Jeremy corbyn

David Cameron: Corbyn poses a threat to Britain’s financial security

Jeremy Corbyn hasn’t even been elected Labour leader but the campaign to undermine him begins today. David Cameron will give a speech on the economy, in which he will warn that Corbyn will threaten Britain’s security — a strategy I wrote about earlier this week. According to today’s Times, the Prime Minister will make his first significant attack on a Corbyn-led Labour by focusing on the threat to Britain’s financial security: ‘I have watched with some bewilderment the Labour leadership election of the past few months. ‘Whoever wins . . . this is now a party that has completely vacated the intellectual playing field and no longer represents working people. It is arguing at the extremes

Credible

In a wonderfully dry manual of theology on my husband’s bookshelves, written in Latin and printed in Naples in the 1830s, there is a discussion of whether ‘rustics and idiots’ are supported in their belief by ‘motives of credibility’, such as miracles. The same question has been asked about belief in Jeremy Corbyn, except that the city stands in for the country, and the idiots are often useful ones. ‘I am the only candidate who can offer a bold but credible vision,’ Andy Burnham has said. ‘I’ll have the confidence to reject Tory myths and the credibility to demolish them,’ countered Yvette Cooper. John Curtice, the political scientist, noticed that

Isabel Hardman

Does David Cameron really need to worry about Jeremy Corbyn’s stance on military intervention?

Jeremy Corbyn becoming Labour leader will make it much more difficult for David Cameron to bring a vote to the House of Commons authorising British involvement in air strikes against the so-called Islamic State in Syria. That’s the received wisdom, anyway, but is it true? Tom Newton Dunn reported in the Sun this week that ‘dozens’ of Labour MPs were prepared to defy their party whip if it forbade support for action in Syria, which would mean the government would be able to cobble together a majority of Conservative MPs and Labourites, even if a group of Tories defied their whip. Yesterday the Prime Minister told the Commons that the

Podcast: Angela Merkel’s mistake on refugees — and is Tom Watson Labour’s saviour?

Angela Merkel’s offer to welcome any Syrian refugees who reach Germany will have far reaching, potential devastating consequences. On this week’s View from 22 podcast, James Forsyth debates this week’s Spectator cover feature on Merkel’s grandstanding with Holly Baxter from the Independent. Has David Cameron done the right thing by not offering asylum to more refugees? Are all European countries pulling equal weight in dealing with the crisis? And what will the European Union as a whole do next to help the refugees? Dan Hodges and former Labour adviser John McTernan also discuss whether Tom Watson could be the man who holds the Labour party together. The former Brownite bruiser has made plenty of enemies in the party, but he is expected to be elected Deputy Leader on Saturday,

How Gordon Brown’s hit man became Labour’s peacemaker

[audioplayer src=”http://rss.acast.com/viewfrom22/merkelstragicmistake/media.mp3″ title=”Dan Hodges and John McTernan discuss whether Tom Watson can save Labour” startat=772] Listen [/audioplayer]Last week I was talking to a member of the shadow cabinet about Jeremy Corbyn’s impending victory as Labour leader. ‘Forget about coups and resistance movements. There’s only one person who can save the party now — and that’s Tom Watson.’ It’s a common theme: those who had just recently denounced Watson as a fat thug now see him as the party’s only hope of salvation. On Saturday, half an hour before Corbyn’s almost certain coronation, Watson will be unveiled as his party’s new deputy leader. He will appear a rather unlikely saviour. His

Is Jeremy Corbyn really more posh than Harriet Harman?

Harriet Harman ended her final appearance at PMQs as the interim Labour leader with a parting shot in the direction of Jeremy Corbyn, who is the odds-on favourite to be the party’s next leader. ‘It was quite surprising to discover I’m not possibly old enough or posh enough to be the frontrunner of this leadership election,’ Harman told Andrew Neil on the Daily Politics. It’s true Corbyn is one year older than Harman, at 66, but is he really more posh than the St Paul’s Girls’ School alumnus? The die-hard socialist certainly has the most privileged upbringing of any of the Labour leadership candidates. Growing up in a seven-bedroom manor house

Will Jeremy Corbyn end up ‘doing a Blair’ as Labour leader?

Jeremy Corbyn’s lack of experience in office makes it hard to predict how he will act as Labour leader. His tens of thousands of supporters are crowing that a new political age will begin on Saturday and are looking forward to a shadow cabinet made of like-minded folk from the hard-left — Diane Abbott, Michael Meacher etc. But the signs so far suggest that Corbyn as Labour leader will operate differently to Corbyn to march leader. Today’s Guardian offers an explanation why. The list of shadow cabinet ministers who would refuse to serve under Corbyn is growing, along with a unease among Labour MPs about a split between its Parliamentary party and grassroots. Chris Leslie, Emma Reynolds, Yvette Cooper and Tristram Hunt have

Michael Crick outs Conservative press officer at Jeremy Corbyn rally

Although Conservative politicians insist they are not worried by the threat of a Jeremy Corbyn led opposition, an incident that occurred on Tuesday night appears to suggest otherwise. Channel 4’s Michael Crick discovered a Conservative press officer sat in the audience at Corbyn’s political rally in Nuneaton. When Crick confronted the staffer — known as Mike Watkinson — with his camera crew behind him, Watkinson came across all camera shy and immediately fled the scene: Just uncovered Tory Party press officer Mike Watkinson in Corbyn campaign meeting in Nuneston. When I confronted him he fled. Watch #C4News — Michael Crick (@MichaelLCrick) September 8, 2015 A chase scene followed as Crick threw questions in Watkinson’s direction, asking

Steerpike

Professor of Corbynomics hired to lecture on ‘economics of the real world’

After Richard Murphy was revealed as the man behind Jeremy Corbyn’s economic policies, many were quick to start casting doubts over the duo’s credentials. In fact Labour’s very own shadow chancellor Chris Leslie dismissed their ‘Corbynomics’, claiming their plan for quantitative easing amounted to printing money to ‘magically deal with all the public service and public investment needs that we have’. While senior bods in Labour may think Murphy and Corbyn are away with the fairies, the tide may be turning when it comes to the education sector at least. With Corbyn potentially days away from taking charge of the Labour party, one university has decided Murphy — who is the author of ‘The

How will the Conservatives react to a Jeremy Corbyn victory?

If the bookmakers and pollsters are to be believed, there is little doubt that Jeremy Corbyn will be crowned Labour leader on Saturday. Westminster is therefore wondering: what happens next? I’ve written a piece for POLITICO Europe today looking at the personal and policy battles ahead if Corbyn is the new opposition leader. Instead of treating him as a joke, it seems the Tories would take Corbyn seriously and use the bucketloads of research they have built up over the summer to undermine and destroy him. While Conservative HQ and Downing Street are not revealing too much about their plans if Corbyn wins, insiders suggest that their core message of ‘Labour hasn’t changed’ would be continued. Repeating the same

Coffee Shots: Lezzers4Jezzer

Given that Corbynmania has so far led users on Mumsnet to lust over Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘world weary sea dog’ looks, as well as inspiring a host of politicians to grow their facial hair, it was only a matter of time until the LGBT community also got in on the action. Mr S has come across a new Corbyn fan base which goes by the name of ‘Lezzers4Jezzer’. The group of ladies, who are backing Corbyn in part because he supports gay rights, have even been promoting the Twitter account at Jeremy Corbyn events: pic.twitter.com/s56xOocBHA — Lezzers4Jezzer (@Lezzers4Jezzer) September 6, 2015 However, Corbyn beware. Judging by the fact Natalie Bennett — the leader of the

Nigel Farage: I’d love to share a platform with Jeremy Corbyn

Nigel Farage held another event in Westminster this morning to announce the dates of his ‘Say No – Believe in Britain’ tour, through which he hopes to drum up support for a Brexit. While the venue and message were identical to his press conference in July, the Ukip leader did reveal some details: twelve regional co-ordinators have been chosen, 300 events are planned over the next few months and six million leaflets will be delivered by Christmas. In light of the British Future polling on the toxicity of Ukip’s immigration message, Farage was keen point out he will work with anyone to achieve a Brexit — even Jeremy Corbyn. He said that a Corbyn victory

James Forsyth

Corbyn and the austerity argument

Until recently, the Tory leadership has been reluctant to plan how they would respond to a Corbyn-led Labour party. They just couldn’t believe that Labour were actually going to elect him. At the Cabinet’s pre-holiday get together at Chequers, the conversation about how to take on the new Labour leader was premised on the idea that either Andy Burnham or Yvette Cooper would win. But now the Tories are working out how they would tackle Corbyn. (Though, two Cabinet Ministers have told me this week that they expect Cooper to pip Corbyn at the post). The Tory leadership is keen to avoid sounding triumphalist about the prospect of facing the

Letters | 3 September 2015

Suicide and assisted dying Sir: As a mental health practitioner, I am grateful to Douglas Murray (‘Death watch’, 29 August) for his incisive commentary on the impact of legalised euthanasia on people with psychiatric conditions. Supporters of assisted dying argue that a permissive act would be tightly framed, but the scope would inevitably widen, as has occurred in Holland. Although Lord Falconer and fellow travellers would bar people of unsound mind from the intended provision, this would soon be challenged as discriminatory: because effectively, a person would be punished for losing decision-making capacity. If proponents of euthanasia are really so rational, while their opponents are blinded by emotion or faith, how

Barometer | 3 September 2015

Peers’ peers Forty-five new peers were created. Are we alone in having an upper house of parliament made up of appointed cronies? FRANCE Senate has 348 members elected for six-year terms by 150,000 state officials known as ‘grandes electeurs’. GERMANY Bundesrat is made up of 69 members delegated by governments of individual states. ITALY Senate composed of 321 members, of whom 315 are elected for five-year terms by voters aged 25 and above, and 6 appointed as senators for life. JAPAN House of Councillors composed of 242 members elected for six-year terms under a system of proportional representation. UNITED STATES Senate has 100 members, two for each state excluding Washington DC, directly

Diary – 3 September 2015

‘Devon, Devon, Devon/ Where it rains six days out of seven.’ Nothing beats a British seaside holiday. And north Devon is especially blessed when it comes to vibrant weather patterns. We have watched in awe this summer as high-pressure systems from the Continent have collapsed in the face of sturdy Atlantic lows and extreme weather warnings punctuated the news. Our companion in all this has been the Met Office, whose forecasts are dashingly presented by the hunky Tomasz Schafernaker. So it was a shock to see the third-rate bureaucrats running the BBC replace it with some cheap and rather remote New Zealand outfit. Until recently, an institution like the BBC

James Forsyth

What a Corbyn victory will mean for the Tories

A Jeremy Corbyn victory in the Labour leadership race now seems like a racing certainty. The consequences of this for Labour have been much discussed but in the magazine this week, I look at what it would mean for the Tories. The first, and most obvious, thing to say is that it would make 2020 the Tories’ election to lose — and they would have to make an epoch defining mistake to do so. But some Tories are worried about the prospect of a Corbyn victory. This isn’t just because they fear that bad opposition leads to bad government. But because they fret that Cameron and Osborne’s response to it will

Steerpike

Tristram Hunt stands firm on Corbyn despite threat of ‘Labour purge’

Yesterday Channel 4’s Michael Crick reported that a pro-Corbyn Unite official had told him ‘careerist’ MPs will be purged from Labour if Jeremy Corbyn gets in. Among those on the list of targets for de-selection was Tristram Hunt, who would ‘make a wonderful scalp’. Yet despite all the noise, Hunt doesn’t seem too bothered. Although his fellow New Labour comrade Chuka Umunna performed a reverse ferret earlier this week over whether he would support a Corbyn-led government, Hunt appears not to be backing down. Writing in this week’s issue of The Spectator, the shadow education secretary says that he does not understand why a lurch to the left would lead to success at the polls: ‘I break