Uk politics

Thursday

Isabel Hardman

Nick Clegg: Vince Cable never intended to offend teachers

From our UK edition

Nick Clegg spent this morning singing the Lib Dem equivalent of Take That's Back for Good, telling his target voters from the teaching profession that whatever one of his colleagues had said or did, they didn't mean it. The Deputy Prime Minister was trying to apologise for comments by Vince Cable, who had rather clumsily underlined a valid point he was trying to make about the need for better careers advice in schools by suggesting that teachers 'know absolutely nothing about the world of work'. 'I know that Vince did not intend to offend teachers,' pleaded the Deputy Prime Minister on his LBC radio show. He then described the profession as the 'lifeblood of society', which could risk offending those carrying out other worthy public services such as nursing, but never mind.

James Forsyth

Will HS2 become an election issue?

From our UK edition

In an interview with The Spectator this week, the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin admits that HS2 will not have been approved by parliament before the next election. This invites the question, will HS2 become an election issue? Both Ed Balls and Andy Burnham have made forays against HS2 in recent months. But both have been slapped down by Ed Miliband's office. His allies believe that Labour can't run on a platform of rebuilding Britain while simultaneously promising to put a stop to the biggest infrastructure project in decades. But one wonders if this Labour position will hold. The Tory election campaign will claim repeatedly that Labour's sums don't add up, they'll constantly accuse Labour of planning to raise taxes or borrowing.

Martin Vander Weyer

Any other business: Britain’s chaotic energy policy puts us in Putin’s hands

From our UK edition

To have written last month that the headline ‘Kiev in flames’ looked like a black swan on the economic horizon hardly makes me Nostradamus — but sure enough, the tension between Russia and Ukraine have caused stock markets to quiver and the price of UK gas for one-month delivery on the ICE Europe futures exchange in London to rise 10 per cent on Monday. But it was more impressively far-sighted that way back in the winter of 2005/6 we commissioned a Spectator cover showing wicked Vladimir Putin sitting astride a knotted gas pipeline: one sixth of all gas consumed in Europe arrives from Russia across the Ukraine, and another sixth from Russia by other routes.

Wednesday

The Spectator

Patrick Rock arrest: Sir Jeremy Heywood’s reply to Labour letter

From our UK edition

Dear Mr Ashworth, Thank you for your letter. I will try to respond to your specific questions but, as you recognise, in doing so my overriding concern must be to avoid doing anything to prejudice or undermine an on-going police investigation. Downing Street became aware of a potential offence relating to child abuse imagery on the evening of 12 February.  I was immediately informed of the allegation and the Prime Minister was also briefed.  Officials then contacted the NCA to seek advice on how to report suspected criminality. Our subsequent actions were driven by the overriding importance of not jeopardising either their investigation or the possibility of a prosecution. Patrick Rock resigned on the evening of 12 February.

The Spectator

Exclusive: HS2 Bill won’t be passed by the next election, Transport Secretary admits

From our UK edition

In this week's Spectator magazine, James Forsyth interviews the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin. McLoughlin admits that the government is unlikely legislation to get the HS2 Bill through Parliament before the next election — which could leave a major threat over the project in 2015. 'There are a bevy of Tory MPs opposed to having HS2 run through their patch or a new runway built in their backyard. But McLoughlin has agreed to tolerate dissent. ‘You have to accept that certain people, certain constituencies are heavily impacted by a piece of national infrastructure,’ he says. ‘Those MPs have got a duty to stand up for their constituents and make the case for their constituents. You’ll never hear me criticise that.

Isabel Hardman

Labour writes to Cabinet Secretary about details of Patrick Rock’s arrest

From our UK edition

So it looks as though Labour is going to go for Number 10 over Patrick Rock's arrest. Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Jon Ashworth has written to Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Heywood with the following questions about the case: Dear Sir Jeremy, I am writing to you about the arrest last month of the Prime Minister's senior adviser, Patrick Rock, on allegations concerning child abuse images. On the substance of the allegations themselves, I recognise that Mr Rock has not been charged with any offence, and it is vitally important that the police investigation is able to take its course and that no potential future trial is prejudiced.

Alex Massie

Alex Salmond’s taxing realism: Scotland cannot afford socialist dreams

From our UK edition

Alex Salmond ventured south last night to lecture inform the citizens of what he termed Britain's 'Dark Star' of his latest plans. You can read his New Statesman lecture here. The most telling moment of the evening came, however, when George Eaton asked if Salmond favoured raising taxes on the wealthiest Scots. Specifically, did he find the notion of raising the top rate of income tax to 50 per cent attractive? No. Or as the First Minister put it: 'We don't have proposals for changing taxation. We certainly are not going to put ourselves at a tax disadvantage with the rest of the UK.' It's not quite read my lips, no new taxes but it's not far from it. This should not surprise long-term readers.

Isabel Hardman

PMQs: will the Commons return to rowdiness?

From our UK edition

Will PMQs return to rowdiness today? The Chamber was a little quiet last week, which was perhaps down to a combination of rather serious questions from MPs and the debates over recess about whether the session had become more juvenile. But this isn't down to any plan by the Prime Minister: I hear that recently told a group of supporters that while he had sympathy with Ed Miliband's attempt to cool things down, he'd tried that himself and it hadn't worked at all. What will be interesting is whether Ed Miliband - or his colleagues on the Labour benches - raise the arrest of Patrick Rock.

Tuesday

Isabel Hardman

No10 rejects suggestions that it covered up the arrest of Patrick Rock

From our UK edition

After this morning's shock Daily Mail splash on Patrick Rock's arrest, the Prime Minister's official spokesman was grilled on the case at the noon lobby briefing. He repeatedly told journalists that the matter was immediately referred to the National Crime Agency. But why was the arrest, which took place on in the early hours of 13 February, not briefed to the press - until it leaked last night? The spokesman said: 'Well, hold on. Number 10 immediately referred this to the National Crime Agency. Of course, this is all directly linked to a police investigation and I don't think we would proactively comment on that... I think that when... I think it is no surprise that we would not comment proactively on police investigations...

James Forsyth

Exclusive: Cameron and Osborne ambush Lib Dems in Cabinet meeting

From our UK edition

A dramatic Cabinet this morning as the Tories ambushed the Lib Dems over the contents of the Queen’s Speech. First, Cameron took them by surprise by demanding that a recall bill be included in the speech. This was quite a slap to the Liberal Democrats seeing as just last month they were publicly blaming Cameron and Osborne for the fact that a recall bill was not going to be included in the Queen’s Speech. But this wasn’t the only bit of Tory aggression this morning. For Osborne then took up the baton, pushing for the inclusion of an EU referendum bill in the coalition’s legislative agenda. David Laws and Nick Clegg dismissed this idea. But IDS then pointed out that the Liberal Democrats used to boast of being in favour of an In / Out referendum.

Isabel Hardman

David Cameron’s moral mission on public spending

From our UK edition

David Cameron's speech on the economy today is designed to hit Labour on its weak spot again: reminding voters that while this government is trying (with varying levels of success) to cut public spending and hack back the legacy of debt for our children, Labour wants to borrow more. Ed Miliband and Ed Balls will say they won't borrow a penny more on day-to-day spending, a linguistic sleight of hand which leaves them with plenty of leeway to borrow tons more for capital spending. But still they try to criticise the Conservatives each time official figures appear showing government borrowing levels. The Prime Minister wants to remind voters that no matter how critical Labour is of this government's borrowing, Miliband and Balls want to borrow even more.

Monday

James Forsyth

No.10 aide Patrick Rock resigns after being arrested over child abuse image allegations

From our UK edition

Jaw-dropping news tonight: the Daily Mail’s James Chapman reveals that Patrick Rock, the deputy director of the Number 10 policy unit and a long-serving political ally of David Cameron, has resigned after being arrested on child porn charges. Rock was one of Cameron’s Downing Street fixers. The two had worked together as SPADs to Michael Howard and Rock was very much part of the old special adviser network. So, when Cameron and Ed Llewellyn, Cameron’s chief of staff, were looking for a trusted hand to beef up the domestic side of the Downing Street operation they turned to their old colleague, Rock. Rock’s influence in Downing Street had ebbed slightly in recent months. Jo Johnson had been brought in over his head to run the Policy Unit.

Sebastian Payne

Boris Johnson: I’d tax expensive properties and lower business rates

From our UK edition

Today we glimpsed what Boris Johnson might do if he had more power, in London at least: jack up council taxes for some and lower business rates. In a Communities and Local Government select committee hearing on fiscal devolution, the Mayor of London outlined why, if the power was handed down from central government, he’d  increase council tax for the richest Londoners: ‘If you compared with a Russian oligarch is paying on his stuccoed schloss in Kensington in annual council tax compared to what such a gentleman might be asked to pay in Paris or New York or anywhere else, it is quite stunning the difference. No one has yet grasped that. ‘I’m by no means an advocate of a mansion tax. In fact, I vehemently oppose such an idea.

Isabel Hardman

The challenge of challenging Putin

From our UK edition

How does the West challenge Vladimir Putin? James explained in his blog earlier that it is essential that the Russian president is challenged. But this evening's snap by the ever-watchful Steve Back of a government document stating that the UK 'should not support for now trade sanctions... or close London's financial centre to Russians' shows the difficulty countries including Britain will have in doing that challenging. The UK worries about the impact of sanctions on London, which as the 'capital city of the world', has an interest in keeping its doors open to Russian money. Meanwhile, as a country that relies so much on Russian gas and oil, Germany worries about the impact on its own supplies of any sanctions.

Theresa May

Theresa May: it’s time to stamp out slavery. Again.

From our UK edition

In his Oscars acceptance speech Steve McQueen declared he was dedicating the award for his film 12 Years A Slave to 'all the people who have endured slavery. And to the millions of people who still suffer slavery today'. His words will no doubt cause shock and surprise; to many it will seem scarcely credible that slavery can exist in our modern age. Modern slavery is an evil which is happening around the world today – including here in Britain. Across this country in restaurants, shops, brothels, nail bars and on illegal drugs farms are women, men and children, being held against their will, and forced into a life of slavery and abuse. This Government is determined to stamp out this appalling crime.

Isabel Hardman

Ukraine: Number 10 focuses on de-escalation of tensions

From our UK edition

David Cameron spoke to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon today before the meeting of the National Security Council. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said the pair 'agreed it's important that the Russian government enter into discussion with the Ukrainian government on how to reduce tensions in the region and de-escalate the situation'. The spokesman repeatedly emphasised that 'de-escalation' was a key part of the international response to the situation at present, suggesting that it was as important as the threat of costs to Russia.

Isabel Hardman

Ipsa’s costly pursuit of one MP undermines its purpose

From our UK edition

Ipsa, never popular with MPs anyway, has done itself a disservice with its pursuit of Conservative MP Stewart Jackson over its demand that he hand over £54,000 to the expenses watchdog to reflect the increased value of his property that he had claimed mortgage interest support for. On Friday, Jackson, who had refused to pay, revealed that Ipsa had dropped the case after an independent valuer said there had been no rise in his property's value.

Alex Massie

Say it loud, say it proud: UKIP are a party for reactionary xenophobes

From our UK edition

Sometimes what doesn't occasion interest or drama or controversy is more interesting - or at least more telling - than what does. So perhaps it is a tribute to the extent to which Nigel Farage and UKIP are now entrenched in the body politic that Farage's speech to the party's latest conference appears, as best I can tell, to have been treated as just another routine appearance by just another politician. Move along now, not a lot to see here. Not much news, not many dead. That is, the reaction has been There he goes again. We know Farage's thing these days and it no longer shocks or even, I fancy, entertains. So when the mask slips no-one is surprised any more. Because the mask is no disguise at all. It is just the same as the face behind it.

Isabel Hardman

Boris insists he is ‘united’ with George Osborne

From our UK edition

After reports that he was furious with George Osborne and David Cameron for trying to call his bluff by telling him to stand as a parliamentary candidate in 2015, Boris Johnson got his chance to deny that he was at war with the Chancellor on his 'Ask Boris' LBC show this morning. Diana in Surbiton asked Boris about the story, insisting that he tell her what he said to the Chancellor: 'I've said many things to my friend George Osborne,' he chuckled, adding that 'I haven't had a conversation of any such kind with George Osborne'. He added: 'George and I have a very, very good working relationship and indeed an old, old friendship and what we both want to do is get David Cameron re-elected in 2015 and that is the project about which we are united.

Charlotte Leslie

Wales is a nightmare vision of Ed Miliband’s Britain

From our UK edition

If politics was science, you would call Wales the ‘control’ group, for public service reform. Here is a country where Labour are the only game in town and a socialist philosophy which places a monopolistic state provider at the centre of health care and education reigns supreme – yes, even more supreme than the pupils and patients this system is designed to serve. In fact, in devolved Wales, Labour are running the public services as Ed Milliband would like to see them; a Labourite utopia of State supremacy, with none of the so-called evils of alternative providers getting in the way of the tight grip of the State. So how is this socialist utopia going, then? If a recent Question Time from Newport is anything to go by, not so good.