Uk politics

Thursday

Howard Sinclair

Boris Johnson has gone out on a limb for rough sleepers

Working in the homelessness sector as I do, my first response to Mary Wakefield’s Spectator article on rough sleeping was inevitably defensive. How dare they? Don’t they know we house and help thousands of people in London each year? Can’t they understand how complex it is and that they way things are presented is not always correct? But after some time to reflect, I came to see that, yes, the system in which Broadway Homelessness and Support and I operate, can be imperfect. It is time-consuming, complex and sometimes hard to access. We are better at reaching people who are new to the streets than long-term rough sleepers like the

Alex Massie

Whisper it, but the British economy may in better shape than you think… – Spectator Blogs

Doom and gloom is all around. This is another winter, if not of discontent, then certainly of persistent grumbling. Optimism is as rare as a Scottish victory at Twickenham and, frankly, just as fanciful a thought. That, at any rate, is today’s conventional wisdom. Fleet Street looks to a Triple Dip recession and ponders what side dishes will best complement the Chancellor’s broiled reputation. And yet, and yet, I wonder – hesitantly, I grant you – if all this is quite accurate. Fleet Street, like Westminster, is often fighting the last war. Worse still, it tends to presume that what has happened will continue to happen and that present trends

Andrew Green

Reducing the ‘pull factor’ for Romanian and Bulgarian migrants

Whisper it but the government have a fighting chance of reaching their immigration target. The main risk now is an inflow from Romania and Bulgaria when our labour market is fully opened to them next January. That is why the issue of child benefit is important; if we continue to pay it to children left at home it could greatly encourage such migration. Opposition to the government’s immigration policy is now starting to dissipate. Much of it has come from special interest groups who stand to gain from unlimited immigration. Unfortunately for them, their raucous campaigns are colliding with the facts. It is hard to argue that business is suffering when there is

Isabel Hardman

Even the best laid plans of Michael Gove can go awry

Coalition ministers and commentators like to study Michael Gove as an example of a successful reforming politician. The Education Secretary is most definitely man not mouse, taking on some of the most vehement vested interests in our public services, and even appearing to enjoy himself while he does it. But today’s change of tack on GCSE reform shows that the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Actually, as the FT’s Chris Cook so eloquently explained on the Today programme, it don’t matter whether the reformed exams are called Gove-levels, EBCs, or plain old GCSEs: what is clearly most important is that the reforms call time on

Alex Massie

Cameron’s Gay Marriage Victory Showed Him As A Real Leader – Spectator Blogs

And lo, the battle for British Gay Marriage was in fact a rout. True, half the parliamentary Conservative party voted against the measure. True too, this is now being considered further evidence that David Cameron’s leadership skills – or, rather, since they are not the same thing – his party management skills are less than they might be. But, for once, I think focusing on Tory divisions misses the rather bigger, simpler story. Nearly half the Conservative parliamentary party endorsed gay marriage in the House of Commons. And they did it on a free vote. That is quite a thing. Now of course I understand why the press prefers to

Wednesday

Isabel Hardman

Hague stays vague on EU renegotiation details

William Hague stayed remarkably jovial throughout his two-hour appearance before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee today, chuckling happily away even when he was asked to imagine what he’d do if the European Union had never existed. But the Foreign Secretary was considerably less revelatory than he was cheery, offering no new details at all on his party’s position on renegotiating Britain’s relationship with the EU or on a subsequent referendum. He told a slightly disappointed-looking John Baron that ‘it’s too early to speak of red lines [for a negotiation]… we don’t publish our red lines: that doesn’t necessarily help bring about a successful negotiation.’ He did tell Rory Stewart that

Isabel Hardman

Tory malcontents’ ‘key tests’ for Cameron set PM up for failure

Joe Murphy has a rather amusing story in the Standard this afternoon about Tory malcontents’ latest manoeuvres against the Prime Minister. He reports several MPs saying Cameron will need to meet five key tests in order to secure his position as leader. How very democratic of them, measuring the Prime Minister’s performance against a set of targets, rather than just saying they don’t like him, or comparing him to a chambermaid. But when you read what those targets are, you see the problem that the Prime Minister has with his backbenches. This is what Joe’s story says: Several MPs said Mr Cameron needs to pass five “key tests” over the

Lloyd Evans

PMQs sketch: Ed Miliband vs David Cameron on the ‘bedroom tax’

It was cynical. It was shameless. It was low-down politics in every way. But Miliband’s stunt at PMQs very nearly worked. His theme was the reform of housing benefit that will affect those in homes with unoccupied bedrooms. Ed Miliband calls this ‘a bedroom tax’. He kicked off by asking David Cameron about the case of ‘Alison’ who has twin sons serving in the army. While her boys are fighting abroad, Alison will be charged £25 extra per week for their bedrooms. It’s wrong to call this a tax, said Cameron, it’s a necessary change to an unaffordable system. Miliband was waiting for him. ‘I’d like to see him explaining

Isabel Hardman

David Cameron’s sombre response to Mid-Staffs report includes hint of political row to come

David Cameron does big solemn occasions well. He’s skilled at taking a statement above the usual tit-for-tat partisan exchanges in the Commons. Everyone knows that, as does the Prime Minister, which is why he made the statement on the Francis Report rather than the Health Secretary. The Tories know that turning the response to this inquiry into a political football would not serve the party well, given Labour’s 16-point lead in the polls on the NHS. The tone was sombre, with the Prime Minister apologising for the suffering caused by failures at the Mid Staffordshire NHS trust. He also emphasised that today was not about hunting down scapegoats, even though

Alex Massie

Borgen and Scotland: A Love Affair Founded on Self-Congratulation

Borgen – the title refers to the Danish equivalent of Holyrood or Westminster – has been terrifically popular amongst those people interested in sub-titled political dramas from Denmark. I fancy that viewers in England have simply enjoyed the programme for what it is: a well-made but impossibly smug piece of “progressive” political propaganda. In Scotland, however, it has been seen as something different: a glimpse of the future. Or, at any rate, one future. In one sense this is reasonable. Even if it is only a TV show, one can see why Scots – and nationalists especially – should be thrilled by a drama showing how the ineffably right-on leader

James Forsyth

PMQs: Ed Miliband’s ‘bedroom tax’ attacks ignore the facts

At a particularly unedifying PMQs today, one Labour MP even suggested that ministers need cognitive behavioural therapy. The cause of all this rancour: the so-called ‘bedroom tax’. Now, the ‘bedroom tax’ is not actually a tax. Rather, it is a reduction in the amount of housing benefit paid to those who — according to the local authority — have spare capacity in their homes. If the Labour leadership genuinely does not grasp this distinction, then this country is in worse trouble than we thought. Ed Miliband peppered Cameron with questions about difficult cases. It was an effective debating tactic as there was little Cameron could say without knowing all the

Michael Gove

Michael Gove: My debt to Jade Goody and the future of school reform

In shaping education policy I have been influenced by many people… But two particular individuals have influenced me more than any others. The Italian Marxist thinker – and father of Euro-Communism – Antonio Gramsci. And the reality television star Jade Goody. Let me explain my admiration for Jade first. When she first appeared on our screens in Big Brother Jade was regarded as paragon of invincible ignorance. She was derided and mocked because she thought that Cambridge was in London. On being told that Cambridge is in East Anglia, she assumed that to be abroad, and referred to it as ‘East Angular’. Her other misconceptions included the belief that Rio

A serious political party would defend traditional marriage

What is the point of a Conservative party that does not see practical value, perhaps wisdom, in traditional institutions such as marriage? There are some less worthy reasons for preserving prevailing structures, such as sheer self-interest, but the overwhelming reason for valuing established institutions is intellectual modesty. We should be aware of our own intellectual and moral limitations and take seriously the possibility that there may be wisdom in institutions that have been valued by people who came before us. The mere reactionary would give no such reason for respecting the past, but a thinking Conservative in the tradition of Burke and Hayek (neither of whom called themselves conservatives) can

Isabel Hardman

Francis report: Cameron needs to talk about the structure of NHS care as well as the culture

The Francis Report into Mid Staffordshire hospital trust will be published at 11.30am today. David Cameron will make a Commons statement this afternoon on the matter. Yesterday I explained why Cameron should be bold today and go beyond the usual ‘lessons must be learned, procedures should be tightened’ platitudes. One of the greatest risks is that the government ends up introducing more targets and more bureaucracy with simply replace or even add to burden created by Labour which the Report will criticise today. But as Iain Martin points out, the Mid-Staffs failure took place following huge increases in NHS spending. This isn’t a death-by-cuts story. Targets and a lack of

Tuesday

Isabel Hardman

MPs who voted against gay marriage: full list

The Press Association’s analysis of tonight’s vote on the second reading of the same-sex marriage bill found 139 Conservative MPs voted against, along with two tellers. This was a free vote. I’ve highlighted some names of particular interest in bold: Nigel Adams (Selby & Ainsty), Adam Afriyie (Windsor), Peter Aldous (Waveney), David Amess (Southend West), James Arbuthnot (Hampshire North East), Richard Bacon (Norfolk South), Steven Baker (Wycombe), Tony Baldry (Banbury), Guto Bebb (Aberconwy), Henry Bellingham (Norfolk North West), Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley), Andrew Bingham (High Peak), Bob Blackman (Harrow East), Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West), Angie Bray (Ealing Central & Acton), Julian Brazier (Canterbury), Andrew Bridgen (Leicestershire North

James Forsyth

MPs back gay marriage, but it’s not the Tory result Cameron was hoping for

More Tory MPs have voted against gay marriage than have voted for it, with initial estimates from the vote (which was won 400 votes to 175) suggest 139 Tories voted against the legislation and 132 voted in favour. This was not the result that David Cameron was hoping for when his government introduced gay marriage legislation. Of course, tonight’s division was a free vote. Many of those Tories who voted no are fierce Cameron loyalists—think of Michael Fallon. But everyone knew which way the Tory leadership wanted its MPs to vote: tellingly, there was a Tory party press officer in the gallery for the vote. Tonight’s news is a blow to David

Isabel Hardman

Cameron’s opportunity to preach an NHS worthy of worship

Today MPs are debating a matter of conscience, invoking their personal religious beliefs as they examine the same sex marriage bill. The debate has largely remained remarkably respectful thus far. But tomorrow the Prime Minister will give a statement on another matter that stirs similar religious fervour: the NHS. It will be David Cameron who delivers the government’s response to the Francis Report on the failings of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust, not the Health Secretary. The Prime Minister manages these occasions well: we saw that with the Bloody Sunday and Hillsborough statements. British voters might, according to the latest census data, be losing their religion. But when it comes

Isabel Hardman

Tory MPs keen for changes on secret courts bill as Lib Dem grassroots clash with Clegg

The committee of MPs considering the Justice and Security Bill was sitting today, but outside the group of loyal MPs scrutinising the Bill line by line, moves are still afoot from those who oppose part II, which enables secret court hearings. I understand that there is now a group of Conservative MPs keen to support further amendments being considered by Andrew Tyrie, which I covered on Coffee House last week, including Douglas Carswell and Peter Bone. Tyrie says: ‘The Joint Committee on Human Rights are right to call for more judicial discretion, so-called equality of arms and a much narrower definition of “sensitive” information.  In additional it’s crucial that the Bill

James Forsyth

Gay marriage vote: where’s Cameron?

As soon as the government announced plans to bring in gay marriage, it was clear that the press was going to turn the vote on it into a referendum among Tory MPs on Cameroon modernisation. Even, though, it is a ‘free vote’, a failure to secure the support of at least half the parliamentary party for the bill was going to be treated as a blow to Cameron’s authority. But rather than leaning into this fight, Cameron has shied away from it. Absurdly, he isn’t even on the front bench for the opening of today’s debate and one has to go back months for his last major public statement on

Isabel Hardman

Next Queen’s Speech to focus on ‘global race’

If you’d hoped we’d seen the back of the term ‘global race’, which featured so heavily in the autumn statement, think again. It looks like it’s going to be a big theme for the next parliamentary session, too. The Cabinet met this morning to discuss the content of the next Queen’s Speech. The ministers present were told that legislation for the next session would focus on supporting the government’s priorities of ‘economic competitiveness’ and Britain’s position in the ‘global race’ (there we go), and ‘aspirations and fairness’. CCHQ staffers have already told me they’re sick of the phrase, which probably means it’s only just percolated as far as Portcullis House,