Politics

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

Wednesday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Brown Opens Barnett’s Box?

Grrrr. According to the Telegraph Gordon Brown has announced a review of the Barnett Formula. Fair enough. It was, after all, designed as a temporary measure, updating the 19th century Goschen Formula that  allocated spending across the UK. But it would be nice if people writing about it knew what they were talking about. Here’s Iain Dale for instance: In some ways, this formula is a bit like the Schleswig Holstein question in the days of Lord Palmerston. Only three people understand it, and two of them are dead. The one thing I remember about it is that I discovered that when Crossrail got the go-ahead, it meant that Scotland

Peter Hoskin

It’s Brownie time

For the past few weeks, CoffeeHouse has been asking its readers to shout out about Gordon Brown’s lies – or Brownies, as we call them.  The response has been superb.  Congrats to CoffeeHouser James, for providing an almost comprehensive list: “As for GB’s lies…where to begin: The Constitution/treaty. The state of the economy when he took over in 1997. Comparing RPI in the 1990s with CPI now. Constantly pretending that unemployment is now low, and youth unemployment almost abolished – when over 4million are not in proper work. The scandalous New Deal. The scandalous failure of the Tax Credit system. The lie that defence spending has gone up in real

Peter Hoskin

MPs say “no” to referendum 

As expected, the Tory proposal for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty has been defeated in the Commons.  248 MPs voted in favour, with 311 voting against.  The Treaty should now pass through the Commons unscathed.  It’s over to the Lords. The burning question is of how much damage has been done to the Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems.  The latest is that 3 Lib Dem front-benchers have resigned.  As I outlined this morning, Clegg now faces the unenviable task of choosing how to punish any other rebels.

The Spectator

Live Audio: Britain should have a referendum on the EU Treaty

A reminder that the Spectator / Intelligence Squared debate – “Britain should have a referendum on the EU Treaty” – begins at 18:45 tonight.  Standing for the motion are Lord Lamont; Neil O’Brien, the director of Open Europe; and the award-winning historian Andrew Roberts.  They’ll be opposed by Denis MacShane MP; Vernon Bogdanor, Professor of Government at Oxford University; and David Aaronovitch, the broadcaster and journalist.  The debate will be chaired by Andrew Neil. For live audio click here.

Peter Hoskin

Signing in

Iain Martin’s already highlighted it over at Three Line Whip today.  But I thought CoffeeHousers would also enjoy this topical clip of Brown wrapping his clunking fist around a pen, and signing the Lisbon Treaty last November:  

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Europe dominates PMQs

Fabian Hamilton kicked off with today’s planted question. Poverty pay in this country has been abolished by the National Minimum Wage, he says, and will Brown increase it and retain his commitment to high employment?  Poverty pay is, of course, alive and well – in those who operate in the booming black market. At least a quarter of a million are paid less than the minimum wage. Anyway, Brown announces it will be £5.73 this October – a 60% rise from the original minimum wage (Brownie alert – that’s a bogus rather than real terms rise using the £3.60 rate of 1999 as a base). We have created 3m jobs,

The Spectator

Special emergency debate: Britain should have a referendum on the EU Treaty

With today’s key vote dominating the headlines, a reminder that The Spectator / Intelligence Squared are holding a special emergency debate at 18:45 tonight – “Britain should have a referendum on the EU Treaty”.  There’s a heavyweight line-up of speakers.  Standing for the motion are Lord Lamont; Neil O’Brien, the director of Open Europe; and the award-winning historian Andrew Roberts.  They’ll be opposed by Denis MacShane MP; Vernon Bogdanor, Professor of Government at Oxford University; and David Aaronovitch, the broadcaster and journalist.  The debate will be chaired by Andrew Neil. The Spectator website will feature live audio of the debate, and exclusive commentary from Lloyd Evans.

Peter Hoskin

It’s so unfair!

I briefly mentioned the exchange between David Miliband and William Hague on the Today Programme earlier, although a little detail deserves its own post. The to-and-fro discussion went as expected – Hague arguing well for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, and Miliband arguing (quite) well against it.  However, when James Naughtie pressed Miliband on whether the Government are opposing a popular vote on the referendum because it’s one they’d lose, the Foreign Secretary dropped in this (quoting as accurately as scrambing around for a pen and paper will allow): “James, I’m sorry you’ve given William Hague a points victory in the last minutes of this interview.” Which fits in perfectly with the letter of complaint that

Peter Hoskin

Deciding on a referendum

The big Parliamentary event of the day is undoubtedly the vote on whether to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. The outcome’s expected at about 1900 this evening. It should mark another chapter in Nick Clegg’s turbulent start as Lib Dem leader. His call for an in-or-out referendum was trampled on yesterday – 68 MPs supported it, 471 voted against it. And today he wants his fellow party-members to abstain from the voting. He’s even put them on a three-line whip. If Lib Dems rebel en masse, then Clegg’s grip on the party could be irreparably undermined. On the other side of the same coin, a smaller number might

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The Tories should fear the dynamic new team of professionals that Brown is assembling

It is a story that could have been scripted to boost morale in Conservative headquarters. At five o’clock one morning, security guards at 10 Downing Street were called in to intercept an intruder only to find the Prime Minister trying to enter his own office. Apart from the delicious image this conjures of Gordon Brown in his pyjamas, cursing as he bashes in the security code, it caricatures him as the ideal political opponent. An inept, flailing control freak, whose own shortcomings will lose Labour the next election. Alas for the Tories, this story is several months out of date. It took place in the earliest days of the Brown

Richard Orange

New oil giants rise in Gandhi’s native land

Gazing out over India’s Gulf of Kutch from the small jetty owned by Essar Oil, you would hardly think you were witnessing the birth of one of the world’s new industrial heartlands. Placid turquoise waters stretch out to the low landmass opposite; behind you lie mile upon mile of shimmering salt pans where flocks of flamingos aimlessly totter. But this great natural harbour — sheltered to the south by the Kathiawar peninsula, better known as the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi — may soon be the world’s busiest oil terminal. So far, India has made its mark on the global economy by taking on outsourced clerical and call-centre work from the

Tuesday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Joke of the Day

This could be the most risible thing one’s seen yet from this risible government: The Labour Party has accused the BBC of bias towards the Tories. An official complaint has been lodged, claiming Radio 4’s Today programme has given David Cameron an easy ride in recent interviews. A senior party official accused the broadcaster of coming to a “special arrangement” with the Conservatives to avoid any “difficult questioning” of the Tory leader. But it’s also further evidence of something else: Brown’s goose is cooked. This is the sort of desperate floundering you associate with governments in their final, failing days. It’s not the action of a ministry bursting with important

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Will the Democratic race twist again tonight?

Tonight, for the first time in a while, the pressure is all on Barack Obama. When I arrived here in Austin on Friday, the general feeling was that Obama was going to wrap things up by winning the popular vote here in Texas and running Clinton close in Ohio. Her last card, the 3am ad, didn’t seem to have worked and Obama had the energy and the momentum. But over the past few days things have changed. Hillary has closed strongly. She has shown her human side with funny appearances on a bunch of comedy shows while Obama has had a bad few days with the Nafta flap and his poor

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Pledge-avoidance tactics

I went along to the launch for Cameron’s Military Covenant Commission, aimed at renewing the obligations that are owed to the military.  It’s a good idea and good box office – we had Falklands veteran Simon Weston and Frederick Forsyth (or “Freddie” as Cameron calls him) up in front of the cameras. Far better than the usual politicians. But Cameron faced the same line of questioning – if the military is his no1 priority, as he said, what will he do about spending? Nick Robinson points out over at his blog that Cameron did not say the following words which had been scripted for him: “Yet defence spending is at

Peter Hoskin

Cooking the books | 4 March 2008

Northern Rock is £110 billion of public debt.  An amount which “blows a hole” in the Treasury’s “sustainable investment rule” – that the debt-GDP ratio shouldn’t go higher than 40 percent.  It’s simple – now let’s look forward to Alistair Darling squirming as he delivers next week’s Budget. The only problem is that the Government looks set on keeping the Rock debt off the public balance sheet.  So it won’t affect the sustainable investment rule, and Darling can meet all his targets.  There’ll be no squirming after all. Their reasoning?  That the Northern Rock burden is so “temporary and exceptional” that it needn’t trouble the fiscal rules.  Never mind that the Office for

Peter Hoskin

Remembering Chancellor Road-Block 

Rachel Sylvester writes a typically excellent article in today’s Telegraph, charting Brown’s apparent transformation into a fervid Blairite. I’m still not convinced that the change is anything more than rhetorical.  But regardless of Brown’s sincerity, he’ll face a big challenge to make people forget his time as a “roadblock to reform”.  As Sylvester puts it: “But what if [Brown’s pro-reform stance is] too late? What if the image of sullen ground has stuck? What if it takes too long for the reforms to come into effect? What if the voters do not have the patience to wait? As one minister says: ‘The problem is, we’re about three years behind where we would have been if Gordon

Monday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

The Democrats’ War on Canada

Megan McArdle suggested last year that one way to choose a candidate was to look at their economic advisers and pick the candidate with the smartest team. That being so, she lauded the University of Chicago’s Austan Goolsbee, an advisor to Barack Obama. This week Goolsbee’s in trouble for suggesting that the grotesque nonsense on trade being peddled by the Obama campaign was largely political posturing in advance of tomorrow’s Ohio primary. Let us trust that he’s right. According to a memo written by a Canadian diplomat at the Chicago Consulate: “Noting anxiety among many U.S. domestic audiences about the U.S. economic outlook, Goolsbee candidly acknowledged the protectionist sentiment that

Matthew Dancona

Team Brown strengthens

The Number Ten operation is getting stronger by the day. Downing Street will announce tomorrow the appointment of WPP’s David Muir as Director of Political Strategy. Regarded as one of Sir Martin Sorrell’s right hand men, he has been CEO since 2005 of WPP’s unit The Channel, which brings together the company’s media and research skills, and (probably a must-read now for Brown watchers) the co-author of a well-received book called The Business of Brands. He is also on the Advisory Board of the John Smith Memorial Trust. So soon after the arrival of Stephen Carter from Brunswick this marks another top capture for Team Brown, and is further evidence

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Can the Lords deliver?

For a split second, I felt sorry for Nick Clegg. I mean, aren’t all political leaders entitled to a honeymoon? But no, he deserves this. Every bit. Each one of his 62 MPs was elected on a promise for a referendum, and in planning to abstain on this totemic question they betray all of the 5.99m people who voted for them on election day believing the Lib Dems were somehow more honest than the other two.  No wonder I Want a Referendum’s poll of LibDem voters shows just 2% agree with Clegg’s position to abstain on the referendum – a smaller number than believe Elvis is still alive. And no wonder