Latest from Coffee House

Latest from Coffee House

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

Steerpike

Watch: Lord Lawson says May should ditch Hammond

Philip Hammond’s refusal to spend money preparing for a Brexit no deal has not gone down well. Now, one of his predecessors as Chancellor  – Lord Lawson – has called on Theresa May to get rid of Hammond. On the Daily Politics, Lawson said it was ‘grossly irresponsible’ for the Chancellor not to prepare for a

Katy Balls

Michel Barnier and David Davis’s ‘very disturbing’ deadlock

For all the talk of a new ‘momentum’ to the Brexit talks since Theresa May’s Florence speech, today’s press conference between Michel Barnier and David Davis certainly had a whiff of déjà vu to it. The EU’s chief negotiator spoke severely of his concerns over a lack of ‘progress’ while the ever-optimistic Brexit secretary played

Fraser Nelson

Interview: Centrica CEO, Iain Conn, on the energy price cap

Theresa May had wanted Ofgem to introduce a energy price cap: it said this would require new legislation and today the Prime Minister will promise to create them by capping the Standard Variable Tariff. The case for the prosecution is simple: about 70 per cent of energy users are not on cheap tariffs, but the

Lloyd Evans

Theresa May has yet another bad day at the office

Theresa May needed to play a blinder today. But she left herself looking heartless and complacent. Jeremy Corbyn attacked her on the Universal Credit system which seems as useful as a windmill on the moon. He said UC was leading to ‘debt, poverty and homelessness.’ Mrs May replied that tremendous improvements had been achieved since January.

Alex Massie

Scottish nationalists need a plan B – but so do Unionists

The SNP has become so accustomed to setting the agenda that the situation in which it presently finds itself – one of uncertainty tinged with the mildest dose of ennui – is modestly disconcerting. Nicola Sturgeon played all the right notes during her conference speech yesterday but there was still something perfunctory about her address.

Steerpike

Watch: May throws her papers during fiery PMQs

Theresa May will be pleased to have avoided any major clangers at PMQs. But while the Prime Minister wasn’t undone by a cough or a prankster this time around she very nearly lost her temper when she was accused of ‘running scared’. Labour MP Heidi Alexander said the British people ‘deserved better’ than the current occupant

Tom Goodenough

Philip Hammond’s Brexit no-deal bind

Philip Hammond has got himself into something of a bind over planning for a Brexit ‘no deal’. The Chancellor has ruled out – at least for the time being – spending money on contingency plans for a scenario in which Britain walks away from the EU without an agreement. The problem with this strategy is

Steerpike

Listen: Karen Bradley’s internet blunder

Poor old Karen Bradley. This week it emerged the Culture Secretary was being investigated for not having a TV licence – and things aren’t getting any better for Bradley. This morning she unveiled the government’s plans to crack down on online abuse. But it seems Bradley got herself into something of a muddle when asked

Steerpike

Grauniad’s sub-editing fail

Oh dear. Much excitement today among the commentariat over Rafael Behr’s op-ed in the Grauniad. The Guardian columnist says that for ‘hardline Brexiters, the lure of the cliff edge is irresistible’. Unfortunately for Behr, it’s his byline – rather than his words – that’s receiving the most attention: Perhaps the Fleet Street doom-mongers were right when

Best Buys: Remortgage rates

Remortgaging your home can be an excellent way of saving huge sums of money, or of releasing capital which might be needed elsewhere. For many people (well, those lucky enough to have a mortgage, that is), mortgage payments are their single biggest financial outgoing. So it makes sense to get the best possible deal on

Jake Wallis Simons

Franco’s fascism is alive and kicking in Spain

Barcelona After the demonstration in Barcelona on Sunday, I happened to walk past the city’s main police station. A unionist crowd had gathered to praise the officers who had so brutally suppressed the Catalan referendum the previous week. Wrapped in Spanish flags, they were chanting Viva España and throwing flowers. Then they started performing the

Katy Balls

Theresa May refuses to say she’d now vote Leave

Theresa May struck a defiant tone this afternoon in her first broadcast interview since her disastrous conference speech. Speaking to Iain Dale on LBC, the Prime Minister re-iterated her old claim that she still wishes to lead the party into the next election – even if the number of MPs in her party who support

Theresa May’s race audit relies on misleading statistics

We know from her unfortunate conference speech that it irks Mrs May to hear Labour claiming a monopoly on compassion, and this week’s racial disparity audit is her latest attempt to prove that she is equally concerned about injustice. The problem is that the disparity audit is based on a colossal intellectual blunder. Disparate outcomes

Steerpike

Watch: Boris’s bungled bid to get into No.10

Boris Johnson’s leadership ambitions are no secret. But the Foreign Secretary’s latest attempt to get into Downing Street hit a more obvious snag this morning. Ahead of today’s Cabinet meeting, Boris and Liam Fox were filmed walking through Downing Street. When Boris tried to get into No.10, however, he found himself locked out. Mr S is sure

Steerpike

Mhairi Black turns on herself

Who would want an MP who had never had a career outside of politics to represent them? That’s the question Mhairi Black has been asking today at SNP conference. Black used her speech at the event to say the SNP must reject ‘career politicians’. Hang on a minute. Given that the 23-year-old SNP politician went

Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: Why we must prepare for a Brexit ‘no deal’

Theresa May’s ‘I’m in charge’ message she delivered to Parliament wasn’t only aimed at MPs – it was also directed at Brussels, says the Daily Telegraph. After all, there’s little doubt that Michel Barnier will have looked at Theresa May’s disastrous Tory party conference performance and have concluded ‘she is hanging onto power by her

Stephen Daisley

If the Tories are smart, they will stick with Theresa May

It’s over 150 years since John Stuart Mill called the Conservatives the stupid party and in every one of those years they have worked hard to live up to that assessment.  Grant Shapps’ abortive leadership coup is the latest example of Tory idiocy. After Theresa May did herself a mischief in Manchester, Shapps scarpered over