All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
MPs have been expressing their fury today that the vote of no confidence in Theresa May allowed two suspended Tories to rejoin the party. Andrew Griffiths and Charlie Elphicke had both had the Conservative whip removed over claims of inappropriate sexual behaviour, but were reinstated yesterday so that they could vote. Labour’s Shadow Women and
Polly Toynbee has been complaining about Brexit again. This time though it appears that she has met her match. The Guardian columnist appeared on the BBC’s Politics Live earlier today talking about the woes of a no deal Brexit. But she ended up being taken to task for appearing to question her fellow panellist Liam Halligan’s sanity
Politics is all about words, which only sometimes mean what they seem to say. So if you took what the DUP leader in Westminster said on my show last night you would think that just maybe there is a route through the current parliamentary chaos for the PM towards a Brexit deal that MPs could
Everyone’s favourite Britain-bashing newspaper, the New York Times, is at it again. As Mr S has noted several times this year, the paper’s coverage of Britain has rapidly slid from reasonably sensible to completely doolally, as it seeks to prove that the EU referendum has turned the UK into the worst place in existence. Recent
Theresa May’s victory in the 1922 committee confidence vote is one of those boxing matches that leaves both sides preparing for an early rematch—with the challengers somewhat more eager for one than the champion. The defeated Noes got 37 per cent of the vote, according to the numerate Tim Stanley, of an electorate that provided
You will have read, I’m sure, our Low Life correspondent’s account of the recent Spectator claret and clay pigeon shoot cruise along the Thames, which we ran in association with our mates at Private Cellar. Jeremy Clarke described it beautifully and, in short, we had an absolute hoot. Forty or so readers joined us as
1. Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) 2. Hamlet (Hamlet) 3. Cordelia (King Lear) 4. Dogberry (Much Ado About Nothing) 5. Orsino (Twelfth Night) 6. Julius Caesar (Julius Caesar) 7. Titania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) 8. Hippolyta (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
You don’t say 1. President Donald Trump, in a tweet 2. Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, in an Instagram 3. Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary 4. Boris Johnson on the niqab 5. Sarah, Duchess of York, on the engagement of her daughter Eugenie 6. Serena Williams, to the referee, on being docked
Theresa May has survived the vote, but her authority is weakened still further. More than a third of Tory MPs have voted against her and this is after she pledged not to fight the next election and to get legally enforceable changes to the backstop. If May had kept the number of those voting against
As the Conservative Party continued to battle this evening over the survival of Theresa May, Her Majesty’s Opposition had the easiest job in the world. All they had to do was watch the carnage unfold without slipping up themselves. But that might have been too much to ask for some this evening. Reacting to the
Theresa May has survived a vote of confidence but the Tory party is not a happy place. Anna Soubry and Robert Buckland have just had a very public row on Sky News. It’s safe to say the two Tory MPs did not see eye-to-eye about what should happen next. Buckland told Soubry that it was
This has been a long and challenging day but at the end of it, I’m pleased to have received the backing of my colleagues in tonight’s ballot. Whilst I’m grateful for that support a significant number of colleagues did cast a vote against me and I have listened to what they said. Following this ballot
Theresa May has won the confidence vote tabled against her by her own party. The Prime Minister won by 200 votes to 117 against. This is not a victory in any real sense for May. Government figures tonight are surprised by the number of MPs voting against. No. 10 had hoped to keep the rebellion
Even before the result of the Tory no confidence vote was announced, the mood in Committee Room 14 was rather jovial. Chief Whip Julian Smith appeared minutes before the result, looking both exhausted and happy. Nerves were sufficiently calm for someone to crack a joke in the pause between Sir Graham Brady arriving and him
Theresa May has survived the vote of confidence in her leadership, but Jacob Rees-Mogg has insisted the Prime Minister should still quit. The Tory Brexiteer said that the result was ‘terrible’ for the PM, pointing out that many of those who backed her were ‘on the payroll’: ‘The PM must realise under most constitutional norms
Theresa May has survived a vote of confidence in her leadership. Graham Brady, the chairman of the Tory backbench committee, announced the result to cheers from Tory MPs gathered in Parliament. 200 Tory MPs backed the Prime Minister in the vote. But 117 of her own MPs – more than a third of the party
Theresa May has time-limited her premiership in an attempt to save it. She told the 1922 Committee this evening that, ‘In my heart I would have liked to lead the party into the next election (partly because of what happened last time). But I realise that the party would like a different leader to take
Bad 24 hours for Mrs May. A last-minute Christmas shopping-trip to Europe yielded no bargains whatever, even though she had £39bn to splurge on an extension to her premiership. Back home she found a conspiracy of seditious Tories baying for her resignation. The Queen of Narnia is a masochist. She finds punishment stimulating, and perhaps
Theresa May has got to go. She has got to go because she has failed British democracy, failed the British people, and reneged on the Conservative Party’s own manifesto promise to leave both the Customs Union and the Single Market. She has got to go because 17.4m Britons, the largest democratic bloc in British history,
If I were a Tory MP, I would be worried by the timing of this vote, but, given that it is happening, I would think the following: 1. She’s trying to bounce me by making me vote tonight. 2. This is the last chance for a year, because Theresa May is rule-bound and not one to take
One of the factors driving wavering Tory MPs towards saying they will vote for Theresa May tonight is the way in which the rebel operation appears to be being conducted. It’s not just that the airwaves were dominated this morning by rather strident Brexiteers as opposed to MPs from a range of persuasions. It’s also
Theresa May doesn’t see today’s vote of no confidence as being about who will lead the Conservative party into the next election, her spokesman has just said. This is significant as it removes the possibility that the Prime Minister sees today’s result as being a mandate for her continuing as leader, when many Tory MPs
As things stand, the number of MPs who have come out publicly to say they will back Theresa May in a confidence vote is enough to keep her in place. However, given that it is a secret ballot and there are still five hours to go until that vote, plenty could change between now and
The world of business is, apparently, appalled by the actions of the 48 or more Conservative MPs who have triggered a vote of no confidence in Theresa May as Conservative leader. According to the Institute of Directors, its members are ‘tearing their hair out’ over today’s news. The message seems to be that a change
The sense in Westminster this morning is that Theresa May will win tonight’s confidence vote. So, as is the way, the conversation has immediately moved on to what would be a good result for her. Cabinet ministers are busy saying that a win is a win, whatever the margin. One points out to me that
It may be a terrible day for Theresa May, but the signs so far seem to suggest that she’s at least going to win her upcoming no confidence vote. Four of the bookmakers: Ladbrokes, Paddypower, Betway and Betfair now suggest that the Prime Minister has an 80 per cent chance of convincing her MPs to
Two Tory MPs who are currently suspended from the party whip could be brought back in order to take part in today’s vote of no confidence against Theresa May, 1922 Committee Chair Graham Brady revealed this morning. Briefing journalists on the vote, Brady said he was waiting for confirmation from the Chief Whip of the
Theresa May has failed. That is no longer in doubt. Nor is there any prospect of resurrection. Her credibility within the Conservative party, the House of Commons, and the country at large is shot. The only thing propping up her Government is the fear that allowing it to collapse completely would invite Jeremy Corbyn into
It’s all out war in the Conservative party today, and as you would expect, things are already getting a little heated between Tory MPs. The rift between colleagues backing Theresa May and those calling for her to go was very apparent on BBC news this morning, where Brexiteer and letter submitter Andrew Bridgen was talking
Tory MPs should vote for Theresa May in tonight’s confidence vote. Keeping her in place will be painful, difficult and lead to any number of awful problems. But it is far, far better than the horrors that will follow if they remove her. Even if you can, like Owen Paterson, blithely gloss over the fact
One of the factors that led to the triggering of a no confidence vote and that will play a huge part in the result of that vote is the way in which Number 10 has shredded its credibility in the past few days. It isn’t just the way in which Theresa May’s press operation pushed
Theresa May has just given a defiant speech outside Downing Street in which she promised to ‘contest’ the confidence vote with ‘everything’ that she’s got. On the news that 48 confidence letters had been received by 1922 committee chairman Graham Brady, the Prime Minister said the only people a Tory leadership contest would benefit right
It’s official, 48 letters of no confidence have been submitted to the chairman of the 1922 committee, Graham Brady, triggering a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister this evening. If she loses this, she will be required to stand down and a Conservative leadership election will begin. As James reports on Coffee House,
Theresa May will tonight face a confidence vote by her MPs. Conservative MPs will vote on her fate early evening – and the results are expected to be counted immediately. The arrival of 48 letters took government figures by surprise last night. While it was clear May’s decision to shelve the vote on her Brexit