Politics

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

Thursday

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

Peter Hoskin

Can we blame the DUP?

The DUP’s actions over the 42-day detention vote yesterday have provoked quite a lot of anger. CoffeeHouser ‘cuffleyburgers’ provides a good example of that: “…the DUP worms who sold their principles down the river in exchange for some as-yet-unclarified bribe.”  And then there are posts from Daniel Hannan and Iain Dale, among others. But is it right to blame the DUP? I’m not so sure. Yes, money may have overridden principle in this case (although it’s still unclear how many DUP MPs were in support of 42-day detention anyway). But isn’t one expectation of MPs that they represent the interests of their constituents? And, boy, have the DUP done that – whether intentionally or unintentionally. An

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Ed Balls gets it wrong, wrong, wrong

Never let it be said that The Spectator makes no space for dissenting views. Ed Balls makes the case for his school policy today – worth reading. It is a powerful tour of the arguments and half-truths which compose Labour’s education policy. To Fisk this would end up in an article four times the length of the original, so I will confine myself to his criticism of Tory policy. Okay, just one other point. “On each of our key reforms — education to 18, diplomas, school admissions, raising standards and tackling underperforming schools — there is a clear difference between the two main parties” says Balls. Note how he says “education

The Skimmer

42-days: the fallout

The point of all those bribes was so Gordon Brown could wake up to headlines after the 42 days vote saying “principled Prime Minister holds firm to his principles and wins a knife-edge gamble.” Instead, he is today pilloried – and most harshly by his own side. “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

Peter Hoskin

A waste of time

Plenty of reaction to the 42-day vote in this morning’s papers.  A summary of the consensus: enjoy this success while you can Brown, because it won’t last long.  But of the all the angry column pieces, Steve Richards’ is perhaps the most incisive.  His thesis is that Brown has wasted Government time in the effort to get his detention proposals through Parliament: “Here is a Labour government with possibly less than two years left in power. If it loses the next election, the party could be out of power for two terms at least. This summer is the last phase, possibly for a long time, in which a Labour administration

Wednesday