Politics Archives

Wednesday

11 May 2022

In defence of a British bill of rights

Amnesty International and Stonewall are no strangers to criticising the government. This week they've been at it again: blasting Dominic Raab's plans to make adjustments to the Human Rights Act by replacing it with a British Bill of Rights. But they are wrong to attack an approach that most Brits will realise is perfectly sensible. Raab’s plan, which was set out in the Queen's Speech yesterday, is simple. Britain will remain in the European Convention on Human Rights when it comes to international matters, but when interpreting domestic laws, it will change its emphasis slightly.

Steerpike

Irish state broadcaster: Britain could invade

Relations between London and Dublin aren't at their best, given the ongoing war of words about the Northern Irish Protocol. But Mr S was still nevertheless surprised to see that RTE – Ireland's state broadcaster – has today published a comment piece by a leading academic and Guardian contributor which seriously floats the idea of a British invasion. According to Professor Cathal McCall of Queen's University Belfast, the likely election of a Sinn Féin Taoiseach in the Republic of Ireland means that re-annexation could seriously become UK government policy. This will be achieved either the leadership of Boris Johnson or one of his likely successors.

Steerpike

Watch: Michael Gove’s bizarre media round

It was an unconventional start to the day for Michael Gove this morning. The veteran minister appeared on BBC Breakfast to deny whispers within Whitehall of an 'emergency Budget,' slapping down such talk by using a bizarre array of accents that ranged from American to Harry Enfield's infamous 'Scousers' impersonation. Gove told listeners across the country that: We are constantly looking at ideas in order to ensure that we relieve the pressure on people who are facing incredibly tough times, but that doesn’t amount to an ‘emergency budget’, which is what some people immediately thought that it did.

Steerpike

Dilyn disrupts Downing Street (again)

After the pomp and circumstance of yesterday's Queen's Speech, Tory MPs were on their best behaviour last night as they trooped into Downing Street to attend evening drinks with the Prime Minister. Boris Johnson has instituted a series of these receptions in recent months, as part of a belated effort to 'love bomb' his restless backbenchers. Such invites are part of a broader strategy to make Conservative MPs feel more involved in government strategy, with Andrew Griffith and Steve Barclay both being given key Downing Street posts to try to reflect the priorities of their colleagues in the parliamentary party. Around 200 MPs rocked up last night, for what one loyalist described as a 'very enjoyable' occasion.

George Trefgarne

In defence of Liz Truss’s retro economics

One of the many curious things about Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is that she has the capacity to drive some people around the twist. There are the Trussites, hovering over her Instagram posts in political adoration, and then there are others who consider her a menace who is about to be made Prime Minister in a sinister conspiracy by Brexiteers. At least she is willing to challenge the groupthink of the Bank of England and the Treasury, both of which are full of clever people who have manifestly failed to manage the inflationary shock currently knocking us all off our perches.

Tuesday

10 May 2022

James Forsyth

What did the Queen’s Speech reveal?

12 min listen

Inside the Lord's Chamber, Prince Charles delivered the Queen's Speech in his mother's absence. The key themes of the Prime Minister's legislative agenda included easing the cost of living crisis, post-Brexit economic arrangements and a particular emphasis on crime.'You can tell the Tory party is trying to shore itself up from being outflanked on crime and immigration come the next election' - James Forsyth.What was the reaction to the speech in the debate that followed?All to be discussed as James Forsyth speaks to Katy Balls.

Isabel Hardman

Is Boris Johnson planning an emergency Budget?

Boris Johnson is running out of time to produce things the Tories can show the voters at the next election. The theme of his Queen's Speech – if there was one – was an attempt to fix that. That next election campaign was countered by Keir Starmer in the chamber this afternoon. The main focus was on the cost-of-living crisis and how much worse things are going to get. Funnily enough, Starmer didn't mention the members of the government who'd broken Covid rules The Labour leader repeatedly accused this government of not being 'up to the challenge', with the Tories producing only a 'thin address bereft of ideas or purpose, without a guiding principle or a roadmap for delivery'.

Robert Peston

Boris is gearing up for a new round of the Brexit wars

As prime minister, Boris Johnson does not follow the normal rules. To put it mildly. And this year's Queen's Speech, announcing his legislative programme for the coming parliamentary session, is no exception. That's because probably the most important piece of planned legislation, a new law to waive parts of the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol, is not mentioned, even though it almost certainly will be announced at the end of this week (and by the Prime Minister). The reason this matters is because there is a constitutional crisis in Northern Ireland following last week's elections to its Assembly. The runners up in the election, the unionist DUP, won't allow the NI executive or government to be formed unless and until the Protocol is binned.

Steerpike

Watch: Starmer’s Beergate burn

It's Queen's Speech day in parliament today and in traditional style, two lucky government MPs have been chosen to propose and second the Loyal Address to Her Majesty. This involves two backbenchers – one typically older, the other a newly-elected type – delivering a humorous speech ostensibly on the government's legislative agenda but which actually riffs on various issues of the day. And so it fell to Graham Stuart, a 17-year parliamentary veteran, to kick things off this afternoon with a well-received performance poking fun at Sir Keir Starmer's difficulties over 'Beergate.

Steerpike

Will Lord Frost stand as an MP?

With two looming by-elections, a selection dilemma is facing local Tories in both Wakefield and Tiverton: who do they choose to be their parliamentary candidates? A variety of names have been bandied about but one above all is the commentariat's choice: David Frost, Boris Johnson's former Brexit chief, now languishing on the backbenches in the House of Lords after quitting the Cabinet in December. The Telegraph has been loudly banging the drum for Frost – unsurprising, perhaps, given he is the paper's new star columnist – while the onetime boss of Scottish whisky has given a round of high-profile interviews, including on GB News last night with longtime admirer Nigel Farage.

Theo Hobson

Is Channel 4’s sex obsession really a ‘public service’?

Is Channel 4 a public service broadcaster that should be saved from privatisation? Today's Queen's Speech, which lays the groundwork for the sale of the channel, is set to reignite that debate once again. But Channel 4's increasingly dire output – and its obsession with shows about sex – shows privatisation might not be such a bad idea. Yes, Channel 4 produces some worthy stuff, but much less than in the past – I can’t recall a really good recent documentary on the channel. Its news is useful enough, especially if you can tolerate the smug air of its main presenters. But these positives are outweighed by a massive negative that enlightened people pretend not to notice.

Lara Prendergast

With Tommy Banks

24 min listen

Tommy Banks is the youngest ever UK Michelin-starred chef, awarded in 2013 when he was aged 24, and is the owner of the restaurant The Black Swan which Tripadvisor named the best restaurant in the world.On the podcast, Tommy talks to Lara and Liv about how he turned to food after his dreams of being a professional cricketer were dashed, his struggles with imposter syndrome, and his new canned wine business Banks Brothers.For more recipes and recommendations, sign up to The Spectator’s free monthly food and drink email, The Take Away, at spectator.

James Forsyth

The key line in Prince Charles’s Queen’s Speech

Today’s Queen’s Speech will mostly be remembered as Prince Charles' first. His delivery was strikingly flat; it would be hard to discern what he thought of any measure as his tone remained the same throughout, as it should do. Given how much we know of Charles’s views on various issues – too much given his constitutional position – people will always be looking for clues as to his view on this or that issue. The speech was mostly as expected. The problem for the government is that the biggest issue facing the country is the cost of living crisis, but you can’t solve that through legislation: parliament can’t just pass a bill to return inflation to its two per cent target.

Alexander Larman

This isn’t the beginning of the Charles Regency

One of the cruellest and most accurate remarks made about Prince Charles is that he is less king-in-waiting and more the perennial prince, forever hanging about in his mother’s shadow and increasingly desperate to assume the throne. Yet he is now 73 years old, and will be the oldest monarch to ascend the throne since William IV, who became king aged 64 in 1830. This is a source of endless frustration to Charles. Newspaper briefings by well-placed courtiers have suggested he longs for greater involvement in the day-to-day running of ‘the Firm’, perhaps even culminating in an official Regency, given his mother’s declining health.

Coffee House

Full list: every bill in the Queen’s Speech

After 73 years of waiting, Prince Charles today delivered his first speech from the throne in the House of Lords to mark the State Opening of Parliament – watched on by Her Majesty in Windsor via television. Charles was escorted by Prince William, after the Yeoman Warders concluded their traditional search of the Palace of Westminster. The Palace of Westminster was fully owned by the sovereign until 1965 when the Queen agreed to hand over control of the Commons and the Lords. The Crown still retains technical ownership of some parts, such as the robing room, with the last monarch to live there being Henry VIII. Some 21 bills were announced by Prince Charles. These were the following: 1.

Andrew McQuillan

The DUP is failing to learn any lessons from Sinn Fein’s victory

Is the DUP intent on compounding the disaster of its recent election defeat which saw Sinn Fein returned as Northern Ireland’s largest party? It certainly seems that way. In the aftermath of that result, the DUP, the TUV (Traditional Unionist Voice) and other loyalists have been quick to point out that the unionist designation remains the largest at Stormont, albeit marginally. They argue that polling continues to show a majority in favour of Northern Ireland staying within the UK. This has been used to downplay Sinn Fein’s achievement last week. But this complacency is dangerous. Contrary to the predictable hyperbole of recent days, a united Ireland is not imminent.

Christian Wolmar

What the UK can learn from the demise of British Rail

British Railways lives again. Well sort of. The Queen’s Speech is expected to contain plans for a Transport Bill, the centrepiece of which is the creation of Great British Railways which will take over many aspects of the nation’s rail system. However, before the nostalgics start dusting off their Ian Allan Locospotters’ annual, this new beast will be nothing like the old one. British Railways was much more than just a railway.

Steerpike

The SNP whips’ office scandal

It was Enoch Powell who remarked that 'the House of Commons without whips is like a city without sewers.' And it seems that the piping has sprung a leak, given the amount of excrement that's been flying around Westminster in recent months. In January it was the Tory whips and their chief Mark Spencer, who faced allegations of intimidation and Islamophobia from disgruntled wards. And now it's the turn of the SNP, those custodians of probity and standards in public life. For Patrick Grady – the party's former chief enforcer at Westminster – is one of two nationalist MPs facing claims of sexual harassment. An SNP staffer says the Glasgow North MP put his fingers down the back of his collar and touched his hair in London’s Water Poet bar in 2016 when he was 19.

Monday

9 May 2022

Robert Peston

Why Starmer had to put his job on the line

Keir Starmer had no option but to say – as he has done – that he will resign if fined for breaching Covid rules, as I already pointed out on Friday when Durham police announced it was investigating whether his beer and curry last April was work sustenance or an illegal party. There were two reasons why he had to put his job on the line. First, he would never get over the charge of grotesque hypocrisy had he failed to do this, given that he and his party have repeatedly and urgently called on Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak to quit, after they received fixed penalty notices for attending the PM’s birthday party.

Stephen Daisley

Starmer must go – and take Boris with him

Sir Keir Starmer has spent the past 24 hours in the witness protection programme. After the Mail on Sunday published an itinerary of the now infamous visit to Durham, complete with a gathering for beer and curry, the Labour leader’s version of events appears to be in doubt. This afternoon he was a no-show at an Institute for Government event. Then he turned up at a press conference at 4 p.m. and took a gamble: No rules were broken — I’m absolutely clear about that — but, in the event that I’m wrong about that and I get a fixed penalty notice, I’ll do the right thing and step down. The Labour leader is trying to outmanoeuvre the Prime Minister. Confident that he won’t be fined, he wants to draw a contrast between himself and Boris Johnson.