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.
One of the leading figures in setting up parliament’s independent complaints process has told Coffee House she is worried it will ‘fall into disrepute’ and that key measures designed to crack down on harassment and bullying are not being implemented. Andrea Leadsom was Leader of the House of Commons when the ‘Pestminster’ scandal broke in
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SAGE warned that the second wave of Covid-19 could be worse than the first, and that the whole of England could be in Tier-3 by Christmas, reports today claim. With Emmanuel Macron also expected to announce another national lockdown in France tonight, can Boris Johnson continue to resist doing the same? Cindy Yu speaks to
What is the Conservative case for facing down Marcus Rashford on free school meals during the holidays? Ask a handful of Tory MPs, including the Prime Minister, and they’ll throw out a contradictory mess of answers. Many of those who are most uneasy with the way the government has refused to U-turn on the matter
Marcus Rashford was just 12 when David Cameron took the Conservatives into government, a fact that makes the bones of most Westminster inhabitants creak. In the ensuing decade, he has learned to be not only a footballer of international renown, but also a measured and effective political campaigner. The Tories, on the other hand, appear
Much of the UK is going to spend the next few months bouncing in and out of some form of lockdown to try to contain the spread of coronavirus. That doesn’t just mean that much of the country is going to struggle economically, but also that the people who were most at risk during the
Who will win in the stand-off between Downing Street and Greater Manchester leaders over Covid restrictions? At first glance, it seems as though central government will inevitably emerge victorious, given ministers have the power to unilaterally impose tier-three restrictions on the area. Last night Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick threatened to do just that, saying: There
Keir Starmer has made life difficult for Boris Johnson this week with his demand for a circuit-breaker lockdown. But the Labour leader’s colleague Andy Burnham is currently presenting a far greater threat to the Prime Minister. On Thursday, the Mayor of Greater Manchester gave a furious speech in which he accused the government of being
It is hardly surprising that the new parliamentary complaints system has had what might politely be termed teething problems when it comes to helping staffers and others who turned to it. This week the Times reports that complainants had been given incorrect advice, had not received the mental health support they needed, and were even
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A three-tier system of coronavirus restrictions is set to be announced today, but the government is still locked in negotiations with local authorities over the financial support they will receive if they are placed at the highest level. With a growing number of Tory backbenchers coming out against harsher measures, could the new system backfire
Monday night’s Commons debate showed the extent of Tory backbench frustration with ministers over their refusal to consult parliament on increasing coronavirus restrictions. But it also showed that the situation isn’t beyond repair. MPs were blunt in their criticism of the government but were also polite and clearly keen to avoid a stand-off. Parliamentarians just
It’s not going to be an easy autumn for the Tories, which is why the top brass have started holding meetings with nervous backbenchers to try to allay their fears about tax rises and other politically difficult decisions which are looming. Rishi Sunak also clearly saw the value in ensuring the public was aware he
Graham Brady isn’t an MP given to criticising the government in public very often at all. As chair of the Conservative 1922 Committee, he tends to communicate his views and those of the party to the Prime Minister in private. So when he does speak out, it’s worth listening. His criticisms have been escalating over
Whose fault is the school exam results fiasco? Based on who has left their jobs in the past few weeks, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was officials in the Department for Education and at Ofqual, not the Secretary of State for Education. Gavin Williamson has apologised for the ‘stress’ caused to pupils, but remains
Gavin Williamson rather generously did the sketch writers’ jobs for them this afternoon when he failed to hand his homework in on time for his first day of term. The Education Secretary gave a statement in the Commons on schools reopening – and ended up being scolded by opposition MPs for sending a very late
Labour is gearing up for its first big Commons clash since returning from recess this afternoon, with shadow education secretary Kate Green taking on Gavin Williamson after his statement on the opening of schools and colleges. On the surface, the party has had its easiest summer in a long while, with no real factional battles
If you want a measure of how in control of things the government currently feels, look no further than today’s briefing on encouraging workers back into offices. A nationwide campaign to reassure people that employers have made their workplaces ‘Covid-secure’ will launch next week, as ministers worry about the impact on city centres of workers
From the start, it was obvious that lockdown would have a devastating effect on domestic abuse victims, although it wasn’t possible to know just how bad it would be. But the picture is becoming clearer now. Abused women have been telling their stories: a survey this week by the charity Women’s Aid found almost two-thirds
We do not know what the long-term impact of coronavirus will be on mental health. We are still not through the pandemic, for one thing, which means that many people who have found the experience of lockdown, of losing their livelihood, or of losing loved ones traumatic, have not yet had the chance to process
There’s something rather ominous about a government minister waving around the results of a yet-to-be-published study to underline that they’ve definitely got a tricky policy nailed down. Over the weekend, we saw the Prime Minister and Education Secretary both insisting that it would be fine for English schools to reopen in September because a piece of
The Tories are well aware that the public won’t endlessly give them the benefit of the doubt on their handling of the coronavirus crisis. They are also aware that one of the most tangible signs to people that the government is still not in control of things is if schools fail to open – or
