Politics

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

Saturday

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The Labour form book: Jack Straw

Coffee House is running a series of posts on the contenders to succeed Gordon Brown as Labour party leader.  The latest is below.  Click here for our profile of David Miliband, here for Jon Cruddas, and here for Alan Johnson. Jack Straw, 62, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Pros Experience: This is a man who has been an MP since 1979, and who – in his near thirty year career – has filled positions including Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary. On paper, at least, it’s not a bad record, perhaps the best among any of the potential leadership candidates. Straw’s got experience by the bucketful. And that’s

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The PM serves up Brownies for Sky

Interviewing Gordon Brown is a horrible job. He normally regards interviews as speeches with occasional interruptions, and typically he reverts to his lines while his PR man calls up after to say ‘what Gordon meant to say was…’.  Yet Sky News team squeezed a fairly decent amount out of Brown in their inteview broadcast at 8pm last night. Plus a new crop of Brownies. Some were slips (‘Fannie Mac’ etc) but the below were, we should believe, deliberate – and should not pass without comment: 1) “In 1997 we came in and… the debt of the United Kingdom was 44% 45% of national income, we cut that and it is

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Politics | 20 September 2008

When Number 10 said that Gordon Brown’s leadership had not been discussed in the Cabinet on Tuesday morning, it sounded a bit odd. After all, every other gathering of Labour MPs in the land has been talking of little else: how much more humiliation lies ahead, and when the end might come. So it came as no surprise to learn that the spin doctors’ claim was untrue. In fact, the issue did come up in Cabinet, raised by none other than the Prime Minister himself — and in the most extraordinary terms. After Mr Brown had gone through the motions of discussing government business (not something anyone is much focused

Friday

The Spectator

The week that was | 19 September 2008

Here are some of the posts made over the past week on Spectator.co.uk: Fraser Nelson thinks that Brown’s rollercoaster fall may be stabilising for now, and shows how Nick Clegg’s tax cuts are a con. James Forsyth explains why the Tories need to face up to some tough tax decisions, and advises the Labour rebels not to make it personal. Peter Hoskin reviews Nick Clegg’s conference speech, and asks whether Stuart Wheeler will force the Tories to talk about Europe. Daniel Korski explores the tensions in Ukraine. Brian Cullen questions how far the Cabinet is really backing Brown  Mark Daniell introduces us to this year’s Ryder Cup. Stephen Pollard highlights

The Spectator

Brown shouldn’t lecture anyone about hiding debt

Quotes have been released from the Sky News interview with the Prime Minister tonight, and one catches my eye. He talks about City firms misbehaving. Kay Burley asks him how. He answers: “What we are discovering is that there were large off balance sheet activities that were being run by some of the major companies in the world, I’m not naming any individual companies, because many companies were involved in this. They were not fully disclosed, they were therefore the problem that had to be dealt with when the markets started to fall.” Hmm – large off-balance sheet activities? This from the man who has so far kept at least £50 billion

Peter Hoskin

Grumblings from the grassroots

LabourHome’s poll of Labour members – featured on the cover of today’s Independent – has caused quite a stir.  UK polling report summarises the criticism that a few Labour figures have levelled against it – i.e. that it’s not sufficiently scientific – but also points out that similar polls by ConservativeHome have proved quite accurate in the past.  Either way, the results are well worth a read.  Here are some of the headline findings: 46.2% want Gordon Brown to lead Labour into the next election. 53.8% would prefer someone else.   45.3% believe a change of leader would improve Labour’s General Election prospects. 27.7% believe a change would harm Labour’s prospects.

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Reasons for Brown to be cheerful

The Brown demise is on a downward rollercoaster trajectory: it stabilises before it plunges again. I suspect that a period of stabilisation, and maybe even an upswing, is now on the cards. Yesterday went very well for him, and from the quotes I have seen he managed to get through even Jeff Randall on the Sky interview to be broadcast at 8pm tonight. Also, he may soon have another merger deal to point to.  EDF, which walked away from British Energy in July, will meet during the Labour Party conference to discuss a higher offer. Creating an entente nuclear is one of Brown’s main ambitions – something which justifies his

Thursday

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Brown’s charade is working

At 8pm on Friday, Sky will broadcast an interview with Gordon Brown which seals off what will be his best day for months. The risible idea that he somehow played matchmaker between HBOS and Lloyds TSB proved irresistible to news editors last night. It fuses together the political crisis with the financial one and has been written into the script. Him bumping into the part-time chairman of board of Lloyds (not Eric Daniels, who actually runs the company) has been puffed up into the moment when (as one newspaper put it) Brown ordered banks to merge. It’s the perfect myth, which allows him to say “I’m your man for the economic meltdown.”

Peter Hoskin

An indebted nation

As Fraser and I point out in this week’s cover piece, Brown’s major legacy will be to saddle the next government – and the country – with unprecedented levels of debt.  There’s the prospect that around £100 billion of public money will be sunk into Northern Rock; there’s another £110 billion set aside for PFI projects, much of which is scandalously kept off the balance sheets; and that’s before we get onto the offical total government debt figure of around £600 billion. Problem is, that last figure is set to rise exponentially.  The latest public finance statistics (out today) reveal that from April to August this year the deficit grew by £28 billion –

Peter Hoskin

The Labour form book: David Miliband 

With the Brown premiership on the ropes, Coffee House takes a look at those who might succeed him as party leader.  In the run-up to the Labour Party conference this weekend, we’ll be profiling each of the main contenders.  And, once we’ve got through them, we’ll give you the chance to vote on which one you think would be the best for Labour.  We kick things off with the bookies’ favourite… David Miliband, 43, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Pros Youth: According to the “Milibama” strategy, Miliband’s youthful vim and vigour will go some way to rejuvenating the Labour project itself.  At the very least, it offers a stark

Peter Hoskin

Will Wheeler force the Tories to talk about Europe?

The major Tory donor Stuart Wheeler is to deliver an ultimatum to David Cameron tonight.  If the Tories fail to make two particular pledges in their next manfiesto, he’ll take his money elswhere.  And those pledges are:  1. A promise that if the Lisbon Treaty is not law when they come to power, they will hold a referendum on whether to withdraw UK ratification. 2. A promise that if the Lisbon Treaty is law when they come to power, there will be an immediate, massive renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with the EU. If the UK did not get what it wants, the UK should pull out of the Union altogether.

Peter Hoskin

The Blairites lurk in the shadows – for now

Rather than wading into the fray, Alan Milburn steps gingerly towards it with his article for the think tank Progress today.  Sure, he writes that “change beckons once again”, but he also holds back from questioning Gordon Brown’s leadership.  Why so timid?  I somehow doubt it’s because he supports Brown.  But rather because Blairites – like Milburn – have to be careful not to give No.10 any opportunity to portray the current rebellion as one masterminded by a rightist cabal.  This, I suspect, is the main reason why many major figures are biting their tongues for the time being.  Until the widest-possible coalition against Brown is built, their explicit involvement

Wednesday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Not in My Name

Tom Harris, urbane and sensible blogger and, despite that, Labour MP for Glasgow South, writes: It’s called “Scotland’s shame” for a reason: sectarianism makes you feel embarrassed to be Scottish. I hate it when the subject is even raised when I’m with English friends because I imagine they must look at us as a backward nation. That is, after all, a logical conclusion: what kind of people still think it’s remotely acceptable even to care about what religion other people follow, never mind object to that religion? What kind of nation still tolerates this kind of mindset? This, of course, is the standard formula used by politicians and pundits. Sectarianism

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Political Advertising. Episode 1.

British observers of American politics tend to love the Yanks’ political advertising, even if many of those same observers might think it quite a good thing that we don’t permit (alas!) such advertising in Britain. Anyway, with the election now just six weeks away, this seems like a good time for an occasional series spotlighting classic, or at least memorable TV ads from previous elections. First up, Ronald Reagan’s famous “Bear” advertisement:

Peter Hoskin

Hutton PPS to resign

The Evening Standard reveals that Eric Joyce – the Falkirk MP and John Hutton’s PPS – is to step down from his government role after the Labour Party conference.  There’s been a lot of speculation over the past few days that Hutton himself will be the first Cabinet minister to resign in protest at the Brown premiership.  This can only fuel that rumour.

Peter Hoskin

Have the Tories hit 50 percent?

UK Polling Report’s Anthony Wells is reporting a rumour that the Tories could have broken the 50 percent mark in tomorrow’s MORI poll.  The (very much unconfirmed) figures have the Tories at 52 percent, Labour at 24 percent and the Lib Dems at 12 percent.  That would give the Tories a hefty lead of 28 percent – which is significantly up on the 20-ish point leads they’ve enjoyed recently, and can only pile more pressure on Brown.  Watch this space. UPDATE: Poll results confirmed.

Peter Hoskin

The good, the bad and the jokes

In the end, I’d say Nick Clegg’s speech at the Lib Dem conference was so-so.  The very good parts were offset by the very bad parts, and there was a chunk of neither-here-nor-there material in between.  And all delivered in the now-ubiquitous, walk-around-the-stage-with-no-notes manner.  If you want to read the whole thing, there’s a copy of it here.  I’ll just deal with the two extremes: The very bad Clegg’s speech began like a stand-up routine.  And a terrible one, at that.  There was joke, after joke, after joke, at the expense of both Labour and the Tories.  The Government were likened to the “living dead -They are a Zombie government. A cross between

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

HBOS-Lloyds, as arranged by Gordon Brown?

Is Gordon Brown trying to take credit for the HBOS-Lloyds merger? Sounds implausible, but the blog of Robert Peston, Brown’s biographer, has this snippet: “I am hearing that this deal has been negotiated at a very high pay grade level, with the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, talking to Sir Victor Blank, chairman of Lloyds TSB, about how helpful it would be if Sir Victor could bring himself to end the uncertainty hanging over HBOS by buying it.” If this is true, I’m amazed the takeover went ahead, given that Brown tends to be 180 degrees wrong about any financial deal – whether it be selling gold at the bottom of

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

Labour’s behaviour reminds me of the blind football at the Paralympics

The party’s MPs are fatally conflicted over Gordon Brown’s leadership, says Rod Liddle. Their craven conduct reflects the awkward fact that they overwhelminglychose him in the first place There was an interesting story in the newspapers this week about an American dog which rang 911, the emergency services, when his owner had a seizure. The details were a little hazy; we know that the dog was a German shepherd, but we do not know his or her name. Nor was it clear whether the animal used a landline to summon assistance, or if it had its own mobile phone. According to the emergency services, the dog, having successfully contacted 911,