ken Livingstone said that by 2010 the Thames would be the cleanest river flowing through any capital city and that people would be swimming in it. I’m not qualified to say if he has any chance of meeting the first part of this pledge but I’ll go for a dip myself if the second part comes true. Hat Tip: Dizzy

Peter Hoskin

Dithering Tories?

I wrote earlier that the George Osborne’s approach to tax cuts may “reduce to a tortoise-hare debate”.  By characterising the Tories as “ditherers” over tax, Ben Chu of Open House feeds ammo to those on Team Hare: “The Conservative leadership attacks Gordon Brown for being a “ditherer” and ordering endless reviews to put off making decisions. But the Tories are not averse to such delaying tactics themselves. Today the shadow chancellor George Osborne has established a review of taxation policy to be headed by the Tory grandee Lord Howe. But what about the Conservative economic policy review from John Redwood which last summer proposed, in the words of its author, “a tax cut by

Peter Hoskin

Osborne on tax

Following William Hague’s excellent speech there last week, George Osborne has today delivered an important address on tax reform at Policy Exchange.  The key component was a cogent defence of the Tories’ current pledge to match Labour spending plans: “Now the Labour Government have been forced by their own profligacy to adopt plans for the coming three years that halve the growth rate of government spending from 4% to 2.1%. They too will be sharing the proceeds of growth. Not through choice but by necessity. We do have a choice. We can either: stick with our long term course; stick with the commitment I made to spending growth of 2.1% for the