Politics

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

Tuesday

Steerpike Steerpike

Lord Rennard’s call for House of Lords reform backfires

In this year’s dissolution honours, the Liberal Democrats were awarded 11 peerages, three more than their total number of MPs. Since this brought the party’s roll call of Lib Dem peers to 112, sceptics have been quick to point out that this number appears to be at odds with the party, which had previously prided itself on reforming the ever-growing House of Lords. Happily the whiffs of hypocrisy haven’t stopped Lib Dem peers from grumbling about the crowded upper house. Yesterday Lord Rennard — the Lib Dem peer who was readmitted to the party last year after facing suspension over allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women — decided the time was right to call for

Monday

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Government defeated in the Commons on purdah

So as predicted on Coffee House earlier, Tory rebels and the Labour frontbench did manage to conspire together this evening to defeat the government on purdah. The Commons voted against amendment 53 to the EU Referendum Bill 285 ayes to 312 noes, and then did not oppose Labour’s amendment 4, which means that a ‘full fat’ version of purdah has been approved by MPs. The Labour celebrations of this defeat were notably muted: it’s difficult to get too excited when your own party is in turmoil. But David Cameron has just suffered a defeat on a matter that the whips and ministers had been scheming over for months. First they snuck

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Cameron’s refugee announcement overshadowed by drone strike in Syria

David Cameron’s statement that Britain will take 20,000 Syrian refugees over the course of this parliament was overshadowed by his announcement that an RAF drone had killed two British ISIL fighters in Syria in August. Cameron said that that Reyaad Khan and Ruhul Amin had been killed in a lawful act of ‘self-defence’ as they were planning and encouraging terrorist attacks in Britain. He stressed that this was a targeted action and that he would come back to the House of Commons to seek permission for more generalised action in Syria; the Commons voted against military action there in 2013. Now, it is hard to think of many more serious

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Defeat looms as Labour and Tory rebels work together on purdah

Following a confusing afternoon, Tory rebels have told the Labour whips they will back their amendments to the EU referendum bill which introduce a ‘full fat’ version of purdah. This means that the government, unless it yields at the last minute on the legislation, will be defeated. It was not clear whether the Tories would vote with Labour on those amendments – numbers 4 and 53. But they appear to have indicated to the Labour whips that they will support their amendments. More to follow…

James Forsyth James Forsyth

David Cameron: British ISIL fighter killed by drone strike in ‘self-defence’

David Cameron has just informed the House of Commons that an RAF drone killed several ISIL fighters in Syria in a targeted strike in Syria. Two of those killed were British citizens who Cameron said were planning terrorist strikes against this country. He called this a lawful act of ‘self defence’ and stressed that it was targeted and that he would return to the Commons to seek permission for more generalised bombing of ISIL in Syria. It will be interesting to see whether Jeremy Corbyn chooses to intervene in the Commons debate that is following this revelation. More to follow…

Julia Hartley-Brewer

Cameron’s impossible dilemma

If you spot the Prime Minister squirming and wriggling on the Syrian refugee issue, there’s a very simple explanation. The Prime Minister is in a very tight spot, caught between a rock and a hard place. And it is clear that he hasn’t yet decided the best way to extricate himself. After winning an outright Tory victory at the general election in May and the likely prospect of another win in 2020, he only has one major hurdle left during his term in office: winning the EU referendum. Whether he calls, as many expect, a vote as early as this spring, or waits until the end of his own self-imposed

Steerpike Steerpike

Coffee Shots: Lezzers4Jezzer

Given that Corbynmania has so far led users on Mumsnet to lust over Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘world weary sea dog’ looks, as well as inspiring a host of politicians to grow their facial hair, it was only a matter of time until the LGBT community also got in on the action. Mr S has come across a new Corbyn fan base which goes by the name of ‘Lezzers4Jezzer’. The group of ladies, who are backing Corbyn in part because he supports gay rights, have even been promoting the Twitter account at Jeremy Corbyn events: pic.twitter.com/s56xOocBHA — Lezzers4Jezzer (@Lezzers4Jezzer) September 6, 2015 However, Corbyn beware. Judging by the fact Natalie Bennett — the leader of the

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Labour to push ahead with purdah rebellion

Labour still plans to defeat the government on a key aspect of the purdah row in the EU Referendum Bill, in spite of an attempt by ministers to compromise on the legislation. Labour will support ministers’ proposals to introduce exemptions to purdah in new clause 10, but will also support the rebel amendment tabled by Bernard Jenkin which will block a snap referendum and force the government to give four months’ notice of a referendum. The Tory eurosceptics see their amendment as a compromise on purdah. If the government accepts their amendment, there will be no rebellion on this. But this is just one aspect of the complicated row. A Labour

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Exclusive: Tory rebels to block snap EU referendum

Tory rebels are now confident they will win a vote in the Commons this afternoon which will block the government from holding a snap referendum vote without much notice. Coffee House understands that Bernard Jenkin has tabled what is known as a ‘manuscript amendment’ – one made on the day of the debate rather than in advance – to the EU Referendum Bill which will force the government to give four months’ notice of the vote. The rebels I have spoken to say they are ‘highly confident’ this amendment will pass. But they seem less confident of winning on the original amendments on purdah. As I revealed earlier, the Electoral

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Government risks defeat on EU referendum purdah

Tory MPs are expecting a serious rebellion on the European Union referendum bill which could, depending on Labour’s position, defeat the government. The eurosceptic case has been boosted this morning by the Electoral Commission deciding to support two rebel amendments on purdah. New Clause 5, tabled by Labour, and amendment 78, tabled by Sir Bill Cash, both attempt to introduce a purdah for the campaign period. Steve Baker, the leader of the Conservatives for Britain group, said: ‘The Electoral Commission is with us, I have got colleagues contacting me this morning to add their names to support the amendments to the extent that if Labour votes against, we could win.’

Steerpike Steerpike

David Attenborough ‘turned away’ from Lord Hall’s BBC speech

With the BBC facing the prospect of cuts as a result of the government’s charter renewal, there has never been a more important time for the corporation to keep its biggest assets on side. So Mr S was curious to hear of an incident involving Sir David Attenborough which occurred at a BBC event this morning. As Lord Hall prepared to reveal details about cuts to the BBC along with the Beeb’s plans to work with UK’s arts and science institutions, journalists and supporters gathered at the Science Museum to hear the speech. Alas when Sir David Attenborough arrived he had no such luck. The former director of programming for BBC Television was prevented by security from entering the hall through a side door,

Sebastian Payne

Mitchell and Cooper present two different paths on dealing with Syria

It’s back to school day in Westminster and one of the first items on the agenda will be David Cameron’s announcement on accepting more Syrian refugees. Exactly how many extra asylum seekers Britain will take in is, according to the Sunday Times, likely to be between 10,000 and 20,000. Someone who is particularly pleased with this is Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary and Labour leadership contender. Cooper first called for 10,000 refugees in a speech on the crisis last week and on the Today programme, she welcomed the PM’s response but urged him to do as much as possible: ‘That would be really helpful if he does…you know I’ve called for it to be 10,000 in the past

Sunday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

The plight of Syria’s refugees deserves more than your good intentions and virtue signalling

I suppose it should not be a surprise that the virtue signalling over the appalling plight of Syrian refugees displaced by that country’s monstrous civil war has now reached fresh heights of absurdity. Nor that some of the press coverage of this dreadful crisis is edging towards a post-Diana level of mawkishness. One front page this morning shouts at David Cameron, demanding the Prime Minister SHOW YOUR HUMANITY. I mean, really. Then, on ITV’s Murnaghan programme this morning, Nicola Sturgeon and Yvette Cooper were asked if they would house Syrian refugees in their own homes. Obviously they had to say yes and we may now expect the same question to be asked of every politician in

Charles Moore Charles Moore

The Tories’ adoption of the Living Wage is entirely bogus

Was there ever a more unilluminating political idea — for voters rather than practitioners — than triangulation? For those readers so pure and high-minded that they have not followed politics for 20 years, I should explain that triangulation came from Bill Clinton, was imported by Tony Blair, and is now practised by David Cameron. Clinton’s adviser, Dick Morris, put it thus: ‘The President needed to take a position that not only blended the best of each party’s views but also transcended them to constitute a third force in the debate.’ The Tories’ adoption of the Living Wage is the latest example. This concept, almost as mystically bogus as the medieval

Saturday

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

The Tories could be about to drop a manifesto commitment. Good.

Will the Tories scrap the Lib Dems’ silliest vanity project, free school meals for infants? The Daily Mail reports today that they might, amid spiralling costs and with the spending review approaching. Nick Clegg announced this daft scheme at his party’s conference in 2013. It sounded ever so wholesome when the Deputy Prime Minister promised a ‘healthy lunch’ for every child in reception and years 1 and 2. But the scheme – which also cost a lot more than intended to implement – was daft because it didn’t improve life for poor children. Sure, it was a nice ‘retail offer’ to parents who can afford to pay for lunch for their

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Why won’t the SNP discipline Paul Monaghan over offensive tweets?

Paul Monaghan, the SNP MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, seems quite keen to become Parliament’s new David Ward by making offensive comments on Twitter. The Jewish Chronicle earlier this week extracted an apology from the MP for tweeting about the ‘proud Jewish race’ who were ‘persecuting the people of Gaza’ – but he’s also tweeted about the Union Flag being a ‘butcher’s apron’ and the ‘queen’s diarrhoea’. Given Emily Thornberry (unfairly, in my view) lost her Labour frontbench job for tweeting a picture of a house with the innocuous comment ‘Image from #Rochester’, Monaghan has had a relatively relaxing experience since these tweets have come to light, simply

Friday

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Stay briefed with The Spectator’s free politics emails

Parliament returns from recess on Monday – and so do the Spectator’s free politics emails. The Lunchtime Espresso and the Evening Blend round up all the day’s political developments so that busy politicos don’t miss a thing. They’re pored over by newspaper editors and Cabinet ministers alike, because they’re snappy, fun and not long-winded. The Evening Blend includes a list of the day’s political stories, as well as analysis of what’s happened and what might happen next. We often break exclusive stories in this email too, which means our subscribers are the best-briefed in Westminster, and you get extra gossip and snark from Westminster insiders too. But the best bit of

Sebastian Payne

Nigel Farage: I’d love to share a platform with Jeremy Corbyn

Nigel Farage held another event in Westminster this morning to announce the dates of his ‘Say No – Believe in Britain’ tour, through which he hopes to drum up support for a Brexit. While the venue and message were identical to his press conference in July, the Ukip leader did reveal some details: twelve regional co-ordinators have been chosen, 300 events are planned over the next few months and six million leaflets will be delivered by Christmas. In light of the British Future polling on the toxicity of Ukip’s immigration message, Farage was keen point out he will work with anyone to achieve a Brexit — even Jeremy Corbyn. He said that a Corbyn victory

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Corbyn and the austerity argument

Until recently, the Tory leadership has been reluctant to plan how they would respond to a Corbyn-led Labour party. They just couldn’t believe that Labour were actually going to elect him. At the Cabinet’s pre-holiday get together at Chequers, the conversation about how to take on the new Labour leader was premised on the idea that either Andy Burnham or Yvette Cooper would win. But now the Tories are working out how they would tackle Corbyn. (Though, two Cabinet Ministers have told me this week that they expect Cooper to pip Corbyn at the post). The Tory leadership is keen to avoid sounding triumphalist about the prospect of facing the

Tristram Hunt

Welcome to the era of emoji politics, where debate and rationality are suffocated

I break off the family holiday to campaign for my colleague Liz Kendall in the Labour leadership election. In Ipswich and Colchester, I found party members not so smitten by Corbynmania. In both constituencies, more people voted Tory than Labour: it remains unclear to me why heading further left would appeal to them. At every leadership election since the demise of Tony Blair the party has chosen a more left-wing candidate, and while Neil Kinnock might have ‘got his party back’, the country got a Tory government back. What is also evident is the anger among party members who have spent years delivering leaflets and are being called ‘Tories’ for