Politics

Read about the latest political news, views and analysis

Sunday

Matthew Taylor

Sunday shows round-up: Jeremy Corbyn ‘didn’t know’ the NEC would try to oust Tom Watson

Andrew Marr's main guest of the day was Jeremy Corbyn, who he joined in Brighton as the Labour party conference is underway. Battling the cries of protestors throughout the interview, Marr's first line of questioning concerned an attempt by Labour's National Executive Committee to abolish the post of Deputy Leader, which would have removed power from the incumbent Tom Watson: [embed]https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1175689173635723266[/embed] JC: I knew there were discussions going on about the role... I didn’t know a motion was going to be put... There was a move that didn't happen, didn't work, and I intervened to make sure we have an open democratic discussion about the structures of our party.

Katy Balls

Corbyn insists he is going nowhere in testy Marr interview: ‘It’s wishful thinking by some people’

As Labour conference gets underway, the main topic of conversation is Jeremy Corbyn's leadership – and how long it can last. Following a failed Corbynite attempt to oust Tom Watson as deputy leader, a successful attempt to give the party's national executive committee say over any interim leader and the news that Corbyn's top aide has quit, there's talk that the Labour leader is on the way out. Appearing on the Andrew Marr show in Brighton this morning, Jeremy Corbyn tried his best to kibosh the idea. Corbyn told Andrew Marr that there would be a general election campaign this year and he would be the person leading his party into it.

Isabel Hardman

As top aide quits, is Corbyn’s leadership now sinking?

The best way to understand the chaos engulfing the start of the Labour party conference is by looking at the instability of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. Even if this is not immediately obvious from the outside (which, with such terrible personal poll ratings for Corbyn, it should be), it is the underlying factor in yesterday’s attempt to abolish Tom Watson, and in the resignation of Andrew Fisher, the leader’s policy chief. Fisher isn’t a Labour man through and through: he endorsed a  Class War candidate standing against Labour in the 2015 election. But he is - or was - a Corbyn man through and through. He was involved in the first leadership campaign that sent the obscure backbencher rocketing into power.

Steven Fielding

Jeremy Corbyn is on the wrong side of history over Brexit

So far as his keenest supporters are concerned, Jeremy Corbyn has always been on the Right Side of History. From challenging Thatcherism, taking on apartheid, standing up against the Iraq War, to opposing austerity, Corbyn, they believe, has always been unafraid to embrace morally correct causes no matter how unpopular they were at the time. This is what distinguishes him from all previous leaders of the Labour party. That makes Corbyn’s recent announcement on Brexit all the more remarkable. He has said that if Labour forms a government after the next general election and holds a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, he will remain neutral. Yet according to YouGov, two-thirds of Britons think Brexit is the most important issue facing the country today.

Saturday

James Forsyth

Can New York give the Brexit negotiations some momentum?

Three events will dominate next week. The Supreme Court’s decision on the legality of prorogation, Labour conference and the UN General Assembly. As I say in The Sun this morning, Boris Johnson’s address in New York will be more ‘Green Giant’ than ‘Incredible Hulk’. He’ll stress the UK’s environmental credentials; announcing a new biodiversity fund designed to help save the African elephant, the black rhino and the pangolin. But more important than the speech he’ll make is the meetings that will take place in the margins. He’ll see most of the key players in the Brexit talks in New York, including a meeting with the Irish leader Leo Varadkar on Monday.

Steerpike

Margaret Beckett to the rescue

With a cross-party group of MPs successfully passing legislation to instruct the government to seek an Article 50 extension rather than go for no deal, the Prime Minister could be forced to seek a Brexit delay if he cannot agree a deal. However, Boris Johnson has said on numerous occasions that he will do no such thing. There's chatter in Tory circles that if No. 10 cannot find a way around the legislation, he could either resign or be brought down by MPs and an attempt then made to form a letter-writing government of national unity. This government's sole aim would be to seek a Brexit delay before going into a general election (or second referendum depending on who you speak to). But who to lead it?

Bruce Anderson

It’s no surprise that Brexit looks doomed

I have a friend who insists that he takes little interest in politics. Even so, the other evening he came out with three sentences which take us straight to the heart of our present discontents. 'I'm sick to death of talking about Brexit. Yet I can't stop talking about Brexit. Why don't the politicians just sort it all out?' I told him that he was speaking for about seventy-five per cent of the electorate, but that neither he nor they should get their hopes up. Each day has been bringing a fresh instalment of confusion worse confounded. There is no reason to believe that this will shortly cease. It may be that the darkest hour is just before the dawn. It may also be that darkness has just asked for an extension. All this has at least two unfortunate consequences.

Friday

Paul Ovenden

Labour needs to up its game

This weekend is Labour's tenth conference in opposition and the fifth with Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the party. It's also the first time since 2007 that its party conference season has been framed as the appetiser to an imminent general election campaign. The 2007 election famously never was, much to David Cameron’s delight, but this time both government and opposition agree on the need for a vote, if not the timing. Accordingly, Labour needs to up its game. The party cannot afford to spend the five days of precious airtime conference provides arguing over its Brexit position, again. But it looks like it will. It should not be entering conference fixated on its own navel, with incomprehensible rows over its rulebook and constitution. But it is.

Steerpike

Tom Watson’s ousting prediction

Tom Watson's position as deputy leader of the Labour party hangs in the balance this weekend after a move was made on the party's national executive committee to oust him by abolishing his post. The motion was proposed by Jon Lansman, founder of Labour grassroots group Momentum. Although Watson survived Friday's vote, a second attempt will be made on Saturday at the party's conference. Figures on both sides of the party believe it will be successful. It's safe to say that this won't come as a huge surprise to Watson. The Corbyn critic has previously spoken of the vulnerability of his position. Appearing on the BBC's political thinking podcast last summer, Watson admitted he could be taken out as deputy leader.

Isabel Hardman

Labour’s NEC in plot to oust Tom Watson

This evening, Labour's ruling National Executive Committee has started to discuss a motion which would oust Tom Watson as deputy leader. There is expected to be a vote on this plan, which abolishes the role altogether, tomorrow, and there is a strong chance that it will pass. It was tabled by Momentum founder Jon Lansman, and was narrowly ruled out of order because Watson wasn't present at tonight's meeting. Tomorrow it will be in order. Why is Labour having this battle on the eve of its autumn conference? It is potentially weeks away from an election, and instead of facing outwards to voters, it is engaged in an internecine battle over internal positions. And not just small roles, but the separately-elected role of the party's deputy leader.

Steerpike

Watch: Leo Varadkar jokes about throwing holy water at Boris Johnson

If Brexit can’t be sorted out by mere mortals, perhaps the UK and EU need some divine inspiration to break the deadlock. That was perhaps what an Irish priest was thinking when he presented Taoiseach Leo Varadkar with a bottle of holy water this afternoon. But it seems Varadkar had other ideas about what to do with it: Priest: ‘Taoiseach, I know you’re going to New York next week and meeting Boris Johnson, [here’s] a small little bit of added protection for you.’  Varadkar: ‘Do I pour it over him?’ https://twitter.com/skydavidblevins/status/1175049001126768647?

Steerpike

‘F–k Boris’: London climate change protest turns red

Students went on strike today worldwide to protest against climate change. Luckily, the London protest took place only a stone’s throw away from the Spectator office so Steerpike went down to Parliament Square to see what action the eco-protesters want taken as a country. Only, with signs ranging from ‘F--k Boris’ to ‘Defy Tory Rule’, and Palestinian and communist flags flying, the event could easily have been mistaken as a pre-party for Labour’s conference this weekend. Jeremy Corbyn and a slightly hoarse Owen Jones showed up to lend their support. It turns out that if you want to make a point on the environment, it's best to use plenty of expletives to get your point across.

Steerpike

Watch: Jeremy Corbyn dodges Brexit question eight times

Is Jeremy Corbyn pro Remain or pro Leave? Three years have passed since the EU referendum, but the Labour leader still won't answer that question. In an interview with ITV's Joe Pike, Corbyn was asked eight times whether he now backed leave or remain. And eight times he refused to say: https://twitter.com/joepike/status/1175034010671734784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Joe Pike: “So are you pro Remain or pro Leave” Jeremy Corbyn “I’m pro the British people to have their decision, I’m pro the British …” JP: “You are sitting on the fence Mr Corbyn aren’t you?” JC: “No I’m not sitting on the fence, you keep interrupting me my friend. What I want to say is this. People voted Leave or Remain.

Cindy Yu

The Spectator Podcast: are courts taking over politics?

As the Supreme Court wraps up its trial into prorogation, we ask – are the courts overreaching (00:25)? We also find out about the prevalence of mental illness in the homeless and the rough sleeping (10:20). And last, Mary Killen tells us why she’s no longer a Remainer (20:45) - plus, Rachel Johnson tells us about her solution to Boris's Brexit impasse.

Thursday

The Spectator

Letters: parliament has a responsibility to stop Brexit

Parliament’s responsibility Sir: I always enjoy reading the intelligent and outspoken Lionel Shriver. But her latest article (14 September) puts forward an invalid argument. As Ms Shriver points out, no one in the USA seriously argued that the disaster of Trump’s election, and the damage it could cause the country, meant the result should be contested. She compares this with the fact that many in the UK want to overturn the EU referendum result; and concludes from this that our political system is ‘broken’. But had an election been fought here, with one party promising Leave and the other Remain, few would be seriously arguing for the overturn of the outcome — whatever it was. Elections are, rightly I believe, taken more seriously than referendums.

The Spectator

How many Britons now vape?

Talking Turkey David Cameron again accused the Leave campaign of ‘lying’ about the prospect of Turkey joining the EU. A reminder of what he himself has said on the subject: — ‘I’m here to make the case for Turkey’s membership. And to fight for it… I will remain your strongest possible advocate for EU membership and for greater influence at the top table of European diplomacy.’ (Speech to Turkish parliament, 2010) — ‘In terms of Turkish membership of the EU, I very much support that. That’s a longstanding position of British foreign policy which I support. We discussed that again in our talks today.

Peter Jones

David Cameron would be a winner in Ancient Greece

David Cameron is convinced he was right to call a referendum and to promise to enact it. Justifiably: there was a huge turnout and a clear winner. That’s democracy. But he has been lashing out because the referendum did not go as he hoped. This whingeing makes him look like a total loser. An ancient Greek in that position would argue he was a winner: he had kept his promise, and therefore reputation, intact. For a Greek, reputation was of the very highest importance because simply doing or being good was not enough: if people did not know about it, what was the point? As a result, Greeks often explained their motive for action in terms of the honour and renown it would bring them.

Toby Young

David Cameron is more authentic than Boris Johnson

I don’t recall exactly when I first met David Cameron, but it must have been in Oxford in 1985 shortly after the beginning of Michaelmas term. I was a third year at Brasenose studying PPE and he was a first year, also doing PPE. I remember him being friendly and down to earth and canny enough to keep his political views to himself. At the time, Brasenose was dominated by a group calling itself the ‘left caucus’ and while it wasn’t social suicide to be identified as a Tory, it was a bit infra dig. After Cameron twigged that we were both ‘in the closet’, so to speak, he confessed to me that he was a Thatcherite. ‘Dry as dust,’ he whispered.

Charles Moore

Why didn’t Cameron realise the ‘strength of feeling’ about Brexit?

In his memoirs, David Cameron admits that he ‘did not fully appreciate the strength of feeling’ in favour of Brexit, before and during the referendum. The fascinating question is, ‘Why?’ The issue of Europe had been dividing his party from at least 1988 (and had earlier roots). It was part of his modernisation not to ‘bang on’ about Europe, but this was an evasion, not a policy. If a leader does not address a vital question, others will, if he gives them the chance. You cross a windswept plaza, go down a steepish stair and then descend three floors below the ground.