Politics

Read about the latest political news, views and analysis

Tuesday

Isabel Hardman

Priti Patel strikes a bullish tone

The theme of Priti Patel's party conference speech this afternoon was very much 'large and in charge'. She devoted much of her address to talking about the immigration system, as you'd expect, promising stronger crackdowns on people being smuggled across the Channel in boats. Patel focused on the Vote Leave favourite: taking back control Whereas Boris Johnson and Michael Gove have talked about Britain 'voting for change' in 2016, Patel focused on the Vote Leave favourite: taking back control. She told the conference hall this was the key theme of her reforms to immigration, saying: 'My new plan for immigration is already making its way through parliament. At the heart of this plan is a simple principle. Control. That is not unreasonable.

Patrick O’Flynn

The powerlessness of Priti Patel

It is hard not to feel sorry for Priti Patel. She would surely have been a Tory conference darling at the gathering that never happened back in autumn 2020 at the height of the pandemic. Back then she always came towards the top of cabinet ministers' popularity in the monthly survey conducted by the Conservative Home website. But this year the Home Secretary’s ratings have dropped like a stone. She currently sits in 29th place, staring up in envy at such magnetic figures as Alok Sharma and Alister Jack and without even the comfort of knowing that there is always Gavin Williamson to look down on. In the mini-hall being used for cabinet minister speeches at conference this year, she was received warmly enough as she strode onto the stage.

Will Heaven

How the Tories can ‘level up’ without annoying Nimbys

Have the Conservatives lost their nerve on planning reform? Not quite, but a couple of small interventions at the Conservative party conference in Manchester point in a new direction. If anything, they suggest more ambition, not less, on the part of the ministerial team involved – though less opportunity for a falling out with southern voters. The first, by Michael Gove, was yesterday in a Policy Exchange fringe event with Sebastian Payne on the latter’s new book, Broken Heartlands.

Steerpike

What’s the matter with Boris?

The Tories are ahead in the polls, the pandemic is easing, and the Prime Minister’s position is secure. And yet, for all the thronging crowds and warm white wine being guzzled at this year’s Conservative party conference, a strange gloom fills the air – and it has something to do with the dear leader, Boris Johnson. Having been so ebullient for so long, and for many years the cheerleader for Tory optimism at every conference, Johnson seems weirdly subdued, even grumpy. Around the fringes of the conference, a question is being quietly asked: is something wrong with Boris? The Prime Minister has been on a media blitz – but he’s looked and sounded tired. His interview with Andrew Marr on Sunday was notably tetchy.

Gus Carter

How Raab plans to fix the law

How do you solve a problem like Britain’s creaking criminal justice system? To the newly appointed Secretary of State, the answer involves ripping up the Human Rights Act, rolling out more electronic tags for convicts and pumping cash into preventative projects. At a Spectator event this morning, held at Tory Party Conference, Dominic Raab explained that rewriting the UK’s human rights laws was central to his reforming mission. He told editor Fraser Nelson: The Prime Minister was very clear when he appointed me deputy PM and Justice Secretary that he wanted this done… Overhauling the Human Rights Act is not just a good way of dealing with the foreign nationals that we can’t deport but also of ironing out our constitution.

Isabel Hardman

The contradictory Tory home working jibes

Why have ministers become so obsessed with where people are doing their work? The war on working from home has become one of the key themes of this Conservative party conference. Senior figures and backbenchers alike have launched attacks on those who are continuing to work remotely rather than returning to the traditional office set-up. At the start of the conference, former minister Jake Berry joked that ‘We have to end the Civil Service "woke-ing" from home — sorry, I mean working from home — but, let’s be honest, it often is "woke-ing".' This morning, Boris Johnson warned younger people that their colleagues would ‘gossip’ about them and they would miss out on opportunities if they stayed away from the workplace.

Steerpike

Raab: clemency for BBC fee dodgers ‘an attractive idea’

Dominic Raab already has rather a lot on his plate. The new Justice Secretary is planning to re-write the UK's human rights laws as well as nearly doubling the number of convicts on electronic tags. But undoubtedly the biggest challenge facing Raab is the lockdown backlog in the number of people waiting for trials.  At a Spectator event this morning, editor Fraser Nelson asked whether the Justice Secretary might consider an amnesty for the 3,000 people a week who find themselves in court over non-payment of the BBC licence fee. The deputy PM grinned at the suggestion, telling delegates at the Conservative Party Conference that 'it's an attractive idea'.  Raab also promised to speak to the newly appointed Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries about the suggestion.

Isabel Hardman

Why the fringes are taking centre stage at Tory conference

Tory conference is so stage-managed these days that the main hall has long felt like a bit of a sideshow compared to the lively debate on the fringes and the packed bars. That’s been true so far this week, and not just because the ‘main hall’ is just a small area of the convention centre, so small you can hear the chatter of delegates buying clothes and jam at neighbouring stalls while ministers are trying to speak.This hasn’t gone down all that well with some ministers, who’ve been able to hear raucous applause from fringe meetings as they’ve been giving their own speeches to a less-than-packed hall.

James Forsyth

Boris Johnson’s upbeat defence of labour shortages

Boris Johnson hadn’t been on the Today programme for two years. His interview this morning was, as so many of his interviews are, a testy affair. Johnson gave typically long answers, much to Nick Robinson’s frustration – at one point, he simply said ‘stop talking, Prime Minister’, a phrase that is bound to cause a row. Johnson at the end asked what the point was of him giving an interview if he couldn’t talk, but those listening will have known what Robinson meant. Johnson’s style is to bulldoze through questions by sheer weight of words.

Nick Cohen

The fantasy world of Boris Johnson

In One Thousand and One Nights, Scheherazade must begin a new story every evening. She must make sure that the sultan is so eager to hear its conclusion he postpones his plans to execute her. On they go, month after month, year after year, a different story every day. I want you to imagine Boris Johnson as Scheherazade. He is taking the stage at the Conservative party conference dressed in diaphanous silk harem pants, a velvet top with chiffon sleeves, a veil to hide his true expression, and with pearls taken from the jewellery collection of a Russian oligarch’s wife laced through his hair. Johnson, too, knows he must come up with a new story every day.

Steerpike

‘Prime Minister, stop talking’: Nick Robinson clashes with Boris

Boris Johnson made a rare appearance on the Today programme this morning to drum up support for his agenda ahead of his conference speech tomorrow. But while listeners may have been hoping to hear a serious discussion about the state of the country, petrol pumps and supply chain woes, the interview quickly became a scrap between the Prime Minister and the programme’s host, Nick Robinson. The interview got off to a tetchy start with Robinson chiding the prime minister for not appearing on Today for two years. The PM jovially replied that ‘time had flown’ and began declaiming on the current global energy crisis.

Steerpike

Drink spiking hits Tory conference

It was party time last night at Tory conference. As ministers Ben Wallace and Liz Truss supped Roland Rudd’s champagne at the Finsbury reception, Australian High Commissioner George Brandis mingled with Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey at the inHouse Politico party. But elsewhere at the Conservative jamboree, the night did not end so well for one unfortunate young Tory after he was the victim of a drink spiking incident. Mr S understands that shortly before midnight an attendee at the Young Conservative reception passed out unconscious. One concerned source said that the man in question could not move when he came to, with an ambulance and a defibrillator being called to revive him.

Fraser Nelson

Wanted: an assistant online editor for The Spectator

The Spectator is growing fast. In the last few years, our sales have doubled and are now over 100,000. Most of our readers now turn to our website regularly, some several times a day, for analysis of the day’s events. What started out as a blog has now become a seven-day live digital comment operation and we’re recruiting accordingly. We have come far with a three-person digital team. We’re now looking for a fourth, full-time assistant online editor (to work with us here in 22 Old Queen Street) and also experienced journalists who may be available for shift work, either in the office or remotely.

Steerpike

Watch: Corbyn gatecrashes Tory conference

This year's Tory party conference in Manchester is something of an inclusive affair. Labour's Barry Gardiner has been spotted enjoying himself at a late-night drinks reception for Conservative MPs. And Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham has also been wooing delegates on the fringes. Last night, it was the turn of another unexpected face to make an appearance outside the conference centre: Piers Corbyn. The brother of the ex-Labour leader – and Boris's favourite weatherman – was on hand to berate those heading into the conference centre. Piers blasted the Tories and the Labour party which he said was 'totally pathetic'.  But it's safe to say Corbyn's words didn't go down well with some locals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

The Spectator

What’s on today at Conservative conference

It's day three of four here in Manchester at the Conservative party conference. Expected highlights of the day include the recently demoted Dominic Raab making his first speech as Justice Secretary while Priti Patel and Sajid Javid will be well worth watching too. Elsewhere Raab's axed predecessor Robert Buckland appears at Policy Exchange while The Spectator again has a full day of fringes events.

Stephen Daisley

Why Boris is losing his fight against Sturgeon

Gavin Barwell has made a good point, albeit inadvertently. Theresa May’s former chief of staff has a book out, imaginatively titled Chief of Staff, and in it he touches upon the question of Brexit and Scottish independence. Noting that Boris Johnson is unpopular north of the border, the now Baron Barwell of Croydon says: ‘The UK government is on strong ground arguing that it is not the right time for a second independence referendum — polls show Scottish voters want the immediate focus to be on recovery from the pandemic — but the democratic mandate for the question to be asked again at some point is clear.’ No. It. Is. Not.

Monday

Steerpike

WhatsApp collapse throws Tory plots into chaos

The world’s oldest democratic party has had a few problems with technology in recent years. Famously it was the 2018 Tory conference which saw a security breach where the official party app allowed anyone to access the private phone numbers of members of the Cabinet – or in the case of Boris Johnson change his profile picture to that of a pig. Once again, tech issues are plaguing Tory conference, with three of the world’s most popular apps – Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – all being offline since 4:30 p.m. today. The last of these is the favoured platform for disloyal backbenchers and scheming hacks to conspire mischievously to make life harder for long-suffering Tory whips.

Kate Andrews

Sajid Javid takes the fight to Sage

Are Covid restrictions coming back this autumn? It’s a far from settled question as we move into the colder, influenza-dominated months. But if there are those calling for tiers and lockdowns in winter, it seems increasingly likely that they’ll be coming up against, among others, the new health secretary. Gone are the days of the health secretary being in lock-step with Sage.

James Forsyth

The Tories have a new-found love for devolution

One of the big draws of this conference is Ben Houchen, the Tory Mayor of Tees Valley. His presence ensures a big audience at any fringe event. Michael Gove heaped praise on him in his speech. He argued that Teesside was where you could see what the Tories mean by levelling up in action. Interestingly, Gove’s praise for Houchen seems to presage a greater Tory shift towards devolution. Gove said that levelling up meant four things, the first of which was strengthening local leadership to deliver ‘real change’. This aspect of the agenda is one of the reasons for the Andy Burnham–Michael Gove bromance. Burnham, who is about to speak at a fringe event here, can see opportunities here to gain more powers for his mayoralty.

Cindy Yu

George Eustice hits back at farmers’ labour shortage claims

Pig farmers are protesting, joining the ranks of climate activists and Remainiac Steve Bray outside Conservative Party Conference. The Prime Minister’s seeming dismissal of the imminent cull of 120,000 pigs as ‘just what happens’, has riled up farmers across the country who say that the cull is a result of the same sort of labour shortages we’ve seen in petrol delivery and hospitality. But today, the Secretary of State for Defra seemed to disagree with that analysis, blaming, instead, butchers who are importing cheaper pork from the continent.