Politics

Read about the latest UK political news, views and analysis.

Sunday

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Westminster leaders must now prove they can keep their promises

The Westminster party leaders have disagreed with much Alex Salmond has said recently. But it’s pretty difficult to fault the assessment of the aftermath of the referendum that he gave on today’s Sunday Politics. The First Minister said: ‘I am actually not surprised they are cavilling and reneging on commitments, I am only surprised by the speed at which they are doing it. They seem to be totally shameless in these matters. The Prime Minister wants to link change in Scotland to change in England. He wants to do that because he has difficulty in carrying his backbenchers on this and they are under pressure from UKIP. ‘The Labour leadership

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Will the English welsh on the Scots?

A few days ago Cameron, Clegg and Miliband made a ‘vow’ to Scottish voters – if they rejected separation, far more powers would be transferred to the Edinburgh parliament. Gordon Brown was sent to flesh this offer out, apparently with the backing of all three party leaders. With the ‘no’ vote now in the bag, this ‘vow’ and the timetable (it’d be done by Burns Night, said Brown) looks shaky: I’m told that Cameron has no intention of transferring any powers before the election and that he says Brown was freelancing. (He didn’t make this point before the referendum). Some Tory MPs, in turn, say that Cameron did not have

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Miliband confronted by the English Question

Ed Miliband wouldn’t have wanted to spend his big, pre-conference interview talking about English votes for English law but that’s what he had to do on Marr this morning. Miliband was prepared to concede more English scrutiny for English legislation. But it is clear he won’t back English votes for English laws. He even argued that it was hard to describe tuition fees, which don’t apply in Scotland, as an issue just for the rest of the UK. listen to ‘Ed Miliband: ‘In favour of greater scrutiny’ of English issues by English MPs’ on Audioboo Miliband was much happier when the interview turned to the minimum wage and Labour’s plan

Saturday

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Audio: Scottish teenagers on why the independence battle is just getting started

Will there be another Scottish independence referendum? I went back to my hometown, Nairn, yesterday to gauge the mood after the ‘no’ win. Highland Region split 53/47 for ‘no’, tighter than I imagined. I was also interested in the younger voters (and the newly-enfranchised 16 and 17-year-olds) – because their interest (or lack of it) may determine whether the issue of secession stays with us. Canadian PM Stephen Harper told me last month that Quebec’s youth got bored of the subject of secession, which is why the issue has cooled. As he put it, I do believe that at some point that people, particularly the younger generation [of Quebec] started to sit back and say: we’ve been

The Spectator

The Spectator at war: Servants of the nation

From The Spectator, 19 September 1914: Friday’s Times contains a letter from Lord Cromer on “Germany and Ourselves” which will give a double pleasure to thousands of readers. Its wise and vigorous terms are most useful and most timely in themselves, and they show how completely he is now restored to health :— “Let me add my firm conviction that the fear, which seems to prevail in some quarters, that, as a result of the war, the external and internal policy of this country may be guided by what is termed the military party,’ is a pure delusion, and merely affords additional proof that as in the early days of the

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Have the Scottish Tories been detoxified?

The referendum campaign was a mixed experience for the Scottish Tories. On the one hand, it was a reminder of how much they are still hated in Scotland: End Tory rule forever, was one of the more frequently heard Nationalist battle cries. On the other, they had one of the campaign’s most effective advocates, Ruth Davidson and were accepted in as part of the cross party campaign. Indeed, it was telling that the Better Together campaign together rather than hiding Davidson away used her more and more as the campaign went on. In his Scotsman column today, the former Labour spin doctor John McTernan declares that ‘Ruth Davidson’s campaign has

Friday

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

In praise of Alex Salmond

Alex Salmond has proved himself the most effective party leader in Europe, let alone Britain. He has just run a terrifyingly effective campaign, perhaps the best I will ever witness. I could not disagree more with his aims, but to me that makes his achievement all the more remarkable. I doubt any other politician could have sold such a bad idea to 45 per cent of Scots. He ran rings around his opponents, outsmarting them all. He was so damn infuriating because he was so damn good: able to use humour, anger, audacity and caution when each was required. I can’t think of many politicians with his versatility. As a unionist, I’m delighted that the sharpest

Steerpike Steerpike

Miliband’s carnival of constitutional tinkering

There is a certain irony in the fact that Miliband is protecting his party’s Scottish advantage by accusing the Prime Minister of allowing ‘this moment to be used for narrow party political advantage’. Rejecting Cameron’s plans for English votes for English laws, Labour have rushed out plans for ‘a full Constitutional Convention rooted in our nations and regions, to address the need for further devolution in England and political reform of Westminster.’ Form an orderly queue. Labour happily admit that this carnival of constitutional tinkering could drag on for well over a year: ‘In the coming weeks Labour will set out how this should begin before the next election with

Nick Cohen Nick Cohen

The left cannot be an anti-English movement.

  During the referendum campaign nothing astonished me and Labour campaigners more than left wing English intellectuals embracing Scottish nationalism. It was not that they did not have the right to speak, but that they had so little regard for traditional left wing concerns about the welfare of the Scottish working class. Rather than thinking about the danger of ever-greater austerity in an independent Scotland, they were possessed by a loathing of England. Here, for instance, is George Monbiot telling Scotland to leave a few weeks ago. His country, Monbiot said, was ruled by a hereditary elite, beholden to a corrupt financial centre, and dominated by speculators and rent-seekers. Its

Steerpike Steerpike

Celebrities react badly to the referendum result

As the Saltires are put away and the fireworks dismantled, some celebrities waking up to the Scottish referendum result took it rather badly, the poor lambs. Russell Brand was in his usual Citizen Smith mode: Fear is more powerful than faith. Until that changes none of us are free. — Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) September 19, 2014 Where at least Frankie Boyle was trying to be funny: I should have expected this, because if you’d asked me to estimate how many cunts there were in Scotland I’d have said about 2 million — Frankie Boyle (@frankieboyle) September 19, 2014 To be fair, I’ve always hated Scotland — Frankie Boyle (@frankieboyle) September 19,

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Indyref: Will Westminster really change?

Lord Ashcroft’s post-referendum Scotland poll gives politicians claiming they’ve ‘heard’ voters a number of clues if in reality they’re still a bit confused. It suggests that those last few days of panic from the ‘No’ camp didn’t really shift as many voters as some might have thought. The poll says 28 per cent of ‘No’ voters made up their mind within this year. 72 per cent had already decided before September 2013. Only nine per cent had settled on ‘No’ in the past week. And the reason more frequently cited for voting ‘Yes’ than any other was ‘disaffection with Westminster politics’, with 74% of those in favour of independence naming

The Spectator

David Cameron’s statement to the nation on devolution

Here’s the full text of the Prime Minister’s speech this morning in reaction to the ‘No’ vote in the Scottish independence referendum.  listen to ‘David Cameron’s statement on devolution’ on Audioboo The people of Scotland have spoken. It is a clear result. They have kept our country of four nations together. Like millions of other people, I am delighted. As I said during the campaign, it would have broken my heart to see our United Kingdom come to an end. And I know that sentiment was shared by people, not just across our country, but also around the world….because of what we’ve achieved together in the past and what we

Thursday

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Podcast: the night Britain holds its breath

Well, it’s going to be a nail-biter. The voting has closed, and I’ve just spoken to Hamish Macdonell and James Forsyth for the podcast: both sides think that they have won. Why? The polls show it’s too close to call, so each side is going on anecdote – and risks a positive feedback loop. I’m in Inverness, near my hometown of Nairn, but the joy of being back in the Highlands is tempered by the chat. In the bar I was at (Hootananny, the city’s best venue for folk music) the punters were swapping stories about getting their friends and family out for ‘yes’. listen to ‘Both ‘yes’ and ‘no’ think they’ve

The Spectator

Scotland rejects independence – as it happened

No has won the referendum. Scotland won’t become independent, but it will get new devolved powers, David Cameron promised this morning. Follow the developments on the PM’s plans to change the constitution here. 08:13 The final result is in. Highland. Yes: 78,069 No: 87,739. That’s 47.1% to 52.9% on a turnout of 87.0% 07.10 am: What are these ‘further powers’ that Scotland – and indeed the rest of the UK – might be given? If we’re getting more powers I want telekinesis #indyref — Craig Rothney (@rothneychild) September 19, 2014 07.05 am: What happens next for the rest of the UK? Here’s what Isabel has to say: The Prime Minister will give his response to

Conor Burns

Our Scottish campaign will encourage English Nationalism unless the voice of England is heard

This is an extract from a speech delivered by Tory MP Conor Burns at a Conservative association dinner in Chris Grayling’s constituency tonight: It would be extraordinary if I did not mention what is going on in Scotland this evening. I represent, as self-evidently, does the Lord Chancellor beside me a constituency in England. I have watched events in Scotland through that prism of course. But I have also watched as a staunch Unionist. I have always given equal weight to the full title of our great Party: Conservative AND Unionist. I was born and spent the early years of my life in Northern Ireland into a Catholic family with

John O'Neill

Scottish independence referendum results: what to expect

Coffee House is ready to cover the independence referendum results, and we’ll be bringing you news and analysis throughout the night. Isabel Hardman, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson will be blogging – and you can follow them on Twitter @FraserNelson, @IsabelHardman and @JGForsyth for immediate reaction. Polls close at 10 o’clock tonight – but anyone still queuing will be allowed to vote. There’s no exit poll so we won’t have an immediate estimate of the result. Votes will be counted in each of Scotland’s 32 council areas, and as each council’s total is checked and accepted by the Chief Counting Officer, Mary Pitcaithly, the local counting officers will be able to announce their result.

Peter Riddell

Even if it’s a No vote, the fall out will be very complicated

The most startling development over the past few days has not only been the narrowing of the polls but the consequential commitment of the three UK party leaders to Gordon Brown’s accelerated timetable for agreeing more devolution. Whether or not it convinces voters, this promise will have far-reaching effects not just for Scotland but also for the rest of the UK. The Brown plan envisages the setting out of options by the end of October, a month-long consultation before a White Paper on a plan by the end of November, and draft legislation in January. Leaving aside all the practical difficulties of meeting that timetable, there is no agreement on

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Whoever wins Scotland’s referendum, the ‘yes’ side has emphatically won the campaign

As I left Edinburgh this morning, en route to Inverness, I passed about four ‘yes’ activists cheerily wishing me good morning, asking if I have voted and would I like a ‘yes’ sticker if I had. It worked: on the way to Waverley, people were wearing the ‘yes’ stickers with nary a ‘no’ to be seen. If I were a ‘no’ voter heading for the polling station, I may wonder if I was actually on the wrong side of history. That a party was happening in one room, and I was heading to another – but that there was still time to change my mind. You have to hand it

Finlay Young

A No vote will create a schism between the voters of Scotland and its artists and writers

With the Scottish independence referendum drawing closer, two Newsweek Europe magazine correspondents and friends – Finlay Young (Scotsman), and Simon Akam (Englishman) – travelled the length of the United Kingdom together. They tried to get to the bottom of the independence debate, interviewing politicians, writers, artists, activists, and ‘ordinary’ citizens en route. In this excerpt from their unique dual-narrative 20,000 word account Scotsman Englishman, they meet two well-known Glasgow artists in favour of Yes, author Alasdair Gray and Belle & Sebastian songwriter Stuart Murdoch. Finlay Young (FY) – On this almighty Glasgow Wednesday, on the Yes side we will meet arguably Scotland’s greatest living writer, arguably Scotland’s finest living songwriter, arguably Scotland’s

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The Union is saved – but at what cost?

The worst has not happened; Scotland has not seceded from the United Kingdom. But David Cameron will have known some time ago that, whichever side won in the referendum, there would be no victory. This morning, the United Kingdom wakes up to one of the biggest constitutional messes in its history. Given that the unionists had the best product to sell — Britain — it is alarming that they were supported by only 55 per cent of Scots. For months, the opinion polls had suggested far bigger support. The unionists may have won the election, but the separatists emphatically won the campaign. The Prime Minister had to turn to Gordon