Latest from Coffee House

Latest from Coffee House

All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories

James Forsyth

Boris and the EU are currently too far apart for a deal

Boris Johnson’s offer to the EU isn’t nothing. He, seemingly with the DUP’s blessing, is proposing that Northern Ireland follow EU regulations on not just agriculture but also manufactured goods for at least the next four years. But his insistence that the UK must leave the EU with its customs territory intact means that there

Prince Harry’s misguided attack on the press

It had all been going so well. Coverage of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s tour to South Africa kicked off with footage of them dancing, before moving on to feature their work promoting the importance of gender equality in education and the horror of violence against women. We’ve been treated to rare pictures of

Steerpike

Tory MP kicked out of conference

Oops. The Conservative party is meant to be focusing on law and order today at its party conference, with Home Secretary Priti Patel taking to the stage to announce new money for tackling country-lines drug gangs and a new fund for the roll-out of tasers among the police. But only metres away from the main

Stephen Daisley

10 questions for Remainers, from a Remainer

We told them so, didn’t we? We said it was a terrible idea and would all end in tears. We pointed out that the UK doesn’t send £350 million a week to Brussels, that Turkey was not about to join the EU, and that Britain held the weaker hand and couldn’t dictate the terms of

Steerpike

Watch: Boris’s ‘disposable cup’ gaffe

Boris Johnson survived his morning broadcast round without dropping any clangers but he did nearly get caught out on the floor of Tory conference. The Prime Minister was passed a cup of coffee by an aide, only for it to be quickly snatched back from the PM. The reason? ‘No disposable cups’, according to Boris’s

Robert Peston

Boris has five days to make a Brexit deal

The prime minister is about to launch himself on the most important and arduous challenge of his time in office, and arguably of his life. In the course of just the next five days he will try to secure a Brexit deal from an EU deeply sceptical he is prepared to make the compromises they

Steerpike

Listen: Dominic Grieve heckled at conference event

They may no longer be Conservative MPs, but that did not hold back several members of the Gaukeward squad from heading to the Conservative party conference yesterday in Manchester. Former Tory MPs Dominic Grieve, David Gauke, and Alistair Burt took part in a fringe event outside the main conference area, organised by ‘Conservative group for Europe’.

The problem with ‘Islamophobia’ and the Tory party

On Sunday, Policy Exchange held three events at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester – one on the Irish backstop with Arlene Foster, Leader of the DUP; one with Michael Gove talking to Iain Martin on how to deliver Brexit; and one on the subject of Islamophobia. There were some fascinating moments throughout the afternoon.

Steerpike

Mark Francois: Why I won’t buy David Cameron’s book

It perhaps isn’t much of a surprise that Mark Francois won’t be buying David Cameron’s book. But his reason for not splashing out on ‘For the Record’ is somewhat unusual. The Brexiteer revealed that he won’t be putting it on his Christmas list for the simple reason that he doesn’t appear in it. Francois told

John Connolly

Dominic Grieve’s strategy for a second referendum

The former Tory MP Dominic Grieve may have voted against the parliamentary recess for Conservative party conference, but that certainly hasn’t kept him away from the action this week. The now independent MP showed up in Manchester yesterday, and this afternoon attended a ‘Conservatives for a People’s Vote’ event at the aptly named (for a man with

Isabel Hardman

When staged Tory conference panels go rogue

The Tories have tried to jazz up their conference hall this year, after accusations that the whole thing was becoming a bit robotic and boring. It’s fair to say that this has had mixed results. One of the exciting developments is the use of panel discussions between ministers, which is supposed to encourage greater audience

Steerpike

Listen: Dominic Grieve and Philip Hammond booed at Brexit event

Mark Francois, Arlene Foster and John Redwood have just taken part in a panel discussion on Brexit at Manchester’s Comedy Club (where else?). Francois quoted Robert Frost’s poetry as he made his plea to the audience that he wanted ‘to live in a free country’ outside the EU. It won’t come as much of a

James Kirkup

The genius of Boris’s Brexit slogan

I can’t say I like it much, but the slogan for the Conservative Party conference in Manchester is a work of political genius: ‘Get Brexit done: invest in our NHS, schools and police’. In ten words, it offers a simplicity and clarity of intent that none of those who stand opposed to Boris Johnson have