Politics

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

Thursday

Peter Hoskin

Can we blame the DUP?

The DUP’s actions over the 42-day detention vote yesterday have provoked quite a lot of anger. CoffeeHouser ‘cuffleyburgers’ provides a good example of that: “…the DUP worms who sold their principles down the river in exchange for some as-yet-unclarified bribe.”  And then there are posts from Daniel Hannan and Iain Dale, among others. But is it right to blame the DUP? I’m not so sure. Yes, money may have overridden principle in this case (although it’s still unclear how many DUP MPs were in support of 42-day detention anyway). But isn’t one expectation of MPs that they represent the interests of their constituents? And, boy, have the DUP done that – whether intentionally or unintentionally. An

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Ed Balls gets it wrong, wrong, wrong

Never let it be said that The Spectator makes no space for dissenting views. Ed Balls makes the case for his school policy today – worth reading. It is a powerful tour of the arguments and half-truths which compose Labour’s education policy. To Fisk this would end up in an article four times the length of the original, so I will confine myself to his criticism of Tory policy. Okay, just one other point. “On each of our key reforms — education to 18, diplomas, school admissions, raising standards and tackling underperforming schools — there is a clear difference between the two main parties” says Balls. Note how he says “education

The Skimmer

42-days: the fallout

The point of all those bribes was so Gordon Brown could wake up to headlines after the 42 days vote saying “principled Prime Minister holds firm to his principles and wins a knife-edge gamble.” Instead, he is today pilloried – and most harshly by his own side. “Desperate Brown scrapes through” says the Guardian, quoting Dianne Abbott saying it was a “grubby bazaar”. Just how grubby is shown by the Daily Mail which names those concessions. “Winner or Loser?” asks The Independent’s front page and editorial argues for the latter (“A victory that only exposes Mr Brown’s weakness”). The Mirror’s spread says simply “Day of Shame”. The Times’ leader says

Peter Hoskin

A waste of time

Plenty of reaction to the 42-day vote in this morning’s papers.  A summary of the consensus: enjoy this success while you can Brown, because it won’t last long.  But of the all the angry column pieces, Steve Richards’ is perhaps the most incisive.  His thesis is that Brown has wasted Government time in the effort to get his detention proposals through Parliament: “Here is a Labour government with possibly less than two years left in power. If it loses the next election, the party could be out of power for two terms at least. This summer is the last phase, possibly for a long time, in which a Labour administration

Wednesday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Brown’s Pointless Victory

It’s a measure of Gordon Brown’s weakness that he’s come so close to losing the vote on 42 Days. But, as Ben Brogan reports, he’s done it: The DUP are on board, Diane Abbott has been spoken to by Gordon Brown for the first time in 20 years, cash for sick miners and help for Cuba has been whistled out of nowhere, and so the vote is won. I spoke to David Davis earlier, who knows a thing or two about whipping and numbers. The 54 Labour rebels he knew about on Friday were down to 44 last night, and the DUP will support Mr Brown. At that rate the

Alex Massie Alex Massie

The DUP’s Calculation

MPs are voting on 42 Days now. I only watched the last part of the debate and am biased in favour of the opposition but even so, the weakness of the case made by Jacqui Smith and her lackeys was startling. Still, the funniest comment on the whole ghastliness comes from Fraser Nelson: The DUP could of course take the government’s £200 million and still vote with the Tories. But it would be mad to close the door to further bribes. There are two more years to go of Brown and, the way things are going, the DUP may be starting a long and fruitful relationship and may be able to negotiate control

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Men of goodwill disagreed today

42 days is, an understandably, emotive issue. People who are normally ideological comrades found themselves disagreeing over this issue. It scrambled divides of left and right and even dove and hawk. The vote looks like it split down party lines, but in reality there were many MPs who voted against their better judgement  tonight out of loyalty to their party. The result and the voting patterns would have been very different if this had been a free vote. Regardless of where one stands on 42 days one has to salute Tim Montgomerie and Sam Coates for their editorial this morning, They said what they believed in the full knowledge that it

Peter Hoskin

MPs’ pettiness over expenses doesn’t help

Thanks to the High Court, we’ll be seeing full details of MPs’ expenses in October. That’s a good thing.  But, as Three Line Whip is reporting, some MPs are still waging personal campaigns against the decision. The culprit this time is the Tory MP Julian Lewis. In response to the High Court judgment that the addresses of MPs’ second homes should be released, he’s demanding that the home addresses of the judges presiding over the case also be made public. The reason? None, beyond sheer pettiness. And that’s not something that becomes our parliamentary representatives. Thankfully, Jack Straw’s declining to release the addresses. But this is exactly the kind of thing that Cameron needs to clamp

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The rebels aren’t going quietly

There was talk earlier this morning that Diane Abbott was one of those MPs who had been coaxed back to the government side. That seems to have been spectacularly wide of the mark. She just made a bravura speech against 42 days. Abbott’s peroration will have stung Gordon Brown particularly hard “Any rebel backbencher with a cause knows, if they vote the right way, that the prime minister will make a statement, give them money, make a special visit. Is it truly right that our civil liberties should be traded in this sort of bazaar?” Hat Tip: Andrew Sparrow.

Peter Hoskin

Is the 42-day vote still too close to call?

As a partial counterpoint to Fraser’s post, Ben Brogan writes on his blog: “Mr Brown’s spokesman a short while ago said if the vote were held now “the Government would not have enough votes to win”. We are also told there is no deal with the DUP. And someone else on the Government side has just told me the advice is “brace yourselves”. Certainly, the DUP are taking this to the wire.”  Of course, this is the message coming out of the Government, so take it with a pinch of salt.  But, even so, all signs suggest it will be very, very close either way. 

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

As the vote looms, Government success looks likely

Depending on who you listen to, the government is currently between 4 and 18 votes down on 42 days, excluding the DUP’s eight votes. But it’s difficult to divine the truth when there is so much expectations management in play. The DUP could of course take the government’s £200 million and still vote with the Tories. But it would be mad to close the door to further bribes. There are two more years to go of Brown and, the way things are going, the DUP may be starting a long and fruitful relationship and may be able to negotiate control of Western Scotland. Expect Brown to be unbearable if he wins. As, I suspect,

James Forsyth James Forsyth

If 42 days is bad, 90 must have been worse

There will be no profiles in courage written about those people who were happy to be part of a government that was pushing aggressively for 90 days but–now that they are out of power—like to boast about their opposition to 42 days. Paul Waugh, whose blog is rapidly becoming an essential read, reports on how one of these cowardly converts found himself rejected by those he imagined would be his new friends: A witness reports that as [Charles Clarke] appeared on the Commons terrace yesterday, Clarke was loudly denouncing the anti-terror proposals as one of the most badly drafted pieces of legislation by any Government. Unfortunately serial Labour rebel Lynne

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

42-days dominates PMQs

It was a 42 days special, with Brown referring five times to the advice of the “security services.” On Monday a CoffeeHouser named “Smiley”, claiming to be from MI5, said the Service has never offered any advice in public or private, and added that the phrase “security services” was devised by Blair to obscure this point. A hoax comment, I thought, but intriguingly the head of MI5 issued a statement later in strikingly similar language. My point: MI5 doesn’t arrest or detain anyone, is stridently neutral on this, and it is disingenuous of Brown to hint otherwise. But Cameron was on simply superb form, deriding Brown for quoting comments on ConservativeHome website. Yes

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The love affair of some on the left with Cuba illustrates their moral depravity

That Gordon Brown can buy off potential Labour rebels by proposing a softer line on Cuba illustrates just how much of a special place the Castro despotism still has in the heart of some Labour MPs. These people are just like those on the reactionary right who used to cheerlead for apartheid South Africa. They are blinded to the hideous nature of the regime they’re supporting by the fact that’s its enemy is their enemy. It is supremely ironic that these MPs have to be bought off to support 42 days detention. In their favourite hereditary-run despotism, the authorities lock people up indefinitely whenever they feel like it. Some say

Ruth Dudley Edwards

The ‘No’s are sneaking it in Ireland

[Many thanks to Ruth Dudley Edwards, who’ll be covering the Irish referendum for Coffee House over the next few days.  Here’s her first post – Pete Hoskin]  I haven’t seen so many confusing posters since Beirut in the early 1990s.  They are layered on every lamppost in Dublin.  The Yes lobby’s contributions are pious and vacuous and unwisely have photographs of politicians – an unpopular group at the moment.  ‘Europe.  Let’s be at the heart of it’ urges the Fine Gael offering, which features the EPP-ED cute little logo of stars inside a heart.  ‘Good for Ireland  Good for Europe’ say Fianna Fail. ‘Vote Yes for jobs, the economy and Ireland’s future’ beg the

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Brogan: The vote looks won

Over at his invaluable blog, Ben Brogan reports that: The DUP are on board, Diane Abbott has been spoken to by Gordon Brown for the first time in 20 years, cash for sick miners and help for Cuba has been whistled out of nowhere, and so the vote is won. I spoke to David Davis earlier, who knows a thing or two about whipping and numbers. The 54 Labour rebels he knew about on Friday were down to 44 last night, and the DUP will support Mr Brown. At that rate the game is up.