Uk politics

Monday

Steerpike

Boris Johnson’s fake field of wheat

Mr S was intrigued by reports that the former foreign secretary had been photographed running through a field of wheat this morning. Was it trolling Theresa May for her infamous “fields of wheat” comments during the snap election? But on closer inspection, Boris isn’t running through a field of wheat. Indeed, the harvest has been gathered. This looks like either scrubland or a fallow field, on the basis of the plants surrounding him as he trundles along. There are the seedheads of umbellifers such as hogweed, the leaves of what looks like Field bindweed, and the seedheads of grasses, not wheat.  What can all this mean? Either Boris Johnson isn’t

Isabel Hardman

Chris Grayling fails to deliver

Chris Grayling opened his conference speech by talking about a 50 year delay. Initially he could have been mistaken for describing a standard train journey in the north of England, but he was actually congratulating the government on reaching a decision on aviation capacity.  Given the number of delays, cancellations and mistakes in his portfolio, the Transport Secretary had a pretty tough gig today. He did apologise for the disastrous changes to the timetable and promised that the same thing wouldn’t happen again. But while he claimed that the rail network did need ‘revolution’ rather than ‘evolution’, he then failed to announce anything that matched up to the noisy promises

James Forsyth

Dominic Raab’s conference speech won’t harm his leadership ambitions

Dominic Raab has just given an impressive, grown-up speech to Tory conference that will see his stock rise still further. The Brexit Secretary began his speech by appealing for tolerance, pointing out that there were good arguments—and good people—on both sides of the referendum campaign.  He even acknowledged that some Brexiteers had been too quick to dismiss Remain’s warnings about how difficult leaving would be. It was a reminder of how much easier it is for someone who isn’t trying to prove their Brexit credentials to adopt the emollient tone that’s needed if the country is to be brought back together. Raab walked a tightrope on Chequers, defending the principles

Steerpike

Watch: Philip Hammond rows back on Boris criticism

It’s day two of Conservative party conference and the Tory wars are in full swing. This morning it’s the turn of Philip Hammond to cause trouble. In an interview with the Daily Mail, the Chancellor repeatedly mocked Boris Johnson, saying that his former cabinet colleague is incapable of grown-up politics. But while Hammond was happy to dish it out, on his morning broadcast round just now he seemed somewhat more shy about repeating his criticism of Boris: Asked about his criticism of Boris being incapable of grown up politics, Hammond had this to say: ‘No I didn’t say that at all. I said Boris has his own way of doing

Sunday

Andrew Marr & Theresa May

Marr vs May on Windrush: the transcript

Andrew Marr: Let me ask you about another burning injustice which you didn’t mention but I think a lot of people would regard as a burning injustice: the treatment of all of those West Indian people who came here in the 1950s and 1960s – asked here to work, people from the Caribbean and elsewhere. We were very, very short of jobs in those days. We brought them into this country. And as a result of your hostile environment policy, their lives have been turned upside down. I’m talking of course of the Windrush generation. Do you not think that was a burning injustice? Theresa May: I think – and

Isabel Hardman

Tories try to reinvigorate their party with money for ‘diverse’ candidates

The Tory conference hall is, so far, struggling to replicate the size and excitement of Labour’s gathering last week. This isn’t entirely the party’s fault: the venue itself might be great for listening to an orchestra, but it tends to dampen what atmosphere there is. But the decline in audience enthusiasm has been taking place over a number of years across a number of venues. The reasons for this are manifold. One is that the Tories simply do not have the grassroots membership that Labour does. Another is the way Conservatives struggle to give rousing speeches about what drives them in the way that Labourites do. Ask a Labour MP

Steerpike

Tory MP: Conservatives resemble ‘the armed wing of Ukip’

It’s day one of Tory conference and already the blue-on-blue warfare is rife. Aside from Boris-bashing in the main hall, the fringes have been witness to some choice comments. This afternoon’s ‘How Can Conservatives Win Back Under 45s in 2022’ fringe event, saw a panel comprised of Justine Greening, Neil O’Brien, David Willets, George Freeman and the Times’ Rachel Sylvester gather to let off steam about Brexit and Theresa May. Freeman complained (again) that May’s Tories have ‘no vision’. However, the comment that got Mr S’s attention was his claim that his party is starting to resemble the ‘armed wing of UKIP’. Putting aside the fact that deputy party chairman has

Katy Balls

Jeremy Hunt talks tough on Brussels – and stokes leadership talk

The most notable thing about this year’s Conservative conference is the disconnect between the leadership and the members. This afternoon the fringes have been ram–packed – particularly those with Brexiteers. Meanwhile, the hall and its ministers has at points seemed rather empty. So, perhaps it makes sense then that rumoured leadership hopeful Jeremy Hunt used a large part ofspeech to play up his Brexit credentials. In his first conference speech as Foreign Secretary, the reformed Remainer covered a wide range of topics – and talked tough on Europe. He compared the EU to the ‘prison’ of the Soviet Union as it tries to prevent member states from leaving. He said

Tom Goodenough

Has Priti Patel found the answer to Corbynism? | 30 September 2018

What’s the antidote to Corbyn? Thatcher, according to Priti Patel. Britain’s former PM might be public enemy number one in the eyes of the Corbynistas, but it’s vital the Tories return to Thatcher’s ideas and her way of doing things. That, at least, is the verdict of Patel, the Brexit-backing former international development secretary. Patel said that Britain is now at a crossroads: a similar juncture to the one it faced when Thatcher came to power in the seventies. Back then, she said, regressive socialism was in danger of taking control. The same is happening now, according to the Tory MP, and it’s vital that the Conservatives and the government

Steerpike

Brandon Lewis fails to draw a crowd

Oh dear. Ahead of Tory conference there had been talk among the European Research Group of plans to ’empty-hall’ Theresa May’s leader’s speech in protest of her Brexit plan. That plot has since been abandoned. But it turns out that some Cabinet ministers are still being ’empty-halled’ all on their own accord. This afternoon party chairman Brandon Lewis held a ‘Challenge the Chairman’ event exclusively for party members in the conference hall. Here they were given the opportunity to ask Lewis anything. Only it seems they didn’t have much they wanted to say to him. Only a handful of members could be bothered to show. Mr S’s mole has sent

Steerpike

Watch: Tory conference attendees applaud Boris-bashing in main hall

The Conservative conference has only just begun and already blue-on-blue warfare has broken out on the main stage. Although No. 10 had been nervous that Boris Johnson’s popularity at the annual event could usurp Theresa May’s, there is little sign of Johnson-mania in the conference hall. Lord (Digby) Jones – the ex-CBI chief and Brexiteer – used his turn on the stage to lay into the former foreign secretary. He said that Boris Johnson’s ‘f— business’ jibe ‘showed him up for the irrelevant and offensive person he really is’. In response, attendees in the hall applauded while the Cabinet – including one Theresa May – looked on awkwardly.

James Forsyth

Message-free May given tough time by Marr

The big Sunday of conference TV interview is a chance for a leader to set the tone for their party’s gathering. But Theresa May failed to seize that opportunity this morning. She was, oddly, bereft of a positive message on either Brexit or domestic policy and the interview ended up being dominated by Tory splits on Brexit and the Windrush scandal. On Brexit, May stuck to the line that she doesn’t know what the EU’s objections to Chequers are. This is really stretching things. We know that the EU doesn’t like the Facilitated Customs Arrangement as it feels that it imposes burdens on them and gives the UK many of

Katy Balls

Why Tory conference will be a leadership parade

What does Theresa May want to achieve from this week’s conference? No-one seems sure. There are some in No 10 who would be content so long as she survives it without a coughing fit. Others have higher hopes – that she could reset the dial and reinvigorate her flagging premiership. What seems most likely, however, is that the event will descend into a leadership parade that plays a role in deciding who the next Tory prime minister is. This year’s conference has already got off to a bad start for the Prime Minister thanks to a massive data breach courtesy of CCHQ’s conference app and a bad-tempered appearance by the

Saturday

Stephen Markeson

The story behind my famous picture of Margaret Thatcher

I was surprised and delighted to find Morten Morland’s wonderful imitation of a photograph of Margaret Thatcher peering through the curtains of Number Ten on The Spectator’s cover. It reminded me of one of my memorable experiences as a photographer with the ‘Iron Lady’. I was a staff photographer at the Times for about 15 years covering some very memorable events worldwide. In November 1990, I was called into Simon Jenkins’ office, the editor at that time, who wanted to see me for a ‘very important’ assignment. The Times had been given the exclusive news that Margaret Thatcher had been ousted as Prime Minister and would be leaving No.10. Simon told me he

Steerpike

Angela Rayner rallies against common sense

Conservative conference weekend is here, prompting the usual effort by Labour to mis-cast the Tories as a party of rich toffs. However, this seems to have backfired for Angela Rayner. This morning she posted a widely shared image of the Conference website, which is selling last-minute tickets at inflated prices: Tory party conference for the few (with plenty of cash) not the many 😳 pic.twitter.com/SYpu43SeFl — Angela Rayner 🌹 (@AngelaRayner) September 28, 2018 However, Mr S is delighted to inform Ms Rayner that all is not as it seems. Tickets for the Conservative Party Conference have been on sale since January, at a much-reduced price of £50, and £20 for

Katy Balls

CCHQ gives out Boris Johnson’s phone number

There had been a general consensus among Conservative MPs that this year’s Tory conference would be an improvement on the last so long as Theresa May could get through her speech without coughing. However, it seems the forces that be may have other ideas. With the conference due to kick off tomorrow in Birmingham, CCHQ have found themselves in the news for all the wrong reasons over their conference app. A glitch in the app meant that for at least an hour anyone who used it could access private details of people attending the event. Several Twitter users boasted about getting hold of Boris Johnson’s personal mobile number – along with

Prue Leith

The young people I meet give me hope for Brexit

I’m heartedly sick of hearing how feckless and selfish the young are. Maybe I move in enchanted circles, but I keep on meeting young people making a go of it, and frankly if they are the future, we should have no fear of Brexit. At Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Festival, there were (among the Glastonbury refugees selling henna tattoos, yoga classes and herbal remedies) new cheesemakers, butchers, jam- and pickle-makers, restaurateurs, furniture-makers and brewers, all having successful careers out of work they love. England now has more artisan cheeses than France. Last month I helped judge the first year of the British Charcuterie Awards and there were 443 entries, mostly

Friday

Isabel Hardman

The Tories need to remember how to fight Labour

As you’d expect on the eve of Tory conference, everyone in the party is offering plenty of advice for Theresa May. Some are tugging the Prime Minister leftwards, while others are fretting that the Conservatives risk abandoning their values. There’s Jacob Rees-Mogg arguing that the Tories need to support the institution of the family, Sam Gyimah worrying that the party has ‘lost our way’ and is both ‘talking business down’ and ‘ignoring the concerns of voters’, Boris Johnson complaining about, well, quite a lot, and Liz Truss saying Labour’s latest PPB ‘does capture the heart of where we need to be as a party’. And it’s not even the real

Steerpike

Revealed: Seumas Milne’s bumper pay rise

At party conference last week, several Labour front benchers poured scorn on ‘fat cat bosses’ with excessive earnings. Jeremy Corbyn himself promised to end the country’s culture of ‘greed is good.’ It appears, though, that a bit of greed isn’t so bad when it comes to lining your own friends’ coffers. The Evening Standard reports today that Corbyn, who earns around £140,000 a year, has given his closest aides whopping pay rises of up to 26 per cent. The average salary of his three best paid advisers is now £94,421, four times the salary of a London nurse. Corbyn’s closest ally, former Guardian hack and champagne socialist Seumas Milne is

Steerpike

Corbyn crashes Tory conference

The 2015 Conservative Party conference in Manchester stood out for its ugly scenes – with protesters hurling eggs at attendees. Jeremy Corbyn inflamed tensions further by attending a rally on the eve of that conference which called on Tories to be ‘thrown out of Manchester’. Is a similar series of events on the cards this weekend when members gather in Birmingham? Corbyn notably stayed away from subsequent conferences in 2016 and 2017 which coincidentally were much quieter affairs. But this year the threat of an angry horde of SWP sorts is concerning both CCHQ and the Birmingham police. Mr S is informed that Conservative HQ are aware of the fact PM-in-waiting