Uk politics

Sunday

Fraser Nelson

The case for ignoring Strasbourg

From our UK edition

If Theresa May loses her job over this kerfuffle over Abu Qatada’s appeals deadline, would anyone in the Cabinet be safe? If you were to rank the blunders this government has made, it wouldn’t even make the top 20. The Home Office is notoriously dysfunctional, and the real surprise is that May has made it thus far with only two or three major skirmishes. It’s fun for her enemies to claim she made a basic mistake, but it’s not clear-cut. In the weird world of European law, the number of days in a three month period can vary depending on things like the estimated postal time between London and Luxembourg. Far simpler if British justice was decided in Britain – precisely what the founders of the European Convention on Human Rights envisaged.

James Forsyth

Mid-term blues or something more serious?

From our UK edition

The argument in the Cameron circle about what the government needs to do to get back on course has been the story of this week. As I say in the political column, there’s a divide between those who think that this month’s events have been little more than a bit of mid-term blues, and those who worry that they have revealed serious, structural problems that needs addressing if they are not to cripple the government. At a meeting of Conservative Cabinet ministers on Wednesday lunchtime, this divide came clearly into sight.

Saturday

Sebastian Payne

Siobhan Benita: Boris’ secret weapon

From our UK edition

With anti-politics on the rise, there's one candidate in the May elections who is out to capitalise on the mood. Siobhan Benita, the independent running for London Mayor, has been making increasingly remarkable waves in the run up to 3rd May. She is a technocrat, priding herself on the absence of political views, but adds colour to the race — according to our wine correspondent, Simon Hoggart — whose other employer, the Guardian, has a soft spot for her: 'Finally she arrived and, while I won't say that the media swooned, she certainly had an impact. Tall, glossy-haired, elegant in a pencil dress with scarlet jacket, and a diamond wedding ring that would make an American rapper envious, she'd stand out in any room.

James Forsyth

How would the House of Lords be elected?

From our UK edition

In the debate over House of Lords reform, the Lib Dems are trying to say that they favour an elected House of Lords and anyone who opposes them is a reactionary in favour of the status quo. They believe that this is their best chance of winning the argument. But, in reality, things are more complicated than that. Some of the Tories most sceptical of the Clegg proposals are actually believers in an elected second chamber. They just don’t want it to be done through STV, a system that the Lib Dems favour because it would hand them the balance of power there. The issue of the voting system under which the Lords will be elected will take centre stage next week with the publication of the Joint Committee’s report on the matter.

Fraser Nelson

Ash Green’s academy success story

From our UK edition

I was a panellist on Radio Four's Any Questions last night, in Bedworth outside Coventry. At the reception afterwards, I got talking to the pupils, teachers and even the local vicar of the school where the show was recorded. With so much gloom (and shambles) in Westminster, it was a heartening reminder of what is going right in Britain, aided by David Cameron’s government. I thought I’d share it with CoffeeHousers. Not so long ago, Ash Green School was seeing a pathetic 3 per cent of its pupils achieve what is now called 'Five Good GCSEs' (5 GCSEs at A-Cs, including English & Maths). Now it’s 65 per cent.

Friday

Fraser Nelson

Lewis Hamilton vs Ed Miliband

From our UK edition

Every so often, British sportsmen are prevailed upon not to go to certain countries, in protest at some usually-hideous policy. Now it’s the turn of our racing drivers. Yvette Cooper said on Question Time last night that, at the very least, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton should pull out of the Formula One race this weekend. Ed Miliband wants the race to be cancelled. What baffles me is that the racing drivers should be seen as so controversial, whereas (so far as I can tell) neither Cooper nor Miliband has had anything to say about the British government approving the sale of arms to Bahrain long after its uprising started in Feb 2011.

Sebastian Payne

Gove’s historical conundrum

From our UK edition

Is it possible to set schools free while demanding a beefed up teaching of our nation's history? Both are topics close to the heart of the Education Secretary but eventually, he’s going to have to choose one over the other. Top-down orders on the History curriculum will undermine attempts to give schools and teachers more control over what they do. Tristram Hunt threw this curveball in this weeks magazine, where he states it is a example of the classic Tory struggle between liberalism and conservatism: 'The self-inflicted challenge comes with delivering this national narrative of Britishness. Because at the crux of Gove’s schools revolution is the dismantling of national provision.

James Forsyth

Britain will contribute again to the IMF

From our UK edition

Britain will contribute $15 billion (£10 billion) more to the International Monetary Fund. This means that there will be no need for another parliamentary vote on UK funding of the IMF as it is within the limits set by parliament in its last vote on the matter. This news has emerged in a joint statement by Australia, South Korea, Singapore and the UK; the UK’s $15 billion contribution is in proportion to this country’s voting share in the organisation. In terms of the politics of this decision, it is interesting that the Australian Liberals, the Tories’ sister party Down Under, are going to back the increase in the Australian contribution despite being in opposition.

David Blackburn

Cameron remains adamant on Lords reform

From our UK edition

Despite last night’s threats, David Cameron remains personally committed to the cause of reforming the House of Lords. The coalition is also resisting calls for a referendum on the reforms, saying that it is ‘not persuaded of a case of having one’. Their view comes despite reports that the joint committee and banks of Tory and Labour MPs want a referendum. The pressure on David Cameron, of course, pulls both ways. On the one hand, his backbenchers are vowing to prepare ‘off the scale’ rebellions that are ‘worse than Maastricht’. On the other hand, are the Lib Dems. In a show of strength that bordered on hubris, Lord Oakeshott said earlier today that his party expects all coalition MPs to vote for the bill.

David Blackburn

The EU against new booze

From our UK edition

You don't expect to find so much politics in a booze mag, but there’s an intriguing story in a recent edition of the Drinks Magazine. Relations between Britain and Argentina have been very fraught of late, so the good folk at Chapel Down, the internationally renowned vineyard in Kent, decided to promote peace and goodwill by importing Malbec grapes from Argentina to make a special English wine, called 'An English Salute', to mark World Malbec Day, which took place on Tuesday. The vineyard planned to sell the wine in Gaucho, the chain of Argentine-themed steakhouses.

Fraser Nelson

The coming schools crisis

From our UK edition

Michael Gove’s school reform is being overwhelmed by the surging demand for school places, I argue in my Telegraph column today. When the Education Secretary first draw up his ‘free school’ programme, he said in a Spectator interview that his aim — while radical — was simple.  ‘In your neighbourhood, there will be a new school going out of its way to persuade you to send your children there. It will market itself on being able to generate better results, and it won’t cost you an extra penny’ Choice is only possible when supply outstrips demand. But the latter is growing faster than anyone envisaged a few years ago.

Thursday

James Forsyth

The depth of Tory feeling over Lords reform

From our UK edition

What should worry David Cameron about tonight’s meeting of the 1922 Committee on Lords reform was that it was not just the usual suspects who spoke out against it. The two MPs presenting the case against were members who have never defied the whip: Jesse Norman and Nadhim Zahawi. Those present were particularly struck by some polling data that Zahawi, who used to run YouGov, presented. It showed that when asked what issues were a priority for them zero per cent of the electorate mentioned reform of the Lords. Even when prompted, this number only rose to six per cent. But Zahawi’s polling shows that if reform does go ahead, almost two thirds of the public want a referendum on it.

Jonathan Jones

Car crash in the desert?

From our UK edition

In 2004, when the Formula One circus first travelled to the Middle East for the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix, there was little sign of the storm to come. The first event was hailed as a success — and not just for Michael Schumacher, who notched up his 73rd victory in the Sakhir desert. The FIA — the sport's governing body — even declared it that year's ‘Best Organised Grand Prix’. Few would have guessed then that, eight years later, so many would want to see the race cancelled. But when the calls came — first from Nabeel Rajab, the Vice President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, two days after Bahraini police were accused of beating him — it wasn’t such a surprise.

James Forsyth

ECHR reform won’t happen

From our UK edition

In Westminster, the debate about the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights is all being seen through the prism of the Abu Qatada case. Undoubtedly, the whole debate over how many days had elapsed is something Theresa May and the Home Office would have liked to avoid. It has also come at a particularly unfortunate time for the government when people are prepared to believe it has been incompetent even when it hasn't been. But what, I expect, is more significant in the long term than Abu Qatada is the fact that the Brighton conference on the ECHR is not going to deliver the meaningful reforms that David Cameron wants. It is becoming increasingly clear that the aim of reforming the ECHR from within is a pipe dream.

Sebastian Payne

Cameron approaches Lib Dems’ chief tormenter

From our UK edition

News is breaking at the Telegraph that Matthew Elliott — head of the TaxPayers' Alliance — is being considered for an adviser role in Downing Street. It would be strategic move by Cameron, and a bold one given Elliot's effective work on the Alternative Vote referendum. That campaign, which focused on Nick Clegg's shortcomings, is the greatest sore between the Prime Minister and his deputy, raising the question of how Lib Dems react to the news that their prime taunter has been being brought into the love nest of No.10. Many Conservatives will be heartened by the news, especially at a time when there is a brain drain sweeping across the coalition (with Richard Reeves' departure last night).

James Forsyth

Cameron and the civil service coup

From our UK edition

We thought CoffeeHousers might care to read James’s political column from this week's magazine (on sale today), so here it is: There is a split in the Cameron circle. The divide is between those who think that the problems of the past few weeks have been a blip, one that will end when Boris Johnson wins in London, and those — including some of the Prime Minister’s closest friends — who fear the problems are symptoms of a disease that could cripple the government. At stake in this debate is the future strategic direction, and the potential success, of the Cameron project. The Prime Minister, ever the optimist, is in the first camp. He is inclined to think that he is experiencing a normal bout of mid-term turbulence.

Sebastian Payne

The View from 22 — 19 April 2012

From our UK edition

For your listening pleasure, here is the second episode of The View from 22 podcast. Thanks for all the feedback on our first attempt, we've tried to take as much as possible into account this time. In this episode, Fraser and I speak to the Labour MP and historian Tristram Hunt about the teaching of history in schools. Freddy Gray discusses this week's cover on the runners and riders in the French presidential election. And James Forsyth reports on a deficit of politicians inside Downing Street . You can listen below with the embedded player or — best of all — subscribe through iTunes. As before, we'd love to hear what you think, good or bad.  The View from 22 - 19 April 2012.

Wednesday

James Forsyth

Reeves resignation is bad news for Clegg

From our UK edition

The departure of his senior aide Richard Reeves is a major blow to Nick Clegg. Reeves, a relative newcomer to the Lib Dems, was far less focused on party structures than many of those in Clegg’s circle and instead concentrated on the party’s long term electoral prospects. Reeves’s view was that there was a space in British politics for a party that was classically liberal on economics and socially liberal on other matters. He wanted to turn the Lib Dems into a party that was as comfortable in government as in opposition. There will be those who want to read something political into Reeves’s departure.

Peter Hoskin

British jobs, British workers and this government

From our UK edition

Chris Grayling gave a speech today that mirrored his response to the recent work experience brouhaha: punchy, practical and broadly persuasive. Except there were some parts that might cause a few jitters, and which are certainly representative of jitters along Downing Street. First, this passage: ‘It's easy to hire someone from Eastern Europe with five years' experience and who has had the get-up-and-go to cross a continent in search for work. But those who look closer to home find gems too. Very often the surly young man in a hoodie who turns up looking unwilling to work can turn into an excited and motivated employee.’ And then this: ‘I personally think that anyone who offshores customer service is mad.

Lloyd Evans

A taxing PMQs for Cameron

From our UK edition

And on it rumbles. Last month’s budget seems to have created more niche-losers than any tax settlement in history. Those who feel deprived are still squealing about it. At PMQs today Ed Miliband took a swipe at the Prime Minister on their behalf. Billionaires get bungs, grannies get mugged. That’s the headline Miliband was aiming for but didn’t quite find. He adopted his best silent-assassin mode and politely asked the PM to confirm whether or not a bonus of £40k was winging its way into the wallets of Britain’s top earners. Cameron couldn’t switch subject fast enough. The Budget, he claimed, was all about cutting taxes for 24 million workers and lowering corporation tax to make us more competitive.