Latest from Coffee House

Latest from Coffee House

All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories

The High Court’s ‘right to rent’ decision is a travesty

The political campaign against the UK’s immigration laws secured an important victory yesterday, with the High Court denouncing sections 20-37 of the Immigration Act 2014 as racially discriminatory – not by discriminatory intent or design but “indirectly”, by side effect. Those “right to rent” provisions make it unlawful for private landlords to rent property to

Withdrawing Article 50 would be a humiliation for Britain

I read with great interest Paul Collier’s suggestion that Britain should withdraw Article 50 and remain in the EU as a means of obtaining a better exit at some point in the future. This would be a UK humiliated by the inability of parliament to carry out the clear direction of the voters after nearly three

Cindy Yu

Four cost-saving tips for Liam Fox’s £100,000 podcast

As The Spectator‘s podcast editor, I’m all for spending more money on podcasts. There are now six million adults in the UK who listen to podcasts, every week. If growth continues on that path, podcast listenership will be on par with total Radio 4 listenership in just another five years. With a trajectory like this,

James Forsyth

10 days to save Brexit

MPs have 10 days to pass Theresa May’s Brexit deal or calamity strikes, I say in The Sun this morning. May’s deal is far from perfect. But what will happen if it doesn’t pass is truly appalling. If May’s deal hasn’t won a Commons vote by March 12th, the Commons will vote on whether to

We need local news if democracy is to thrive

The announcement this week that Capital, Heart and Smooth radio are cutting back their local news shows might not in itself seem important — they have loyal audiences keen to know what’s happening outside London — but it’s part of a worrying trend. Over the past two decades, important powers have been devolved to regions

Steerpike

Which Tory MPs don’t call themselves Conservative online?

Are Tory MPs actually proud to be Tories? Following recent defections from the party and the ever-present backdrop of Brexit in-fighting, it’s a question being heard more and more around Westminster. There are mutterings of parties within parties and the Independent Group has said it expects another wave of defections, highlighting just how low Conservative morale

Fraser Nelson

1711 and all that: the untold story of The Spectator

The first edition of the first Spectator was published 308 years ago today. I recently found a copy in a second-hand bookshop (pictured above), complete with every issue of the first series of that publication. It’s one of the most expensive things I’ve bought but gives me no end of pleasure and inspiration. The Spectator

Mark Galeotti

What does Putin really make of Britain’s Brexit mess?

When it comes to Brexit, Britain’s friends, neighbours, trade partners and even antagonists are generally united in one thing: wondering what on earth is going on. In Russia, there is a particular cocktail of satisfaction and bewilderment. The satisfaction is predictable. From the Kremlin’s point of view, the whole Brexit extravaganza is a gift, regardless

No deal, no problem? I’m not so sure

Tony Abbott claims in The Spectator this week that in the event of a no-deal Brexit the “difficulties would quickly pass”. Perhaps. I should start by saying that I am relatively sanguine about the medium-term economic effects of leaving without an agreement. But I think it is pretty absurd to suggest that “no deal would

Steerpike

Rebecca Long-Bailey: the new shadow Brexit secretary?

Ever since deputy leader Tom Watson called for a shakeup of the Labour frontbench last week, in response to the departure of several MPs to the Independent Group, rumours have flown around Westminister that Jeremy Corbyn may be preparing for a reshuffle. But could it already have begun? Mr Steerpike spotted in a Labour press

Steerpike

Listen: Tom Watson damns Jeremy Corbyn with faint praise

Relations between the deputy leader of the Labour party, Tom Watson, and Jeremy Corbyn have reached something of a nadir in recent weeks. After a group of MPs left the party to form the Independent Group, Watson called on Labour to do more to tackle anti-Semitism within its ranks, and has continued to pile pressure

Nick Cohen

A pincer movement is closing around Jeremy Corbyn

Chaos theory’s assertion that tiny changes can have dramatic effects is being vindicated with a vengeance in Westminster. If not quite as paltry as a butterfly flapping its wing in the Amazonian rain forest, the creation of the Independent Group seemed a small event. Eight Labour and three Tory MPs joined. Eleven in total. Just

James Kirkup

The Independent Group is already changing politics for the better

Most people at Westminster are betting against the Tiggers. Most people, if forced to guess, would predict that the Independent Group won’t become a new political party that wins scores of seats in the Commons. We can all recite the reasons: no membership, no machine, no leader, no policy platform, the electoral system… But maybe

Katy Balls

Government score an own goal on citizens’ rights resignation

This evening the government accepted an amendment to ensure the EU citizens’ rights package in the Withdrawal Agreement still stands if the U.K. leaves without a deal. The amendment tabled by Tory MP Alberto Costa won widespread support in the Commons – an endorsement from the Home Secretary and was eventually taken on by No

Steerpike

Has the Prime Minister snubbed the Liaison Committee?

In November last year, Theresa May was hauled in front of the Liaison Committee (a super committee made up of the chairs of other select committees) to be grilled about her Brexit strategy. It’s fair to say that it didn’t go particularly well for the Prime Minister, who faced barbed questions from the likes of