Isabel Hardman

Isabel Hardman

Isabel Hardman is assistant editor of The Spectator and author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians. She also presents Radio 4’s Week in Westminster.

Tory backbenchers talk out ‘revenge evictions’ bill

Fridays in the House of Commons Chamber are rarely edifying experiences, and today a number of MPs and campaigners are very exercised that two backbenchers managed to talk out a private members’ bill which claimed to give tenants better protection against so-called ‘revenge evictions’. These evictions are when a tenant complains about the leaking bath

Isabel Hardman

David Cameron’s immigration speech in five points

David Cameron has just finished delivering his ‘game changing’ immigration speech. A lot of it was a narration of why immigration had made Britain the country it is, but why some voters were uncomfortable with it. You can read the full text here, but here’s the speech summarised in five quick points: listen to ‘David Cameron’s

Isabel Hardman

What next for Andrew Mitchell?

Toby Rowland didn’t have the ‘wit, imagination or inclination’ to invent the account he produced of Andrew Mitchell calling police officers ‘plebs’ at the gates of Downing Street. In any other circumstances that description would be rather devastating, but today it must have sounded rather sweet for the police officer when Mr Justice Mitting uttered

Isabel Hardman

Ministers to unveil counter- terror laws

Today is the day ministers set out their new counter-terrorism legislation following Theresa May’s revelations on Monday about the number of thwarted terror attacks and yesterday’s publication of the ISC report into the murder of Lee Rigby. The new laws will include obligations for schools and universities to combat extremism but there is also a

Isabel Hardman

MPs to discuss legacy of Afghan conflict this week

Yesterday the final UK personnel left Kandahar airfield, with just a few hundred British defence workers left in Afghanistan to help train the country’s future officers. MPs have been assured that the country won’t end up the same way as Iraq, with the RAF returning to the skies above the country to combat Isis, but

Isabel Hardman

The fight for the soul of the Labour party

Fight! Two senior Labour MPs locked horns yesterday over the Scottish leadership contest. Ivan Lewis and Tom Watson scrapped after the latter wrote a piece endorsing left-leaning Neil Findlay for the leadership. Lewis tweeted shortly after Watson promoted his piece that ‘it’s essential that Scots decide best person to be leader of Scottish Labour. Others

Will there be more defections to Ukip?

Now that Ukip has bagged a seat that the Tories thought they could win, other would-be defectors may well be having a good long think about their chances. The fact that Mark Reckless only won Rochester with a 2,920 majority over the Conservatives may well lead wavering MPs to conclude that it isn’t safe to