Uk politics

Tuesday

Isabel Hardman

‘Hopeless’ Warsi ‘resisting’ David Cameron’s fight against extremism

From our UK edition

The government has failed to produce an adequate strategy to tackle non-violent extremism because the minister in charge of it is said to disagree with the Prime Minister's approach, sources have told Coffee House. Baroness Warsi is alleged by multiple sources in and out of government to have consistently resisted calls to develop a proper strategy on integration and tackling extremism at its roots, even though this is the Prime Minister's policy and part of her job at the Communities and Local Government department. One source says: 'Sayeeda made clear when she got the job at CLG that she didn't agree with the Prime Minister and that she simply wasn't going to do this bit of her job.

Alex Massie

Labour’s true believers ask Ed Miliband to repeat past Tory mistakes.

From our UK edition

The first, and perhaps most important, thing to say about the 2015 general election is that it is Labour's to lose. The second thing to say is that Ed Miliband might be just the man to do it. Nevertheless and despite Miliband's awkwardness Tory optimists should ask themselves a very simple question: Which seats will we win in 2015 that we failed to win in 2010? Perhaps a handful will be taken from the Lib Dems and perhaps another handful can be snatched elsewhere but, overall, the battlefield picture is pretty damn bleak. But perhaps Labour will help. Miliband's problem is that his position is not secure to hunker down, do bugger all, and just wait for victory. He must move.

Isabel Hardman

Universal Credit ‘hasn’t been signed off’ – what does that mean?

From our UK edition

Is Universal Credit progressing as well as it should? Yesterday Sir Bob Kerslake, who is not consistently helpful to political colleagues, dropped a bit of a bombshell during a Public Accounts Committee hearing. Discussing the Treasury and the business case for Universal Credit: 'We shouldn't beat about the bush: it hasn't been signed off.' Labour got very excited about this, with Chris Bryant pointing out that last week Esther McVey told Rachel Reeves in a parliamentary answer that 'the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has approved the UC Strategic Outline Business Case plans for the remainder of this Parliament'. The DWP argues that this is wrong, and that the Treasury has 'approved all funding to date'.

Monday

Isabel Hardman

Theresa May to give ‘significant’ statement on child abuse row

From our UK edition

What can we expect from the government response to the growing child abuse dossier row? Government sources are stressing this morning that Theresa May's Commons statement will be 'significant' and that its content will be broader than simply naming the QC looking at the Home Office dossier. Based on David Cameron's handling of previous historic cases such as Bloody Sunday and Hillsborough, the Prime Minister will want to give every impression that this government is doing everything it can to go where previous governments may have failed to or refused.

Sunday

Isabel Hardman

Tristram Hunt won’t condemn the NUT’s strike, but is he ready for a confrontation?

From our UK edition

Tristram Hunt is getting a fair bit of stick from the Conservatives for refusing to condemn the strike action planned by the National Union of Teachers on this morning's Andrew Marr Show. The Shadow Education Secretary merely said 'it's not up to me to tell trade unionists what to do - what I want is teachers in classrooms in a conversation with the Secretary of State so we get over these kind of hurdles'. He said the current stand-off was 'as a result, partly, of some of the incendiary language from the Secretary of State'. Certainly when you read some of the NUT's literature around its industrial action, it's difficult not to conclude that this isn't as much about a dislike of Michael Gove as it is a particular policy.

Friday

Isabel Hardman

Phone hacking: Andy Coulson jailed for 18 months

From our UK edition

Andy Coulson has this morning been jailed for 18 months for conspiracy to hack phones. He was sentenced at the Old Bailey along with four colleagues: Greg Miskiw and Neville Thurlberk were given 6 months, James Weatherup was jailed for four months, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid community work, and Glenn Mulcaire was jailed for six months, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid community work. There are still outstanding cases to be heard, but it has been interesting to see how little political impact this case has had. There seemed to be a sense in Westminster that the hacking trial, regardless of verdict, had been factored into the pressures on the PM and therefore Coulson's guilty verdict was less of a threat to him.

Tuesday

John O'Neill

Miliband’s jobs ‘blunder’: who’s right?

From our UK edition

There's been a bit of a fuss over the claim in Lord Adonis's growth report—repeated in a draft of Ed Miliband's localism speech—that four-fifths of the private-sector jobs growth in the UK since 2010 has happened in London. The Prime Minister tweeted: Labour get their facts wrong on jobs - again. How can they ever be trusted with the economy? http://t.co/zTZJVadFhQ #AdonisReview — David Cameron (@David_Cameron) July 1, 2014 And NIESR's Jonathan Portes (who has form taking issue with how numbers on ‘new’ jobs numbers are used) said: @eduardmead @bbcnickrobinson That said, Labour stat certainly wrong. Conservatives much closer, but not on basis of published ONS figures.

Sebastian Payne

Briefing: The three main parties’ offers on localism

From our UK edition

How much common ground do the political parties have on localism? As Isabel pointed out this morning, Labour and the Conservatives are engaged in an arms race to see who can out do the other on plans to devolve powers from central government. All politicians love to talk up localism — particularly in opposition, where there’s no Whitehall machine to deal with — but their dreams and slogans frequently change. This is what the three main parties have said, and currently believe, on empowering the regions: Conservatives In opposition, David Cameron put forward plans to devolve power in a more radical way than ever before.

Isabel Hardman

Minister demands apology from Miliband after stats blunder

From our UK edition

The Tories are very keen to sabotage Ed Miliband's big speech about rebalancing the British economy, which is probably a compliment to the Labour leader as it suggests that they think he might be onto something. Both parties are certainly engaged in a localism arms race at the moment, arguing that they're the party that really trusts voters and wants to give them back the power over their own lives. But Miliband appears to have made a bit of a statistical error which is allowing his opponents to create a bit of a sideshow to distract from the launch of Lord Adonis' final report on growth. In his speech, the Labour leader said 'independent experts say four fifths of all new private sector jobs created since 2010 are in London'.

Isabel Hardman

Labour’s localism arms race

From our UK edition

How can politicians encourage this country's economy to grow more evenly? Do you build a nice big railway line? Or try - and largely fail - to devolve greater power to cities using directly-elected city mayors? Today Labour sets out its answer in Lord Adonis' growth review. Ed Miliband has already said that he will accept the central recommendation, which is to allow city and country regions to create combined authorities (like the Greater Manchester combined authority) which will gain control over all, rather than half, the revenue from business rates. George Osborne was making similar noises recently about greater powers for regional groups headed by elected mayors.

Monday

Sebastian Payne

Tower Hamlets: more allegations of obfuscation and electoral malpractice

From our UK edition

Will investigators ever get to the bottom of what’s going on in Tower Hamlets? London’s most dubious borough has several ongoing inquiries into the alleged misuse of funds, electoral malpractice and voter intimidation. The first of these appears to be encountering some issues. Following a Panorama programme on the borough’s mayor Lutfur Rahman, the Department for Communities and Local Government sent in auditors to find out whether funds were being inappropriately used.

Steerpike

Damian McBride’s Labour audition

From our UK edition

Is Damian McBride auditioning for a job as the saviour of the Labour Party spin operation? His re-energised blogging would certainly indicate as much. In the last few weeks the Brownite bad boy has left his job with Catholic aid charity Cafod, and returned to writing full time. He's also managed to make a compelling argument for why his misdemeanours cannot now be compared to those of Andy Coulson, despite the best efforts of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor: 'So if the Tories want to keep using the ‘What about Damian McBride?

Alex Massie

Proof that the Liberal Democrats are a party of ninnies

From our UK edition

I know that it is unfashionable to feel sorry for Liberal Democrat MPs. Nevertheless there are times when, contemplating their unhappy lot,  it seems appropriate to feel the odd pang of pity. The latest polling from Lord Ashcroft furnishes one of these rare moments. He asked punters who they would like to see form the next government. As you would expect 77 percent of Tory supporters want a Conservative government while 14 percent actually rather like being in coalition with the Lib Dems and would be quite happy to see that arrangement continue. The picture is much the same amongst Labour voters. 80 percent say they want Labour to govern alone and 12 percent think a Labour-Lib Dem alliance would be better for Britain. But what of the remaining Lib Dem voters?

Isabel Hardman

Number 10 pours cold water on National Insurance story: why?

From our UK edition

Why is Number 10 pouring cold water on suggestions that National Insurance and Income Tax could be merged? This story bobs to the surface every few months: it was suggested that National Insurance could be renamed the 'Earnings Tax' in the 2014 Budget, but then nothing came of it. Now the Times has splashed on the suggestion that the Conservatives will promise to merge the two in their 2015 manifesto. The principle is sound: it makes the tax system less confusing and stops parties from hitting taxpayers by stealth. Much better to have one tax than an income tax and and earnings tax. It's also politically sound for the Tories as they have already said that they plan to plug the post-2015 black hole with spending cuts, not tax rises.

Alex Massie

Yes, of course the BBC is biased against Scottish Nationalists

From our UK edition

There are many reasons for this but let's begin with the first and simplest: it is the British Broadcasting Corporation. Who could have imagined that an organisation that, rightly or not, sees itself as both creator and guardian of much of modern Britain's identity and culture might think itself threatened by a movement hell-bent on destroying, or at least significantly changing, that identity and culture? I know, me neither. Now of course the BBC is not consciously or deliberately biased against the SNP and against Scottish independence. It is scrupulous about ensuring 'No' voices are balanced by 'Yes' voices just as, in other areas and debates it does its best to be seen as an impartial, disinterested, referee.

Alex Massie

Confronting the Tories’ original sin: they are still seen as the party of the rich.

From our UK edition

Dominic Cummings is at it again. Michael Gove's former advisor has become a reliably entertaining guide to the Whitehall labyrinth. It is plain, too, that Cummings likes to think of himself as a Teller Of Hard Truths Many Of Which Our Masters Prefer Not To Contemplate Too Deeply If At All. This is fun. His latest post purports to be about swing voters, immigration and the EU but it is really about the biggest problem afflicting the Conservative party: who is it for? And who is it seen to be for? As Cummings puts it: The fundamental problem the Conservative Party has had since 1997 at least is that it is seen as ‘the party of the rich, they don’t care about public services’. This is supported by all serious market research.

Isabel Hardman

David Davis: Cameron must turn Juncker failure into a tactical advantage

From our UK edition

David Cameron has survived the post-Juncker post-mortem without a Tory grandee briefing against him. This is comforting for the Prime Minister, although he shouldn't assume that he has the full loyalty of his party: it is quite clear that many are simply holding their fire until after the General Election. David Davis, who will again become a dangerous figure in 2015 if Cameron holds onto power, reminded everyone of what the PM has got coming to him when he popped up on the Today programme this morning. Davis said: 'He's had a very, very difficult few weeks to say the least, but what he has to do is turn this into a tactical advantage in the next year or two.

Sunday

Isabel Hardman

The most awkward phone-call ever? Cameron congratulates Jean-Claude Juncker

From our UK edition

In an exchange so awkward it might rival Gwendolen and Cecily's afternoon tea in The Importance of Being Earnest, David Cameron has this afternoon phoned Jean-Claude Juncker to congratulate him on his appointment after weeks of campaigning to thwart him. Here's the Downing Street read-out of the call: 'The Prime Minister called the Commission President-designate, Jean-Claude Juncker, this afternoon. The Prime Minister congratulated Mr Juncker on running a successful campaign and securing the Council nomination. They discussed how they would work together to make the EU more competitive and more flexible. The PM welcomed Mr Juncker's commitment of finding a fair deal for Britain and Mr Juncker said that he was fully committed to finding solutions for the political concerns of the UK.

Sebastian Payne

Leaked: what David Cameron really told Van Rompuy and the EU leaders last week

From our UK edition

It’s well known that David Cameron voted against Jean-Claude Juncker and tried to persuade his EU colleagues to do the same. Thanks to today’s Mail on Sunday, we know exactly how forceful the Prime Minister was in warning and rebuking his fellow leaders. According to leaked reports, an angry Mr Cameron threw Herman Van Rompuy, outgoing EU chief, out of Downing Street following an argument over Juncker: ‘If it is to be Juncker, I insist on a formal vote,’ said Cameron Mr Van Rompuy blinked: ‘I will decide how the vote is conducted.’ Mr Cameron: ‘You must guarantee there will be a proper vote.’ Mr Van Rompuy: ‘I have said I will decide that.

James Forsyth

After being Junckered, the Cameron circle now fear for the renegotiation

From our UK edition

Getting Junckered was not an enjoyable experience for Downing Street. Not only has David Cameron lost his battle to stop the former Luxembourg PM becoming Commission President he has also discovered that Angela Merkel’s assurances to him can be trumped by her domestic political concerns. Considering how Merkel is the hinge on which Cameron’s renegotiation strategy turns, this is worrying for him. As I report in the Mail on Sunday, members of Cameron’s circle are now contemplating that the renegotiation might not deliver enough substantive change for the UK to stay in. As one of those who knows Cameron best puts it, ‘They might plump the cushions for us but the train isn’t slowing down and the points are still set the same way.