Politics

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

Thursday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

The Importance of Kicking Gordon

Defeat for Gordon Brown on 42 Days yesterday would have been catastrophic. But, as I suggested, victory hasn’t done him much good either. The Spectator samples press reaction: “Desperate Brown scrapes through” says the Guardian, quoting Dianne Abbott saying it was a “grubby bazaar”. Just how grubby is shown by the Daily Mail which names those concessions. “Winner or Loser?” asks The Independent’s front page and editorial argues for the latter (“A victory that only exposes Mr Brown’s weakness”). The Mirror’s spread says simply “Day of Shame”. The Times’ leader says simply “Westminster for Sale” saying this horse trading will only further lower the public’s opinion of British politics. All

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Responsibility, Duty, Decency

Mr Eugenides observes that for all the talk – much of it reasonable – that the Tories are soft on liberty and that we lbertarian-types should therefore vote for UKIP (no thanks!), UKIP’s only MP, Bob Spink, voted with the government on 42 Days. In the comments, Trixy, of Is There More to Life Than Shoes fame, says this was fine because he wasmerely reflecting the views of his constituents. Which means it’s time to give Edmund Burke’s famous 1774 speech in Bristol another airing… “Certainly, Gentlemen, it ought to be the happiness and glory of a Representative, to live in the strictest union, the closest correspondence, and the most

Alex Massie Alex Massie

The Fresh Winds of Principle

David Davis, the shadow Home Secretary, resigns his seat to fight a by-election on the principles of liberty and justice. A startling move, by any measure. And one worthy of respect. If he wins – and the Lib Dems have said they will not put up a candidate to oppose him – then, happily, he’ll make it harder for the Tories to succumb to their worst instincts and backslide on the repeal of 42 Days and other intrusive government legislation, once they return to power. UPDATE: New Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve says the Tories will repeal 42 Days. Good. If Davis’s actions forced this clarification then that alone seems

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Is Davis the sanest man in the Westminster madhouse?

I am just out of doing BBC news interview, where they were discussing the public reaction to Davis. Eveyone in Westminster thinks Davis is mad, loopy, gone off on one, etc. But 95% of the comments to the BBC’s extensive listener and viewer response says this is a very welcome break from the tired identikit politics of Westminster. When I spoke to Davis this morning and asked him if he knew he’d be denounced as a madman, he said yes. But he said he genuinely believes in the cause,  and that he hopes the public would recognise this authenticity. It could just be that Davis is right, and the political

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Davis vs The Munsters

I hear it is now almost certain that Labour will definitely not put a candidate up against Davis, to deny him the battle he seeks. Logic is to make him look like a mad bloke in the pub touting for a fight at closing time. So it will be him, UKIP, BNP, monster raving loonies, the munsters etc. The broadcasters then wouldn’t be able to interview Davis if they didn’t then give equal platform to the weird and wacky minority parties. A bottle out from Brown, certainly. But one not without political rationale. P.S. Sadly for Labour, the BNP have just decided not to field a candidate. No word on

James Forsyth James Forsyth

What a way to start

It seems that Dominic Grieve has, as he did with grammar schools, forced a re-write of Tory policy. Last night, the Tory position was that they would almost certainly repeal the 42 days legislation but not that they would repeal it. That was still the position when David Cameron spoke to the press to announce that Grieve was the new shadow Home Secretary. But then in his first interview, the new man announced the Tories would definitely repeal it. There was no caveat about this being dependent on it being passed in its current form, no new evidence emerging or anything else. Just a definite commitment. There are three possible explanations for

Peter Hoskin

Labour to decline challenging Davis?

Over at Three Line Whip, it’s being reported that Labour think it “highly unlikely” that they’ll put forward a candidate in David Davis’ constituency of Haltemprice & Howden.  As James said earlier, victory in an effectively uncontested by-election could leave Davis with egg on his face.

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The Passion of David Davis

After pumping the phones, I am now clear(er) on the great Davis mystery. To get to the bottom of what many in Westminster regard as an act of borderline lunacy, you consider a few things. 1) Weirdly, Davis means it. He’s not opposing 42 days for tactical advantage: he despises the measure in every way. “He has always been like this,” says someone who worked for Michael Howard. “When Howard wanted to introduce identity cards in 2004 we pretty much had to sedate Davis. He went bananas.” His commitment to British civil liberties is heartfelt, and he gets het up about subjects he believes in. This is rare in a

Peter Hoskin

Will David Davis achieve anything?

I find it hard to be cynical about Davis’ actions today. Rather than being a “publicity stunt”, I suspect they may demonstrate that rarest of things – a politician acting on principle. But, whatever you think on that front, there’s a separate question: what will Davis achieve? I’m not sure it will be all that much. Some thoughts on why: 1) The 42-day legislation hasn’t been passed yet. If anything, the smart money’s on it not getting through the Lords (and possibly then entering a period of wrangling, courtesy of the Parliament Act). In that case, Davis will be running a by-election campaign largely against a policy which isn’t in place. That’s hardly the thing to bring about

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Davis: the word in Westminster

Every lunch in Westminster has just been rudely interrupted. Rumours are already whirling – did Davis storm out of a meeting with Cameron, angered that a Tory government would not repeal 42 days? Have the Lib Dems agreed not to stand a candidate against him? Michael Martin refused to let Davis resign in the chamber, and people are asking when in history the last by-election was called over an issue (the corn laws are being mentioned). I know some Shadow Cabinet members are shocked at this, asking if they should resign next time something big blows up. I just met a No10 aide smiling broadly – saying this is just

James Forsyth James Forsyth

“The coldness necessary to command”

As so often, Charles Moore put it best when he used this phrase about Cameron. Charles was reflecting on Cameron telling Stanley Johnson straight out at a social occasion that he wouldn’t be allowed to have a run at Boris’s old seat but it applies perfectly to today’s events as well. Some thought on Dominic Grieve in a bit. Stay tuned.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Cameron responds to Davis

David Cameron’s ruthlessness was on full display just now in his statement on Davis’ resignation. He has appointed Dominic Grieve as the new shadow Home Secretary. There was no indication that Davis would get his old job back once he wins his by-election—his bluff has been well and truly called. Also, worth noting that Cameron did not commit the Tories to repealing the 42-day detention measure if it passes.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Will David Davis be denied a publicity triumph?

The Lib Dems have announced that they will not stand against David Davis. Now, this is because they agree with him on 42 days. But if Labour were also not to field a candidate, David Davis would be denied any great publicity triumph and could end up looking rather silly.

Peter Hoskin

Davis announces his resignation

So that’s it then.  Here are Davis’ own words:  “This cannot go on. It must be stopped and for that reason I feel it incumbent on me to make a stand. I will be resigning from this House and will force a by-election. I am just a piece in this great chess game. I will argue against the slow strangulation of fundamental British freedoms by this government. This may mean I have made my last speech to the House. That would be a cause of great regret to me. But at least my electorate and the nation as a whole whould have had the opportunity to debate and consider one of

Peter Hoskin

Clegg confirms the Davis story

Nick Clegg takes a principled stance, and confirms what we’ve been hearing about Davis: “David Davis’s decision to resign his seat and fight a by-election over the issue of 42 days is a dramatic move. I am grateful to him for having informed me following the vote of his intention to take this step.   “The Liberal Democrats have consistently opposed this unnecessary and illiberal proposal which poses a threat so serious to British liberties that it transcends party politics.   “I have therefore decided, after consultation with the Party nationally and locally, that we will not stand a candidate at the forthcoming by-election which will be contested by David

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Is this the reason for Davis’ resignation?

A Tory source has just explained to me what Davis is up to. He wants to stand down, force a by-election, then run a campaign on 42 days and declare that ‘the people have spoken’. Why? Well, one reason being put about is that he wants leverage in the internal debate over whether or not the Tories should commit to repeal 42 days. This is high-risk stuff.  Then again, Davis is not averse to risk – as the Alan Clarke diaries show.  

Peter Hoskin

Breaking: David Davis resigns

According to Politics Home, David Davis has resigned as an MP. As of yet, it’s uncertain why.  We’ll have more shortly. Stay tuned. UPDATE: Nick Robinson’s reporting a row between Davis and Cameron.  Apparently, though, Davis’ friends are denying that he’s resigned. UPDATE 2: Here’s the BBC story.  They’re running with the resignation line.

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Brown struggles through his press conference

Short of having Nick Leeson pledge to sort out banking regulation, it’s hard to think of a less congruous sight than Gordon Brown pledging to sort the financial mess he’s got us all in to. Yet this was the pitch of his press conference today. Standing against a podium saying “fuel, food and finance” he did his best to pose as the Great Helmsman to steer Britain through the choppy waters. Here’s my take: Ulster. Tom Bradbury from ITN asked him if he can, hand on heart, say that deal was not discussed in his talks with the DUP. Like the impact of the polls on the bottled election, he