So that’s it then. The Lisbon Treaty has passed sucessfully through Parliament, despite an 11th-hour Tory effort to delay proceedings. The UK now joins a merry band of 19 EU countries which have all ratified the document. It’s a gross betrayal of the ‘No’ vote in the Irish referendum. The noise coming out of Downing Street is that
Guido helpfully points out that there’s now a counter-petition to the anti-ratification one set up by Richard North and Neil O’Brien on the Downing Street website. This new petition states: “We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Ignore the result of the Irish referendum and ratify the Lisbon Treaty.” So – in a roundabout
For those who missed PMQs earlier, here – courtesy of Politics Home – is footage of the Brown and Cameron exchanges. You can read Fraser’s write-up here.
Labour have confirmed that they won’t put forward a candidate for the Haltemprice & Howden by-election. For Team Davis, this will surely ingrain those worries that I mentioned earlier. But, depsite that, Davis had already set up the perfect response to the news. Talking to the BBC earlier, he said: “Gordon Brown … is my real opponent”. Now he just
Brown’s been Prime Minister for a year next week, so you can expect the papers to be stuffed with articles on his premiership so far. Coffee House will be making its own contribution, but it’s Jonathan Freedland who gets the ball rolling in this morning’s Guardian. And he does so with some venom. The headline tells
So, today’s the day that David Davis will formally step down as an MP, to begin his campaign against stolen liberties. On balance, I think he and his team will be happy with how it’s gone so far. Almost a week after his initial announcement, the Davis gambit is still featuring heavily in the newspapers. And
You can access David Davis’ campaign website here. Hat-tip: Iain Dale
According to a new YouGov / Open Europe poll: 54% [of respondents] agreed with the statement that “The government should drop the Lisbon Treaty and not try and ratify it”. Just 14% agreed that “The government should carry on and ratify the Lisbon Treaty in the UK”.That’s pretty emphatic, I’d say. For full results, click here
George Osborne’s referred to it as a “gesture” – which is almost certainly true. But at least the announcement that ministers will give up their pay rise this year is the right kind of gesture. As Brown said earlier, “MPs should set the example at a time of public sector pay restraint.” Now all he’s got
So the latest ONS data puts May’s inflation at 3.3 percent – the highest figure since the current measure was introduced in 1997, and higher even than the 3.2 percent that many pessimistic analysts were predicting. Obviously, it’s bad news for consumers – if the official inflation figure is this high, you can be sure that the “real” inflation of day-to-day life
Even if you don’t agree with his conclusions, Steve Richards is always worth reading. His article in today’s Independent is a case in point. It largely lambasts the actions of David Davis, but – in doing so – it provides by far the best account of what Richards calls “the unfashionable ‘Westminster Village’ wing of
Three Line Whip are reporting that we won’t hear a rousing speech or probing question from David Davis during Wednesday’s PMQs. It looks like that champagne will be staying firmly in the the Coffee House cellar, then…
The Guardian’s reporting that Kelvin MacKenzie probably won’t run in the Haltemprice & Howden by-election after all. Perhaps a sign that Murdoch and Co. don’t want to pick a fight with the Tories? But Leo McKinstry has just contacted Coffee House to confirm that another candidate will be standing against Davis – one David Craig, the author of a book
Over at Conservative Home, David Davis sets out his reasons for resigning as an MP. He also provides details of the website he’s launching tomorrow, and of how people can help out with his campaign. Well worth a read.
For those who haven’t read it yet, I’d recommend Rachel Johnson’s article in the latest issue of the magazine. Her thesis is neatly contained in this paragraph: “If you add up all the nine-to-five jobs, the extra me-time and us-time and evenings out for the stressed parents trying to keep their marriages alive (two nights’
Hm. I’m not sure about Cameron’s ‘green’ speech today. Not because I have anything hugely against the green agenda per se. But I am concerned about how the current Government’s environmental taxes have trickled downwards and hit the public hard in the pocket. Of course, Cameron says that he is too. Although this passage, in particular, could create the opposite
On Saturday, James asked CoffeeHousers to suggest how David Davis can keep his campaign in the news. He’s doing alright so far – most of the major Monday columnists have penned Davis-themed articles this morning. But I have a sneaking suspicion that it will be Government blunders which ultimately keep the former shadow home secretary
So far, the Government have acted as pig-headed as we expected them to over the Irish referendum result. Rather than seeing it as a sign that the public may have very real concerns about the Lisbon Treaty, Brown and Co. have merely used the opportunity to get even cosier with their EU counterparts. However, there
Here – thanks to Politics Home – is what Cameron has to say on the No camp’s victory in the Irish referendum: “The Treaty is now dead … It would be the height of arrogance for Gordon Brown to press ahead with the Treaty – if this is not dead, then we need a referendum in
The man of the moment – David Davis – has kindly agreed to a Q&A session with Coffee House. So, post your questions for him in the comments sections below. And, in a week-or-so’s time, we’ll pick out the best ten and put them to the former shadow home secretary. He’ll get back to us