Politics

Read about the latest political news, views and analysis

Thursday

Brendan O’Neill

Did Gary Lineker miss the first ‘people’s vote’ on Brexit?

Gary Lineker is coming to save Britain. From what, I hear you ask? From you. And me. And the rest of the dim-witted electorate who screwed up the nation with our pesky vote to leave the EU. The football commentator turned crisps advertiser turned spokesman for the weeping Brexitphobic Twitterati has announced that he is backing the campaign for a People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal. Why? Because the nation is in a ‘mess’, he says, and it’s all down to the fact that ‘politicians seem unable to resolve the problem the people gave them in voting Leave’. Got that? The problem isn’t useless politicians: it’s ordinary people and our catastrophic stupidity. Lineker wants to save Britain from Britons.

James Kirkup

Why don’t the pro-EU crowd join the Tories?

Theresa May has a rare talent for turning decent policy into a political problem. Her general election manifesto last year contained an unusually high number of quite sensible and even sometimes progressive ideas: it’s quite common around Westminster these days to hear Tory and Labour people alike admit that things like the “dementia tax”, a full-scale review of post-18 education and some technical-sounding stuff on corporate governance were all, in retrospect, quite solid, worthy attempts to address big public policy problems. The problem, of course, was selling that stuff to the punters. Now we have the Chequers deal on Brexit.

Stephen Daisley

The Brexit ultras are losing the plot

With the Labour Party losing the plot, it’s reassuring to see the Tories holding true to the principles of liberal democracy. On Wednesday, Conservative MEP David Campbell Bannerman tweeted the Telegraph’s splash, ‘Jihadists should be prosecuted for treason’. By way of comment, he added: 'It is about time we brought the Treason Act up to date and made it apply to those seeking to destroy or undermine the British state. That means extreme jihadis. It also means those in future actively working undemocratically against U.K. through extreme EU loyalty.’ Oh.

Steerpike

Boris Johnson’s new-found freedom

As Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson found himself restrained in ways that didn't suit him. Now on the backbench once again, BoJo is able to speak freely on Brexit. He's also able to return to a favourite pastime: cycling. Although Johnson is a well known cycling enthusiast, the keen pedaller has been stuck on foot since taking up office as Foreign Secretary. In 2016 the Metropolitan Police banned him from cycling to work, fearing he would be a target for a terrorist attack. Now he's back on the road.

William Cook

Hastings

Kevin Boorman loves Hastings, and his enthusiasm is infectious. He was born here, he’s lived here all his life and his family have lived here for generations. He shows me a photo of his great-grandfather, who manned the local lifeboat. His parents met on Hastings Pier. Kevin works for the local council, and today he’s taken some time out to show me round. I can’t remember the last time I met anyone with such a fierce affection for their hometown. Of course it’s Kevin’s job to spread the good news about Hastings, but I wouldn’t be here to meet him if I didn’t have a soft spot for this place myself. I used to love coming here when I was a kid, when nothing was more thrilling than a trip to the English seaside.

Matthew Goodwin

Ukip reborn

The UK Independence Party might be about to make a comeback. Ever since Theresa May’s Chequers deal on Brexit, which went down very badly indeed among grassroots Conservatives and Leavers, the opinion polls have been kind to the Purple Army. The week after the Chequers deal went public, one pollster found support for the party had surged by five points to 8 per cent. It might not sound like much, but it is its best showing since March last year. Furthermore, such numbers are more than enough to tilt the balance at the next general election toward Jeremy Corbyn and Labour.

Tim Shipman

Never-ending stories

I spent a bit of time last week on the set of the new Brexit film, which James Graham has written for Channel 4. My book on the referendum has been plundered by the new production, so it was fascinating seeing real events given life again, in several pitch-perfect performances. The subject of conversation on set was the public slating of a leaked (early) copy of the script earlier that week. Most agitated of the slaters was Carole Cadwalladr, the Observer reporter who has made her name by uncovering malfeasance around the use of data in politics and the financing of the referendum. ‘It’s profoundly wrong on every level,’ she moaned. ‘It’s wilfully misleading the public.

Martin Vander Weyer

Full-fibre broadband by 2033? I wish I could believe you, minister

I bought BT’s offer of an upgrade to ‘superfast’ broadband because the standard service seemed to be deteriorating just as the daily quota of sales calls from India was increasing. But the improvement is barely perceptible. The blue light that tells me the hub is working turns orange to tell me it’s not with irritating frequency, while the sales calls keep coming. Am I pleased with new service? ‘No, not really.’ But wouldn’t I like to buy an even more elaborate contract? ‘Click.

Wednesday

Steerpike

Listen: John McDonnell – ‘we are a party that’s anti-Semitist’

A poll earlier this year found that almost two-thirds of the British public believe Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party has a problem with racism or religious prejudice. However, up until now Mr S hadn't thought John McDonnell was one of them. Speaking on the Today programme this morning, the Shadow Chancellor attempted to rebuff suggestions that his party had an anti-Semitism problem. Only it didn't go quite to plan thanks to a slip of the tongue: ‘Let me put this message out to anyone: we are a party that’s anti-racist and anti-Semitist... sorry... we're against anti-Semitism.' Freudian slip?

Stephen Daisley

Could Brexit revive the SNP’s fortunes?

It is my sombre duty to inform you that Scotland is talking about independence again. It probably seems like we never stopped. Your continued patience is appreciated. This time, it’s the economic case — or lack thereof — for going it alone. In May, the SNP’s Growth Commission produced its long-awaited (not long enough, perhaps) report into the finances of a separate Scotland. The gist? Scotland would be in for an extra decade of austerity but we’d be all right in the end by emulating the growth of similarly situated small nations. All in all, it sounded more plausible than the 2013 White Paper. They had to cut down a lot of magic money trees to print that.  Now, another report has come along and taken the tackety boots to the new draft.

Stephen Daisley

Revealed: Labour’s leaked anti-Semitism guidelines

Labour’s new code of conduct would not allow the return of Ken Livingstone, according to an internal party document seen by Coffee House. A briefing note sent to Scottish Labour MPs and MSPs addresses the case of the former London mayor, who resigned from the party two years after he was suspended for claiming that Adolf Hitler supported Zionism before he ‘went mad and ending up killing six million Jews’. The note says:  'So the Code wouldn’t pave the way for Ken Livingstone’s return to the Party? 'Not at all.

Tuesday

Steerpike

Watch: Brexiteer MPs round on Olly Robbins at select committee

Following the resignation of David Davis, Brexiteers and Remainers alike have been left wondering how Brexit is going, and more importantly, who is really in charge of the negotiations with the EU. Today they got their chance to find out, as new Brexit secretary Dominic Raab and Number 10’s widely-loathed Brexit guru Olly Robbins were grilled by the Exiting the European Union select committee. Only things soon took a turn for the dramatic when mid session the government published a statement from the Prime Minister announcing that she will now ‘lead the negotiations with the European Union’ and Dominic Raab's department will be stripped of its role in the negotiations with that duty being entirely shifted to the Cabinet Office's Europe unit.

Tom Goodenough

Theresa May takes back control in Brexit talks

For months it has been claimed that Theresa May has been sidelining her Brexit department in talks with the EU. Now, the Prime Minister has confirmed that is exactly what she is doing. In a dull sounding written statement on the ‘machinery of government’ put out just hours before MPs head off on their summer holidays, the PM said that to ensure things are ‘organised in the most effective way’ as the countdown to Brexit gets closer, she will now ‘lead the negotiations with the European Union’; Dominic Raab, the PM said, will be ‘deputising’ on her behalf. For Brexiteers, this news will go down badly.

Steerpike

Tory MP who criticised early recess plans leaves Parliament early to ‘mess about in boats’

When No 10 attempted to bring recess early so that Parliament rose last Thursday rather than this Tuesday, there was widespread outrage – even on the Conservative benches. So much so that the Whips eventually reneged on the idea and scrapped the plans. One of the most indignant Tory MPs at the time was George Freeman. Freeman took to Twitter to slam the government's proposal as a 'silly idea' because 'Parliament has important business to do'. 'Here here', Freeman said (presumably meaning 'Hear Hear'): https://twitter.com/GeorgeFreemanMP/status/1019311942270365696 https://twitter.com/GeorgeFreemanMP/status/1019310680372137985 Only, it seems that when it comes to the 'important business' Parliament must do today, Freeman stops short of being around for it himself.

Steerpike

John Bercow gets another tennis freebie

John Bercow wasn't spotted in the Royal Box at Wimbledon this year but Mr S is pleased to report that the Speaker still managed to get his tennis fix this summer. Bercow accepted two free tickets worth £630 to attend the final of Queens in June, according to the register of members' interests. The jolly – which included hospitality – came just two days after Bercow passed his self-imposed deadline to step down as Speaker. Yet while tennis fans would love to get their hands on tickets to Queens, the trip is still something of a step down from what Bercow is used to. Since 2015, he’s managed to get his mitts on £8,000 worth of free tickets to Wimbledon. Perhaps Bercow is preparing for life after his departure as Speaker...

Monday

James Forsyth

Theresa May must work on her Brexit sales pitch

Regional Cabinets are always a bit gimmicky. The idea that putting ministers on a train to somewhere outside of London would make them take different decisions has always struck me as somewhat absurd. But today’s, as Katy said earlier, has taken on a particular significance because it marked the beginning of Theresa May’s attempt to sell her Brexit plan to the public. This plan needs some selling. Polling for the Sunday Times showed that only 12 per cent of voters think it would be good for Britain, compared to 43 per cent who disagree. May’s appearance today, though, is unlikely to have moved the dial much. There’s no clear top line from it.

Steerpike

Watch: Return of the Maybot

The Maybot is back. The Prime Minister has just been doing a Q and A with workers in Newcastle when she was asked how she likes to unwind. Here's what she had to say: 'There are several things I like to do. I like walking...I enjoy cooking, which has a benefit because you get to eat it as well as make it. I have over 150 cookbooks, so I spend quite a lot of time looking at cookbooks. And...I quite like watching NCIS when I can.' Time for a reboot?

Steerpike

Ex-Tory MP: Theresa May blocked Brexit ‘no deal’ planning

Theresa May has always said 'no deal is better than a bad deal', but how much has her government actually prepared for the possibility of walking away from the EU if talks do break down? Not a lot, if the claims made by David Davis' former chief of staff, Stewart Jackson, are anything to go on. Speaking on the Daily Politics, the former Tory MP said that the Prime Minister had actually blocked attempts to prepare for no deal: “David Davis pushed on producing an early white paper, pushed on getting officials out in Brussels doing granular technical negotiations six months ago, pushed on the Irish protocol putting legal text to the Irish government. All these areas.

Brendan O’Neill

Don’t blame the Tories for a Brexit ‘no deal’ | 23 July 2018

Remember when leftists and liberals were against capitalists throwing their weight around in the political sphere? ‘Just because you’re filthy rich doesn’t mean you should have more clout than the rest of us’, they might say. No longer. Now they love it when the boss class tut-tuts about democracy and wonders out loud if we should just ignore the little people and shape politics so that it suits us, the moneyed and powerful. Consider the glee with which some leftish Remainers have lapped up Amazon’s dire warnings about a no-deal Brexit.

Ross Clark

It isn’t anti-Semitic to say the creation of Israel was a mistake

You don’t have to read too much of the tweets and other comments directed at Margaret Hodge and other Jewish Labour MPs to appreciate that Labour has a very big problem with anti-Semitism. But is the party’s refusal to adopt the full working definition of anti-Semitism produced by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance an example of its failings? Absolutely not. Firstly, on a general point, it is never a good idea to allow pressure groups – however worthy their intentions – to lay down the rules on language.