Theresa may

It’s not turning out to be a great day for the government. After announcing a u-turn on the NICs rise in last week’s Budget, Philip Hammond has spent the afternoon having to face down angry MPs in the Chamber. Now it turns out that a ‘clerical error’ has meant Michael Heseltine has been temporarily ‘unsacked’ from his post as a government advisor. After the government sacked the Tory grandee last week over his Lords rebellion on Article 50, many were surprised today to receive a letter from the Welsh Secretary declaring that he was counting on the ‘expertise of Lord Heseltine’ for the upcoming City Deal for the Swansea Bay

In their frequent moments of self-congratulation, conservatives describe themselves as level-headed and practical people. If there were a scintilla of truth in the stories they tell themselves the government would not think of activating Article 50 this week. Unfortunately, for our country, actual conservatives and mythical conservatives have next to nothing in common. Unconstrained by a political opposition and egged on by a Tory press that makes Breitbart seem like a reputable news service, modern Tories resemble no one so much as the right-wing parody of left wingers: utopian, contemptuous of detail and convinced the world owes them a living. No practical government would invoke Article 50 this week, this

You might argue that the self-employed enjoy less security than the employed, so it’s fair they contribute less; you might argue that the ‘sharing economy’ is a nifty pocket-money source for hard-pressed families, and that tax grabs will swiftly kill it. But revenue-starved Chancellor Hammond will retort that all income and commerce, however novel in form, must be taxed unless specifically exempted, otherwise government can’t make ends meet: tax should keep pace with changing patterns of life and technology. Thus Microsoft founder Bill Gates recently proposed that if robots are replacing humans in business, then companies operating robots should pay income tax on their behalf. Back in 1991, Chancellor Norman

Guy Verhofstadt thinks Brexit is a ‘disaster’, a ‘tragedy’ and a ‘catastrophe’. That verdict, from the European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator, won’t surprise many. But Verhofstadt has a solution to what he sees as a looming crisis for despairing Remain voters. During his interview on the Today programme this morning, he brought up the prospect of British citizens being allowed to keep their EU benefits as part of a ‘special arrangement’. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this pitch from Verhofstadt. Back in November, the Belgian touted the idea that Brits could pay a fee to retain free movement and a vote in EU elections. ‘Many say ‘we don’t want to

Philip Hammond had, in his first few months of Chancellor, gained rather a reputation for being an ‘Eeyore’ about the consequences of Brexit. In the run-up to today’s Budget, it was briefed that he would be much more upbeat about things, while also storing up a ‘war chest’ to guard against any future shocks to the economy caused by Britain leaving the European Union. In the event he barely talked about it at all.  He told the Chamber that ‘as we start our negotiations to exit the European Union, this Budget takes forward our plan to prepare Britain for a brighter future’, and ’our task today is to take the

If you want to judge the extent of the crisis that is paralysing the left, look at this morning’s Guardian. On the one hand you have an article from Abi Wilkinson, who tellingly doesn’t even mention the Labour leader’s name. Convincingly to my mind, Wilkinson argues that the May government ought to be in all kinds of trouble. May herself is an evasive and awkward politician. She is presiding over an NHS that has had more austerity than it can stand. The British Red Cross may have been guilty of hyperbole when it said the UK faced a ‘humanitarian crisis’ across the whole of its health service. But individual patients are finding that, as far

You don’t earn a nickname like ‘Spreadsheet Phil’ for being a showman. But is Philip Hammond’s powder-dry demeanour and unwavering focus on the numbers actually his strong point? Yes, says the Sun, which suggests the chancellor’s cautious approach is exactly what Britain needs right now. The paper says that whereas Hammond’s predecessors would use their Budget announcements to reach for ‘popularity-boosting giveaways’, not so the current incumbent at No.11 who takes a more sensible approach in saying ‘now is not the time for a spending spree’. ‘We couldn’t agree more,’ says the Sun, which warns of ‘greater challenges’ ahead. There may be ‘Brexit storms’ approaching, the paper points out before arguing that

Although Nicola Sturgeon has said a second independence referendum is ‘highly likely’, a recent poll suggests that the Scottish people are inclined to disagree. Earlier this year, a Panelbase survey found that support for a second independence referendum before the UK leaves the EU is at just 27 per cent. What’s more, the majority of Scots — including some who back independence — are not in favour of a second referendum within the next year or two. This is why both the SNP and the Tories are currently at pains to blame the other side for any future referendum. Of late, Nicola Sturgeon and her SNP colleagues have been doing their best to stress

As Prime Minister, John Major was intolerant of opposition from within the Conservative party over the EU — memorably calling Maastricht rebels ‘bastards’. It was unwise, and the bad blood it created within his party has been swirling around ever since. Now that the tables have turned and Sir John now finds himself the rebellious outsider on Europe, it is tempting for those on the Conservative party’s Eurosceptic wing, who for so long were denounced as freaks, fruitcakes and swivel–eyed loons, to take the same approach. Their instinct is to denounce Sir John, Michael Heseltine, Ken Clarke and others as dinosaurs seeking to deny the will of the British people. A