The first day of the Parliamentary session always has a slightly back to school feel to it. There are two, traditionally, witty speeches that are full of in jokes. The leader of the opposition then makes a speech that mixes the serious with humour and the Prime Minister replies in kind. But today won’t be
Reports are coming in that Tony Blair is set to stand down as a peace envoy to the Middle East. AP is reporting that the former Prime Minister has tendered his resignation to the Quartet on the Middle East — consisting of representatives from the US, EU, Russia and the UN — and will leave in June. Blair
Harriet Harman was on fighting form in Parliament today when she responded to the Queen’s Speech. Between telling David Cameron to watch his back for Tory leadership hopeful Boris Johnson and remembering the Ed Stone, Harman paid tribute to Simon Burns, who gave the first speech. Speaking about the Tory MP, she revealed that in his heyday
Leon Brittan’s memorial service on Tuesday packed the West London Synagogue, but there were some notable absentees. We in the congregation were informed that the government was represented by Lord Howe (the Earl Howe, not Geoffrey). He is an estimable man, but well below Cabinet level. Since Brittan had been Home Secretary, it would normally
Keep an eye on the government’s ban on legal highs. The Conservative manifesto pledged to outlaw all the horrible chemicals kids smoke and snort for fun these days, on account of them being easier to get hold of than the straightforward, honest illegal narcotics we had when I were a lad. Certainly they’re worth banning,
In this View from 22 special podcast, James Forsyth, Isabel Hardman and I discuss the first Conservative Queen’s Speech in 19 years and the government’s legislation plans for the next 12 months. We discuss the challenges David Cameron will face trying to pass these bills, as well as the traps for the Labour leadership contenders. You
Should one of the oldest pubs in Britain – ‘Ye Olde Fighting Cocks’ – really change its name to ‘Ye Olde Clever Cocks’? This is what the animal rights organisation Peta is proposing, after deciding that the pub – which has had the same name since 1872 – should choose to celebrate ‘intelligent, sensitive chickens’. Thinking
Six more Labour MPs have endorsed Yvette Cooper as leader: Coffee House has the names exclusively. Emily Thornberry Ian Austin Jim Cunningham Karen Buck Lyn Brown Steve McCabe They’re an interesting mix, ranging from Londoners like Karen Buck, Lyn Brown and Emily Thornberry to those with seats in the Midlands, such as Ian Austin, Jim
This week, the Guardian published its annual university league table. The rankings are as bewildering to anyone acquainted with the reality of university reputations as they are misleading to anyone who is not. Should you wish to study Economics, for instance, you are told that you would do better taking an offer from Surrey (4)
Anyone would think that those drafting the Queen’s Speech might have had a bet on to see how many Tory soundbites they could shoehorn in. Apparently the Queen’s government will ‘adopt a one nation approach’, with a nod to ‘supporting aspiration’. Of course, her ‘government will continue with its long-term plan’. It could have been
Can it be that the great fantasy kingdom of Fifa has finally collapsed? Is this the fall of Oz? Is it possible that this vast sporting organisation – one that has survived for so many years on sheer effrontery – is now on collision course with reality? The Swiss police’s dawn raid on the headquarters
He may be a national treasure, but it’s safe to say that Dennis Skinner’s annual crack during the Queen’s Speech have been a bit lame of late. The veteran MP always makes a joke in the silence as Black Rod enters the Commons chamber. Last year we had ‘Coalition’s last stand,’ in 2013: ‘Royal Mail for
Unlike Pope Francis I can’t actually remember when I consciously gave up television and I have in fact watched it occasionally in other people’s houses on various occasions. But it was probably at least as long ago as he, twenty odd years ago. When I went to university there wasn’t a television in our room and there
David Cameron has decided to stall on human rights reform for now, partly because the Tories couldn’t quite work out how to get the reforms they wanted, and partly because the Prime Minister knew that he had a rebellion in his own party on his hands, opposition from almost all other parties bar the DUP,
Her Majesty has just delivered the first Conservative Queen’s Speech in 19 years — or as David Cameron described it, a ‘One Nation Queen’s Speech from a One Nation Government’. Here are the key pieces of legislation the government will be looking to pass over the next 12 months. Full Employment and Welfare Benefits Bill (and
In September last year I wrote about horses being illegally grazed and abandoned, and the inability of landowners to do anything about it. Back then, the government were poised to debate the topic for two hours in a bid to find some kind of solution to the problem. It’s not an issue that gets all
Could there be a sadder sight today than Nick Clegg, intervening on behalf of his now tiny ‘minor party’ in the Queen’s Speech debate? The Lib Dem leader is responding to this afternoon, his first intervention since the general election, and plans to use his slot to complain that the Tories are already turning their
The new parliament officially begins with the grand State Opening of Parliament ceremony today. The Queen will deliver the first Conservative Queen’s Speech in 19 years this morning, outlining the topics her government intends to legislate on over the next year. Plenty of details have appeared in the press already, with numerous reports suggesting that it will be ‘one-nation’
From ‘What Italy Brings To The Allies‘, 29 May 1915: THE more the entrance of Italy into the war is contemplated the more romantic and gratifying it seems. Italy has joined the forces of Freedom with whom her heart has long been beating. It is her right and natural place. Why, then, it may be asked,
Tomorrow’s Queen’s Speech will be almost cut and pasted from the Tory manifesto. Partly, this is because Number 10 believes that the Salisbury convention dictates that the House of Lords will not block policies that have a manifesto mandate. But it is also because the Tories wish to carry on in office where they left
