Isabel Hardman

Isabel Hardman

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.

Tuesday

Isabel Hardman

Government the easy way: blame the people, not the system

From our UK edition

There's something about taking on a government role that makes even the most sensible man fancy himself as a vicar. It's easy to get confused: you find yourself lurking around Parliament, which looks a bit like a church, you can give speeches that drone on a bit like sermons, and in the Commons, prayers are held at the start of each sitting. You end up preaching a little bit, not about how you want to reform the system, but about how people should run their own lives. The confusion even seems to extend to those unelected 'tsars' that modern governments love appointing, with James Caan starting his job as social mobility tsar by giving parents a lecture about how to bring up their children.

Isabel Hardman

The political battle over A&E will get nastier before the problem is solved

From our UK edition

Today's row about Accident and Emergency has little to do with the issue itself, and far more about one party trying to prove a point about the other. Those rows are the most vitriolic, the most hard-fought, and to the outside world, the most pointless. The King's Fund today finds waiting times are at their worst level for nine years. What's going wrong? Each side has its own theories. But what's significant is that each side is trying to use this row to steal that coveted 'party of the NHS' title. This was abundantly clear from Andy Burnham's response to the report, written in what appears to be a spitting rage.

Monday

Isabel Hardman

Mike Hancock resigns from Lib Dems

From our UK edition

Lib Dem MP Mike Hancock has resigned from the party to fight 'very serious allegations' about his conduct. He took the decision to do so after a meeting with the chief whip. The party this evening released a statement saying: 'Mike Hancock has chosen to resign the party whip while he defends himself against very serious allegations in a High Court civil action. Mike Hancock strenuously denies the allegations made in the civil case and intends to clear his name in court.' In a letter to party chief whip Alistair Carmichael, Hancock wrote: 'I can assure you that I will continue to vigorously defend my position and that I completely refute the allegations made against me. I'm doing this in the best interests of the party nationally and in Portsmouth and for my family.

Isabel Hardman

Lobbying Bill: Govt tries to solve one problem by tackling another

From our UK edition

This morning, the government's plans for a register of lobbyists were 'ongoing'. This afternoon, they're well on their way to becoming law. Number 10 has announced that it will be bringing forward a lobbying bill after all, and before the summer recess. Next time we hear the word 'ongoing', perhaps we won't all be so cynical about a bill's trajectory. Ministers have clearly decided to use a scandal about lobbying to crack down on the influence that trade unions hold over the Labour party, which is a non-sequitur. The weekend's allegations were about MPs and peers behaving badly, not trade union influence, and the government may find that its desire to seize the moment on this issue makes life a bit awkward as the legislation progresses.

Isabel Hardman

Even a limited snooping bill is causing the Home Office trouble

From our UK edition

David Cameron is giving a statement in the Commons this afternoon on, among other things, the Woolwich killing. He may well find himself answering questions afterwards about whether the government is planning to resurrect the Communications Data Bill, after a fierce debate in recess over whether it would have made any difference to the security and police services ability to stop the attack or to the investigation in the aftermath. The Lib Dem line remains that the party will not allow this legislation, and will only consider the very narrow issue of IP addresses. But there have been some interesting negotiations taking place behind the scenes, I hear. One is that the Home Office is struggling to find a way of getting the data it needs from mobile phone browsers.

Isabel Hardman

Lobbying scandal could threaten MPs’ pay rise plan

From our UK edition

Sleaze scandals will crop up in politics from time to time, but what makes the latest round of allegations particularly damaging is that the government has had two opportunities to at least address faltering public mistrust in politicians, and hasn't. Those pushing for the power to recall MPs and a register of lobbyists have had rocket boosters fitted to their campaigns in the past few days, and inevitably those who appear to have either blocked or at least dragged their feet on these two policies are now facing criticism for doing so. This morning, Francis Maude insisted that the register of lobbyists wouldn't have stopped the alleged behaviour reported over the weekend.

Isabel Hardman

Ed Balls steels himself for spending review battle

From our UK edition

Ed Balls has had plenty of warning about how politically dangerous this month's spending review will be for him. James reported in April that George Osborne planned to use the settlement (when he eventually gets it) to prod the Labour party. But perhaps it's also the party's inability to make polling hay from the Tories in crisis over the past month that has provoked not one but two big policy speeches from the Labour leadership this week. The concession that Balls will give in today's speech about universal benefits no longer being automatically justifiable has attracted the most attention.

Friday

Isabel Hardman

William Hague’s EU red card plan could reassure renegotiation sceptics

From our UK edition

The Conservatives know that the best way of detracting from the binary In/Out? debate about Europe in the Westminster bubble is to jolly well get on with making the case for reform in Europe. It is vital that ministers give the impression that there are changes that other European leaders would quite happily sign up to, rather than an impossible shopping list. William Hague's speech to the Konigswinter Conference in Germany today was part of that attempt. The idea he floated - of giving national parliaments a 'red card' to veto unwanted EU legislation - is something ministers and Tory MPs paving the way for a renegotiation have been discussing over the past month or so.

Isabel Hardman

Michael Gove’s campaigning masterclass

From our UK edition

In the past few weeks, the Tories have been so busy fighting each other that they appear to have forgotten about the Opposition party. But now, while things are quieter in the parliamentary recess, senior figures are starting to take the fight back to Labour. Michael Gove has written a barnstormer of an Op-Ed in today's Telegraph which marks the start of this onslaught with quite some gusto. He describes Ed Miliband as 'as clearly defined as a blancmange in a hurricane' and pokes fun at his recent Google Big Tent speech about Willy Wonka and Mr Burns. 'With less than two years before the general election, the Opposition has so little of weight to say that it makes a hole in the air seem substantial,' he writes.

Thursday

Isabel Hardman

What do women think about Palestine, Sam Cam?

From our UK edition

The Tories spend a lot of time and money scratching their heads about why women voters are deserting them. Today we were dropped a little clue as to why. Andy Coulson's GQ article contains all sorts of helpful advice for the Prime Minister including this nugget: 'There are few people in Number Ten with a better eye and [Samantha Cameron] could play a key role in the winning back of female voters. As a small example Sam would, I think, agree that when her husband talks about the importance of family he should be careful to include the words ‘single’ and ‘parent’ each and every time.

Isabel Hardman

Civilising the civil service

From our UK edition

Is Universal Credit on the brink of disaster? It's rather too early to tell whether this mammoth reform of the benefits system really is doomed, in spite of last week's warning from the Major Projects Authority. But whether it sinks or swims will not be because of the current structure of the Whitehall machine. I've written about the problems with the civil service, and how reforming ministers have to perform bypass surgery just to get things done in this week's magazine. But it's worth considering the five things that would make a big difference to the ability of the machine to deliver big projects. They are: 1. Responsibility. As Bernard Jenkin explains in the piece, private sector workers can make one project their entire career. In the civil service, officials move around.

Isabel Hardman

European Commission makes the case for curtailing its own power

From our UK edition

If anyone pushing for reform of Britain's relationship with Europe was hunting for an example of why there needs to be a renegotiation, they would have struggled to find a more perfect one than that served up by the European Commission. The Commission is taking the UK to the European Court of Justice, claiming its tests for EU nationals applying for benefits break EU law. Announcing that he will 'not cave in' to Brussels must have been one of the more satisfying moments of Iain Duncan Smith's career. What must have been even more satisfying to listen to was the exchange between Peter Lilley and rights adviser Adam Weiss on Radio 4 this morning in which Weiss ended up telling Lilley that the UK had asked for this sort of interference from Europe because the UK was part of the EU.

Isabel Hardman

Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare reform is hanging in the balance

From our UK edition

‘The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then they get elected and prove it,’ wrote P.J. O’Rourke in 1991. He might well say the same thing about the Conservatives in 2013. The much-trumpeted reform of the benefit system, the Universal Credit scheme, had a warning sign slapped on it last week by the Major Projects Authority (MPA). This was a bitter blow for Tories who want Universal Credit to succeed, not just because it is right, but because if it fails, it will discourage future governments from taking on important far-reaching reforms. It is too early to say whether Universal Credit (which rolls six benefits into one monthly payment) will sink or swim.

Wednesday

Isabel Hardman

What Labour wishes the OECD said about Plan A – and what it actually said

From our UK edition

Labour is apparently thrilled with the OECD's assessment of the UK economy, released today. The think tank cut its growth forecasts from 0.9 per cent to 0.8 for 2013 and from 1.6 per cent to 1.5 per cent for 2014, while warning of 'strong headwinds' from the eurozone. So Chris Leslie, the Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury seized on the report, saying: 'The OECD has once again cut its growth forecasts for the UK economy, warning that youth unemployment is too high and that weak growth means wages are not keeping up with price rises.' His colleague Rachel Reeves said it was 'time for the government to listen and act on growth'. If you're the sort of person who gets their news from Labour press releases, you might be dancing around your sitting room shouting 'Plan A isn't working!

Isabel Hardman

Grant Shapps’ peacemaking letter to Tory grassroots

From our UK edition

Largely because of events, the febrile atmosphere in the Tory party has gone as damp as the weather after weeks of bickering. A combination of the Woolwich killing and recess have turned attention elsewhere, but that doesn't mean things aren't still bubbling away under the lid. As any MP will remind you, parliamentary recess isn't holiday but more time in the constituency. And time in the constituency means time with your party members, who are particularly unhappy at the moment. So MPs aren't necessarily going to return on Monday with relaxed, sunkissed faces: more furrowed brows after awkward chats with constituency chairs. Which is why the Tory leadership is busying itself with a measure it hopes will cheer backbenchers up when they return from recess.

Isabel Hardman

Boris Johnson is ‘absolutely increasingly confident’ of Cameron 2015 win. How reassuring.

From our UK edition

Boris Johnson is 'absolutely increasingly confident' that David Cameron will win in 2015. This was the Mayor's attempt at responding to Andy Coulson's suggestion that he's desperate for the PM to fail so he can cycle in and save the party, a blond messiah. Attempt is perhaps the wrong word, as it suggests Boris made those remarks off the cuff when the Mayor gives every impression that he scripts each remark with as much care as he puts into his newspaper columns. He told 5 News' Andy Bell: 'I'm always grateful to Andy Coulson for his career advice but I'm backing David Cameron who I am absolutely increasingly confident is going to win.' This is damning praise.

Isabel Hardman

Forget coalition: forcing a Snooper’s Charter would be poor politics overall

From our UK edition

Optimists might think that a wariness on the part of senior Tory ministers to push through the Communications Data Bill without the Lib Dems' consent is at least a sign the parties are starting to appreciate the practical limits of Coalition. They clearly listened to the party when the row about an EU referendum bill flared earlier this month. Then, a Lib Dem source told Coffee House: ‘If you are going to start saying well the different parties in the Coalition can now bring forward any bills they like, then enjoy the mansion tax and 50p votes. That sort of thing would be of no benefit to either party in the Coalition or to the government.

Tuesday

Isabel Hardman

William Hague tries to reassure on ‘naive’ Syria arms plan

From our UK edition

Should the UK arm the Syrian rebels? William Hague thinks so, but it turns out neither his MPs nor the public are convinced. YouGov polling earlier this month found on 17 per cent of voters supported sending arms, and 56 per cent opposed the measure. Tory MPs such as John Redwood, John Baron and Julian Lewis today said the plan 'might make it worse rather than better', would 'escalate the violence and escalate the suffering' and that it was 'naive'. Hague himself insisted that no decision to supply arms had yet been taken, and that the EU decision to not renew the arms embargo was a way of putting pressure on all sides to attend a peace conference next month.

Isabel Hardman

George Osborne rules out further welfare cuts as IDS offers solution to spending review stalemate

From our UK edition

George Osborne's broadcast tour this morning served two purposes. The first was to reward those ministers who aren't playing hard to get in the spending review negotiations by praising their readiness to settle. The second was to prod Labour a bit. Osborne's love of 'weaponising' policy can irritate his colleagues at times, but the spending review is a welcome opportunity for the Chancellor to focus voters' minds on whether they really want to trust Labour with the economy again in 2015. He told BBC News: 'The British people will decide who's the government in 2015 but the financial year starts before the general election, so we have to set out spending plans like any organisation. 'You have to give departments a budget for the rest of the year.

Monday

Isabel Hardman

Ed Balls tries to shake off child in a sweetshop spending image

From our UK edition

Anyone reading Sam Coates' interview with Ed Balls in today's Times might be forgiven for chucking their newspaper on the floor with a chuckle, muttering about the hypocrisy of a Labour shadow Chancellor lecturing George Osborne on borrowing. Balls warns that the government's plans to offer Royal Bank of Scotland shares to the public will add billions to the deficit. He tells the newspaper: 'A giveaway or loss-making firesale at the current share price would and billions to the national debt at a time when poor economic growth already means borrowing isn't coming down.' But this is an attempt by Balls to appear fiscally responsible while making the case for 'good borrowing' elsewhere.