Uk politics

Sunday

Fraser Nelson

George Osborne as Foreign Secretary? A bad idea

We haven’t heard much from George Osborne since the referendum, but that will change tomorrow morning. He’s due to make a statement, according to the Times, which also says that the Chancellor he is considering giving his backing to Boris Johnson’s leadership ambitions in exchange for being made Foreign Secretary. I’m not so sure that this would be a good idea. In Brexit Britain, being Foreign Secretary will be perhaps the most important job in the Cabinet (other than the Prime Minister). It will involve renegotiating our relationship with Europe – not just the EU itself, but making immediate and strenuous efforts to strike a whole new series of bilateral deals. It will

Isabel Hardman

Jeremy Corbyn vows to fight on after day of resignations

Jeremy Corbyn’s enemies in the Labour party had hoped that the leader would do the ‘decent thing’ and stand down after the day-long programme of frontbench resignations had made it clear that he will not be able to run an effective opposition. But this evening he has made it clear that he doesn’t agree with this assessment of the state of his frontbench, releasing a statement that says he will carry out a reshuffle tomorrow, and fight on. You can read the full statement below. What it means is that the coup against the Labour leader will have to be brutal and will likely involve a motion of no confidence

Isabel Hardman

Tom Watson breaks silence over Labour turmoil 

Freshly returned from Glastonbury, Tom Watson has spoken out about today’s turmoil in the Labour Party. The Deputy Leader has said he was ‘extremely disappointed’ to see Hilary Benn sacked and ‘equally saddened’ by the departure of so many colleagues from the Shadow Cabinet. He added, ominously, that tomorrow he will meet Jeremy Corbyn to discuss the ‘way forward’. Watson does not give any indication of whether he believes that the way forward involves Corbyn as leader, though his sentiments about his colleagues leaving the front bench suggest that he isn’t going to join the Corbyn camp in vowing to fight on as things are. Many of those plotting against

Brendan O’Neill

The howl against democracy

There’s a delicious irony to Remainers’ branding of Leave voters as confused individuals who have simply made a desperate howling noise, whose anti-EU vote was a ‘howl of anger’ (Tim Farron) or a ‘howl of frustration’ (JK Rowling). Which is that if anyone’s been howling in recent days, it’s them, the top dogs of the Remain campaign. They are howling against the demos; raging against the people; fuming about a system that allows even that portly bloke at the end of your street who never darkened the door of a university to have a say on important political matters. That system we call democracy. In all the years I’ve been

Fraser Nelson

Brexit won’t hand victory to the SNP. A unionists’ breakdown just might.

Over the last few years, Scots have had to get used to Nicola Sturgeon telling them what they think. When the SNP had its majority (one the voters stripped away in the recent Holyrood election) she was keen to present herself as the voice of the country: l’Ecosse, c’est moi. If the SNP wants X, then Scotland wants X. She’s at it again, saying that the UK has voted out of the European Union and Scotland has voted in – so the UK was voting ‘against the interests of the Scottish people’ and finally provided the provocation needed to launch a new referendum. In fact, two-in-five Scots – and even a

Isabel Hardman

Senior Tories push for longer leadership contest

The Tory leadership contest is looking decidedly sedate compared with the ructions in the Labour party this morning. But tomorrow the 1922 Committee Executive will meet to discuss the timetable and rules for the battle to replace David Cameron as Tory leader and Prime Minister. As I report in the Observer today, senior Tories are concerned that the timetable that Cameron sketched out in his resignation statement on Friday morning is actually rather tight, and are pushing for the contest to take longer. Liam Fox echoed this on the Sunday Politics, telling Andrew Neil that he favoured the contest going on until November. Now, there are a number of good

Rod Liddle

Lammy Out! Sign my petition to oust David Lammy

The petition to demand a second a referendum has now reached 2.8 million signatories. There’s an awful lot of people in this country who do not understand democracy; they can scream abuse at Boris and demonstrate in central London, write long anguished letters to the Grauniad and act like petulant children, but they still will not get their way. Twinkly, smiley Physics professor Brian Cox has asked (‘mischeviously’) what would happen if the petition reached 17 million. Well, Bri. Do the math. You’re supposed to be good at that. It still wouldn’t be enough, would it? Meanwhile David Lammy MP, who should know better, has insisted that Parliament take the fatuous

Saturday

James Forsyth

Jonathan Hill’s resignation is an act of gross irresponsibility

The UK’s EU Commissioner, Jonathan Hill, has resigned today saying that he couldn’t carry on as ‘though nothing had happened.’ This strikes me as an act of gross irresponsibility. Britain has not yet invoked Article 50, the two-year process for leaving the EU, and Hill staying on would have provided some continuity at a time of uncertainty. Supporters of his argue that his resignation was the honourable thing to do as Britain is no longer part of the team in Europe. It might have been right that Hill should have volunteered to move to another portfolio. But an outright resignation seems excessive and an over-reaction. Even Jean-Claude Juncker tried to persuade Hill to

James Forsyth

Will Boris, Gove and the Brexit band of brothers run for No 10 together?

Westminster is still digesting what happened on Thursday night. But before Britain can turn itself to the big question of how to leave the EU, a new Prime Minister has to be chosen by the Tory party. Nearly every Tory MP I’ve spoken to since Friday morning is of the view that the new PM will have to be an Outer. They argue that the public would find it find odd to vote for Britain to leave, and then have a new PM chosen who was on the losing side in the referendum. There are, as I report in The Sun this morning, Cabinet Ministers who want Michael Gove to

Fraser Nelson

Did referendum rage get the better of David Cameron?

I suspect a lot of people who voted out have mixed emotions this weekend, especially given how emotional the debate became. People on both sides did go a little bit mad. My Twitter feed reminded me of that Danny Boyle film 28 Days Later: you watch with horror as friend after friend (on either side of the debate) is infected with the Human Rage Virus. All of a sudden, it’s not possible to have friendly disagreements: you turn into The Enemy for them. And it’s not just a social media thing: there are still people, this weekend, afraid to tell their friends and family how they voted. Alex Massie’s piece warning

Lara Prendergast

Brexit was a harsh political awakening for young people

Since Brexit became a reality early on Friday morning, my Facebook feed has been filled with mournful posts written by friends who voted Remain. Those who voted Leave seem to be staying quiet. This is understandable. Most of my friends are in their twenties. They tend to be educated and globalist in their outlook. They have enjoyed the freedom of movement that the EU offered them, and feel they have benefitted overall from Britain being a member. It is painful to see the comity of the EU suddenly stripped away, and I sympathise on many counts. The vote for Brexit will no doubt be a defining political moment for my age group.

Isabel Hardman

Will Jeremy Corbyn step down as Labour leader?

Jeremy Corbyn is giving a speech this morning about Labour’s response to the EU referendum. Rumours have been sweeping the party overnight that the Labour leader will use the event to step down and hand over the reins to John McDonnell, who has been on manoeuvres for months. But aides deny that this will happen today. Nevertheless, there must be recognition in the Corbyn team that the situation is pretty precarious. The lengthy Shadow Cabinet meeting yesterday wasn’t as furious as some other parts of the parliamentary Labour party might have hoped, but some members are discussing resigning en masse to trigger a change at the top of the party.

Friday

Ed West

Vote Leave now need to repay the people who voted for their cause

My part of north London feels like the morning after England get knocked out from the World Cup. People look genuinely angry, and down the road in Islington the benevolent moral guardians of the current year have been shouting ‘scum’ at Boris Johnson outside his house. Boris leaves his house to crowds shouting 'scum' #EUref @LBC pic.twitter.com/V4hhXG18v3 — Charlotte Wright (@charlotte_bbc) June 24, 2016 After the most unpleasant period in British politics for years, and a sour and recriminating atmosphere now lingering, the Vote Leave team – who may be the government in waiting – have got to unite the nation to assure stability; politically, economically and mentally. As Tim

Isabel Hardman

Labour MPs table no confidence motion in Jeremy Corbyn

In the past few minutes, two Labour MPs – Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey – have submitted a motion of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn. This is not a surprise given how angry the parliamentary party was after last night’s referendum results in its heartlands, but it now depends on whether their parliamentary colleagues have enough confidence to speak in its favour at a discussion at the parliamentary Labour party meeting on Monday, and then to back it in a secret ballot of the parliamentary party the following day. It is not yet clear whether the rebels, who have been preparing for this for a while, yet have the numbers.

Isabel Hardman

Leaked: Labour’s script responding to its terrible referendum result

As Katy reported earlier, Labour has prepared a script that attempts to exonerate Jeremy Corbyn for the party’s terrible night in its heartlands in this referendum. I have now been leaked that script, which MPs are expected to use from 6am, and it makes rather entertaining reading. The best line is the following: ‘Jeremy Corbyn has showed that he is far closer to the centre of gravity of the British public than other politicians. He is now the only politician who can unite a divided country, as he can speak to both sides.’ It also says that ‘Jeremy is uniquely placed as a critical remainer. He understands why people voted

Brendan O’Neill

This is democracy in all its beauty and glory

Consider the magnitude of what has just happened. Against the warnings of experts, the pleas of the vast majority of MPs, the wishes of almost every capitalist, and overtures from Brussels, a majority of British people have said No to the EU. They’ve done the thing almost everyone with power and influence said they shouldn’t: taken a leap into the dark; chased after the devil they don’t know in preference for the one they do; taken a big, exciting risk with the very nature of their nation. They have — let’s just say it — rebelled, and rebelled against virtually every wing of the establishment. You don’t even have to

Thursday

Freddy Gray

Ten handy phrases for bluffing your way through referendum night

Alright folks, this is the big one. It’s EU Referendum Night, and bluffers everywhere have been training hard. We’ve all been talking utter rot about Europe for months now. To distinguish yourself tonight, you need to bring your A-game, especially since there will be nothing much to say until at least 2 am. Here are ten starter phrases that should help you through any Brexit-related discussion. But I’m sure you can all think of many more. Just remember that nobody really knows what they are banging on about — least of all our politicians — so be imaginative, be bold, and blag for Britain (or Europe, depending on which way the

Brendan O’Neill

The EU may well survive today’s vote — but the left won’t

If you’ve heard a whirring noise in the background of today’s momentous vote, don’t worry: it’s just Tony Benn turning in his grave. Benn was one of Britain’s keenest, and most articulate critics of the European Union. He and other Labour grandees, along with top trade unionists, raged against the EU for being aloof and arrogant and for usurping parliament. Summoning up his Chartist soul, his love of the Levellers, his belief that radical Britons didn’t fight and die over centuries for the sovereignty of parliament just to see it overturned by some well-fed suits in Brussels, he would slam the EU for having not a ‘shred of accountability’ and

Fraser Nelson

Bookmakers odds: chance of Brexit plunges to all-time low of 15 per cent

As Britain goes to the polls to vote on the EU Referendum, the odds on Brexit are plummeting – to a new low of 17 per cent at the time of writing. The Spectator’s zoomable live odds chart, below, shows the speed of the decline. At 9am this morning it was 23pc, at 10.45am it was 19pc and by 11.30am it was 17pc. An hour later, 15pc. The chart should appear below – but while our site is especially busy it may take a few moments to load: This chimes with the opinion of everyone I’ve spoken to, in both Leave and Remain camps: there’s a chance of Brexit, but not

Wednesday

Isabel Hardman

What next for Ukip after the EU referendum?

For someone who has spent his whole life building up to the referendum, Nigel Farage has had a rather patchy campaign. On the one hand, he has performed reasonably well in his TV question time slot, exceeding the expectations of those in the Leave camp who were dismayed that ITV had signed up the Ukip leader to its referendum programme. But on the other, he has unveiled a poster that bears striking similarities to ones used by the Nazis and has been shunned by the official Leave campaign. Today, the Ukip leader gave his final speech of a campaign that he has spent his political life pushing for. At one