Uk politics

Theresa May has never published her case blaming Russia for the Salisbury poisoning. She has reason to be wary of Blair-style intelligence dossiers, and she didn’t need to make everything public to win the support of allies. But as things stand, her case against Russia is open to misinterpretation by the Kremlin. As we have seen with this morning’s headlines. Yesterday, Sky News interviewed Gary Aitkenhead, chief executive of Porton Down, who said: “We were able to identify it as Novichok, to identify it was a military-grade nerve agent. We have not verified the precise source, but we have provided the scientific information to the government, who have then used a number of other sources to piece together the conclusions that they have come to.

Next time I hear a government minister on radio or television bemoaning Britain’s poor record on productivity I request that the interviewer puts to them a simple question: can you tell us how many man-hours have been spent by large British firms in fulfilling their legal duty to provide data on their gender pay gap – something which they must do by midnight tonight? Whatever happened to that grand talk about taking advantage of Brexit in order to deregulate, to attract investment by giving businesses the freedom to run their own affairs and by getting the government off their backs? In January last year Philip Hammond made a speech in Germany saying how Britain was prepared to ditch its European-style social democratic model.

One of the most important ingredients for success in politics, journalism, campaigns and advertising is to have a clear message. So, spare a thought for Carole Cadwalladr's Observer investigation which appears to have failed this test over the weekend. Over the past few months Cadwalladr has launched an investigation into alleged collusion and data misuse in the US election and the EU referendum. She claims that Cambridge Analytica has undisclosed links to the Canadian digital firm AggregateIQ that played a pivotal role in the official Vote Leave campaign. In this week's Observer she runs a new instalment on AggregateIQ 'the obscure Canadian tech firm' used by Vote Leave and 'the puzzle of the company's links to Cambridge Analytica': Only it must be quite some puzzle.

A question for Labour's moderates, however we define the term and assuming they are still sizeable enough to merit the plural: Do you want to see Jeremy Corbyn become Prime Minister? Specifically, do you think he possesses the character and temperament of a national leader? Does the prospect of a Corbyn-led Labour government fill you with hope? I'm not asking how you'd feel finally to be rid of this hopeless government, with its prodigious incompetences and petty cruelties. I'm not asking about the Labour Party in your heart but about the one out here, in the world, standing before the voters. That is Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party and it is the only one on offer. Do you want this Labour Party to come to power? Answering is not easy but your response is important.

It might be raining outside but the political weather has changed, I say in The Sun this morning. Theresa May is now in the strongest position she’s been in since the general election, and Jeremy Corbyn the weakest. When May addressed the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers on Wednesday, she received a—rather unusual—standing ovation. She herself was in upbeat form telling the meeting that the economy had turned a corner. This, perhaps, explains why the government is now prepared to talk about extra money for the NHS and defence. The Prime Minister who cut such a reduced figure after the election is now marshalling the Western coalition that is pushing back against Russian President Vladimir Putin.