Uk politics

Tuesday

Isabel Hardman

What are the parties trying to tell voters in their leaflets?

What’s the point of political leaflets, anyway? Many voters in target seats will be asking that very question on an almost daily basis, as they shovel the latest snowdrifts of election literature into their recycling bin. We have social media, party election broadcasts and phone banks to reach voters. Who needs leaflets? There is a (I believe only half-serious) ‘test’ that some Liberal Democrat campaigners apply to the amount of information they think it is possible for a voter to absorb from a leaflet they’re carrying from the letterbox to the bin. Given the parties keep sending them, particularly in those marginal seats where it’s just not clear where the

Monday

Isabel Hardman

Labour’s succession battle is well underway

John McDonnell was insisting this morning that Labour was going to win a majority, but just in case, insiders are suggesting that the Shadow Chancellor is planning to take over as interim leader if Jeremy Corbyn resigns after a general election defeat. McDonnell has long championed Rebecca Long-Bailey as a future leader, and there is speculation that he could install her as his shadow chancellor in order to boost her credentials. This explains why those around Corbyn were so keen to try to abolish Tom Watson as deputy leader in September. They tried to force a rule change at the party’s ruling National Executive Committee meeting which would scrap the

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Labour double down on NHS attack lines in election broadcast

It’s been a hectic election day for the two main parties. Labour managed to move the conversation to their preferred turf – the NHS – following the story of a four-year-old boy forced to sleep on the floor of an overcrowded A&E unit. As Isabel reports, Boris Johnson’s refusal to look at a photo of the boy during an interview has escalated the story further. Health Secretary Matt Hancock was then sent in to calm things down. But that only ignited tensions further after a row ensued over unconfirmed claims a Tory aide was punched leaving a Leeds hospital with Hancock – which were later shown to be false. Labour

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Boris Johnson gives himself a hospital pass as he avoids picture of sick child

Is Boris Johnson a robot? I ask this advisedly, given the connotations of that word in the political arena, but the way the Prime Minister responded to questions from a journalist this afternoon does suggest he might be turning into one. He was asked by ITV’s Joe Pike for a response to the photo of a young boy with suspected pneumonia lying on the floor of Leeds General Infirmary, waiting for a bed. It’s a difficult photo for anyone to look at without an emotional response, and Johnson initially refused to see it at all, taking the reporter’s phone out of his hand, and shoving it in his own pocket.

Katy Balls Katy Balls

How the Conservative strategy is faring across the country

It’s the week of the election and Boris Johnson is to spend the final days of the campaign visiting every region in England and Wales – starting off with a tour of Leave-voting Labour marginals. The polls vary in the size of the Tory lead – starting from a 6pt lead and going up to a 14pt lead. Anything below seven points suggests that a majority is not guaranteed and the Tories could find themselves in hung parliament territory. The Conservative result rests on how successful their electoral strategy is in different parts of the country. As ConHome’s Paul Goodman recently said on the Spectator’s Edition podcast, it’s like a

Sunday

Isabel Hardman

Tories benefit from no-show at chaotic TV debate as election enters final days

Believe it or not, there was yet another televised election debate tonight, this time on Channel 4, called the ‘Everything But Brexit’ debate. The Tories had refused to take part, and while their decision will have been partly down to their ongoing battle with the broadcaster, which they have accused of being biased, they will also have viewed tonight’s programme as an opportunity for them to make their central election pitch without even turning up. This debate worked in the Conservatives’ favour because it was chaotic, with the representatives of the five parties who did turn up constantly talking and even shouting over each other and the presenter Cathy Newman.

Saturday

James Forsyth

There are only two likely outcomes to this election

There are, as I say in the Sun this morning, two possible outcomes to this election: a Tory majority or a hung parliament. The seats where Labour are now concentrating their resources show that they don’t think they can win outright. Instead, their hopes rest on stopping Boris Johnson from getting to 326 seats. Right now, the Tories are on course for a majority. I understand that their own internal numbers indicate a working majority. But these margins are very fine, and victory could slip away if voters don’t turn out. If Boris Johnson does win a majority next week, it will be because he has presented himself as change.

Thursday

Robert Peston

Why I feel sorry for Jo Swinson’s Lib Dems

Interviewing Boris Johnson last night on my show, I ended up feeling a bit sorry for Jo Swinson, leader of the Liberal Democrats. Because for him the election is a proxy for another referendum. His whole mantra is ‘get Brexit done, and move on’. Swinson’s position of ‘revoke and move on’ is a wholly rational response in the context of Johnson’s framing. But apparently what is democracy in action for Johnson is anti-democracy when the Lib Dems react. We are truly in the ‘age of unreason’. Some of you will be screaming that ‘we had a referendum, so the only legitimate way to cancel it is to hold another one’. Except

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Angela Rayner doubles down on Corbyn’s Queen’s Speech blunder

Jeremy Corbyn was caught out yesterday pretending he watches the Queen’s Speech, only to be rumbled when he said he watches it in the morning (it’s actually broadcast at 3pm). But while the Labour leader’s blunder has made the front pages of today’s newspapers, he does still have some loyal defenders. Step forward, Angela Rayner. The shadow education secretary did her best to help Corbyn out on Good Morning Britain. Unfortunately her explanation hardly helped matters. Rayner suggested Corbyn might watch the Queen’s Speech hours before it is actually broadcast…on catch-up TV.

Wednesday

Isabel Hardman

Andrew Neil interview: Jo Swinson sticks to her guns

Jo Swinson had a terrible session on Question Time earlier in the election campaign, but tonight in her interview with Andrew Neil, she showed that it is possible for a leader who believes what they are saying to survive a very tough grilling with their dignity intact. She faced difficult questions on her party’s Brexit position, on her voting record in the Coalition government, and on what she would do if her party lost seats at this election, but managed to stick to her guns in a way that showed up Jeremy Corbyn for not doing so in his interview – and Boris Johnson for not having the guts to

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

How money for losing MPs can skew elections

With just over a week to go till polling day, tis the season for endorsements from publications and public figures. We’ve published our leader in tomorrow’s Spectator setting out why this election is too important to not take sides. There’s been plenty of debate about the New Statesman’s unusual refusal to endorse Labour, arguing that Jeremy Corbyn is not fit to be Prime Minister. But the most bizarre endorsement of the day comes from Ivan Lewis, who is re-standing in Bury South. He may have his name on the ballot paper, but Lewis has taken the odd step of asking voters not to back him. Lewis was a Labour MP

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Trump flies home as Tories breathe a sigh of relief

Donald Trump is on his way back to the US, and—as Katy says —they’ll be breathing a large sigh of relief in CCHQ. The great disruptor has not been that disruptive on this visit. He has, largely, kept out of the election. He hasn’t said anything to add fuel to the fire that Labour is desperately trying to get going on the NHS and a US trade deal. He hasn’t picked a fight with Jeremy Corbyn despite the provocations of the Labour leader; Labour would have loved to have turned this election into a question of whose side are you on, Corbyn or Trump’s as that is that rare thing

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Boris Johnson plays it safe at Nato press conference

There will be relief in Conservative Campaign Headquarters as the Nato summit draws to a close with no election gaffe in sight. With the UK hosting the summit of world leaders, there had been concern that the arrival of the US president with less than a fortnight until polling day could have thrown a spanner in the works. Instead, Donald Trump has said little to cause alarm in Tory high command. When asked about the prospect of NHS privatisation as part of a UK/US trade deal, Trump said the NHS would not be on the table – as the US had little interest in it. In Boris Johnson’s press conference

The Spectator

This is the most important election in modern history – it’s time to take sides

Next week, voters will decide the future of the government, of Brexit, and perhaps of the Union. Jeremy Corbyn has been perfectly clear on what he offers: a radical experiment in far-left economics, going after the wealthy to fund the biggest expansion of government ever attempted in this country. Boris Johnson proposes to complete Brexit and restore much-needed stability to government. But given that about half of voters still oppose Brexit, the race is close. The prospect of Jeremy Corbyn in government – and all that this implies – is all too real. And it might become so if those who oppose him do not actively vote against him next week.

Monday

Katy Balls

Security moves to top of the election agenda

With ten days to go until polling day, the election campaign has turned to national security. Following the London Bridge knife attack on Friday by a convicted terrorist which left two members of the public dead, the Conservatives have made a concerted effort to get on the front foot on the issue. Over the weekend, Boris Johnson announced plans for tougher sentencing for terrorists – including a minimum sentence of 14 years. There’s more to come – with Johnson to announce a five-point plan to prevent serious criminals and terrorists from entering the country after Brexit. Given that this is the week the NATO summit comes to town, the Tories were

Sunday

Isabel Hardman

Party leaders shape up for a week of talking Trump and terror

Tonight’s ITV election debate had a slightly different cast to the seven-way BBC programme on Friday night, but its spokespeople offered pretty much the same soundbites throughout the show. It started with the parties arguing about the lessons from the London Bridge attack, with Conservative Rishi Sunak and Labour’s Richard Burgon repeating the lines their leaders have used over the weekend: Sunak had a slightly softer way of putting the Prime Minister’s argument that only a Conservative government can provide the necessary security for voters. But he did say it was important that the leader of a country responded to attacks like this, and emphasised what he claimed was Boris

Friday

Isabel Hardman

Election debate: leaders squabble over how they can stop Brexit

For a seven-way debate which didn’t even feature the two main party leaders, tonight’s BBC election programme was remarkably good. It felt as though it started with a jolt, with all the senior politicians present looking dazed as they struggled to find the words to respond to this afternoon’s terror attack at London Bridge. It is too early to debate the consequences, the policies which may change, the mistakes made and so on, and the awkwardness was palpable. There was visible relief when they were able to move on to the second question, and a different topic. Because Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn had both sent along substitutes, the debate

Thursday

James Forsyth

Will the BBC hang tough in negotiations over the Boris Johnson interview?

So, will Boris Johnson sit down for an interview with Andrew Neil? Jeremy Corbyn and Nicola Sturgeon have done theirs while Jo Swinson and Nigel Farage are scheduled for next week. The Prime Minister hasn’t yet agreed a time for his. Given how tough an Andrew Neil interview is, just ask Jeremy Corbyn if you doubt that, it is hard not to be cynical about the Tories’ scheduling issues. Boris Johnson is, though, offering to appear on the Andrew Marr show this Sunday. This offers an easy solution to the problem. The Tory leader, who is clearly free on Sunday morning, could simply record his interview with Andrew Neil then

Wednesday

Steerpike

Watch: Barry Gardiner gets angry over anti-Semitism question

Jeremy Corbyn is desperate to move on from talk of his mauling at the hands of Andrew Neil last night but some journalists still won’t play by the Labour script. At a Labour event this morning, two reporters asked questions about anti-Semitism. It’s safe to say it didn’t go down well with shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner, who accused the reporter of ‘having a dig’ at the leader: ‘Do you have a question on the issue we are actually discussing today or was that an opportune moment to get a dig in about something else?’ Oh dear…

Tuesday

Isabel Hardman

Jeremy Corbyn flounders on anti-Semitism, Brexit, tax and spending

Jeremy Corbyn’s interview with Andrew Neil was one of the most uncomfortable half hours of the Labour leader’s tenure. In contrast to the ITV debate, where he appeared confident and quick-witted, Corbyn struggled to answer questions on a number of different issues, complaining all the while that Neil wouldn’t let him finish. By the end, he might have wished that he’d had more interruptions as this was a very poor interview. His refusal to apologise for the Labour party’s handling of anti-Semitism has naturally attracted the most attention. He point blank disagreed with the Chief Rabbi, saying he was ‘not right’ to say it was ‘mendacious fiction’ that Labour had