Politics

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

Wednesday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Miliband starts with a bang

Score the first round to Ed Miliband. In his debut PMQs performance, Miliband comfortably got the better of David Cameron, forcing him onto the defensive for most of the session. Miliband’s first question was a long and worthy one about the death of Linda Norgrove, the UK aid worker, in Afghanistan last week. Then, he moved to the proposed child benefit changes, asking Cameron to justify the anomaly where a single earner family on £45,000 a year would lose it while a two earner household on £80,000 would keep it. Cameron’s problem was that nine days after the policy was announced, he still has no answer to his point. (Although,

Peter Hoskin

PMQs live blog | 13 October 2010

VERDICT: Well, who would have thought it? In his first PMQs performance, Ed Miliband not only put in a solid showing – but he got the better of David Cameron. I certainly don’t agree with the Labour leader’s central argument: that it is unfair to restrict child benefit. But he put his point across in measured, reasonable tones – and Cameron seemed flustered by comparison, as he wagged on about the size of the deficit. Make no mistake, the argument and the public’s sympathies will unwind themselves over the course of the entire Parliament. They will not be resolved in one session of PMQs. But in presentational terms, MiliE will

Peter Hoskin

Counting down to the spending review

Only one week to go, folks, until the main event itself: the Comprehensive Spending Review. And judging by this morning’s papers, the Treasury have almost settled on their final acts. Only the welfare, eduction and defence budgets have any significant question marks hanging over them. Those question marks, though, are fading fast. A story in this morning’s Times (£) reports that David Cameron has endorsed the building of two aircraft carriers, but has decided to delay the Trident upgrade until after 2015. No, strictly speaking, he’s not going back on this. Rather, the idea is that the coalition will keep on working towards a replacement for Trident between now and

David Blackburn

Miliband versus Dave – round one

Well, here it is. Ed Miliband will meet David Cameron for the first time at PMQs today. For all his determination and tactical sense, Miliband has his work cut out. Neither gave vintage speeches at the recent party conferences, but, in terms of presentation, Cameron’s easy wit trumps Miliband’s adenoidal drone. This will be Westminster’s final act of posturing before next Wednesday’s spending review, a vanity soon to be forgotten. However, Labour has to fertilise its barren economic policy, and quickly. PMQs is the best opportunity to start.  Labour’s strategy is clear: the government has made no plans for growth; in fact, their cuts are inimical to growth and squeeze hard-pressed middle earners. This

Peter Hoskin

Daylight for the 33

As Alex says, the rescue of the Chilean miners has to be the “feel-good story of the year”. The first, Florencio Avalos, was winched out of his underground cell at 0310 British time, and a further four have been delivered to the surface since. With 28 more miners to come, this is by no means over – but a much happier end is in sight than many would have believed, 68 days ago.

Tuesday

Martin Bright

Ed Miliband calls for humility – now let’s see some

So Ed Miliband told the Parliamentary Labour Party that he and they need to show humility. He is right, but this is easy to say and much, much harder to do. We shall see whether he has managed it at the despatch box tomorrow when the tackles David Cameron at his first PMQs. The feeling power gives politicians seeps into their bones and they get used to the trappings of deference. Ed Miliband has been close to significant power for most of his adult life, as have many of the people around him.  They need to realise that for a while – about 18 months probably – no one will

Will Tanner

Norfolk prepares for the Spending Review

This is the latest in our series of posts on the Spending Review with Reform. A list of previous posts can be found here. On Friday, Norfolk’s public service leaders gathered at a summit organised by Norman Lamb, MP for North Norfolk and Parliamentary and Political Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister, to discuss the region’s preparation for the upcoming Spending Review. The meeting of MPs, council leaders, NHS and police representatives, as well as a number of external organisations such as Reform, was intended as a first step towards a regional solution to the expected 25 per cent cuts to Norfolk’s annual £7 billion total public spend.   The

David Blackburn

The Postie’s twinkle

The Postman’s eyes twinkled as he met George Osborne across the dispatch box for the first time this afternoon. With the air of an apologist who isn’t remotely contrite, Alan Johnson told the House of his ‘vast experience in this job’ and gave the impression he was having a blast. This jolly masque hid an insubstantial performance. Johnson latched on to Chris Huhne’s vow that he would not be ‘lashed to the mast‘ of needless spending cuts – Johnson wondered if the deficit might not be eradicated within one parliament. Osborne said that it would. Then Johnson repeated the substance of his attacks of the weekend. The government lacks a

David Blackburn

Cable backs the Browne report

The Lib Dem website still says that the party stands for the abolition of tuition fees, so Vince Cable had to draw on all his presentational skill this afternoon. The ‘current system of university funding is no longer feasible’ he said, before adding that Scotland’s free system is unsustainable. Second, he made clear that he and his party have always supported a ‘progressive graduate contribution’. The Browne report incorporates a progressive contribution into an alternative to the current system; Cable vowed to introduce a ‘specific proposal along the lines of the Browne report.’ Cable also dealt with the politically sensitive issue that these changes would not disadvantage middle income earners.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Winning over the squeezed middle

Politically, one of the key questions about Lord Browne’s suggestion that tuition fees should be raised is how the tribunes of the middle classes react. Will a rise in fees be seen as another burden on those who work hard, play by the rules and are already bearing more than their fair share of the costs of the state? If the argument is to be won, the coalition will have to show that students will now get more out of their university experience. There’ll have to be an emphasis on how these changes will make universities improve the quality of the teaching that they offer. It’ll be worth watching to

David Blackburn

Cable and Clegg scrambling to repel errant MPs

The Lib Dems have met the Browne report with a mixture of cordiality and outright antipathy. According to the Guardian, Greg Mulholland is the ring-leader of a band who will vote against a fee rise come what may. Lib Dem ministers are describing the Browne report as ‘unpalatable’ in its current form but recognise that fees must rise and are ‘keeping their powder dry’. The stumbling block is Browne’s recommendation that interest free loans be scrapped. This stark move was to be offset by raising the threshold and tapering interest rates to protect the disadvantaged. There are also concerns that the affluent will be able to pay off their debt

Monday

Peter Hoskin

The AV rebels change tack

A little snippet from today’s Times (£) that is worth noting down: “Tory rebels will this week lift their threat to the date of next year’s proposed referendum on voting changes – because they believe May 5 offers the best chance of stopping the alternative vote (AV) system. That date coincides with the council elections in Scotland, Wales and most of England, and was thought likely to boost the ‘yes’ vote for replacing first-past-the-post general elections. Nick Clegg insists that the Lib Dems will not budge on the date. But a tactical rethink will see many AV sceptics wave it through when the Bill comes to the floor of the

Peter Hoskin

David Cameron: Linda Norgrove may have been killed by US rescue team

David Cameron arrived at his press conference forty-five minutes late, and was visibly shaken when he took to the microphone. A few sentences in, it was clear why. “Linda [Norgrove, the British aid worker who recently died in Afghanistan] may not have died at the hands of her captors as originally believed,” Cameron said, “[she] could have died as a result of a grenade detonated by the task force during the assault.” The PM explained that he had been told this by General Petraeus this morning, and that Ms Norgrove’s parents have since been informed. Cameron emphasised that he had backed the rescue operation, and believed that it was the

David Blackburn

Making the case for further tuition fees

Ever the opportunist, Ed Miliband recognised that university funding could be the coalition’s first test of resolve. Opposing a tuition fee hike has given him the chance to serenade disgruntled Liberal Democrats and to discard New Labour’s sheen (which so incensed Alan Johnson, the minister who introduced the fee in such difficult circumstances). Miliband is determined to mould the Labour party in his image. Speaking on the Politics Show yesterday (16:20 in), he said that the party, Johnson included, will strive to deliver a graduate tax. After a summer’s procrastination, the government has run out of time. The substance of Lord Browne’s recommendations is in the public domain and it

The Spectator

Just in case you missed them… | 11 October 2010

… here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the weekend. Ed Howker reveals the full tragedy of Britain’s welfare ghettos. Fraser Nelson argues that Ed Miliband’s shadow cabinet is defensive, and highlights Cameron’s greatest weakness. James Forsyth discusses the consequences of the child benefit row, and examines Cameron’s motives. Peter Hoskin notes the transformation of kindly Alan Johnson, and says that the coalition shares Vince Cable’s discomfort over university funding. David Blackburn watches Andrew Lansley try to reassure the doubters, and believes that Labour will target Theresa May. And Alex Massie defends Nick Clegg from the Mail on Sunday’s shrill attacks.

Sunday

Peter Hoskin

Vince Cable’s discomfort is shared by the coalition

The trouble with holding a ministerial debate in public is that, when it comes to the crunch, it’s obvious who the winners and losers are. So it is with Vince Cable and higher education funding. A couple of months ago, the business secretary tap-danced onto the stage with a (problematic) plan for a new graduate tax. Now, it seems clear that the Browne Review will reject his advice (£) in favour of increasing tuition fees. And so Cable has had to send out an excruciating email explaining why a graduate tax was never really a good idea in the first place. After the flip comes the flop, so to speak.

Peter Hoskin

Alan Johnson, from affable to aggressive  

If Alan Johnson continues as he has started, then he may be a surlier, snarlier shadow chancellor than many of us expected. He’s got an article in today’s News of the World and an interview in The Observer – and, in both, he’s on unusually combative form. Osborne’s cuts are labelled as “deep and irresponsible,” and the VAT rise is highlighted as a measure that will affect “those on middle and low incomes the most.” Johnson even claims, with Balls-like stridency, that the coalition could drag us screaming into double-dip. And there’s more. With a disingenuousness that would impress even Gordon Brown, Johnson glowers that the coalition’s cuts are deeper

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Rochdale, revisited

Putting Ed Balls into Home Affairs is like trapping a bee in a jar: he’ll come out furious, and anxious to sting. In his new brief, he has immigration. And he’ll know Cameron’s vulnerabilities. The greatest threat facing the coalition doesn’t come from Ed Miliband. It comes from a deep dysfunction in Britain’s economy: that when it grows, we just suck in more workers from overseas. Balls knows this, and the resentment it causes in affected communities – which is why he was talking tough on immigration during the leadership contest. He knows where the economic bodies are buried: he dug the graves. He also knows that unless Cameron manages

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Abbott caps Miliband’s defensive reshuffle

Those months of campaigning have finally paid off for Dianne Abbott. She has been made a Shadow Health Minister – which resembles a proper job. She was against the Blair-Milburn reforms in the NHS, regarding them as too pro-market – so let’s see if she keeps this position in opposition, thereby throwing more soil on the grave of New Labour. One can imagine the fear running down Andrew Lansley’s spine at this new team: John Healey and Abbott. It’s just baffling. In the bars at conference last week, I met many Tories who are increasingly worried at the pace and preparedness of Lansley’s proposed NHS reforms. But instead of marking

Alex Massie Alex Massie

More Mail Fail: Clegg Edition

Apparently the print edition of the Mail on Sunday screams “Hypocrisy” because Nick Clegg, though not a believer himself, is not averse to sending his eldest child to be educated at the (catholic) London Oratory. Like you, dearest reader, I look forward to the Mail opposing school choice. The online version of this nonsense does its best to be faux-outraged with “Why is atheist Nick Clegg considering sending his son to the same exclusive school as the Blairs?” It is not clear whether the atheism or the Blair connection is the more pernicious. Never mind that Clegg’s wife is catholic and the children are being brought up as catholics. Never