Uk politics

Boris Johnson spoke to the 301 group of largely pro-Cameron Tory MPs last night. The meeting was open to all, but I hear that around 48 MPs turned up in the end. One MP present mutters that 'it wasn't a huge turnout. The all-party parliamentary beer group attracts more attendees'. Naturally, Boris was late. My sources tell me that Boris spoke about his achievements as London mayor, including the number of French citizens who have moved to london, crime statistics, air quality, Crossrail, driverless trains, jobs and affordable housing. But he also made the case for London as a powerhouse for the rest of the country, saying that 'what's good for London is good for the whole of the country'. He then called Vince Cable's comments about London being a drain on the rest of Britain 'cretinous'.

To anyone in Westminster, Prime Minister’s Questions is terrific fun and a good measurement of how the leaders are doing every week. But what does the rest of the country think of this rip roaring event? The Hansard Society has released a new report Tuned in or Turned off? Public attitudes to Prime Minister’s Questions to find out whether the nation enjoys the session as much as the keen political watchers do. The report suggests that PMQs are seen a ‘cue’ for wider perceptions of Parliament, most of which are negative. The public dislikes the pantomime atmosphere, the political point scoring and general behaviour of MPs — which is likened to a school playground.

So is the ban on smoking in cars with children, backed by MPs this evening by 376 votes to 107 against, a good idea? As James observed earlier, it is fascinating to see how quickly opinions have shifted even in the past few weeks. The PA division lists have 100 Conservative MPs voting against, and only four Liberal Democrats opposing a ban that their own leader described as 'illiberal'. But it is worth reflecting that the Cabinet ministers who voted against it included Theresa May and Chris Grayling (the others were Iain Duncan Smith and Theresa Villiers). Grayling was voting reluctantly on the basis that the ban was unenforceable. Which given he's the Justice Secretary, doesn't inspire great confidence about the legislation, regardless of the principle.

It's a week since Harriet Harman claimed it was 'raining men' in the Tory party, and yet the debate still rages about whether the Conservatives have a 'women problem'. Tory backbencher Tracey Crouch has written a forceful piece for the Mail on Sunday on why she felt Ed Miliband's intervention at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday was patronising. It's worth a read, not least because she tries to dispel the myth that women are being turned off Parliament just because it's rowdy: 'Some of the loudest and, in some cases, most effective hecklers in Parliament today are women MPs. Even the most unruly Labour men think twice before taking on Conservatives such as Anna Soubry and Claire Perry because they know they will be cut down to size by an even sharper and wittier putdown.

Immigration Minister Mark Harper has resigned after being informed that his cleaner was working illegally in this country. Here is the exchange of letters between Harper and David Cameron: Letter from Mark Harper to the Prime Minister 7 February 2014 Dear Prime Minister In April 2007 I took on a cleaner for my London flat. In doing so, I was very mindful of my legal and financial obligations and undertook a number of checks beforehand. This included consideration of the HMRC tests as to whether the cleaner was performing her work under a contract for services on a self-employed basis which I concluded she was. However, even though there was no legal requirement for me to check her right to work in the UK, I felt that it was appropriate to do so.

David Cameron will tell Scots this morning that the UK wants Scotland to stay a part of the Union. That he's giving this speech at all is being read in some quarters as a sign that he's at least underwhelmed by the show put on so far by Better Together leader Alistair Darling. The PM's intervention certainly marks a change of tone from the most recent speeches, particularly Mark Carney's, which George Osborne praised as a very good 'technical' speech. Thus far the 'no' campaign has relied more on the technical argument which Alex Salmond has brushed away as minor objections to the great principle of independence. So Cameron is making the emotional case.

What are the Coalition parties going to do for the next few months in the run-up to the general election? Judging by the way the Liberal Democrats have behaved this week, they're going to spend a great deal of time talking about Michael Gove, which isn't encouraging for anyone who got a little bored of that particular ding-dong around the time of the childcare debacle. They're certainly not planning to do much in the way of legislating, either.