Politics

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

Friday

Peter Hoskin

Gimmicky Gordon

In the wake of Coffee House’s Brownies campaign, numerous commenters have been imploring the opposition parties to undermine Gordon Brown’s little porkies.  Take, for instance, CoffeeHouser Mike O’Callaghan’s recent suggestion: “Each week Brown is allowed to provide statistical lies and seemingly gets away with it although anyone with an ounce of intelligence is not fooled. Can I suggest a tactical ploy for Cameron. Each week analyse the Brown statistical lies and the following week ask him specific questions relating to those figures. When Brown is unable to back the figures up he loses credibility. This tactic would allow the public once and for all to pick up on the lies being told.” On this front, the “Government by

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Killer Cable strikes again

I’m on the train back from Question Time (most of the panel stayed in Newcastle last night) and I am again sitting three seats down from a man who has come to personify the Tories’ problem. Vince Cable was lauded by Alan Duncan and Ruth Kelly for his leadership on Northern Rock – before, after and during filming. Why is Brown now back in the lead on economic management? What has he done right that Osborne has not done? My take:- 1. Cable knows his Onions. He has been as constant as the north star on this, where the Tories’ position has been complex and changing. Who in Britain can

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Where the burden of Brown falls most heavily

 In the Telegraph, John Kampfner makes the case that Gordon Brown is as ‘uncritically’ adoring of the super rich as Tony Blair ever was. He argues that this attitude stems from Brown’s fear of being seen as anti-business, his acceptance that the wealthiest just won’t pay their fair share of tax and his conversion to ‘trickle-down’ theory. The most interesting part of Kampfner’s piece, though, is his contention that this approach combined with Brown’s desire to redistribute wealth has left to the tax burden being raised ever higher on the middle classes.  Certainly, one of the hall marks of Brown’s tenure as Chancellor was how fiscal drag saw more and more

Thursday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Lords inflicts defeat on government over Northern Rock

The Lords has just defeated the government on its plan to exempt Northern Rock from the freedom of information act, the issue which David Cameron raised at PMQs yesterday. Brown and Darling now have a choice: they can either overturn the vote in the Commons and send it back to the Lords or they can back down on this question. As Peter Riddell wrote in The Times this morning, “The Government is asking us all to take far too much on trust over the nationalisation of Northern Rock. This may have become the only remaining option by last weekend. But that does not mean that Parliament should sign up to

Peter Hoskin

A rhetorical divide

David Cameron’s announcement that a Tory government would consider making forced marriages a criminal offence opens up – at the very least – a rhetorical divide between his party and the Government. Cameron’s message is unambiguous: certain immigrant traditions are unacceptable in British society. Whereas, if today’s Home Office Green Paper enshrines this approach, then it’s not coming across very clearly. Here’s the relevant section:  “Under our proposals, the journey to citizenship will enable migrants to demonstrate a more visible and a more substantial contribution to Britain as they pass through successive stages. At each stage, the journey will incorporate appropriate requirements that determine whether a migrant can progress. There are four areas where

Peter Hoskin

The rendition row

David Miliband has confirmed that two US rendition flights – carrying suspected terrorists – stopped on UK territory in the Indian Ocean, in 2002. There had previously been “no evidence” of the flights, and the Foreign Secretary assured the House that previous assurances about rendition flights had been made in “good faith”.   The Government’s efforts are now directed at preventing the story spinning out of control. Miliband stressed that the Americans hadn’t purposefully misled the British Government on this, but had instead made an “error” during a “records search”. And much was made of the “vital role” that the US plays in helping the UK combat terrorism.   Nonetheless, this is deeply

Wednesday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Gordon’s Hillary Problem?

James Forsyth comes up with an(other) excellent reason for hoping Hillary loses: it will be bad for Gordon Brown. Key point: the British political class are obsessed with the US elections and in most people’s minds Hillary Clinton is the Gordon Brown candidate. The failure of her campaign would lead to a slew of articles about how Gordon shares Hillary’s shortcomings. True. Brown might complain that he’s not really a Clintonite. Fair enough. Unfortunately, of course, his closest American strategist and confidante is, er, Bob Shrum – who now has an excellent chance of losing elections on each side of the Atlantic. As James suggests, the parallels between Gordon and

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Gordon’s American problem

Gordon Brown should be casting nervous glances across the Atlantic because a defeat for Hillary Clinton, which is now the most likely result, would be bad news for him. First, it would remove any chance of Brown getting some easy opportunities to play statesman. A President Hillary would likely have teamed up with Brown on a bunch of popular initiatives on things such as climate change and given Brown the chance to strut the international stage. It is unlikely that Obama, who Brown apparently snubbed last summer, would do as much with the Prime Minister. While John McCain is on the record with high praise for David Cameron and has

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Lib Dems all at sea over the Lisbon Treaty 

CoffeeHouse has just been brought up in the Commons – Mark Harper has challenged Ed Davey to clarify what on earth Lembit Opik is on about. Is it true, he asked, that Lembit is not a rebel as he claims because the LibDems plan to abstain on the issue of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty? Davey cryptically said that we will have to wait and see – and said that one option open to them was “constructive abstention,” whatever that is. Answer: no one in that disorganised party has the faintest idea what their policy is. They can’t even decide if they will sit on a fence.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The oddest thing about Lembit Opik

Do read Lesley White’s sympathetic profile of Lembit Opik in today’s Times. There is, though, no getting away from the fact that Opik has some strange views and none stranger than this: “He talks about the transference of psychic energy, how his crossness that our Virgin train was late had put a spring in the step of the woman who later showed us to a meeting at Shrewsbury hospital.”

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Brown and Cameron back at it

Back refreshed from the recess, Cameron (41) starts off by wishing Brown a “happy 57th birthday” – when “happy birthday” would have done. Nothing groundbreaking in their exchange. Cameron had a few good lines responding to what Brown had just said. “There always is an inquiry with this government. Frequently a police inquiry.” And then “That facts were left on a civil servant’s desk for a year he presents somehow a triumph of government policy.” And bad jokes “nationalisation that would make Castro proud”. I suspect these were memorised – Cameron’s speciality is reeling off memorised lines with the fluency of a stage actor. At PMQs, it works. Clegg was

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Happy Birthday, Mr. Prime Minister

It’s our Dear Leader’s birthday today: Gordon Brown is 57 years young. He’s a famous bibliophile – and I figured we could send him a list of books. Here’s five to start with. 1) Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff – how to stop control freakery leading to misery 2) Wikinomics – why hierarchies are collapsing and the age of big government really is dead 3) Littlejohn’s Britain – he can take a view of his government from the bottom up. 4) Words That Work – Frank Luntz on why repeating “stability” seven times a day is a route to lose elections. 5) The Power of Charm – because it’s never

Peter Hoskin

Banking on another holiday…

There was a nice vignette on Today in Parliament last night; centred around Lord Foulkes of Cumnock’s request for another bank holiday in the UK.  Sir Digby Jones was the main voice against the proposition, stressing that each bank holiday results in a £2.5 billion loss for British coffers. Whilst its supporters cited imbalances (England gets eight bank holidays, compared to the European Union average of eleven), or even the inexplicable ranking of saints. As Lord Butler put it:  “My Lords, is not St Patrick’s Day a bank holiday in Northern Ireland? Can the Minister explain why St Patrick is favoured over St David, St Andrew and, indeed, St George?”  The bank

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Brown tries to outflank the Tories on welfare reform

The Tories had a head start on welfare reform, but Brown is fast catching up.  When Chris Grayling launched his Wisconsin-style proposals last month, there were (typically) fears internally that they were too harsh. Yet there were two surprise factors: the overwhelmingly positive public reaction, and Brown’s inability to decide whether to accuse them of heartlessness or plagiarism. Brown then decided to follow, perhaps sensing the anger over this. He is making fast progress – rhetorically at least, which at election time is 80% of the battle.  Reading today’s press trailing a Purnell announcement, it seems Labour is briefing hard and recognises in welfare reform a powerful agenda which Brown

Neil Clark

Castro’s Cuba was no place for a socialist like me

It’s a country where the vast majority live in poverty, while a tiny, corrupt elite live in luxury. It’s a place where, 14 years after South Africa abolished apartheid, a form of it still operates. And it’s a country where you can be threatened with prison not just for criticising the country’s leadership, but also for querying a medical bill. Welcome to Cuba, the ‘socialist’ paradise built by that great egalitarian Fidel Castro, who after 49 years at the helm has finally decided to hand over power — in the manner of a true democrat — to his brother Raúl. My wife and I, as unreconstructed paleo-lefties who support Clause

Tuesday

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Opik tries to set the record straight

Lembit Opik calls up to set me straight. Here was I portraying him as a principled rebel true to his manifesto by pledging to abstain, rather than vote against, the totemic issue of whether the British public should have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Au contraire, he says. ‘On this occasion, I am being a good corporate citizen’ because Clegg has decided to allow his 65 MPs to abstain on the issue of a referendum after all. So people like Lembit are off the hook. Rather endearingly, Lembit admitted he wasn’t 100% sure but would call back if he found out any different. Good luck to him finding out

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Rocking with the non-doms

Ron Sandler, the Treasury appointed chairman of Northern Rock, is a non-dom, Robert Peston confirms. Add to this the brewing row about how much the new management team is being paid and the political connections of some of those appointed to the board and you can see how Northern Rock is going to be a constant irritation to the government. The bad news for Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown is that they probably won’t be rid of Northern Rock before the next election. 

Rani Singh

The immediate aftermath

It’s curtains for the “King’s Party” – the PML (Q), President Musharraf’s political prop – which has all but lost its power base after key figures were felled in yesterday’s vote.   The PPPP, (the Benazir Pakistan Peoples’ Party adds a P for Parliamentarians to distinguish it from separate Bhutto family member-run factions) has taken the National Assembly seat lead, with 86 announced at the time of reporting, followed by Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (N), currently at 65.   Schools and educational institutions remain closed for a second day while all election results are compiled. They await confirmation.   The Provincial trend commenced at the beginning of Monday evening

Peter Hoskin

The disaster that backgrounds Northern Rock

Hamish McRae writes an excellent article in today’s Independent; reminding us that the Northern Rock debacle pales in comparison to the Government’s mishandling of public finances:  “The much more substantial charge is that the Government has mishandled public finances, borrowing far more than it planned, year after year.  We are heading into a global downturn, with a bigger fiscal deficit of more than 3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.  That is bigger than that any other large developed nation.  We have a government that spends £11 for every £10 that it receives in taxation, borrowing the balance at higher interest rates than the US, Germany or France.  And there