Politics

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

Sunday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Political progress in Iraq

The latest State of Iraq update from the Brookings Institution in The New York Times confirms the security success of the surge—there have been fewer civilian deaths in Iraq this past February than in any since the war started. Now, the argument moves to whether Iraqi politicians are capable of taking advantage of the space created by the surge. It is clear that national reconciliation in Iraq remains a considerable way off. But it would be wrong to dismiss the definite signs of progress we have seen on this front recently. As the report notes, “The most intriguing area of late is the sphere of politics. To track progress, we

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The height of hypocrisy

I was right – Clegg’s speech was better with the volume down. He wasn’t just copying Cameron’s walkabout speech tactics but also his “broken politics” analysis (itself inspired by Obama). Given his role in last week’s vote on the EU referendum, it was the height of hypocrisy. He led his party to abstain, thus denying the public the say he promised them in his own manifesto. Actions speak louder than words in politics. He was forced to choose between the people (who want a referendum) and the Westminster system he affects to despise. In that vote, he showed the world where his loyalties lie. He was a key accomplice in

Michael Fallon

Budget 2008: Brown’s wasted years

Five years ago, Gordon Brown’s 2003 Budget forecast that the current budget would now be in surplus by £9 billion.  That might have allowed the new Chancellor to cut taxes for the lowest-paid, or to invest more money in our third world infrastructure. In fact, the budget never got into surplus at all.  Brown conceded a year ago that the deficit this March would be £4 billion.  In October Alistair Darling increased that to £8.3 billion.  The City fears it will turn out even higher. The good years have been wasted.  The budget is now forecast to reach surplus by 2010, four years later than originally planned.  Overall debt today is

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Hamming it up

Well, David Cameron has changed politics in this regard: no party leader can give a speech without walking around the stage – at least for a bit.  Over at the Lib Dem Spring Conference, Clegg is hamming it up a bit too much – flapping his hands like he’s trying to take off. I’ll watching from the best possible vantage point: a cafe, which has the tv on but volume turned down. I’ll eat my hat if the text of his speech is half as good as Cable’s yesterday. After the self-inflicted humiliation of the EU vote last week, the best Clegg can hope for is damage limitation.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Talking the talk while walking the walk

David Cameron’s piece in The Sunday Telegraph this morning is a neat example of how he tries to position himself politically. On the one hand, the article is about what could be considered a classically right-wing cause: getting those on incapacity benefit who, physically, can work off the welfare roll and into paying employment. But rather than concentrating on the tough side of this message—for instance, the Tory’s plans for independent medical check for all incapacity benefit claimants—Cameron focuses on the children, worrying about the “half a million children who are dependent on their parents’ incapacity benefit. That’s half a million kids trapped in poverty with parents who, increasingly, are

Saturday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Can Cable turn the Lib Dems into The British Bull Moose Party?

Vince Cable’s speech to the Lib Dem spring conference today showed how fortunate it was for the two main parties that he did not become leader either in 2006 or after Ming Campbell’s departure. He is able to deliver cutting criticism of the two main parties while staking out political positions that appeal to both Labour and Tory voters. The address was littered with Cable’s usual telling jokes. His one on Northern Rock definitely hit home: “During the Northern Rock crisis the boat was drifting listlessly. Captain Brown was hiding in his cabin. And Midshipman Osborne was jumping excitedly in and out of a lifeboat.” But the most powerful part of

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The Brown Machine Roars into Gear

I am taken to task by CoffeeHousers for praising Brown’s new team– or, as CS rather wonderfully puts it, “making cow eyes at the latest set of rentaquote spivs”. Have I gone native in a Westminster village that confuses spinners with real people? John says I’m too close to the story: outsiders should not be hired in British politics. After indulging me with that 2,400-word extended version of my political column, here’s a rather prolix reply.   First, CS, I have done a few blogs saying Team Brown is getting better because I have found this to be the case. Simple as that. Labour’s attack machine is sharper. Twice now

Friday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

“Appalling people doing appalling things”

Great column by Simon Jenkins in today’s Guardian. The celebration of the “Cheeky Brothers” Martin McGuinness and Ian Paisley has been nauseating. Now the old brute has gone and good riddance to him. Or at least so you might think. But no, instead you could have been forgiven for supposing that a national treasure is slipping from the scene. Jenkins is absolutely correct: Why do rats float while good men sink? Readers may have exploded over the headline on this page yesterday. It read “A fascinating, gracious man”, and crowned a eulogy on Northern Ireland’s retiring first minister, Ian Paisley, written by his one-time bitterest foe, Gerry Adams of Sinn

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Journalism 101

When is “off the record” actually off the record? Dana Goldstein says “shame on The Scotsman” for publishing Samantha Power’s description of Hillary Clinton as “a monster”. But this is not a matter of shame, nor necessarily, as Goldstein suggests, of the foreign press “stooping to play gotcha with secondary advisors”. It may well be that Power’s comments came at the end of an interview which mainly focused on her new book. I don’t know. But I do know that you don’t really get to take a mulligan when you make a blunder in an interview. If power had prefaced her characterisation of Hillary as a monster with the phrase,

James Forsyth James Forsyth

God and Blair at Yale

Yale has just announced that Tony Blair will be the Howland distinguished fellow there next academic year: “Mr. Blair will lead a seminar at Yale and participate in a number of events around the campus. The course in which he will participate with Yale faculty will examine issues of faith and globalization. His efforts at Yale relate to the work of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation that he will be launching later this year.” Now that he is out of office, Blair clearly does do God.

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Power failure | 7 March 2008

When I was at The Scotsman we dreamed about getting the kind of scoop the newspaper has this morning – one that impacts the American presidential race and runs on Drudge all day. It’s by Gerri Peev, political correspondent, who has an eerie knack of drawing candour from people (just ask Tory MP James Gray). Samantha Power (pictured), Barack Obama’s foreign policy adviser, has told Gerri she regards Hillary as a “monster” who is “stooping to anything”. Power has now resigned. This is what McCain can dream about: internecine warfare amongst Democrats. And there may be months to go. More on the Power resignation over at Americano

The Spectator

Brownies & Budget 2008

A reminder that – after all your suggestions – Coffee House has begun its detailed analysis of Brownies, those little lies that our Prime Minister constantly tells. The introductory post is here. And Fraser’s breakdown of Brownie No.1 – Inflation – is here. Also, Coffee House will be starting its Budget coverage this weekend.  Before, during and after the event, we’ll be posting comment from leading journalists, MPs and policy experts.  Be sure to stay tuned.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Did Clegg pick the least worst option?

Nick Robinson has a good post up at the BBC explaining why Nick Clegg got himself into such a mess on the Lisbon Treaty. The whole thing is well worth reading but here’s the most important section: “So why did he order his MPs to sit on their hands, to vote neither yes nor no in this week’s referendum vote in the Commons? That is the question being asked not least by those heading today to the Lib Dem spring conference in Liverpool. The answer is that he feared something much worse. Given a free vote, a vast majority of his MPs – some suggest as many as 50 –

James Forsyth James Forsyth

 Calamity Clegg

Matthew Norman has a very funny column in The Independent today on the damage that Nick Clegg has done to himself and the Liberal Democrats with his appalling handling of the Lisbon treaty vote. As Norman asks, “ What must Lib Dem MPs be making of the contrast between his punchy, basso profundo leadership style and the pubescent squealings of Mr Clegg? Much as we all enjoy wacky bids for inclusion in the Guinness World Records book, they can hardly ditch yet another leader before he has even completed that mythical first 100 days. Even so, you needn’t hijack that new machine which reads human thoughts from brain patterns to

Thursday

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Brown’s super subs

I had so much material left over from my political column this week – looking inside the doors of the revamped Team Brown and the needing-to-be-revamped Team Cameron – that I have posted a longer version online. The gist: Brown has had a Goldman Sachs-style restructuring of No10 and he has hired very good people. He’s recognised his shortcomings, and subcontracted out to people who will not bungle. This contrasts with tales of drift at CCHQ, where – in West Wing terms – there is no Leo McGarry figure making the operation work. Cameron’s ideas are good, his press operation is good. But in terms of retail politics, you have

Peter Hoskin

A cutting debate

Yesterday, Matthew agreed with Daniel Finkelstein that the Tories should hold back a little – and spend more time reassuring the electorate – before cutting taxes wholesale.  As he put it: “As tiresome as it may sometimes be, the essence of modernisation always boils down to reassurance of one kind of another: and those who think that the core Cameroon project of reassuring the voters is complete really are living in cloud cuckoo-land. I very much hope that Chancellor Osborne has the scope to cut the tax burden. He certainly has the inclination. But there is no surer way of preventing him from ever getting that chance than the party,

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The price of political cowardice

The government’s u-turn on road pricing is a depressing act of political cowardice. Steve Richards has a spot on column in The Independent today on the matter: “In this context there is a big risk that the fashionable “new politics”, in which leaders seek a dialogue with the voters on every policy, will lead to bad rather than better government. Petitions would have stopped some of the most effective policies over recent decades, many of which were unpopular at the time and became popular later.… Sometimes leaders must take tough decisions and hope the plaudits will come later. Tough decisions will not be taken if leaders are so obsessed with

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

What now for the Tories?

Now the referendum vote is defeated, what for the Tories? First, hope it’s overturned in the Lords. Then? A ConservativeHome poll shows 76% of grassroot members want a retrospective referendum. I disagree. That would allow the party to be caricatured as harking back to the past.  I suspect once Lisbon is ratified, the EU will get up to truly outrageous stuff. It will move quickly to force Britain’s hand on areas where our veto is weakened or abolished. So by a May 2010 election there will be a fresh battle to fight and the part will have plenty opportunity to make their Europe approach seem forward-looking. Brown is trashed by

Peter Hoskin

Referendum Watch

Just elaborating on my post of last night, here are the full numbers for yesterday’s Commons vote on the the Tory proposal for a referendum: 311 MPs opposed the proposal 248 MPs supported the proposal 29 Labour MPs supported the proposal 308 Labour MPs opposed the proposal 14 Labour MPs did not vote 186 Conservative MPs supported the proposal 3 Conservative MPs opposed the proposal 2 Conservative MPs did not vote 13 Lib Dem MPs supported the proposal 50 Lib Dem MPs did not vote The Lib Dem rebels were: Annette Brooke Alistair Carmichael Tim Farron Sandra Gidley Andrew George Mike Hancock David Heath John Hemming Paul Holmes Martin Horwood