Isabel Hardman is assistant editor of The Spectator and author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians. She also presents Radio 4’s Week in Westminster.
Shortly before the last election a group of Labour MPs approached Ed Miliband to ask him what he would do if he lost. They suggested he could provide stability by staying on as leader for a while, as Michael Howard had done, and that his last duty should be to oversee an inquiry into what
Even though the Tories got their way on yesterday’s vote on tax credits, in which they managed to get a laws-of-physics-defying majority of 35, they cannot regard this matter as settled. Indeed, there is still a serious threat of a revolt on this matter. George Osborne held individual meetings with each of the handful of
PMQs today was interesting for all sorts of reasons. But one answer to a question which may have a longer-lasting impact than all the new politics stuff (which though quite welcome did feel a bit like someone making a show of going to the gym in January) may have completely escaped most people’s attention. It
Jeremy Corbyn wants to forge a new kind of politics, answering public discontent with the way things are done in Westminster. One of the things that voters often say they don’t like about politicians is the way they appear to abandon their principles in exchange for power. The idea that power acts as a sort
The government has a working majority of 16. But today it managed to win a tricky vote in the House of Commons that its own MPs were threatening to rebel on, and that the DUP had said it wouldn’t help the government on. The measure was on tax credits, and the government got a majority of
Labour has issued a line on why the party’s leader didn’t sing the National Anthem at today’s Battle of Britain memorial service: ‘Jeremy attended today’s event to show respect for those who fought in conflicts for Britain. ‘As he said in the words issued this morning, the heroism of the Royal Air Force in the Battle
If you’d missed Jeremy Corbyn’s election as Labour leader, and pitched up to business questions in the Commons today, you might not have noticed that much had changed, initially. Labour had a good frontbench team scrutinising the government, with Angela Eagle leading in her customary dry manner. She asked questions about the skills gap, while
Was the drone strike that killed Reyaad Khan authorised because he posed a threat to Britain, or because he posed a threat to Iraq? Last week, David Cameron told the House of Commons that the strike took place because ‘there was a terrorist directing murder on our streets and no other means to stop him’.
After being criticised for not involving enough women in his shadow cabinet, Jeremy Corbyn has brought more women in by creating cabinet roles. He has promoted ‘young people and voter registration’ to a Cabinet role and given the job to Gloria de Piero, who will be terrific at it given her interest in non-voters and
Funnily enough, the DUP aren’t particularly happy that Labour’s new Shadow Chancellor praised the ‘bravery’ of the IRA. They were already – as reported on Coffee House – nervous about Jeremy Corbyn becoming Labour leader. But a party source says: ‘Corbyn was a punch to roll with. He was elected after all. And ultimately he’s
Given few knew who Jeremy Corbyn was before the summer, chances are that few will know who John McDonnell is either. Well, here’s your quick guide. He was first elected in 1997, having previously served on the Greater London Council as member for Hayes and Harlington (the constituency he represents in Parliament). He is chair
These are the latest appointments to Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet: Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Seema Malhotra MP Shadow BIS Angela Eagle MP This tells us two things about Corbyn. One is that he is loyal to his friends. He and McDonnell have worked together for years, with Corbyn
In the past few minutes, more details of Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet team have been announced. Andy Burnham is the new Shadow Home Secretary, and is replaced by Heidi Alexander in the Shadow Health Secretary. This is intriguing, as Burnham has quite different views on immigration to Corbyn. Hilary Benn is the Shadow Foreign Secretary:
It was always obvious from the moment he won that Jeremy Corbyn’s frontbench team would look very different to the one that Labour had last week. What’s more surprising than those stepping back from the Shadow Cabinet, including Chuka Umunna, is who from a different wing of the party to Corbyn agrees to take a
Naturally, today is not a good day if you’re a Labour moderate. The Blairites’ troubles have been well publicised, but the old right, or moderate, wing of the party, represented by Labour First, is licking its wounds too. The faction did see Tom Watson elected Deputy Leader (which shows firstly that Watson and Corbyn are
We will get the Labour leadership result rather shortly. The candidates know already and their teams have gone into lockdown with their phones confiscated.I am hearing that Jeremy Corbyn has won and there is a strong chance he has won on the first round, which would be extraordinary and reinforce his mandate as he tries
Jeremy Corbyn has won the Labour leadership in the first round with an extraordinary 59.5 per cent of the vote. Andy Burnham came second. This is the result everyone was expecting: or at least what they had come to expect after initially expecting Corbyn to be at worst the joke candidate and at best the
A number of backroom staff in the Labour party have been in touch today to say goodbye ahead of an exodus of frontbenchers and staffers who disagree with Jeremy Corbyn. Most expect him to win the leadership contest, and know that their bosses won’t serve in his Shadow Cabinet, or suspect that they will struggle
The Assisted Dying debate in the House of Commons will be well worth re-reading or watching in full: it has been one of the best. The Bill will not progress any further, after MPs voted 330 to 118 against giving it a second reading. You can listen to some of the very best speeches from
The debate currently taking place on the second reading of the Assisted Dying Bill in the Commons is one of the best ones MPs have conducted in recent times. It is full of vehement, passionate disagreement. But it is also well-informed, not absurdly tribal or rowdy, and a debate that focuses on scrutinising the legislation