uk politics Archives

Thursday

27 Sep 2012

Andrew Mitchell and me

In the summer of 2011 I was fortunate enough to land a one-week work experience placement with a government minister. It was Andrew Mitchell. It is no surprise, then, that I have been keeping a keen eye on the newspapers this past week as ‘Gategate’ continues to make the headlines. It only took a few conversations with the then International Development Secretary for me to realise that his compassionate approach towards aid was genuine. There were no cameras or microphones present as Mitchell told me of the desperate situation he had encountered the previous month in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa. Upon hearing that I am of Bangladeshi origin, Mitchell

Isabel Hardman

Ed Miliband’s big policy problem

Ed Miliband’s speech in Manchester next week is going to be one of the toughest gigs of the party conference season. As James writes in his column this week, the Labour leader needs to give the country a glimpse of what he would be like as Prime Minister. Alan Johnson agrees: in a piece for the Guardian today, the former shadow chancellor says Miliband has ‘to do more to demonstrate that he is a leader’. Johnson writes: ‘But he knows better than anyone that an opinion poll lead is not enough. In any case, the same polls still show David Cameron being preferred as prime minister. While I don’t believe

James Forsyth

Harriet Harman: Labour mustn’t match Tory spending plans at the next election

The spotlight is shifting from the Liberal Democrats to Labour ahead of the party’s conference. But I suspect that at least one theme from Brighton will be carried on to Manchester: what to do about the coming spending review. In The Spectator this week, Labour’s deputy leader Harriet Harman makes clear that she is adamantly opposed to Labour repeating Gordon Brown’s 1997 trick of promising to match, at least initially, Tory spending plans: ‘Our argument against the Tories is that the scale and pace of their deficit reduction is self-defeating and hurting the economy and therefore making less money available. So we have got a fundamental economic critique — we

Alex Massie

Life in Modern Britain: Charity Duck Edition – Spectator Blogs

A typical tale of nitwittery from modern Britain. And this, of course, is one of the problems with localism: it means giving more power to local councillors. That’s still, on balance, a risk worth taking even though so many of them seem so utterly devoid of common sense. Quackers council chiefs have banned a bow tie-wearing duck from collecting cash for charity – unless it gets a permit. The bird – called Star – wears a dickie bow and waddles alongside his owner Barrie Hayman raising money for sick youngsters. Star and Barrie regularly visit businesses collecting cash from the public – already raising £6,500 for a children’s hospice.But Mr

Wednesday

26 Sep 2012

James Forsyth

Lib Dem conference: The significance of the Paddy Ashdown appointment

The only line of Nick Clegg’s speech that drew whoops from the hall was the announcement that Paddy Ashdown was returning to run the 2015 general election campaign. The enthusiasm was testament to the affection that the grassroots of the party still have for their former leader. The appointment tells us several intriguing things about the internal state of the Liberal Democrats. That Clegg felt the need to announce who was running the next election campaign at this conference, more than two years out from the date of the next general election, shows he’s keen to do everything he can to demonstrate that he is going to lead the party

James Forsyth

This Lib Dem conference was about two subtly different speeches

Nick Clegg’s conference speech wasn’t designed to be a barn burner. Instead, it was meant to tell the party that there’s no turning back, that they now have to become a Liberal, centrist party of government. The Clegg camp believes that up to 3 million of the 6.8 million votes they won at the last election might be gone for good. So, the party needs to go and find new voters. They believe these are to be found in the centre ground among those who don’t want to, as he put it, to ‘trust Labour with their money again’ and have doubts about whether the ‘Tories will make Britain fairer’.

Isabel Hardman

Key lessons from the Liberal Democrat conference

Now the Lib Dems have finally reached the end of their autumn conference in Brighton, here’s a summary of the most important points from the week: 1. The Lib Dems will struggle to work with Ed Balls in the event of a possible Lib-Lab pact in 2015. Nick Clegg made this clear in his speech this afternoon, repeatedly attacking the shadow chancellor by name. 2. Nick Clegg wants to pull his party with him into demonstrating that coalition works. The proalition-style announcement in his speech about catch-up tuition for school children was a demonstration of how two-party government can be very effective, while his tough talking on the party no

Isabel Hardman

Nick Clegg’s 2015 slogan: you can’t trust Ed Balls with your money

Like the whole of this Liberal Democrat conference, Nick Clegg’s speech to delegates did the job, but didn’t exactly lift the roof from the Brighton Centre. Those watching were happy: they applauded warmly and laughed at all the jokes (which hasn’t always been the case this week in Brighton), and they were utterly overjoyed when the Deputy Prime Minister announced that Paddy Ashdown will chair the party’s 2015 general election team. He told members to ‘go for it’, and raised two laughs when he quoted Jo Grimond, saying that he could ‘see generations of Liberal marching towards the sound of gunfire. And yes, I see them going back to their

Isabel Hardman

Nick Clegg: ‘Vote Labour if you like protest politics’

Nick Clegg’s speech this afternoon will include a big push for his party to accept that they are a party of government, not of protest and that coalition is a good thing. He made some choice comments to that effect in an interview with regional journalists, which the Birmingham Post has covered. Clegg said: ‘There are a group of people – they are perfectly free to do this in a free democratic society – who like to throw stones from the sidelines, who like to be associated with causes where there’s never a difficult decision needs to be made, who don’t actually like parties being in government. And who always

James Forsyth

Lib Dem conference: Is Jo Swinson the answer to the Lib Dems’ women problem?

Jo Swinson has just given what, by my count, is her third platform speech of the conference. All of them have been competently delivered and got her message across. She has an impressive ability to carry the hall with her. One can see why so many of those around Nick Clegg view her as the solution to the Lib Dems’ women problem. At the moment, all five of the party’s Cabinet ministers are men. Given her qualities as a communicator and her age—she’s 32, one would be tempted to tip Swinson as a future leader. But her seat is a problem. Her majority in East Dunbartonshire is only a touch

Alex Massie

Who Cares About Andrew Mitchell’s Boorishness? – Spectator Blogs

I’ve avoided commenting on Andrew Mitchell’s problems with police officers and gates because, damn it, the whole affair has been saturated in so much stupidity that it scarcely seemed to warrant further examination. But James Kirkup has pushed me over the edge. He asks if David Cameron “trusts the word of the police who guard his house”. Break. Give. Me. A. Never fear, however, because the indomitable lobby is on the scent and determined to pursue the Prime Minister on this, even to the ends of the earth itself: Sadly, I can’t tell you the answer, because the PM’s not saying; ministers are also being told by No 10 not

Alex Massie

Shock Development: Scottish Labour Grows Up, Repudiates Own Past – Spectator Blogs

Whisper it sceptically but something interesting may have happened in Scotland yesterday. It might even turn out to be an important something too. Even more remarkably, this was all because of a speech given by Johann Lamont, leader of Labour’s bedraggled Scottish troops. I know, it all sounds too astonishing to be true. Be that as it may, Lamont’s speech in which she argued it’s time for Scotland to cease living on “the never never” and admit there will, probably, soon be a choice between raising taxes and cutting services was a rare move towards reality. Lamont’s address was the kind of thing sarcastic types are supposed to call “brave”

Tuesday

25 Sep 2012

Isabel Hardman

Lib Dem conference: Nick Clegg’s Proalition speech

Nick Clegg will round off this week’s Liberal Democrat conference with an announcement that neatly illustrates the ‘proalition’ phase that the government is in at present. In his speech this afternoon, he will tell delegates that every year seven child who does not meet required standards in English and Maths will qualify for catch-up tuition. For every child falling behind, a school will receive £500, which they can do what they wish with. Around 110,000 pupils are expected to benefit from this premium. I understand that the money was a specific request that the Liberal Democrats made as part of the negotiations over the English Baccalaureate. They argued – and

Sebastian Payne

Lib Dem conference: Tories and Lib Dems may not be bound to vote together on press regulation

Brighton was touched with a smidgen of stardust this evening as Steve Coogan surfaced with the Hacked Off pressure group. Having previously appeared as a public face for press reform, the comedian spoke to stress his role in the campaign is not a personal one, despite not being a ‘strong campaigning person’: ‘I’m just here to give voice to those who do feel strongly about this, having had their privacy invaded and the press behave in quite a despicable way and an abusive way — those people who haven’t got the wherewithal to be here. I’m speaking on their behalf. Clearly there are examples of where the press have exceeded their

Isabel Hardman

Lib Dem conference: leadership defeated on Justice and Security Bill

As predicted earlier, the Lib Dem leadership has just suffered an embarrassing defeat on the conference floor this afternoon on a grassroots motion on the Justice and Security Bill. The wrecking amendment which removed the call for parliamentarians to defeat the legislation received just a smattering of votes, and the overall motion was carried unamended. During the course of the debate, the amendment received support on stage from Julian Huppert, Alistair Carmichael and Tom Brake. That MPs were turning up to oppose the party’s grassroots is not a good sign: remember that the pause in the Health and Social Care Bill came about because of a groundswell of anger within

Isabel Hardman

Lib Dem conference: rebellion brewing on ‘secret courts’

The Liberal Democrats do love a good policy motion, and the tradition at most party conferences is for the attending media circus to stay well away from the debates and votes on the conference floor as they are rarely game changers. But this afternoon, the party’s leadership could face its first defeat on the conference floor when delegates debate a motion on the Justice and Security Bill from 5pm. The motion itself says the proposals for closed court hearings ‘did not form part of either the Liberal Democrat or Conservative manifestos in 2010, nor the Coalition Agreement’, and calls on Lib Dem MPs and peers to press the government to

Sebastian Payne

Lib Dem conference: police remain unhappy about Mitchell and elected commissioners

‘I can see there are several journalists here, so we might as well get Andrew Mitchell out of the way’. Channel 4’s Michael Crick decided to kick off his lunchtime fringe session with the big political row brewing far away from the Brighton Centre. Irene Curtis, president-elect of the Police Superintendents’ Association, began by venting her frustration that the matter remained ‘unresolved’, highlighting the integrity of the police force and its officers as her key concern. Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, took the view that there is little else for police to say since the officer has accepted Mitchell’s apology. But like the other

Isabel Hardman

Lib Dem conference: Oakeshott calls for Cameron to take one for the team on universal benefits

Nick Clegg’s attack on universal benefits such as the winter fuel payment and free bus passes this afternoon was a nice little morsel of red meat to his party, as he said it would be ‘difficult to explain’ a failure to reform these payments when other benefits are being slashed. He told the World at One: ‘My own view is for the future that it would be very difficult to explain – and it would be quite interesting if you could ask the Labour party for this, because they appear to be saying that at a time when people’s housing benefit is being cut, we should protect Alan Sugar’s free

Melanie McDonagh

The one thing worse than universal benefits? Means-testing them.

There’s nothing, but nothing, easier than for politicians to sound off about universal benefits, and sure enough, Nick Clegg was complaining on the World at One today about the iniquity of, as he says, paying for Alan Sugar’s bus pass. He was being asked about the sustainability of universal benefits and perks following Don Foster, one of his MPs, grumbling about it being absurd that someone like him is entitled to a winter fuel allowance. Mr Clegg went on to make clear that as part of the coalition deal for this parliament there wouldn’t actually be any fiddling with things like the fuel payment for oldies, but after that, these

Douglas Murray

Lib Dems in Brighton: the prattling of the pointless

Are there any words in the English language more soporific or depressing than: ‘Liberal Democrat Party Conference’? My paucity of blogs in the last few days can be put down solely to this fact. Even the many fascinating and disturbing things occurring in the world are somehow made damp by the knowledge that this annual general meeting of the bogus is going on. I suppose it comes down to one thing in particular. There is simply no purpose in the Liberal Democrats. There never has been. It is just a collection of people who for various reasons – understandable dislike of the other parties, hilarious opportunism or simple ignorance –