All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
The European reaction to Boris Johnson’s plan has been getting cooler today. But in parliament it has been a different story. In response to Boris Johnson’s statement earlier, several members of the so-called Spartans—those Brexiteers who voted against Theresa May’s deal on 29 March—indicated they would support it. At the same time, a slew of ex-Tory
Poor John Bercow is suffering from a lost voice this morning, which is somewhat unfortunate for a Speaker. But fortunately he has Peter Bone watching out for him. The Brexiteer Tory MP has taken to his feet in the Commons to express his concern for Bercow, suggesting he takes some time out to recover: ‘The Speaker
Extinction Rebellion protestors have just sprayed 1800 litres of fake blood over the Treasury using an old fire engine. Unfortunately their protest backfired somewhat when the hose flew out of control, leaving campaigners covered in red liquid: https://twitter.com/DavidSamFrancis/status/1179696406061293568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Oh dear…
Vice President of the European Parliament Heidi Hautala has made her mind up about Boris Johnson’s Brexit proposal: it’s no good. The Finnish MEP said ‘it’s not a very serious proposal’. But has she actually read the Prime Minister’s letter to Jean-Claude Juncker? Err, no. ‘But I am more or less aware of the proposal,’ she
As figures in Brussels mull over the Brexit proposal put forward by Boris Johnson, the initial signs are that EU leaders remain sceptical. However, over in the Commons the picture is somewhat rosier. After the government published the letter the Prime Minister had sent to Jean-Claude Juncker, cabinet ministers were quick to take to social
Although Brexit remains the top of the news agenda, the Conservatives believe they will need to talk about more than just leaving the EU if they are to triumph in an early election. Boris Johnson used his conference speech to push a domestic agenda beyond Brexit. The areas he focussed on were the same ones
What can a global cryptocurrency scam tells us about the future of religion? That’s a strange question to ask, but the answer is: quite a lot. That’s because beliefs of all kinds, including quasi-religious faith in get-rich-quick schemes, are increasingly being shaped online – a phenomenon ignored by the mainstream churches as they slide into
The news yesterday from protests in Hong Kong is extremely worrying and demands a response from UK parliamentarians. This concerns not just the welfare of an 18-year-old, shot in the chest at close range by the police, but also the future of democracy in a country whose history is closely linked with the UK’s. The immediate events leading up
Boris Johnson’s Brexit offer to the EU is not dead on arrival – but it may well be dead within the next 48 hours. And that could become clear as Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, briefs EU ambassadors and MEPs about what he sees as the deficiencies of the proposals. The biggest hole, as you would
The UK government has now published its Brexit offer to the EU. It has put out a letter from Boris Johnson to Jean-Claude Juncker making the case for its backstop replacement and a briefing note setting out how it would work. In essence, it puts a regulatory border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and
In a first for Parliament, an MP has spoken openly and in detail about her experience of being abused emotionally and sexually by her partner. In an incredibly emotional speech, Rosie Duffield, the Labour MP for Canterbury, told the Chamber about a relationship which started so promisingly but which was in fact a controlling one,
Boris Johnson’s new Brexit offer to the EU comprehensively rips up the backstop agreed by Theresa May – but it contains one proposal that may upset some Brexiter purists, namely that Northern Ireland should more-or-less remain in the single market for goods, food and agricultural products, subject to rules set by Brussels. At 3pm this
The prime minister usually spends several weeks fine-tuning his conference speech. Today Boris gave an address that felt as it if had been roughed-out yesterday evening and converted into a final draft over a full English breakfast. The informality looked good. No autocue. Just notes and smiles as he climbed the low step onto the
A FAIR AND REASONABLE COMPROMISE: UK PROPOSALS FOR A NEW PROTOCOL ON IRELAND/NORTHERN IRELAND There is now very little time in which to negotiate a new Agreement between the UK and the EU under Article 50. We need to get this done before the October European Council. This Government wants to get a deal, as
Boris Johnson’s conference speech felt more like an after-dinner speech than a traditional leader’s speech at times. There were more jokes than policy announcements. The purpose of this speech, though, wasn’t to set out a series of detailed policy prescriptions but to try and get three messages across. First, Boris Johnson wanted to persuade the
What was the point of Boris Johnson’s speech? It didn’t contain any announcements for Tory activists to clutch as they left the hall. Details of his proposals to resolve the Brexit stand-off were missing, and will instead be unveiled to parliament later today. It even finished on a strangely low-energy note, rather as if Johnson
This was not just the best speech that Boris Johnson has given since becoming Prime Minister, it’s the first proper weapons-grade speech that he has given since running for the job. It showcased his gift of communication, his ability to mobilise language to uplift, enthuse and motivate. To convey a sense of cheerful mission –
Why do so many people try to compare Boris Johnson with Donald Trump? There is a US president whose manner and approach our Prime Minister resembles, but it isn’t Trump – it is Bill Clinton. It is hard to think of anyone else who has honed to a fine art the ability to survive narrow
It’s great to be here in Manchester at the best attended conference for years and I know that some of you may have been mildly peppered with abuse on the way in but are you abashed? are you downcast? Of course not. We are conservatives and we get on with serving the people and speaking of service I
Boris Johnson’s offer to the EU isn’t nothing. He, seemingly with the DUP’s blessing, is proposing that Northern Ireland follow EU regulations on not just agriculture but also manufactured goods for at least the next four years. But his insistence that the UK must leave the EU with its customs territory intact means that there
In setting the scene for Boris Johnson’s first and potentially historic speech as Prime Minister to Tory party conference, Downing Street made two statements that sounded a lot like threats, both to EU leaders and to opposition MPs. In tearing up the 2107 Joint Report that underlies the so-called backstop to keep open the border
If Britain is to be a free country, the difficulties of leaving simply have to be faced. Now, I know that many people here in Britain think that these are daunting times, but surely they are also stirring times ,because yet again a great country is grasping for freedom. If I can say one thing
It had all been going so well. Coverage of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s tour to South Africa kicked off with footage of them dancing, before moving on to feature their work promoting the importance of gender equality in education and the horror of violence against women. We’ve been treated to rare pictures of
I still don’t quite understand the position of some ardent Remain supporters. I do not understand why allowing the UK to leave, and then starting up a campaign to rejoin was rejected. After all, that is what the last line of Article 50 invites the state to do by invoking the process in Article 49
This afternoon’s law and order theme to Tory conference did take a bit of a knock when police were called to an altercation involving one of the party’s MPs, resulting in the backbencher, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, being sent home. Not long after this incident, which sent parts of the conference centre into lockdown, Priti Patel walked
Oops. The Conservative party is meant to be focusing on law and order today at its party conference, with Home Secretary Priti Patel taking to the stage to announce new money for tackling country-lines drug gangs and a new fund for the roll-out of tasers among the police. But only metres away from the main
We told them so, didn’t we? We said it was a terrible idea and would all end in tears. We pointed out that the UK doesn’t send £350 million a week to Brussels, that Turkey was not about to join the EU, and that Britain held the weaker hand and couldn’t dictate the terms of
My piece for Coffee House last week likened Boris Johnson to the naked emperor, puffed up with self-importance but devoid of real power. As the Tory party conference has got underway, I have become even more confident that Boris’s cabinet will soon be shown to be as denuded of power as their leader. But it
How fortunate that electric vehicle technology has moved on to the extent that transport secretary Grant Shapps is able to announce he in looking at bringing forward to date on which petrol and diesel cars will be banned from 2040 to 2035. Or maybe not. On closer examination, it isn’t battery technology which has advanced
Boris Johnson survived his morning broadcast round without dropping any clangers but he did nearly get caught out on the floor of Tory conference. The Prime Minister was passed a cup of coffee by an aide, only for it to be quickly snatched back from the PM. The reason? ‘No disposable cups’, according to Boris’s
The prime minister is about to launch himself on the most important and arduous challenge of his time in office, and arguably of his life. In the course of just the next five days he will try to secure a Brexit deal from an EU deeply sceptical he is prepared to make the compromises they
Could the EU ride to Boris Johnson’s rescue over the coming weeks, not by offering a new Brexit deal but by ruling out an extension altogether? It would certainly be one way for the government to get around the Benn Act, which requires the Prime Minister to request an extension if he doesn’t get a
They may no longer be Conservative MPs, but that did not hold back several members of the Gaukeward squad from heading to the Conservative party conference yesterday in Manchester. Former Tory MPs Dominic Grieve, David Gauke, and Alistair Burt took part in a fringe event outside the main conference area, organised by ‘Conservative group for Europe’.
Will the UK have left the EU by October 31st? At the Conservative party conference, ministers, MPs and activists are keen to repeat the event slogan: ‘Get Brexit done’. However, many are unsure as to when exactly Brexit will get done. Johnson has promised to take the UK out of the EU by 31 October “do