Uk politics

Wednesday

The Spectator

Philip Hammond is not the man to take the battle to Jeremy Corbyn

From our UK edition

Philip Hammond began his first Budget, in March, by playing down its importance — for his big ideas on fiscal policy, he suggested we would have to wait until the autumn. It was a wait which was very nearly extended to eternity as he narrowly avoided losing his job in a post--election reshuffle. We found out this week that it was a bluff: he doesn’t have many big ideas, just a selection of small ones. Which, under the circumstances, is something of a relief. The Chancellor is getting better at telling Britain’s story, boasting about record employment and how the best-paid 1 per cent pay 27 per cent of all income tax. He didn’t say why (that tax rates for the best-paid were reduced), nor did he double down on more tax cuts that could have stimulated growth.

Matthew Lynn

Stamp duty was already a mess – but we just made it worse

From our UK edition

We could have given them free Spotify subscriptions. Or Just Eat vouchers. Instead, the government’s pitch to Jezza-loving twenty-somethings was a cut in stamp duty for first-time buyers. The levy on buying a home will be abolished completely up to £300,000, and, for the trainee bankers and tech moguls buying in the better parts of London, the first three hundred grand when you are spending half a million will be let off the tax. On the surface, that might seem like a good wheeze. If young people are angry that they can’t get a first foot on the housing ladder, then it will now be a little easier for them. It comes with a cost, however. It takes a housing policy that was already a mess, and achieves the almost unimaginable feat of making it even worse. Take stamp duty.

Isabel Hardman

Corbyn’s anger gets the better of him in his Budget response

From our UK edition

If we accept the usual caveat that it’s difficult for any Opposition leader, no matter how good, to respond well to a Budget straight after it has been delivered only in its broad-brush form, then we might conclude that Jeremy Corbyn’s response today was pretty good, all things considered. The Labour leader was angry and passionate, drawing a strong contrast with the endless wisecracks from Philip Hammond in his own statement. He decided to focus on how people would still be feeling after this Budget, which is a useful device when you simply have not had time to go through the small print that trips a chancellor up.

Isabel Hardman

The Budget shows the Tories are still ignoring some big problems

From our UK edition

On Budget Day, MPs and journalists joke about it being a ‘quiet day’ and ‘not much going on’ as they pass one another in the corridors of Westminster (this is an accurate representation of how utterly hilarious the corridors of power normally are). Today’s Budget was in a number of respects rather quiet, especially in the things it totally missed out.  Philip Hammond didn’t even mention social care, despite the sector's concerns about whether it can afford a massive back pay bill that has come up partly as a result of a court judgement and partly as a result of government dithering.

Ross Clark

Philip Hammond’s fiscal fix? A tax on cheap cider, fags and diesel cars

From our UK edition

So where are the nasties? Philip Hammond’s Budget speech can be summed up as follows:  £2.8 billion for the NHS, £44 billion of capital funding and loan guarantees for housing, £400 million for a new charging infrastructure for electric cars, £2.3 billion investment in research and development, £1.5 billion worth of changes to Universal Credit, an extra £2 billion for Scotland – all to be paid for, apparently, with higher taxes on super-strength cider, fags, a few of the smokiest diesel cars and the end of indexation for allowances on corporate capital gains tax.

Katy Balls

Five things you need to know about Hammond’s Budget

From our UK edition

After months of Tory nerves, Philip Hammond has just finished presenting his Autumn Budget in the Chamber. Among the main giveaways, the Chancellor announced more funding for the NHS as well as pitching to the young with his housing proposals and 18-30 railcard. He also announced measures to ease out the rollout of Universal Credit – including a one week reduction to the wait time. However, although the Chancellor was at pains to sound optimistic and shake off his Eeyore image, this was made difficult thanks to some grim statistics from the OBR. The OBR has revised down its forecast for annual growth quite significantly –  lower than envisaged after the Brexit vote. It's the weakest official long term forecast for UK economic growth since at least 1983.

Isabel Hardman

Jeremy Corbyn says the B word during PMQs

From our UK edition

Jeremy Corbyn rarely talks about Brexit at Prime Minister’s Questions, and it is interesting that he chose today’s session, which will get little attention as a result of the Budget, to probe Theresa May on the matter. The Labour leader did have a good stint, quoting a number of European negotiators, Tory backbenchers and Cabinet Ministers who have made comments to the effect that the British government doesn’t know what it is doing on Brexit. He also accused the Tories of blocking measures protecting workers’ rights and acknowledging that animals are sentient beings. But Theresa May was on good form, too, continuing to appear as though she is regaining her confidence somewhat.

Brendan O’Neill

Stop Funding Hate has a simple aim: political censorship

From our UK edition

Here’s a law of politics that is about as cast-iron as a law of politics can be: people who hate tabloid newspapers are snobs. Every time. Scratch a Daily Mail basher or those people who seethe daily about the Sun and you will find someone who’s really just scared of the throng and of what all this tabloid fare is doing to their brains.

The Spectator

Live: Autumn Budget 2017

From our UK edition

Philip Hammond avoided any disasters in his second budget of 2017. Here are the headline announcements: Growth forecasts downgraded: Britain's economy is now expected to grow by 1.5 per cent in 2017, down from the prediction of 2 per cent made in March Stamp duty scrapped for first time buyers on homes costing up to £300,000 £3bn set aside for Brexit preparations Millenials' railcard confirmed; National Living Wage up; VAT threshold for small businesses maintained; £2.8bn more for the NHS; 100 per cent council tax on empty homes; target to build 300,000 new homes by 2020s Tobacco duty up; beer and wine duty frozen; No fuel duty rise for petrol and diesel cars next year Annual borrowing is £49.

Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: Hammond must beware the danger of playing it safe

From our UK edition

Philip Hammond’s second Budget of the year will mean that the Chancellor has another 'bite at a not especially flavoursome cherry’, says the Daily Telegraph. The last time, his announcements ‘misfired’; since then Hammond's ‘room for manoeuvre’ has become even more limited. This means that many in the Tory ranks are not filled with ‘great expectations’ about what Hammond might say and instead, says the Telegraph, they ’are just anxious to see Mr Hammond through the day without mishap’. But playing it safe won't be enough for the Tories, according to the paper, which argues in its editorial that it doing so would ‘throw away the opportunity’ for the government to ‘take the initiative’.

Steerpike

Revealed: Universal Credit director wins award for… project management

From our UK edition

You don't have to be a member of Her Majesty's Opposition to conclude that something has gone wrong with the Universal Credit rollout. After a series of issues including a six week wait for first payment and an expensive helpline to supposedly deal with said issues, the government is under pressure to put the scheme on pause. Matters weren't helped in recent weeks when Neil Couling – the man in charge of the Universal Credit programme – tweeted pictures of cakes celebrating the scheme at a time when some claimants on are said to be living on the breadline as a result of the bungled rollout. So, Mr S was curious to learn that Couling won a gong at this week's Association for Project Management awards.

Tuesday

Steerpike

Watch: David Davis crashes out

From our UK edition

David Davis has just given a speech on the Brexit transition period – intended to prevent Britain from crashing out of the EU in a disorderly manner. But at the end of his address, it seems that he was personally advocating a different type of transition. As Davis said his goodbyes, he took a tumble. Mr S hopes it's not a sign of things to come...

Katy Balls

Why the millennials’ railcard isn’t such a bad idea

From our UK edition

It's Budget day tomorrow and there's growing concern among Tories that the Chancellor may be about to bungle the Budget. Only rather than housing, the NHS or education, the issue that has got everyone hot and bothered is a plan for an 18-30 railcard. Nicknamed the millennials' card, the Chancellor is expected to announce that discounted train travel will be extended to people up to 30-years-old. Currently, the young persons' railcard – which costs about £30 and means a third off ticket fares – is just for the 16-25 age bracket. The move comes after a trial of the 26-30 year-olds card took place in East Anglia which led the Treasury to believe the policy will be revenue neutral. So far, so good? Apparently not.

Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: The EU is in the grip of chaos

From our UK edition

Donald Tusk’s jibe that Britain was no longer attempting to have its cake and eat it in Brexit talks was a clear dig at the Foreign Secretary. But now the EU is guilty of adopting the same approach, according to the Sun. Michel Barnier said yesterday that ‘he wants all his demands met’ on various issues, and also ‘wants a monstrous exit bung from Britain’. Theresa May has reportedly received the backing of her Cabinet to up this payment to £40bn. Yet this ‘won’t nearly suffice’ for the EU, says the Sun. And even if Brussels does agree, what will we get in return?

Steerpike

The tin-eared chancellor: Philip Hammond’s ten worst gaffes

From our UK edition

Tomorrow is D-day for Philip Hammond. As the Chancellor puts the finishing touches to his Budget, Tory MPs wait nervously – hoping it will be a day free of gaffes. Unfortunately, history suggests that this is unlikely. Over the years Hammond has earned a reputation for being tin-eared and ham-fisted. To get readers in the mood for his Budget, Mr S has compiled a list of the Chancellor's worst gaffes: 1. There are no unemployed people Just this weekend, Hammond proved why he makes his colleagues nervous. Appearing on the Andrew Marr show, the Chancellor managed to turn one of his party’s top achievements into a toxic issue. Asked about unemployment – which is at a 42-year low – Hammond claimed that ‘there are no unemployed people’.

Steerpike

Sarah Olney causes a stir at Lib Dem HQ

From our UK edition

Oh dear. Trouble is brewing at Lib Dem HQ over Sarah Olney. After losing her seat by 45 votes in the snap election, Olney was quickly appointed as Vince Cable’s Chief of Staff – beating several more conventional candidates (i.e. trained press officers) to the coveted job. At the time, Olney made a verbal agreement with Cable that she would not stand as a Parliamentary candidate – given that this would mean she would be unable to continue as Chief of Staff. So there was much surprise this month when Olney stepped down from the role so she could campaign to retake her old seat.

Monday

Isabel Hardman

Atkins’ confident start as a minister bodes well for tricky bill

From our UK edition

Vicky Atkins was the first MP from the 2015 intake to become a minister, and had been preparing assiduously for doing so. She asked loyal questions of the Prime Minister and beavered away on the Home Affairs Committee and the joint committee examining the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill. But it was obvious that this very capable backbencher wanted to join the government - and that she was very likely to do well as a minister. Today’s Home Office questions marked her first outing on the frontbench in the Commons - and therefore the first glimpse of what someone who has been auditioning to be a minister is going to be like now she’s got the part. Atkins was greeted with a huge cheer from her colleagues as she stood up to answer a question.

Steerpike

Conservative MP resigns from board that doesn’t exist

From our UK edition

Oh dear. As resignations go, there has been some tough competition for the most newsworthy in recent years – from Nigel Farage's unresignation to the entire Labour shadow cabinet's to Priti Patel's last week. However, up until now, Mr S had yet to come across a resignation from a job that it is unclear they still held. Step forward George Freeman. This afternoon Labour have gone on the attack over the news that Freeman – as he himself announced in a ConHome blog this morning – has 'stood down' from his role in No 10.

Tom Goodenough

Michel Barnier’s Brexit trade deal warning

From our UK edition

The furore over the Brexit divorce bill has been such that it is easy to forget that it isn't the only major sticking point in talks with the EU. Theresa May looks set to up Britain’s offer this week (from €20bn to around €40bn), in the hope that more cash on the table will unlock the next stage of negotiations. But Michel Barnier’s speech today should serve as a warning to the British government: things won’t necessarily get easier when the Brexit divorce bill is sorted. In fact, Barnier makes it clear that talks could get even more difficult. The EU’s chief negotiator hinted that Britain would still miss out on a trade deal if it doesn’t agree to tie itself down to a ‘European model’ after Brexit.

Steerpike

Scottish Labour leader: If it’s England vs Scotland, I support England

From our UK edition

This weekend, Richard Leonard proved that an Englishman can succeed in Scottish politics. The Corbyn ally – who hails from Yorkshire – beat Anas Sarwar to be crowned the leader of Scottish Labour. However, it remains to be seen whether an Englishman can ever be First Minister. While Scottish Labour members may be over to get over their leader having an English accent, Mr S wonders if the latest confession by Leonard will prove a step too far when it comes to the general public. With England and Scotland enjoying a fierce rivalry in sport, Leonard was asked today, on Radio 5live, what side he was on when it comes to football and rugby: 'If it's England vs Scotland, I do support England. Every other game I'll support either Scotland or England.