Politics

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

Friday

9 Jun 2017

The British left have enjoyed a golden night

Ever since Tony Blair handed the keys to No.10 over to Gordon Brown, the Labour party – and, by extension, the British left – has been in free fall. The general elections in 2010 and 2015 left us battered and bruised, and the Brexit vote seemed to be the coup de grace. Under Ed Miliband, the Labour party felt like it was headed for government, only to have victory snatched away, first by John Curtice’s exit poll and then by reality itself. This is the background to last night’s extraordinary resurgence, a triumph of socialist ideals that has – perhaps only for one golden evening – put the ‘party’ back

John O'Neill

Boris vs David Davis – the most likely battle for the Tory leadership

Having squandered the Conservative majority, Theresa May is coming under pressure to resign. It’s not just from Jeremy Corbyn and opposition parties: Tory MPs are calling for her to go too, with Anna Soubry first out of the blocks this morning. So if she does resign (perhaps after the ‘period of stability’ she’s called for) who might take over? Douglas Carswell says it’s a straight fight between David Davis and Boris Johnson: https://twitter.com/DouglasCarswell/status/873054521068408832 But who do the bookies fancy? Although she won in Hastings and Rye, with a small majority of just 346, Amber Rudd has been written off by PaddyPower. They agree with Carswell: Boris is the 3/1 favourite, with Davis behind

Katy Balls

Theresa May’s election gamble has backfired spectacularly

Theresa May’s election gamble has backfired spectacularly. As things stand, the result of the General Election is a hung Parliament. The Conservatives are predicted to be the largest party but will fall short of a majority. Jeremy Corbyn’s position as Labour leader looks safer than ever. In May’s count speech in Maidenhead, she appeared to concede that a Tory majority was out of reach – talking of the need for a ‘period of stability’. However, the Tories could potentially form a coalition with the Democratic Unionist Party, who have won ten seats. Anna Soubry has become the first Tory to break rank and hint that May ought to resign. The

James Forsyth

What went wrong for the Tories?

Inside CCHQ there is a sense that three things cost them their majority in this election. First, the public were fed up with austerity. With the Tories taking the deficit off the table as an issue, they had no plan to balance the books in the next five years, and they had no response to Jeremy Corbyn’s promise to spend more on pretty much everything. Second, there was a Brexit backlash. Those who had voted Remain turned up in great numbers at this election and voted against the Tory candidate. Third, Theresa May turned out not to be who the voters thought she was. Voters liked her because they thought

Ross Clark

There’s only one solution: a coalition between the two parties

How utterly, utterly miserable it could be for a minority Conservative government. They can forget their lacklustre, un-costed manifesto now. They are not going to get any of that through. But how even more miserable would be it for the government’s negotiators in Brussels, stripped of their authority. Theresa May is finished, that is clear. She would be treated with even more contempt than she already is by Jean-Claude Juncker and his henchmen. But would it be any better for some unstable coalition or pact cobbled together by Jeremy Corbyn? No, it would be just as miserable. He wouldn’t get his programme through the Commons, either. And neither would he have

Fraser Nelson

Ruth Davidson’s Scottish Tories have shown Theresa May what success looks like

Extraordinary results for the Conservatives in Scotland, where the party – under Ruth Davidson’s leadership rather than Theresa May’s – is doing extraordinary well taking 13 seats. Alex Salmond, former Scottish First Minister, has just lost to to a Conservative in Gordon. So has Angus Robertson who is the SNP leader in Westminster. Overall, the expectations are that the SNP will lose 20 of their 59 seats – the unionists had hoped to deprive them of ten at most, and would have settled for five. Amongst the many sentences I never thought I would type, I can add this: Scotland seems to is the only bright spot for the Tories, so

Katy Balls

Revealed: Tories’ hung Parliament briefing lines

Senior Conservatives insist that they don’t recognise the exit poll, which predicts a hung Parliament. But privately they appear to concede a hung Parliament is a possibility – and they are trying to get on the front foot. In a briefing to Conservative candidates, the party has issued lines to take on the exit poll. They say to state that in the event of a hung Parliament, it is the Tories who would have the first opportunity try and form a parliamentary majority: ‘If it is right then the Conservative Party has won the most seats and probably won the most votes. The constitutional guidance is clear that it’s up

Nick Cohen

The end of Brexit Britain

‘Brexit means Brexit’ may have been the most gormless slogan ever uttered by a British politician – a species not previous famed for its gorm. But you knew what Theresa May meant. Legitimacy in Britain flowed from the Brexit referendum. Parliament could not question it. Judges were ‘enemies of the people’ when they even discussed it. You could say that the Leave campaign had won by telling outrageous lies. You could say that leaving the single market would cause needless damage to jobs and living standards. No matter. The referendum result stood, and could not be gainsaid. The Tory right in particular dismissed all objections. Seventeen million voted against immigration,

The Spectator

Catastrophe for the Conservatives as Theresa May blows her majority

Tories lose their majority, falling eight seats short. Labour achieve 40 per cent of the vote, up 9.6pc. This is the biggest increase in vote share since Attlee in 1945. Theresa May has been to Buckingham Palace and sought permission to form a new government, working with the DUP… …in spite of personally engineering a cock-up of historic proportions. The main five Cabinet ministers have all retained their positions; no further appointments will be announced until tomorrow. Paul Nuttall has resigned as Ukip leader, stepping down with immediate effect. SNP lose 21 seats, as Scottish Tories take 12 seats, Scottish Labour takes 7 and LibDems 4. Ousted: Nick Clegg, Alex

Thursday

8 Jun 2017

The Spectator

Barometer | 8 June 2017

X offenders The artist Banksy had to withdraw an offer of a free print to people voting against the Conservatives in Bristol after the police warned that it would be illegal. Some other electoral offences: — Offering food, drink or any other gift specifically to persuade people to vote in a certain way or to refrain from voting. — To go out canvassing if you are a serving police officer. — The Electoral Commission is not sure about the legality of taking a ballot-box selfie, but in 2014 it advised returning officers to display notices prohibiting photography inside all polling stations. Grey power Is politics now an old person’s game?

The Spectator

May needs her party

As if we needed reminding, this past week has shown that the Islamist threat is a truly global problem. In the space of a few days, Isis claimed responsibility for attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market; and elsewhere, for the attack on the Iranian Parliament and the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran. It would be hard to think of more diverse targets than drinkers at London pubs on a Saturday night and the tomb of the theocratic Shia cleric who inspired the 1979 Iranian revolution. Yet for Isis there is logic. All are enemies: infidels, heretics, apostates. The Tehran atrocity shows again that what we are witnessing is

The Spectator

Election Barometer

Turnout was up, with a widespread belief that young people voted en masse. But actually, turnout was the 5th lowest of any general election since 1945 Highest turnouts 1950 83.9% 1951 82.9% February 1974 78.8 % 1959 78.7 % 1992 77.7 % Lowest turnouts 2001 59.4 % 2005 61.4 % 2010 65.1 % 2015 66.1 % 2017 68.7 % In spite of failing to secure a majority, Theresa May won a higher share of the vote than any party since 1997 – and the biggest Conservative share since Mrs Thatcher’s landslide victory in 1983. Con vote share 2017 42.4% 2015 36.9% 2005 32.4% 2001 31.7% 1997 30.7% 1992

The Spectator

The PM took voters for fools

During the election campaign — or what passed for it — Theresa May would sometimes declare that Britain was facing its most important choice for a generation. If she lost just six seats, she said at one point, then Jeremy Corbyn would be heading to Brussels to negotiate Brexit. But if the risk was so great, why call an election in the first place? She was closer to the mark outside No.10 early this afternoon, when she declared this was a ‘critical time for our country’. All the more critical as a result of her calamitous handling of the election. This was a needless election, intended to tighten Theresa

Ed West

Why I’m voting Liberal Democrat for the first time today

From a very early age I’ve been put off by sanctimoniousness; it’s why, I think, I’ve never been attracted to the political Left, which when I was growing up was heavy on the finger-wagging, and why I find a certain style of newspaper column irritating. They remind me of the sour-faced old guys we used to see at church all in competition to see who could look the most serious and disapproving. This whole idea that if you don’t support Labour and the Left you’re not just wrong or misguided but a bad person is what puts me off; this Daily Mash article is depressingly close to reality in my

Fraser Nelson

The pound plunges as markets start to take in the enormity of May’s blunder

The pound has plunged sharply on the exit poll, as markets start to come to terms with the idea that Theresa May might have blown it. It’s 1.7 per cent down against the dollar, 1.8 per cent against the Euro – expect those gains to deepen if tonight’s results confirm the results of the exit poll. For a simple reason: Theresa May asked for a general election to strengthen her hand in Brexit negotiations. If the public refuses to do so, she will be hugely weakened in the biggest negotiation that any Prime Minister has had to undertake. If, indeed, she survives long enough to undertake it – which is

Steerpike

George Osborne’s sweet revenge

According to the exit poll, the Conservatives are on not on course for a majority, instead a hung Parliament is predicted. Given that Theresa May called this election to strengthen her hand and increase the Tory majority, her gamble looks to have backfired spectacularly. Now the polls could be wrong but this doesn’t mean May’s enemies aren’t enjoying the moment. Step forward George Osborne. The former chancellor – who May fired when she came to power – appears particularly revitalised by the news. Following the projection, Osborne – who now edits the Evening Standard – was quick to suggest May’s time could be up. Appearing on ITV, he predicted that

Nick Hilton

The Spectator Podcast: The jihadi next door

On this week’s episode, we discuss the relationship between Islam and violence, question why Brexit hasn’t been a factor in this election, and ask you to embrace the darkness. First up: in this week’s cover story, Tom Holland considers why Theresa May was wrong to dismiss the London Bridge terror attack as ‘a perversion of Islam’ rather than interrogating its roots in the history of the religion. He joined the podcast along with Christopher de Bellaigue, author of The Islamic Enlightenment. As Tom writes: “Last Saturday night, religiously motivated killing returned to London Bridge. Three men, swerving to murder as many pedestrians as they could, drove a rented van across the very spot where

Brendan O’Neill

How I lost my Tory-voting virginity in the name of democracy and press freedom

Today, for the first time in my life, I voted Tory. And somewhat disappointingly I haven’t sprouted horns yet. I haven’t been overcome by an urge to pour champagne on homeless people’s heads or to close down my local library and guffaw at any rosy-cheeked child who pleads: ‘But I want books, mister.’ I don’t feel evil. Maybe that stuff comes later. Maybe it takes a few days before you turn into a living, breathing Momentum meme, screaming ‘Screw the poor!’ as you ping your red braces. In fact I feel good. It always feels good to vote, of course, to hold the fate of the political class in your

Freddy Gray

Ten handy phrases for bluffing your way through election night | 8 June 2017

Every year for the last four years we have had a referendum or a general election, and it’s exhausting. Journalists on TV are so tired that they can hardly be bothered to row with each other any more; they increasingly just grumble about the poverty of the candidates. But a good political bluffer never blames the playing surface; it’s bad form. There is still much gibberish to be spouted about GE 2017, just as there is in any election, and not much time left. So here are a few waffly yet significant sounding phrases to get you through for election day and night. Deploy them carefully and impress yourself. 1)

Stephen Daisley

Nothing can justify a vote for Jeremy Corbyn

For Labour moderates agonising over whether they can vote for the party led by Jeremy Corbyn, an answer to their dilemma comes from a surprising quarter. The quandary of party or principles comes down to whether you agree with Margaret Thatcher or Enoch Powell. Early in her premiership, Mrs T paid a visit to the Conservative Philosophy Group and got into an unexpected row with the original tribune of the New Right. Posed a problem — whether one owed first loyalty to country or values — the divergence of Thatcherism and Powellism was stark. Powell said: ‘I would fight for this country even if it had a Communist government.’ Thatcher was horrified:

Unlock full access to The Spectator

Friday

Thursday