Tom Goodenough

Tom Goodenough

Tom Goodenough is online editor of The Spectator.

Friday

Tom Goodenough

The tragic timing of the Nice terror attack

The death toll from last night's Nice terror attack has now topped more than 80. It also looks as though some 50 people were injured when a truck driven by a 31-year-old man, who was known to police but not to the intelligence services, tore through the crowd of people celebrating Bastille day. Isabel Hardman, who was in Nice at the time of the attack, has reported on the aftermath. In the hours following the devastating incident, the analysis has also started. What seems particularly tragic about this horrendous incident is that it strikes a France which was on the mend after last year's attacks in Paris in November, which left 130 people dead, and in January, when the offices of Charlie Hebdo - a French satirical magazine - were targeted.

Thursday

Tom Goodenough

Watch: Home Secretary Amber Rudd on Boris – ‘he isn’t the man you want driving you home’

Amber Rudd didn't pull her punches during the referendum campaign when she aimed her fire at Boris Johnson. During a heated ITV debate, she said this about Boris: 'Boris? Well, he's the life and soul of the party but he's not the man you want driving you home at the end of the evening. This is a very serious choice you have to make.' Of course, when Rudd said those words it would be difficult to imagine the events that would play out over the next few weeks. And now, just a month later, Britain is heading out of the EU, Theresa May is our new PM and Rudd and Boris are Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary. These vicious comments during the ITV debate made many at the time wonder whether the Tory party would ever be able to put itself back together again.

Tom Goodenough

Watch: Angela Eagle’s terrible timing continues as she reacts to Boris’ appointment

Angela Eagle's leadership launch has so far been characterised by one thing: her terrible timing. When she announced her bid to run against Jeremy Corbyn on Monday, journalists abandoned her speech after Andrea Leadsom dropped out of the Tory race at the same moment - leaving Eagle desperately trying to find anyone left in the audience who wanted to actually ask a question. And last night's attempt to try and drum up support in her flailing campaign also came to a halt when the news filtered through that Boris Johnson had been made Foreign Secretary. After taking some time to regain her composure, Eagle told the crowd that the news Boris was in the Foreign Office showed the importance of electing a Labour government.

Wednesday

Tom Goodenough

Watch: Highlights from David Cameron’s final PMQs, ‘I was the future once’

David Cameron's final PMQs brought out the best of the House of Commons. There was a good balance of wit, wisdom, jokes and also accountability as the PM and Corbyn traded off for the final time over the despatch box. The SNP did their best to spoil the party by bringing Cameron crashing back to earth, as Angus Robertson brutally said Cameron's legacy would only be bringing Britain to the brink of Brexit. But mostly, it was a fitting send-off for a Prime Minister who managed to compare Jeremy Corbyn to Monty Python's 'Black Knight', confirmed his love of Larry the cat and said he was pleased Corbyn had taken Mary Cameron's satorial advice on board. In an emotional sign off, Cameron had this to say: I will watch these exchanges from the back benches.

Tom Goodenough

Owen Smith launches ‘radical and credible’ Labour leadership bid. But is anyone listening?

Owen Smith has officially thrown his hat into the ring for the Labour leadership contest. But the question on many people's lips is: who is he? A recent poll of Welsh Labour voters showed that 69 per cent had no idea who Smith was. So whilst Angela Eagle's leadership bid launch might have been overshadowed by events elsewhere in Westminster, she is at least a more familiar face to those in the party who will be picking the new leader. During his Today interview this morning, he was asked whether he was familiar enough to stand a chance. Smith had this to say: 'Well Angela Eagle has been in Parliament for a quarter of a century, I've been in Parliament for six years. So I'm not surprised by that (that people don't know me). But they're going to get a chance to know me.

Tom Goodenough

Will Corbynistas be willing to stump up £25 to back their man?

On the day Theresa May takes control at No.10 in a comparatively seemly transition, the Labour party is in the midst of the biggest crisis in its history. Jeremy Corbyn will be on the ballot paper in what looks set to be a messy and fractious leadership contest. He also looks likely to win: in September, he picked up 59 per cent of the votes and, amongst the party's membership, little seems to have changed to knock that support. A quick glance at Corbyn's Facebook page reveals a lot about the huge base of support the Labour leader can count on. A not-wildly-exciting video uploaded last night in which Corbyn sits at a desk in his grey jacket proclaiming the NEC decision has already been watched hundreds of thousands of times. The messages of adulation, too, speak for themselves: 'Excellent.

Tuesday

Tom Goodenough

Second EU referendum petition gets debate go-ahead. But what’s the point?

Signing a petition calling for a referendum re-run might seem rather futile after the Brexit vote was done and dusted. But it seems that the four million people who did just that and put pen to paper haven't completely wasted their time after all. The petition, which said that the Government should hold a re-run if 'the remain or leave vote is less than 60 per cent based on a turnout less than 75 per cent', has jumped its first hurdle. Putting aside who decided that this precise percentage was the exact bar which needed to be reached, Parliament will now discuss the petition in Westminster Hall on September 5th. In a statement, the Petitions Committee had this to say: 'The Petitions Committee has decided to schedule a House of Commons debate on this petition.

Tom Goodenough

Mark Carney clashes with Jacob Rees-Mogg over BoE’s Brexit warnings

Jacob Rees-Mogg and Mark Carney’s clash at this morning’s Treasury Committee was a masterclass in passive aggressiveness veiled in pleases and thankyous. From the words being said, it wasn’t clear there was any enmity in the room. But Carney’s expressions couldn’t have made things clearer: there is certainly no love lost between these two. Before the referendum, Rees-Mogg said Carney had come under 'undue influence' during the referendum campaign from the Treasury. Today, the Tory MP went on the attack in the politest way possible as he tried his trump card question once again about whether Carney would have conducted himself in the same way during a general election. Last time, Carney batted away the question deftly.

Tom Goodenough

Angela Eagle’s leadership launch goes from bad to worse: ‘I’m not crying now, am I’

There were no great bombshells being dropped elsewhere or dramas unfolding in the Tory leadership race to distract attention away from Angela Eagle during her interview this morning on Today. But the Labour leadership hopeful might have been wishing there had been. It's a big day for Eagle, with the party's NEC deciding today whether Jeremy Corbyn will end up on the ballot paper in the leadership contest. Yet after a doomed leadership launch yesterday in which journalists walked out to go and cover Andrea Leadsom's decision to drop out, things didn't go much better this morning during her interview with John Humphrys. In a particularly awkward exchange, she was asked whether crying on air, as she had done, was really something a leader should do.

Tom Goodenough

‘May Day’: How the papers reacted to our new PM-in-waiting

David Cameron is now in in his last full day in Downing Street and already all eyes are on the woman who will replace him. Theresa May is on the front of every newspaper this morning as she prepares to take over at No.10. Here's how the papers have greeted Britain's new PM-in-waiting: The Daily Mail, which backed Theresa May in the Tory leadership race, relishes the prospect of her taking over from David Cameron. On its front page, the paper describes the handover as the 'Coronation of Theresa' - making a big show of her promise to heal rifts and make Brexit a success. Don't expect such uncompromising praise to last though: the hard work of negotiation starts now and the Mail won't be alone in holding May to her pledge to make Brexit work.

Monday

Tom Goodenough

Theresa May vows to ‘make a success’ of Brexit

Theresa May's speech outside Parliament was all about conciliation: she made a point of paying tribute to Andrea Leadsom and David Cameron before giving a brief summary of what May's Britain will look like. She said her focus was on uniting Britain and, once again, she spelt out that ‘Brexit means Brexit’ – a phrase she has used again and again, which says absolutely nothing about what she thinks Brexit means. Surrounded by MPs and standing next to her husband Philip, she had this to say outside the Commons: 'I am honoured and humbled to have been chosen by the Conservative Party to become its leader.

Tom Goodenough

David Cameron: Theresa May will be in No.10 by Wednesday

David Cameron has given his backing to Theresa May and he's also confirmed that by Wednesday evening, he'll be out of Downing Street for good. The Prime Minister said that tomorrow he'll chair his last Cabinet and that Wednesday's PMQs will be his final appearance at the despatch box. During his brief statement just now, Cameron said that he was 'delighted' his replacement would be the Home Secretary. Here's what he had to say on the steps of Downing Street: 'I think Andrea Leadsom has absolutely made the right decision to stand aside and it is clear Theresa May has the overwhelming support of the Conservative Parliamentary party. I am also delighted that Theresa May will be the next Prime Minister.

Tom Goodenough

Angela Eagle picks the worst possible moment to launch her leadership bid

As leadership launches go, the timing could not have been worse for Angela Eagle. Moments before she was due to set out her pitch, rumours started to circulate that Andrea Leadsom was dropping out of the race for the Tory leadership. By the time Eagle had actually started speaking, Leadsom was elsewhere reading a statement confirming the news to a scrum of journalists. All of this seems particularly unfortunate for Eagle given how long she appears to have spent mulling the decision. In the end, she couldn't have picked a worse moment to actually show her hand. Though the publicity was snuffed out by this morning's other events, what about the significance of Eagle's bid? Here was her pitch: 'I wouldn't do this if I didn't think I could be a good Prime Minister for Britain.

Tom Goodenough

Andrea Leadsom gives an apology of sorts. But is it too late?

Andrea Leadsom initially tried to go on the attack following the row over her motherhood comments sparked by an article in the Times on Saturday. Today, the Tory leadership candidate appears to be attempting a different technique to put out this fire for good. At first, she was 'disgusted' by the presentation of the piece which suggested she was a better choice for PM than Theresa May because she had children. Today, she had this to say: 'I've already said to Theresa how very sorry I am for any hurt that I have caused and how that article said completely the opposite of what I said and believe.' The problem for Leadsom, though, is that her apology doesn't really cut it. It's clear from what she is saying that she is only sorry still for the way the article was presented.

Tuesday

Tom Goodenough

Junior doctors deal blow to Government after rejecting contract. What happens now?

Just when it looked as though Britain's vacuum Government had enough on its plate, the junior doctors row - which many had hoped had finished - will now bubble on. BMA members have just voted to reject the Government's contract offer by 58 per cent to 42 per cent. The margin was convincing enough that the BMA's chair Johann Malawana, who proved an effective combatant against Jeremy Hunt during the dispute, has stepped down. In his letter, Malawana pointed the finger of blame at the Government, saying: 'I believe the fundamental breakdown in trust caused by the government's actions over the last five years has resulted in a situation where no solution is possible, particularly when a government is so keen to declare victory over frontline staff.

Tom Goodenough

Stephen Crabb sets out nervy Tory leadership pitch ahead of today’s vote

Stephen Crabb is one of the least experienced candidates in this Tory leadership contest and that was on show during his interview on the Today programme just now. To his credit, Crabb - unlike Theresa May - has made it clear that he doesn't want EU citizens living in the UK to be 'negotiating chips' in any negotiation. He also comes across as likeable in his answers about the importance of staying civilised during Brexit negotiations. But whilst it's patently obvious that Crabb is deeply principled it's hard not to ignore the simple fact that he sounds nervous. This is sure to stand against him when he's pitted against some of the others in this Conservative leadership race, particularly 'experience' candidates like Theresa May.

Tom Goodenough

Theresa May marches ahead in Tory leadership poll

Voting kicks off today amongst Tory MPs in the first round of ballots to decide who will be Prime Minister. Little seems certain about the outcome of a leadership election which has already offered up much drama in the first week. But based on the large support of Conservative MPs gathering behind Theresa May, it is difficult to imagine the Home Secretary not being on the final shortlist going to members. According to our list of which Tory MPs are backing who, May now has the support of more than 100 of her Conservative colleagues. That tally puts her way in front of her rivals, with Andrea Leadsom trailing in second with 38 Tory MPs behind her. Whilst many Conservative MPs haven't publicly sided one way or the other, the consensus around May is building.

Monday

Tom Goodenough

Coffee House podcast: Farage resigns. What now for Ukip?

Nigel Farage has joined the growing list of politicians to resign after stepping aside as Ukip leader this morning. It was a surprise move, which Farage said was brought about by him feeling that he had 'done his bit' following the Brexit vote last month. In a speech, the Ukip leader said that he wanted his life back. So what next for the party he leaves behind? On the podcast, Isabel Hardman tells Fraser Nelson: 'Given Farage resigned and then un-resigned after the General Election and then spent the next few months really taking out his political rivals, it was starting to look as though he was gearing up for an eternal reign as Ukip leader.

Tom Goodenough

Andrea Leadsom spells out why Brexit isn’t bad news at her Tory leadership launch

Andrea Leadsom is the last of the five candidates to launch her bid for the Tory leadership. But if the bookies odds are anything to go on, she is rapidly emerging as a potential frontrunner in this race. Many will view Leadsom as one of the 'Brexit candidates' in this fight. Somewhat refreshingly, though, she painted Brexit not as something for Britain to be afraid of but a positive step. Towards the end of the speech, she said that: 'As your Prime Minister my ambition will be to guide our country to those sunlit uplands.' She also went on to borrow David Cameron's reference during the referendum campaign to voting for our children and grandchildrens' sakes, to suggest that Brexit will be good for future generations.

Tom Goodenough

Nigel Farage resigns as Ukip leader

Nigel Farage has resigned as Ukip leader. Farage announced his decision to stand aside as the party's leader in a speech this morning. In a surprise move, Farage said that the Brexit vote meant that his 'political ambition has been achieved' and that he was calling time on his leadership of the party. He said: 'I have decided to stand aside as Leader of UKIP. The victory for the 'Leave' side in the referendum means that my political ambition has been achieved. I came into this struggle from business because I wanted us to be a self-governing nation, not to become a career politician. UKIP is in a good position and will continue, with my full support to attract a significant vote. Whilst we will now leave the European Union the terms of our withdrawal are unclear.