Politics

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

Wednesday

Peter Hoskin

Freedland gives Brown a kicking

Brown’s been Prime Minister for a year next week, so you can expect the papers to be stuffed with articles on his premiership so far. Coffee House will be making its own contribution, but it’s Jonathan Freedland who gets the ball rolling in this morning’s Guardian. And he does so with some venom. The headline tells you all you need to know – “A year in, it’s clear: we got Brown wrong. He is simply not up to the job”. But here are some selected quotes anyway: “At its most basic, [Brown] seems to lack the skills of a man who would lead a 21st-century nation. “He came in like an

Peter Hoskin

Davis’ big day

So, today’s the day that David Davis will formally step down as an MP, to begin his campaign against stolen liberties. On balance, I think he and his team will be happy with how it’s gone so far. Almost a week after his initial announcement, the Davis gambit is still featuring heavily in the newspapers. And it’s certainly struck a chord with the public (see this poll that the Independent released yesterday). But I’m sure a few things will still be worrying Team Davis; foremost among which will probably be the relative lack of heavyweight candidates for him to run against. As Fraser wrote last week, the last thing Davis wants

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Poor, brave David Davis has become the Eddie the Eagle of Westminster

At a dinner party in central London a few months ago, David Davis made an extraordinary confession. He had become disenchanted with David Cameron, he said, and was considering quitting politics. ‘I believe in certain things,’ he said, ‘and I do not believe the next Conservative government will implement them.’ He wondered if he should try to earn a little money in the outside world. He did not come across as bitter or regicidal, I am told, just disillusioned — and planning a graceful exit. Or, as it turned out, a rather spectacular one. It is now more than a week since Mr Davis resigned to campaign on the issue

Tuesday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

McCain lobbies for place in Brown cabinet…

Meanwhile, in America habeas corpus is also in the news, prompting an excellent column from George Will today: McCain, co-author of the McCain-Feingold law that abridges the right of free political speech, has referred disparagingly to, as he puts it, “quote ‘First Amendment rights.’ ” Now he dismissively speaks of “so-called, quote ‘habeas corpus suits.’ ” He who wants to reassure constitutionalist conservatives that he understands the importance of limited government should be reminded why the habeas right has long been known as “the great writ of liberty.” True that.

The Spectator

Spectator Q&As

Over on Trading Floor, we’re running a Q&A with the economic forecaster Graham Turner.  Graham has recently written a book on the credit crunch, so please do put your questions to him on that topic or on other matters economic.  He’ll be responding on 23rd June. And don’t forget the Coffee House Q&A with David Davis.  Head here to register your questions – there are Coffee House t-shirts up for grabs…

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Blears blunders?

The news that Hazel Blears has had a computer with sensitive material on it stolen from her constituency office is acutely embarrassing for the government, coming as it does on the same day as Gordon Brown’s big speech on security and liberty. It is also further grist to David Davis’s mill. Blears has done sterling work at the DCLG. But if the information on the computer was improperly stored, then her position is going to be rather precarious.

Peter Hoskin

Has Brown done the right thing over pay?

George Osborne’s referred to it as a “gesture” – which is almost certainly true.  But at least the announcement that ministers will give up their pay rise this year is the right kind of gesture.  As Brown said earlier, “MPs should set the example at a time of public sector pay restraint.”  Now all he’s got to do is convince the rest of the House of this before the 3rd July vote on salaries. But, obviously, there’s a toxic background to all of this.  After all the disgraceful expense scandals of recent months, will the public really believe that ministers aren’t riding on the gravy train?

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The truth behind the high cost of living

If looked as if Alistair Darling were stuck on a groove on his Sky News interview. Michael Howard was famously asked the same question 13 times – Darling seemed to give the same answer as many times. I suspect his message was programmed by No10 because it has Brown’s fingerprints all over it. Here’s that message – repeated ad nauseum. “People are feeling the pressures, but it is driven by the fact that food world prices are up by 40% and oil has doubled in the last year. That’s feeding through. The key is we take action to reduce these oil prices and get lower prices at the pump, lower prices at

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Are the Tories in good health?

The Telegraph is running an excellent series on what the Tories would do in power. Yesterday, Jill Kirby wrote about the Tories and family policy, and this morning Anthony Browne turns the spotlight on the Tory approach to the NHS. Health policy under Cameron has been, to put it mildly, uninspiring. The Tories’ main aim seems to have been to neutralise it as a political issue and keep the BMA on side. The result is a policy that reeks of producer capture. One of Browne’s main points is that the Tories must not succumb to the short-term political temptation of opposing the closure of every hospital or local doctor’s surgery. As Browne

Peter Hoskin

A new inflationary peak

So the latest ONS data puts May’s inflation at 3.3 percent – the highest figure since the current measure was introduced in 1997, and higher even than the 3.2 percent that many pessimistic analysts were predicting. Obviously, it’s bad news for consumers – if the official inflation figure is this high, you can be sure that the “real” inflation of day-to-day life is cripplingly bad.  But worse is set to come.  As we reported on Trading Floor, the CBI are predicting that inflation will remain above 3 percent for the rest of the year, and may even hit 3.8 percent.  Politically, one thing to look out for is how this affects relations between the Bank and the Treasury.  As Fraser wrote last

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Tell Brown to abandon ratification

Neil O’Brien and Richard North have submitted a petition to the Downing Street website stating that: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Respect the result of the Irish referendum and abandon the attempt to ratify the Lisbon Treaty You can sign it here. If hundreds of thousands of people put their names to it, then it will refocus media attention on the story.

Peter Hoskin

Richards outlines the Westminster argument

Even if you don’t agree with his conclusions, Steve Richards is always worth reading. His article in today’s Independent is a case in point. It largely lambasts the actions of David Davis, but – in doing so – it provides by far the best account of what Richards calls “the unfashionable ‘Westminster Village’ wing of the argument”. It’s an account that Team Davis can’t afford to ignore, as it identifies most of the questions that they’ll have to answer in the run up to this by-election. The most interesting of these – as I see it – is contained in these two paragraphs: “Similarly, single-issue by-elections are a distortion, the

Monday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

And the winner is… | 16 June 2008

We got lots of good responses to our request for ideas as to how David Davis can keep his cause in the news. The champagne goes to a Coffee Houser called James for his suggestion of an Inconvenient Truth-style documentary; it has already caught the eye of one Tory staffer. But I’d also like to give a honourable mentions to Drew for his suggestion of a Haltemprice Freedom March echoing the Jarrow Crusade. James and Drew, if you post your addresses in the comments—we won’t publish them—we’ll pop your prizes in the post. Many thanks to everyone who took part, the suggestions by James and Drew are reprinted in full

Peter Hoskin

Davis to keep shtum during PMQs

Three Line Whip are reporting that we won’t hear a rousing speech or probing question from David Davis during Wednesday’s PMQs.  It looks like that champagne will be staying firmly in the the Coffee House cellar, then… 

The Skimmer

Murdoch steps down from the fight

In the end Rupert Murdoch decided he didn’t want a fight with the Tories after all, so he pulled the plug on Kelvin MacKenzie’s bid to give David Davis a run for his money in the upcoming by-election. The whole plan had been conceived as a terrific wheeze at the 40th birthday party of Sun editor Rebekah Wade. Murdoch was in cavalier form and said to MacKenzie, his favourite former Sun editor, that he would bankroll a MacKenzie bid to ensure that Davis was given a real fight. MacKenzie was much taken with the idea and beetled round to BBC1’s This Week, where he told Andrew Neil the news on

Peter Hoskin

Anti-waste campaigner to stand against Davis

The Guardian’s reporting that Kelvin MacKenzie probably won’t run in the Haltemprice & Howden by-election after all.  Perhaps a sign that Murdoch and Co. don’t want to pick a fight with the Tories?  But Leo McKinstry has just contacted Coffee House to confirm that another candidate will be standing against Davis – one David Craig, the author of a book about Government waste.  Accordingly, Craig will be running on an anti-waste platform.  Here’s his message for voters: 1. The 42 days issue is not important to most ordinary people as we are unlikely to be affected by it 2. What is important to normal taxpayers is that we are governed by a bunch of wasteful and greedy

Peter Hoskin

David Davis states his case

Over at Conservative Home, David Davis sets out his reasons for resigning as an MP.  He also provides details of the website he’s launching tomorrow, and of how people can help out with his campaign.  Well worth a read.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

What should David Davis ask Brown?

Ben Brogan reports that David Davis has put off resigning as an MP. The word in Westminster is that he is waiting until Wednesday as he intends to go out with a question to Gordon Brown at PMQs. (Considering that the Speaker refused to let Davis announce that he was standing down as an MP in the chamber, he really should—in the interests of fair play—call on Davis on Wednesday.) This is probably Davis’s last moment when he will be in full command of the news agenda and a killer question would keep the issue in the headlines for the next few days. Leave your suggested questions in the comments,