Uk politics

Wednesday

Jason Mitchell

When will Jeremy Corbyn admit he was wrong about Venezuela?

The socialist thugs who run Venezuela have made such a pig’s ear of running the economy that the country has now been declared in ‘selective default’ on its international debt. This week, Standard & Poor’s, the credit ratings agency, said Venezuela had failed to make $200m (£152m) in repayments on its foreign debt and that it was in ‘selective default’. Fitch and Moody’s have declared PDVSA, the country’s state-run oil company, in default, as well. Venezuela’s regime has already indicated that it wants to restructure its £100bn of international debt, including the £30bn or so that it owes Russia and China. Investors fear the worst and the haircut could be more

Isabel Hardman

Theresa May’s political problems on housebuilding might not be as big as she thinks

Does Theresa May want to build more homes? The problems that the Prime Minister faces on this matter were summed up very neatly by two different Tory backbenchers at Prime Minister’s Questions today. She was asked by Tom Tughendhat whether she would ‘take the chance to build more homes’, to which she replied that ‘my hon. friend makes a very important point about investing in infrastructure, particularly in housing. We are doing exactly that, which is why we have seen more than a quarter of a trillion pounds in infrastructure spending since 2010’, though she didn’t specifically mention housing. Later, Theresa Villiers asked the Prime Minister to ‘assure the House

Steerpike

Frank Field throws stones from an inherited glass house

This week, there was a rare sight for the post snap-election political landscape: two Labour MPs having a barney. On the first day of the Committee Stage of the EU Withdrawal Bill, Frank Field and Hilary Benn became engaged in an argument after Field, a ‘reluctant Brexiteer’, used a house analogy to argue in favour of the government amendment calling for the date of Britain’s departure from the EU in the bill. He said he had never bought a house ‘without having in the contract the date when it’s mine’. Benn, the son of Tony Benn, hit back by saying the analogy was lacking as ‘nobody commits to a date to

James Forsyth

Theresa May gets the upper hand at PMQs for a change

In the last few weeks, we have got used to Jeremy Corbyn getting the better of Theresa May at PMQs. But today, May had the upper hand in their exchanges. Now, this isn’t because the political weather has suddenly changed—May has lost two Cabinet Ministers already this month and a third, who happens to be her closest political ally, remains under Cabinet Office investigation. So, what’s the explanation for the improvement in her performance? Well, I think it’s that Corbyn’s first question was on May’s old Home Office turf. When May talks about her old brief she sounds and looks far more confident than on any other subject. The confidence

Lloyd Evans

Jeremy Corbyn’s post-election glow appears to have faded

Angela Eagle, as befits her oxymoronic name, looks like a cherub and attacks like a raptor. Today her outfit was deceptively mumsy. A no-nonsense jacket, a sky-blue sweater, an arc of pearls, like a smile, laid across her breast-bone. Eagle is the mistress of the poisoned barb and she’d been whittling away at her missile all morning. Up she got and let fly. Her aim was true, her weighting perfect. ‘In June, the prime minister told the country she was the only person who could offer strong and stable leadership. With her cabinet crumbling before her eyes, can she tell us how it’s going?’ And nothing happened. Or barely anything.

James Kirkup

The Tory tide is turning against austerity

Tom Tugendhat, the Tory MP for Tonbridge sometimes called a rising star, finds himself making front page news today as a ‘Brexit mutineer’. That strikes me as a novel term for a man who spent several years in the British Army fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, but such are the terms of British political debate these days, I suppose. The MP hasn’t responded to that headline, but used a question at PMQs to talk about something else, which I think is worth a little more attention than the latest round of name-calling over Brexit. Given that Britain’s deficit is well down from crisis levels, and given that gilt auctions are oversubscribed,

Stephen Daisley

Scottish Labour is plunged into chaos – again

When Kezia Dugdale quit as Scottish Labour leader in August, she said it was time to ‘pass on the baton’ to someone else, handing power to her deputy, Alex Rowley. Today, Rowley has stepped aside, leaving a leaderless party following allegations – which he denies – that he was abusive to his former partner.  The Corbyn ally recused himself after he was accused of ’emotional blackmail and abuse’. The woman, who has not been named, alleges that Rowley was controlling and sent her insulting text messages after she broke off the relationship. One is alleged to have read: ‘You are one horrible nasty piece of work and I am going to expose

Steerpike

Theresa May’s Scotland blunder

Although it’s widely accepted that Theresa May’s decision to call a snap election was disastrous, one of the few upshots for the Tories was that it managed to stave off calls from the SNP for a second independence referendum. Alas, whoever is running the Prime Minister’s Twitter account doesn’t appear to be on the same page when it comes to preserving the ‘precious union’. Following May’s meeting with Nicola Sturgeon, the Prime Minister tweeted that ‘the UK and Scotland must continue to work together to ensure businesses and consumers have the certainty they need as we leave the EU’. Only there’s a problem. Unless Nicola Sturgeon gets her wish for independence,

Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: Tory Brexit rebels have some explaining to do

The EU withdrawal bill survived its first Parliamentary test last night. But it still has a long way to go, and a group of Tory MPs are likely to ensure that it is far from plain sailing for the government. For those on the Conservative back benches plotting to defy the Prime Minister on this Brexit bill, the Daily Telegraph has a message: why? The paper says that Labour MPs hoping to ‘put every obstacle in the path of Brexit’ can at least make the point they are in opposition. Rebel Tory MPs have no such excuse, according to the Telegraph, pointing out that many of this group backed the

Katy Balls

The latest ICM poll shows Corbyn is failing to capitalise on May’s misfortune

After a grim few weeks for Theresa May and her government – which has seen the Prime Minister lose two Cabinet ministers, another put under investigation and calls for Boris Johnson to resign – today’s ICM/Guardian poll certainly makes for interesting reading. Rather than the Conservatives falling behind, it shows that Labour and the Tories remain neck and neck. While the Conservatives have gone down by one-point after last week’s shenanigans, May can take heart that so has Corbyn’s Labour: Tories and Labour both on 41% in latest Guardian/@ICMResearch poll – https://t.co/Z1bQ70qVW3 pic.twitter.com/MoF1mcQWdh — AndrewSparrow (@AndrewSparrow) November 15, 2017 It’s a recurring theme. A poll on Friday suggested a beleaguered

Tuesday

Katy Balls

Theresa May has outmanoeuvred herself with amendment 381

This week a Conservative politician managed to get both the SNP and Labour to applaud them in the Chamber. Unfortunately for Theresa May, it wasn’t in response to government policy. Instead it was Europhile – and Tory grandee – Ken Clarke, who took the opportunity to explain why he thinks Nigel Farage is the ‘most successful politician’ of his generation, why bent bananas won’t be making a comeback and, most importantly, why MPs ought to oppose Theresa May’s Brexit date amendment (also known as amendment 381) to the EU Withdrawal Bill. Announced in the Telegraph last week, May has put an amendment in the bill which would mean the date

Steerpike

Watch: Frank Field’s swipe at Hilary Benn

The mammoth debate on the government’s EU withdrawal bill has only just started – but already it is turning nasty. Labour’s Frank Field was one of the first to speak and used the opportunity to take a none-too-subtle dig at Hilary Benn, telling his fellow Labour MP: ‘I’ve always bought my houses, never inherited them’. Unsurprisingly, Benn was not happy, repeatedly telling Field: ‘I bought mine too.’ Field took his comment back but the damage was done and his colleagues on the Labour backbenchers were none too impressed. Ministers had been worrying about whether their EU withdrawal bill could make it through the Commons; Mr S thinks they need not

Tom Goodenough

Will the government’s EU withdrawal bill pass unscathed? Don’t bet on it

Brexit means Brexit, but unfortunately the EU withdrawal bill – which actually does the legislative job of taking Britain out of the EU – is somewhat trickier to get to grips with. The original bill is 60 pages long, and there are now 470 amendments – running to some 200 pages – and counting. The House of Commons library predicts the bill will be ‘one of the largest legislative projects ever undertaken in the UK’. All of this will keep MPs – and the government, as it fights off the backbench rebels – very busy indeed over the coming weeks. Two days each week for the next month have been set aside

Isabel Hardman

Is Theresa May growing in confidence again?

Is Theresa May growing in confidence again? At the weekend, the Prime Minister warned Brexit rebels against blocking Britain leaving the EU, and tried to force their hands by tabling an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill on the date of Brexit. That hasn’t gone down so well with the rebels, who are variously tabling their own amendments to try to strike out that proposal and describing May as being ‘tin-eared’. But it did suggest that the Prime Minister felt more like challenging her critics than she has for a while. The problem is that the way she has previously challenged her critics has indeed made her look tin-eared and

Ed West

In praise of Prince Charles

Giles of Rome, the great 13th century author, once noted: ‘Considered in absolute terms it would be preferable that the King be elected; but the corrupt desires of men and their manner of acting must make heredity preferable to election.’ There’s little that would dissuade him of that view today. Britain’s politics are in a worse shape than they have been for at least a generation. None of the mediocrities making up the current government seem capable of exercising authority, or of seeing past the next election cycle. In contrast, the Queen and her descendants at least seem interested in the long term, in that strangely alien concept ‘posterity’. Her son Prince Charles

Steerpike

Newsnight’s charm offensive

As BBC2’s flagship current affairs programme, Newsnight prides itself on attracting the finest politicians and pundits to offer their two cents worth on breaking news stories. So, Mr S was curious to learn of the tactics deployed by one producer to get politicians on the show. Speaking at an event in Soho, Amber Rudd recalled a call she received from a staffer on the show back when she was a fresh-faced backbencher: ‘I remember quite late at night, getting a call from Newsnight asking me to come speak on something. And I took pity on the poor young man asking me to do this and I said to him: “Listen,

Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: It’s time for Britain to up its Brexit bill offer

It once seemed a near certainty that Brexit talks would progress on to the next stage by Christmas. Now, it seems somewhat less likely: David Davis reportedly told business leaders it was a 50-50 chance of making a breakthrough by December, according to Bloomberg (although Davis denies saying this). So what explains the latest hold-up? The Brexit bill remains the big sticking point, says the Financial Times. Theresa May made an ‘opening offer’ of €20bn – and while she ‘may be frustrated’ that her bid was ‘not met by any reciprocal concession from Brussels’, she should not be surprised, says the FT. ‘The reality is,’ says the paper, ‘that the

Steerpike

Amber Rudd is given reason to blush

Oh dear. Anyone who harbours serious hopes of becoming the next Conservative Prime Minister – or perhaps Opposition leader at this rate – knows that the first thing they must do is not make their ambitions known. This is why the main contenders are at pains to seem loyal to Theresa May. So, spare a thought for Amber Rudd at last night’s Centre for Policy Studies ‘New Generation’ launch. The Home Secretary gave the keynote speech at the launch of a campaign which aims to provide ‘intellectual rescue’ to the Tories and remake the arguments for Conservative principles by giving a voice to younger MPs in the party. However, before

Monday

Douglas Murray

Where is the outrage at the ‘racist’ campaign against Priti Patel?

Among the many things that have been puzzling me since Priti Patel’s resignation last week, one stands out. So far as I can see there doesn’t seem to be a single person on the Conservative – or conservative – side who has claimed that the campaign against Ms Patel (for campaign it most certainly was, within and without) was motivated by racism. This is curious. In recent years we have become used to men and women on the political left making errors both big and small. And whenever that person happens to be of a minority ethnic background a chorus of defenders in the Labour party and on the broader left

Isabel Hardman

Boris Johnson apologises for his Iranian blunder

Boris Johnson had to be summoned to the Commons by an urgent question from Labour, but when he got there, he did eventually apologise for his blunder in which he had told MPs that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been visiting Iran in a professional capacity to teach journalism. The Foreign Secretary was in far less bullish a mood than he was a week ago when he answered questions on the matter, telling MPs that: ‘I apologise to Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her family if I had inadvertently caused them any further anguish’; he later added: ‘I do apologise, I do apologise and of course I retract any suggestion that she was there