Sebastian Payne

Thursday

Sebastian Payne

Podcast: Angela Merkel’s mistake on refugees — and is Tom Watson Labour’s saviour?

Angela Merkel’s offer to welcome any Syrian refugees who reach Germany will have far reaching, potential devastating consequences. On this week’s View from 22 podcast, James Forsyth debates this week’s Spectator cover feature on Merkel’s grandstanding with Holly Baxter from the Independent. Has David Cameron done the right thing by not offering asylum to more refugees? Are all European countries pulling equal weight in dealing with the crisis? And

Wednesday

Sebastian Payne

Will Jeremy Corbyn end up ‘doing a Blair’ as Labour leader?

Jeremy Corbyn’s lack of experience in office makes it hard to predict how he will act as Labour leader. His tens of thousands of supporters are crowing that a new political age will begin on Saturday and are looking forward to a shadow cabinet made of like-minded folk from the hard-left — Diane Abbott, Michael Meacher etc. But the signs so far suggest

Tuesday

Sebastian Payne

How will the Conservatives react to a Jeremy Corbyn victory?

If the bookmakers and pollsters are to be believed, there is little doubt that Jeremy Corbyn will be crowned Labour leader on Saturday. Westminster is therefore wondering: what happens next? I’ve written a piece for POLITICO Europe today looking at the personal and policy battles ahead if Corbyn is the new opposition leader. Instead of treating him as a joke,

Sebastian Payne

Listen: Bernard Jenkin vs. James Naughtie on BBC bias and the EU referendum

The government’s humiliating defeat on purdah is the first major victory for Eurosceptics in the battle on how the EU referendum is fought. Bernard Jenkin, one of the lead Tory rebels, appeared on the Today programme to explain why his gang took on the government last night: ‘They initially wanted to abolish the purdah rules altogether, which would mean going to back to the

Monday

Sebastian Payne

Labour defaults to Universal Credit attack at welfare questions

Labour has had a difficult summer over welfare, so it’s no surprise its frontbench played it safe at Work and Pensions questions today. Instead of ruthlessly quizzing the government on the recent statistics showing the death of those being found fit to work or even the Welfare Bill, its frontbench team chose to attack on Universal Credit, something it tends to

Sebastian Payne

Mitchell and Cooper present two different paths on dealing with Syria

It’s back to school day in Westminster and one of the first items on the agenda will be David Cameron’s announcement on accepting more Syrian refugees. Exactly how many extra asylum seekers Britain will take in is, according to the Sunday Times, likely to be between 10,000 and 20,000. Someone who is particularly pleased with this is Yvette Cooper,

Friday

Sebastian Payne

Nigel Farage: I’d love to share a platform with Jeremy Corbyn

Nigel Farage held another event in Westminster this morning to announce the dates of his ‘Say No – Believe in Britain’ tour, through which he hopes to drum up support for a Brexit. While the venue and message were identical to his press conference in July, the Ukip leader did reveal some details: twelve regional co-ordinators have been

Thursday

Sebastian Payne

The Conservatives who have broken cover on the migrant crisis

Pressure is growing on David Cameron to accept more migrants, both from the media and from many in his own MPs. After today’s front pages hit social media yesterday evening, Conservatives from all corners of the party have publicly urged the government to take further action. These are the figures who have broken cover so far. Ruth Davidson – leader

Sebastian Payne

The ghost of Boris haunts the Conservative mayoral contest

There is one topic the four Tory candidates for London mayor can agree on: Boris. Throughout the first public hustings at the Institute of Directors last night, Andrew Boff, Zac Goldsmith, Syed Kamall and Stephen Greenhalgh all tried to outdo each other by singing praises of the outgoing mayor. Greenhalgh, Boris’s deputy for policing and

Sebastian Payne

Podcast: what Jeremy Corbyn’s Britain looks like

What will Jeremy Corbyn’s victory in the Labour leadership contest mean for Britain and the Labour party? On this week’s View from 22 podcast, James Forsyth, Dan Hodges and Ellie Mae O’Hagan discuss this week’s Spectator cover on the impact his leadership would have. Would it be a disaster for Labour if he wins? What would the impact be on the Conservatives? Might Corbyn soften

Wednesday

Tuesday

Sebastian Payne

‘Remain’ or ‘leave’ — the new EU referendum wording

Forget ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ or ‘In’ and ‘Out’, the EU referendum question looks set to be a choice between ‘remain’ or ‘leave’. The Electoral Commission has recommended a change from the current question in the EU Referendum Bill: ‘Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union?’ To which the response is either

Sebastian Payne

Nigel Farage shows why he shouldn’t lead the ‘No’ campaign

Nigel Farage is kickstarting Ukip’s ‘No’ campaign this week, having grown fed up with the lack of momentum from other corners. On the Today programme, the Ukip leader explained he is happy to work with either of the two groups vying to be the designated the Out campaign by the Electoral Commission — the Matthew Elliot Westminster-based campaign vs. the

Friday

Sebastian Payne

Revealed: Wikipedia’s panic over Shapps fiasco

During the election campaign a cloud hung over Grant Shapps, the then chairman of the Conservative party. In April, he was accused of editing his own Wikipedia profile and those of other politicians by Richard Symonds, a Wikipedia member of staff and Lib Dem activist. Symonds claimed that Shapps ‘or someone acting on his behalf’ used an anonymous account ‘Contribsx’ to make

Thursday