Eu

Brexit: the first 100 days

The Spectator Podcast Christopher Meyer, James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman discuss the first 100 days of Brexit At 5.15 a.m. on Friday 24 June 2016, David Cameron calls Michael Gove and concedes defeat in the EU referendum. The conversation is brief. With nearly all the results in, it is clear that Remain cannot overturn Leave’s advantage. Downing Street announces that Cameron will address the country before the markets open. Up to now, this scenario has just been a worst nightmare for the Remain campaign and the wildest dream of the Brexiteers. Even now, the political class is almost unanimous that ‘in’ will win. But there is little psephological evidence for

Ukip’s David Coburn cries BBC bias… over ITV debate

Nowadays it’s difficult for the BBC to air anything without facing some accusation of bias. As well as the well documented strand of right-wing bias and EU bias, there’s now anti-Corbyn bias — with the BBC’s Nick Robinson even accusing his employer of the latter. Last night things got so bad in the EU debate with David Cameron and Nigel Farage that the Beeb were accused of pro-EU bias once more. Ukip’s David Coburn took to Twitter to vent that the ‘BBC Knew the questions in advance’ and ‘chose which audience members speak’ so Remain had an easier ride. Alas, the Scottish MEP concludes that ‘Cameron still lost despite Aunties

EU referendum TV debate – David Cameron vs Nigel Farage

Welcome to Coffee House’s coverage of ITV’s EU referendum debate. David Cameron and Nigel Farage faced public questions on the EU referendum. Here’s our commentary, as well as audio and video highlights, from the discussion.  PODCAST: Listen to Fraser Nelson, James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman give their verdict on Cameron vs Farage: DAVID CAMERON:   James Forsyth David Cameron looked pretty happy at the end of that. He got his choice of opponent in this debate and did everything he could to take advantage of that, mentioning Farage at every opportunity. Cameron also benefited from going second, another thing which he got his way on, as he could rebut Farage’s points without any

President Erdogan’s views about women should terrify European feminists

As I entered my 30s I remember thinking how lucky I was. I had a successful career, owned property and was enjoying life as a singleton. Many of my friends were already married, some with children, but the desire wasn’t quite there for me. I wasn’t ready. Now as I march towards my 40s, I’ve embarked on a new life in Turkey. I’m still single, childless and successful. I’m happy, but apparently I shouldn’t be, as according to the country’s President, I have behaved in the wrong way. On the eve of Ramadan, the Muslim Holy month, President Erdogan gave all women something to think about during the fast. Addressing

Today in audio: ‘Remain’ fights back as PM warns of Brexit ‘bomb’

Momentum in the ‘Leave’ campaign seems to be growing after Brexit took the lead in two polls out today. There are, however, still several weeks until the actual day of the EU referendum and the gap between the two sides remains marginal (four per cent). But ‘Remain’ still seem shaken by these polls. Here’s how they spent the day fighting back: David Cameron said Brexit would put a bomb under Britain’s economy, going on to say that ‘the worst thing is, we would have lit the fuse ourselves’: The PM was backed up Lib Dem leader Tim Farron. In a joint event, Farron said the argument for ‘Leave’ was built

James Forsyth

Vote Leave has brought out its Turkish weapon

Vote Leave feel that they now have the momentum in this campaign. The three polls out today all have them ahead. Inside the Leave camp, they think that it is their focus on the possibility of Turkey becoming an EU member that is, in part, responsible for this apparent shift in their favour. So, in their official referendum address, which will go to 40 million people, Vote Leave is going big on the question of Turkish accession. The leaflet — which you can see here — has a map on the back showing how if Turkey joins, the EU would border both Syria and Iraq. Now, I can already hear

Nick Cohen

Brexit could leave Britain with the worst of both worlds – like Norway

This is a translation of an article I wrote for the Norwegian daily VG Never since the German attack on Norway in 1940 destroyed Neville Chamberlain’s premiership and brought Winston Churchill to power, has your country been so discussed in Britain. Supporters of Britain staying in the EU warn of Norway’s ‘fax democracy’. The ‘leave’ campaign denounce Norwegian politicians who tell us about the dangers of following the Norwegian example, as liars bought with EU gold. There has been propaganda from both sides, of course, but the sheer lack of substance behind the ‘leave’ campaign is stunning.  The right-wing politicians, who dominate the anti-European cause, want the British to take

Tom Goodenough

Brexit momentum builds as another poll puts ‘Leave’ ahead

If the polls this morning are anything to go by, the momentum for Brexit is building: an ITV poll for Good Morning Britain shows 45 per cent of voters planning on voting out, compared to 41 per cent who wanted the UK to remain in the EU. The poll is significant because it shows that in the purdah period in the final run-up to the referendum on June 23rd, the ‘Leave’ campaign’s support is growing. What’s more, a separate poll survey by TNS showed ‘Leave’ on 43 per cent compared to 41 per cent backing ‘Remain’. The figures, based on a survey carried out last week, are also important because

The Treasury’s Brexit forecast is ludicrous. We’re better off out of the EU

Leaving the EU should boost pay and create more jobs. Spending our own money on our own priorities ensures that is true from the first post Brexit budget onwards. The dreary gloomy predictions of Remain are all based on the absurd idea that the rest of the EU will want to impose new barriers on their trade with us, and will be able to do so. As we are more the customer than the supplier and as we and they live under World Trade Organisation rules this is pure fantasy. There is one feature of the Treasury’s ludicrous forecasts for 2030 that I agree with. They reckon the UK will

James Forsyth

Could the Vote Leave strategy work?

The Leave campaign have had their best week of the campaign this week. After months of being battered by the Whitehall machine, they’ve taken advantage of purdah silencing government departments to get themselves onto the front foot. As I write in The Sun this morning, even IN supporting Cabinet Ministers admit that Leave have had a good week. But they argue that they won’t be able to ride the immigration issue to victory on June 23rd. One argues that you can’t focus on immigration week after week, or ‘By week four, you end up sounding like Nigel Farage’. But Vote Leave think their trump card is the link between immigration and people’s

Fraser Nelson

The Spectator podcast: David Cameron’s purge of the posh | 4 June 2016

To subscribe to The Spectator’s weekly podcast, for free, visit the iTunes store or click here for our RSS feed. Alternatively, you can follow us on SoundCloud. Naming the best columnist in Britain is like naming you’re the best Beatles song: it varies, depending on what kind of mood you’re in. But who would deny that Matthew Parris is in the top three? The quality of his writing is, itself, enough to put him into the premier league but that’s just part of the art. What sets Matthew apart is his sheer range, and his originality. You never know what he’ll be writing about, whether you’ll agree with him, or

Gove asks the British public to trust themselves

It was Michael Gove’s turn in the Sky hot-seat tonight and he came determined to make the democratic case for Brexit. In the initial exchanges, Faisal Islam went after Gove hard on the question of how many economists, international institutions and countries back Britain leaving the EU. Islam pushed Gove to name 11 economists who back Brexit, Gove declined to do so. Islam then asked Gove why the British public should trust him, to which Gove replied that he was asking the British public to trust themselves. But the bigger challenge for Gove was always going to be dealing with the audience questions, which he is far less used to

Tom Goodenough

How the papers reacted: Project Fear on trial as PM ‘savaged’ in first EU referendum showdown

David Cameron might have emerged virtually unscathed from his first major EU referendum showdown last night. But the focus in much of the press coverage today is not on the Prime Minister. Instead, the anger and hostility of those in the audience leads most of the round-ups in the morning papers of how Cameron got on in the Sky debate. His ‘scaremongering’ was repeatedly mocked. He was also laughed at over his ‘WW3’ Brexit suggestion by those watching. This was ‘Project Fear’ on trial. So what did the papers make of it all? The Prime Minister’s failure to put a date on when he would meet his promise to reduce

The Spectator’s Notes | 2 June 2016

‘No one can seriously deny that European integration brought an end to Franco-German conflict and has settled the German question for good,’ wrote Niall Ferguson in the latest Sunday Times. I hesitate when confronted by such an assertion by such a learned professor. But I think I would seriously deny it, or at least seriously question it. Surely what brought an end to Franco-German conflict was the utter defeat of Nazi Germany. European integration was a symptom of that end, not its cause. As for settling the German question, isn’t it too early to say? The eurozone is the first large non-German area to have been dominated by Germany since

Ed West

The Cincinnati zoo backlash shows how democracy is just a step away from mob rule

Here’s a really heart warming story, about a young criminal and all-round bad guy who became a dad and turned his life around, working a regular job and looking after his four kids. Anyway, one day he decides to take his family to the zoo, perhaps thinking, what can go wrong? And, well, the rest is history. It’s a shame about that gorilla, but I can’t see how the zoo could have done anything else in the situation, and the main thing is the boy is safe. Taking aside whether apes should be in zoos (I’d prefer they weren’t) and our hypocritical attitude to animals, it’s startling that almost 500,000

Camilla Swift

No, we don’t need to be in the EU to tackle environmental issues

David Cameron has been banging the anti-Brexit drum again, this time making the environmental case for staying in Europe. He has joined forces with the RSPB and the World Wildlife Fund, who have both stated that they would urge voters to stay in the EU, arguing that being in the Union has had a positive impact on the British environment; safeguarding rivers and woodlands, and forcing us to clean up our beaches. Today the Prime Minister visited Rainham Marshes, an RSPB nature reserve in Essex, and in a video from his visit he argues that since environmental issues cross national boundaries, we should work together – by staying in the EU –

Fraser Nelson

The Spectator podcast: David Cameron’s purge of the posh

To subscribe to The Spectator’s weekly podcast, for free, visit the iTunes store or click here for our RSS feed. Alternatively, you can follow us on SoundCloud. Naming the best columnist in Britain is like naming you’re the best Beatles song: it varies, depending on what kind of mood you’re in. But who would deny that Matthew Parris is in the top three? The quality of his writing is, itself, enough to put him into the premier league but that’s just part of the art. What sets Matthew apart is his sheer range, and his originality. You never know what he’ll be writing about, whether you’ll agree with him, or

Camilla Swift

If only they could vote…

[audioplayer src=”http://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/266976520-the-spectator-podcast-the-purge-of-the-posh.mp3″ title=”Camilla Swift and Green MEP Keith Taylor discuss an animal lover’s case for Brexit” startat=1084] Listen [/audioplayer] We British have always had a strange relationship with animals. We spend £5 billion a year on our pets and it is often said that we love our dogs more than our children (perfectly understandable, in my book). It makes sense, then, that we have some of the world’s highest animal welfare standards. Our European neighbours don’t always have quite the same attitude. If we could ask our four-legged friends how they’d vote in the EU referendum, I’m pretty sure they’d woof, miaow or moo for ‘out’. Take the Maltese, for

James Forsyth

The right question at the wrong time

Complaining about the EU referendum campaign has become an integral part of the referendum; even Delia Smith has got in on the act. But politicians on both sides who pretend that the choice is simple, despite having agonised over it themselves for years, are only partly to blame for the dire state of the debate. The bigger problem is that the referendum is taking place at the wrong time. It was meant to take place once the eurozone had decided how to address its own problems. The British public could then decide whether they wanted to remain in or leave the European Union armed with this knowledge. But the question