2015 general election

Wednesday

Sebastian Payne

Boris hits the campaign trail — and admits being Tory leader would be a ‘wonderful thing’

The Tories’s not-so-secret weapon has finally been deployed. Boris Johnson hit the campaign trail with David Cameron today, solving a jigsaw puzzle, painting with some children (above) and exuding a bonhomie missing from the campaign so far. But the dangers of letting Boris loose were also seen in an interview on Sky News. When asked, multiple times, by Kay Burley if he would like to succeed Cameron as Tory leader, Boris edged a scintilla closer to saying ‘yes’. At first, the Mayor of London deflected: ‘By 2020, I hope I will still be alive and still in Parliament but kaleidoscope of politics will have changed and rotated. There will be

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

David Cameron interview: ‘I feel I have worked my socks off’

In this week’s Spectator, out tomorrow, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson have interviewed the Prime Minister David Cameron. He discusses why even his closest colleagues think he needs to show more passion and warns that Nicola Sturgeon wants the next government to be a ‘car crash’. Here is an extended preview…  David Cameron is sitting underneath a sign that reads quiet carriage, speaking loudly enough to be heard in the next carriage. He knows that even his closest allies are worried he may lose the election if he doesn’t show more passion, so he has been trying to compensate in recent days. He chops the air with his hands as he speaks, furrows

Steerpike Steerpike

Alex Salmond: I’m writing the Labour party budget!

Ed Miliband might not like to talk about an SNP-Labour coalition but the SNP aren’t so shy. In fact, they seem to be revelling in the Tory message of ‘Vote Labour, get the SNP’. Alex Salmond, the former leader of the SNP, has been filmed saying that he is going to be ‘writing the Labour party budget’. And where did Mr S see this amusing video? In a tweet from David Cameron, natch. This footage will shock you: Alex Salmond laughs & boasts he’ll write Labour’s budget. Vote Conservative to stop it. https://t.co/A6DGJtM8OM — David Cameron (@David_Cameron) April 22, 2015

Robert Smith

The Trussell Trust’s misleading figures on food bank usage help no one

A day after the BBC admitted to misquoting David Cameron on foxhunting, the broadcaster made another admission of error last night over the numbers of people using food banks. A Newsnight package on welfare initially declared that ‘numbers using food banks will hit a million this week’, but this figure was clarified with a short correction at the end of the programme: ‘In our welfare discussion we said there were a million people estimated to use food banks. There were actually a million uses by a smaller number of people than that.’ listen to ‘Newsnight correction on food bank usage’ on audioBoom

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Yes, of course an SNP-backed Labour government is perfectly legitimate

I am sure, as Isabel says, that Tory warnings about the horrors – the horrors, Mabel – of a Labour-SNP arrangement at the Palace of Westminster are, as they say, cutting through with voters south of the border.  It’s not as though the Tories have been pushing their own uplifting, positive, cheery, message for the country. Instead they have doubled-down on nationalist-inspired risk and chaos.  Why, Sir John Major (and others) chunter on about the appalling lack of democratic legitimacy any SNP-backed Labour government would have. Fiddlesticks and codswallop and a hundred other brands of prattling nonsense. Such a government might be less palatable than some; it would be every bit as legitimate. That’s because, as

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Tired Tories call for ‘pizzazz’ in election campaign

Are the Tories having a bad campaign? It certainly doesn’t seem to be as slick and upbeat as some had expected. Many Tories had expected the polls to stay right where they are until polling day, but others had assumed that there would at least be some signs of a public panic about Ed Miliband by now. Instead, normally gloomy Labour types say their leader is becoming less of a problem on the doorstep. That’s damning with faint praise, still, but the Tories had assumed things would be getting worse for Labour now, not better. The Tories I’ve spoken to over the past couple of days talk of the need

Steerpike Steerpike

Revealed: Why the Tories have a big London problem

This afternoon something rare will happen in this election campaign. David Cameron will campaign in London. While bus-ing and jetting all around the four countries that make up the United Kingdom, the capital has all but been forgotten by the Prime Minister during the short campaign. Like so many aspects of this general election campaign, Wednesday’s event will be closed to journalists. So what’s going on? Tory worries in the capital are growing. Polls have Labour out ahead by double digits, and many of Miliband’s expected gains will likely come from greater-London marginals. Mr S is repeatedly hearing complaints from Tory activists that the data they have in London is massively skewed

Sebastian Payne

Campaign kick-off: 15 days to go

The general election campaign is beginning to feel a little staid. Maybe there was too much excitement over the attacks and TV debates, or maybe the parties are running out of big policies. But there are still some announcements: Labour will continue its ‘NHS week’ with promises of more health care spending while the Tories will talk up their caring side. To help guide you through the melée of stories and spin, here is a summary of today’s main election stories. 1. Vote Labour, save the Union The Tories’ attacks on the dangers of voting Labour and getting the SNP have hit a road bump. Two senior former cabinet minsters have

Tuesday

J. Meirion Thomas

Jeremy Hunt stole my health tourism policy

Last week, the Department of Health announced that patients would have to produce their passport when registering for their first hospital appointment as part of the clampdown on health tourism. On 17th November 2014, I wrote the following to Mr Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health: Following a GP referral to hospital, patients are sent details of date, time and place of their first appointment.  It would be perfectly reasonable to include an explanatory note listing entitlement criteria for free NHS care, and the reasons why some patients may be ineligible. It would also be reasonable to request photo ID (passport or driving licence) and a recent utility bill in their name as is now required to access

Steerpike Steerpike

Paddy Ashdown: Grant Shapps is ‘fine man’ who’s ‘never done anything dodgy’

You have to hand it to the Liberal Democrats: they know how to put out a press release. Following accusations in the Guardian that Grant Shapps or someone ‘under his clear direction’ has been editing Wikipedia pages of his rivals, the Lib Dems have put out a press release dripping in sarcasm from Paddy Ashdown: ‘Grant Shapps is a fine man and has never done anything dodgy’. Here is the full text: Grant Shapps is a wonderful human being, a literary great and has in no way ever brought his party or politics into disrepute, the Chairman of the Liberal Democrat General Election Campaign said. Paddy Ashdown called the Conservative

Robert Smith

Philip Hammond signals extra help for the Mediterranean crisis

Philip Hammond was noticeably keen this afternoon to show the government isn’t standing idly by while migrants drown in the Mediterranean – especially as the refugee crisis is the global story of the moment; the pictures and reports severe enough to have momentarily knocked the election campaign off a number of front pages. Appearing on today’s Daily Politics debate on international affairs, the Foreign Secretary stressed the need for a ‘more formidable operation on the sea’, and said that David Cameron would head to Brussels on Thursday to call for an ‘enhanced operation’ to prevent any further crises. Mr Hammond said: ‘Of course we’ve got to support search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean.

Camilla Swift Camilla Swift

David Cameron: Andrew Marr was talking ‘bollocks’ about foxhunting

So both the BBC and Andrew Marr have admitted to misquoting David Cameron as having said that foxhunting was his favourite sport. But what did Cameron himself think of Marr’s self-described ‘cock up’? Well, The Spectator caught up with the Tory leader earlier today and asked him about it – and here’s his answer: ‘The old mental filing system, you’re going ‘drrrrrr’ through, and thinking… but I knew the article because I wrote it myself… I just thought maybe there’s something else. You never know, something might have been written by someone else. So I thought it was bollocks. And it was bollocks.’ Was there perhaps a spot of truth

Alex Massie Alex Massie

The SNP create their own reality – and voters lap it up

First let’s look at this chart. That’s Scotland’s fiscal position relative to that of the UK according to the latest IFS projections. It’s not a particularly bonny position though, of course, it is only a projection. Nevertheless, the picture is quite clear: fiscally-speaking Scotland gets a pretty good deal from the UK. An above-average contributor? Sure. But also, importantly, an above-average recipient. Scotland contributes (thanks to oil) like a tiny-London but receives like a mini-Northern Ireland. Nowhere else is like this. Now have a keek at this: Stephen Noon, you will recall, was one of the architects of the Yes Scotland campaign and someone, I hope he will not mind

Steerpike Steerpike

Estate agents find elections may be good for business

Last week the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors warned that uncertainty over the mansion tax has caused property prices to rise as fewer homes are put on the market until the election outcome is known. Still, it’s not all bad news for estate agents. In a brazen ‘Good Luck in the Election’ email sent to all parliamentary candidates standing in May, one London estate agency are wasting no time in trying to churn up some business after the election: ‘As the election edges closer we wanted to wish you all the best of luck in your campaign and to let you know that MyLondonHome are here to help! Depending on the outcome

Steerpike Steerpike

Sam Cam’s sister criticises Ed Miliband for standing against his brother

Given that Samantha Cameron and her sister Emily Sheffield have both forged successful careers of their own in varying fields, sibling rivalry is unlikely to have ever been an issue for the pair. This could explain why Samantha’s sister has taken offence over the manner in which Ed Miliband became leader of the Labour party. After the Guardian‘s political editor Patrick Wintour tweeted that Ed Miliband had claimed David Cameron ‘will say anything and stop at nothing,’ Sheffield was quick to respond and remind people that Miliband ran against his brother for the leadership. The deputy editor of Vogue replied to Wintour’s tweet, claiming that Miliband must have been talking about himself, as ‘even his

Ed West Ed West

Hampstead liberals can use their vote to fight radical Islam (and silence right-wing bores)

A few months ago I was in a pub on a quiet night and overheard a young couple having an argument about politics. They were both, I’m guessing, young white London liberals and although I couldn’t hear everything they were saying, the gist was this: he was arguing that Islamic violence was a particular problem and she was telling him that all religions were equally violent and that no faith could be singled out. At the end of the night he gave in and conceded that she was right and it was prejudiced of him to say otherwise because no faiths are more violent than any others etc etc. I

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

The Tories are gaining momentum with their ‘Labour-SNP pact’ message

Complain all you like about the way the Tories are campaigning at the moment, but it’s getting the message across. The party has hit on the SNP, which is fascinating the media anyway, as the best line of attack to undermine Labour. Tory candidates report being pleasantly surprised by how much cut-through the Labour-SNP message is getting, while pollsters now say members of their focus groups are raising the issue unprompted. Focusing on the SNP may well have a number of serious side effects for the Tory party. It may reinforce the perception that they are a nasty, negative party. It may mean they do not give voters sufficient reason to

Steerpike Steerpike

Dragons’ Den star: Why I didn’t sign business letter backing the Tories

Last month over 100 British business leaders signed a letter backing the Conservatives’ economic policies. The letter, which was published in the Daily Telegraph, was seen as damaging to Labour as it claimed that the Tories’ business plan was working and any change in that plan could put the UK’s economic recovery at risk. Miliband can take heart, however, that not every retail tycoon is against his party’s business proposals. Speaking at the relaunch of Ghost, the recently appointed Dragons’ Den investor Touker Suleyman tells Mr S that he was originally approached to sign the letter: ‘I didn’t sign the letter. I was approached but I am apolitical. I am a people’s person and

Sebastian Payne

The battle for South Thanet — can Nigel Farage win?

Isle of Thanet, Kent ‘Are you having me on?’ a lady shouts from inside her bungalow. ‘I’m going back in the bath.’ As with many residents of Ramsgate, this voter, who is wearing nothing but a towel, can not believe Nigel Farage is on her doorstep. The Ukip leader belts out his hearty laugh as her husband admits the pair will be voting Ukip — another tick on the clipboard. Farage’s cabal of sign carriers and bodyguards shuffle towards the next house before we are interrupted by a group of goths keen for a selfie. They appear too young to vote but Farage happily obliges. Has he got a chance of winning

Camilla Swift Camilla Swift

Andrew Marr and the BBC misquoted David Cameron – but how did they get it so wrong?

After yesterday’s piece, in which I called out Andrew Marr for attributing an entirely incorrect quote to the PM on his Sunday morning show, two things have happened. Firstly, as Mr Steerpike reported, Andrew Marr replied on Twitter, saying it was an ‘honest mistake’ and ‘cock up not conspiracy’. @laidmanr @spectator @millsswift oh yes it is: honest mistake – I was wrong – sorry. Cock up not conspiracy, but wrong on my part — Andrew Marr (@AndrewMarr9) April 20, 2015 Secondly, the BBC press office have issued a statement. It explains that Marr wanted to question Cameron about the section of the Conservative manifesto that refers to hunting, shooting and fishing.