Brexit

Monday

Zoe Alipranti

Why Eurosceptics still won’t be able to crash the EU Parliament

The results from the European parliamentary elections shows how EU politics is increasingly polarised. It also demonstrates how old party allegiances are fading in favour of loyalties for parties with more specific ideological and policy platforms. Against the backdrop of Brexit and divisions convulsing global politics, these elections – which have been marked by issues such as immigration and climate change becoming inextricably linked to the role of the EU – saw the highest participation in 20 years. Fragmentation that is shaking up politics domestically has been transferred to the European level. So what do these elections mean for the health of the EU project? Although they are fought on national issues in

Steerpike Steerpike

Corbynistas turn on one another over EU election meltdown

There’s a lot of soul-searching in the Labour party after Sunday’s abysmal results in the European elections. On Monday, Corbynista commentator Paul Mason was one of the first out of the blocks, with a lengthy autopsy of Labour’s electoral failure. He placed the blame squarely on Corbyn’s Brexit-leaning advisors, and urged those responsible to be fired. ‘Three point plan for Labour. 1. A members ballot on Remain/Reform as the new line. 2. Sack the officials responsible for this fiasco. 3. Defend Corbyn against the inevitable coup. More from me tomorrow – sign our petition here https://www.left2030.org/petition/ ‘ https://twitter.com/MarkDiStef/status/1132940829335654400 Unsurprisingly, the column didn’t go down well in all quarters of the hard

Robert Jackman

No wonder Ukip failed at the European elections

How does a party go from topping the European elections in 2014 to scraping just over three per cent of the vote, and losing every single MEP, within five years? Just ask Ukip, whose staggering decline is one of the most interesting subplots from this year’s elections. Some may quibble with the ‘Ukip wipeout’ analysis. They will say that the real Ukip – both its heart and structure – was rolled over to the Brexit party along with its former leader, Nigel Farage. And they’re partly right: in the last few years, all but three of Ukip’s 2014 MEPs quit the party. But the fact remains that Ukip still mounted

Steerpike Steerpike

Jesse Norman keeps his fans waiting

Is Jesse Norman standing for the Tory leadership? The Conservative MP has just taken to Twitter to provide an answer. But unfortunately 33 tweets later we are no closer to finding out. Norman wrote: ‘In recent days I’ve been asked a lot if I would stand for Leader of the Conservative Party. It’s already a crowded field, and my reply has been that the views of my constituents, party members and colleagues should shape that decision, and I will carefully consult among them’ So is it a ‘yes’ or ‘no’? Norman followed that tweet up with thoughts on the nature of ‘true conservatism’, Burke, Disraeli and Baldwin. But when it

Robert Peston Robert Peston

Boris Johnson is the big winner from the Tories’ election drubbing

I never thought I would live to see the Conservative and Unionist Party, dominator of British politics for centuries, falling to a vote share of nine per cent in a national election. Hindsight is mind-bending, which means I now find it impossible to believe that David Cameron could ever have conceived that holding an EU referendum would bring peace, stability and strength to the divided Tories. And as for Theresa May she will be seen by many as guilty of a strategic error to rival any in the history of this democracy, with her failure to establish what kind of withdrawal from – and future relationship with – the European Union

James Kirkup James Kirkup

The Tories will now regret not giving Nigel Farage a peerage

Nigel Farage has been on the radio this morning, almost plaintively offering to be part of a Government team renegotiating the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. Maybe it’s a genuine offer in good faith. Maybe it’s a political wheeze, meant to make him and his Brexit Party sound like a proper, grownup organisation. And maybe it’s revealing something about Farage and what he really wants. I don’t claim to know Farage well, or even at all. I’ve interviewed him several times and spoken to him many times less formally. I’ve also spoken to many people who have worked with him over the years. And one abiding impression I’ve taken from all that

Tom Goodenough Tom Goodenough

Will Jeremy Corbyn bow to pressure on a second Brexit referendum?

Has Labour finally got the message on Brexit? Since the referendum, the party has attempted to be all things to all people: keeping Brexiteers happy while doing its best not to alienate remainers. But in the wake of the party’s disastrous performance in the European elections overnight, it seems that the fence-sitting might now finally be over. Labour came third, with its share of the vote falling by 11 per cent to just 14 per cent – a message from voters that has this morning led John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, to apparently come out in favour of a second referendum: This looks like the clearest indication yet that Labour

Steerpike Steerpike

Listen: Lib Dem MEP on Brexit Party: ‘They are not a real party’

The Brexit Party has convincingly won the European elections, picking up nearly a third of the vote. But it seems that their success still isn’t enough for some. One Lib Dem MEP – Barbara Gibson – dismissed Nigel Farage’s outfit, saying it is ‘not a real party’. Gibson, who was elected in the East of England alongside three Brexit Party MEPs, said she didn’t recognise the legitimacy of the Brexit Party – despite the group getting nearly twice as many votes as the Lib Dems in the region in which she won her seat. Here’s what she had to say: ‘They are not a real party. They have not even

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The Labour meltdown means Corbyn must choose sides on Brexit

These results are dire for both main parties: the Tories finished fifth and Labour third. Theresa May’s resignation has taken some of the sting out of the Tory humiliation, but Jeremy Corbyn finds his leadership under more pressure than it has been since the 2017 general election result. Most worryingly for him, the membership is not behind him on Brexit. The results for Labour are awful. Look at Scotland and Wales, former Labour strongholds. In Scotland, the Brexit Party came second and Labour finished fifth with just 9 per cent of the votes, down from 26 per cent last time. In Wales, the Brexit Party won in 19 of the 22

Sunday

Fraser Nelson

The big Tory leadership question: what happens on All Saints Day?

If the EU is unable to make a Brexit offer that is acceptable to Parliament by the Brexit deadline on 31 October, what then? This is the big question in the Tory leadership contest and – slowly – we’re getting answers. 1. No deal back on the table, an extension not ruled out Dominic Raab this morning told Andrew Marr that if the EU does not compromise then he’d leave anyway, without a deal. In other words, the Tory 2017 manifesto position would be restored: no deal is back on the table, only this time they’d have to mean it. Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid all agree. All

Saturday

James Forsyth

The two sides of the Tory leadership contest

The way to think about the Tory leadership contest is—I say in The Sun, this morning—that it is like a tournament with two sides of the draw, with each side sending one candidate into the final, membership round. One side of the draw is for full-on Brexiteers. Here Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab, Andrea Leadsom, Steve Baker and Esther McVey will duke it out. The other side of the draw features the Cabinet candidates: Jeremy Hunt, Sajid Javid, Michael Gove, Matt Hancock and Rory Stewart. Whoever comes out of the full-on Brexit side of the draw will go into the final round as the strong favourite given Tory members’ views on

Friday

Katy Balls

The timetable for the Tory leadership contest

After Theresa May announced that she will step down on Friday 7 June as the leader of the Conservative party, the race to find her successor is due to officially commence the following Monday. Conservative party chairman Brandon Lewis, along with the vice-chairs of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers,  have issued a joint statement laying out the process for this contest. Notably 1922 chair Graham Brady’s name is missing from the statement – leading to speculation he has recused himself on the grounds that the Tory backbencher may run himself. Under the new timetable, nominations will close in the week commencing 10 June. Then there will be ‘successive rounds of

Robert Peston Robert Peston

The leadership contest solves nothing

Theresa May has been forced from office by her own MPs because they concluded there would be no progress on delivering Brexit, or on anything important, while she remained their leader. But if they thought her government was characterised by factionalism and chaos, they ain’t seen nothing yet. Because the big facts of her failed government – no majority in parliament, religious divisions on how to leave the EU – cannot be wished away. The Buddha would struggle to pacify and unite her fractious party. And the Buddha is unusual in not running to be Tory leader. The coming weeks of battle for the Tory crown, which officially starts 10

Thursday

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 23 May 2019

Home The country went to the polls to elect Members of the European Parliament and express its loathing for the two main political parties. On the eve of polling, Theresa May, the Prime Minister, appealed for MPs’ support for the Withdrawal Agreement Bill to be introduced shortly, saying that it would contain a provision for a vote on another referendum. In response, those she meant to woo reacted with hostility. The 1922 Committee had promised to have another little word with her about resigning after the bill’s fortunes became clear. Lord Heseltine had the Tory whip removed after saying he would vote for the Lib Dems in the EU elections.

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Brexit and the great liberal crack-up

Brexit may yet kill the Conservative party but it is exacting a cruel psychological torture on liberalism. Liberals are supposed to be the measured voice of reason – earnest, insufferable but reliably level-headed. Not anymore. Liberals – or at least some of them – have gone quite mad over Brexit. There is almost no intrigue they will not seize on if it might explain away the last three years. TV historian Dan Snow tweeted a photograph of his postal ballot and the Brexit Party leaflet he claimed had been delivered inside the same envelope. When celebrity Twitter flicks on its blue-tick sirens, craven officialdom comes running but they brought bad news. 

James Forsyth James Forsyth

What will happen if Theresa May tries to cling on?

On Friday, Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee, will go and see Theresa May. It is expected that she’ll tell him and then the country the date of her departure as Tory leader. If May tries to hang on, Brady will have to open the sealed envelopes which reveal whether the ’22 executive has voted to change the rules and allow an immediate no confidence vote in May—even those on the executive who oppose a rule change accept that there is a majority for one. Number 10 know this too, which is why I don’t think there’ll be any attempt by May to argue that she’s not going

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Keeping up with Farage

‘Labour are in so much trouble here you can’t even believe it,’ says Nigel Farage as we sit in a parked blue bus in Dudley in the pouring rain. Outside, a group of campaigners in anoraks wave Brexit party banners and sing ‘Bye bye EU’ to the tune of ‘Auld Lang Syne’. A mix of locals and supporters from out of town have assembled to hear Farage. A Japanese camera crew rush to film the circus around him. Reporters from New York are following the pack. Keeping up with Farage is exhausting. When Farage was last in Dudley, the town went on to vote overwhelmingly to Leave, by 67 per

James Forsyth James Forsyth

May’s grave mistake

The European elections were a gift for Britain’s two new political parties, Change UK and the Brexit party. But only the latter seized the opportunity. Change UK have had myriad problems. They have been unable to settle on a name and a logo. Their MPs, exiles from the two main parties, have struggled to understand how minor parties get noticed. But the biggest problem seems to be that their strategy almost assumes Brexit has happened: how else to explain their failure to propose some kind of Remain alliance for this contest? In order to get lift-off, Change UK need Labour to have ‘betrayed’ Remain voters. But the Labour leadership has

Matthew Parris Matthew Parris

Boris is just the man to bury Brexit

Sit down, my swivel-eyed Brexiter friend, and pour yourself a stiff whisky. I’ve something to tell you that’s going to be a bit difficult for both of us. Sitting comfortably? Your swivel-eyed Remainer columnist has discerned just the tiniest glint of a silver lining to the dark cloud of a possible Boris Johnson premiership. And the reason? It’s this. The most important ability the next Tory leader must possess is the ability to break bad news. To get away with this and bring the voters with you, real leadership is required: not just eloquence, not just empathy, but the command, the confidence and the sheer guts to face the inevitable,

Nick Lezard

Grave meditations

In 2012 OUP published Geoffrey Hill’s Collected Poems; they could have waited, because they’re now going to need another edition. Between 2012 and his death, aged 84, in 2016, Hill wrote another 271 poems, and here they are — although, given his productivity since the mid-1990s, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were plenty more. But the poems in The Book of Baruch by the Gnostic Justin look as though they are part of a deliberate and ordered sequence, all of them using the same form, of irregular lines, occasional internal rhymes and Hill’s characteristic style, hopping over centuries with semi-cryptic allusions, barks of rage and mordant humour. I say