Uk politics

If anyone pushing for reform of Britain’s relationship with Europe was hunting for an example of why there needs to be a renegotiation, they would have struggled to find a more perfect one than that served up by the European Commission. The Commission is taking the UK to the European Court of Justice, claiming its tests for EU nationals applying for benefits break EU law. Announcing that he will ‘not cave in’ to Brussels must have been one of the more satisfying moments of Iain Duncan Smith’s career. What must have been even more satisfying to listen to was the exchange between Peter Lilley and rights adviser Adam Weiss on

Labour is apparently thrilled with the OECD’s assessment of the UK economy, released today. The think tank cut its growth forecasts from 0.9 per cent to 0.8 for 2013 and from 1.6 per cent to 1.5 per cent for 2014, while warning of ‘strong headwinds’ from the eurozone. So Chris Leslie, the Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury seized on the report, saying: ‘The OECD has once again cut its growth forecasts for the UK economy, warning that youth unemployment is too high and that weak growth means wages are not keeping up with price rises.’ His colleague Rachel Reeves said it was ‘time for the government to listen and

Should the UK arm the Syrian rebels? William Hague thinks so, but it turns out neither his MPs nor the public are convinced. YouGov polling earlier this month found on 17 per cent of voters supported sending arms, and 56 per cent opposed the measure. Tory MPs such as John Redwood, John Baron and Julian Lewis today said the plan ‘might make it worse rather than better’, would ‘escalate the violence and escalate the suffering’ and that it was ‘naive’. Hague himself insisted that no decision to supply arms had yet been taken, and that the EU decision to not renew the arms embargo was a way of putting pressure on all sides

Anyone reading Sam Coates’ interview with Ed Balls in today’s Times might be forgiven for chucking their newspaper on the floor with a chuckle, muttering about the hypocrisy of a Labour shadow Chancellor lecturing George Osborne on borrowing. Balls warns that the government’s plans to offer Royal Bank of Scotland shares to the public will add billions to the deficit. He tells the newspaper: ‘A giveaway or loss-making firesale at the current share price would and billions to the national debt at a time when poor economic growth already means borrowing isn’t coming down.’ But this is an attempt by Balls to appear fiscally responsible while making the case for

David Cameron warned in his Downing Street statement on the Woolwich killing against forming ‘knee-jerk responses’ to the atrocity. But it was inevitable that there would be many knees flying in the air over a piece of legislation that some say could either have prevented the killing, or made it easier to piece together the evidence. The Communications Data Bill – better known as the Snooper’s Charter – is back in the spotlight after everyone had assumed that Nick Clegg had kicked it into the next Parliament at least. Alan Johnson called it a resigning issue on the Marr Show, Lord Carlile accused his own party of blocking the legislation

I was surprised to be told, by the editor of this magazine, that next week will mark the 20th anniversary of my standing down as Chancellor. The anniversary had entirely passed me by. I was asked this week why, if the economy was turning, George Osborne didn’t announce that he had spotted ‘green shoots’, as I observed in 1991. Although my remark, much rubbished at the time, turned out to be surprisingly prescient, I think Osborne is right to be cautious. Economic statistics are revised so often, trying to steer the economy as Chancellor is, as Harold Macmillan observed, like trying to catch a train using last year’s timetable. The