Politics

Read about the latest UK political news, views and analysis.

Monday

3 Oct 2016

Steerpike

Nicky Morgan in the naughty corner

With Nicky Morgan the new Peter Bone of the Conservative party, the former Education Secretary is making her mark at this year’s conference as a Cameroon without a brief. Her opposition to Theresa May’s grammar school plans has not gone down well with No.10. Today Patrick McLoughlin used his interview with the Mirror to question why Morgan had allowed a grammar school to expand during her tenure if she was so against the idea. So, perhaps that’s why May has decided to keep a close eye on Morgan at this year’s event. Morgan was part of a panel discussion this morning titled ‘inequality in education’. While she used the session to re-iterate her concerns, it

Isabel Hardman

Philip Hammond’s ‘sombre’ speech acknowledges the impact of Brexit on businesses

Philip Hammond’s speech has had a mixed reaction from his MP colleagues, it is fair to say. A number have run up to me and rolled their eyes at how terrible his jokes were, or at his skill in managing to make one of the most important jobs in government sound boring, even telling delegates at one point not to switch off before talking about the very interesting productivity puzzle. One minister mutters that the speech was ‘classic Hammond’, which was more of a reference to his lack of charisma than his rather downbeat assessment of everything, from how interesting his job is to the consequences of Brexit. It was

Isabel Hardman

Theresa May’s honeymoon isn’t over yet

This Tory conference is making clear quite how topsy-turvy politics has become over the past few months. David Davis is sweeping around with a ministerial entourage. The Cameroons are largely absent. Nicky Morgan, who started the year as an ultra-loyal Cabinet minister prepared to help the Prime Minister out and soothe any row, has become a vociferous critic of the government, the new Peter Bone of the Tory party (without the luminous green tie). Meanwhile, the former rebels on the eurosceptic right of the party such as Steve Baker and Bernard Jenkin are walking around in a sunny state of happiness. So the rebels are now happy. And the loyalists

Tom Goodenough

Coffee House Shots: Philip Hammond’s conference speech

Philip Hammond is the unlikely headline act of the day at the Conservative party conference. The Chancellor used his speech to row back on his predecessor George Osborne’s plan to cut the deficit and also promised to up spending. But Hammond also had some words of warning about Brexit. He said that while the referendum vote marked the ‘beginning of a new age’, there was no room for complacency as he pledged to prepare Britain for possible turbulence ahead. So how did his speech go down? James Forsyth, who was in the hall listening, has this to say on the podcast: ‘Philip Hammond isn’t a classical orator. This was not

James Forsyth

The Hammond era will be very different to the Osborne one

Philip Hammond is a very different kind of Chancellor than George Osborne. Osborne’s conference speeches ranged across the policy landscape; Hammond’s was tightly focused on his brief. You wouldn’t have known from it that Hammond had been Foreign Secretary until a few months ago. On the economy, Hammond confirmed that the government was no longer targeting a surplus by 2020. Hammond, sounding less downbeat about Brexit than he had on the radio this morning, was clear that there will be a fiscal stimulus announced in the autumn statement. Hammond also talked about how to raise productivity, his favourite subject. One striking feature of Hammond’s speech was how he repeatedly emphasised

The Spectator

Full text: Philip Hammond’s conference speech

It’s great to be back in Birmingham – and a privilege to address this conference as Chancellor of the Exchequer. I don’t think I am giving away any state secrets in admitting that I just might have hoped to have been a Treasury Minister a little bit earlier in my political career! In fact, having been Shadow Chief Secretary for the three years up to the 2010 General Election, I rather think that Liam Byrne’s infamous note to his successor – remember it? – “Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid there is no money”– I rather think it was intended for me. But it went to David Laws. Who published it!

Ross Clark

This is what a xenophobic referendum actually looks like

A country votes against the EU in a referendum in which rabidly anti-immigrant sentiments are aired by senior politicians. That is Hungary, of course, where voters have just rejected — with a majority of 98 per cent, albeit it on a turnout of 44 per cent, too low to make it binding — an EU plan for the country to house 1200 refugees. Now, perhaps, the Remain camp in Britain will stop trying to portray Britain as a nasty, xenophobic country out of step with European values and admit that actually we are really rather liberal in our attitudes towards migration. The only difference is that we had an in-out

Steerpike

Cathy Newman on ‘sharp’ northern MP: ‘don’t be fooled by her accent’

Although there have been efforts in recent years to make the British media less London-centric, problems persist. While the BBC opened their Salford office in a bid to widen the net, it’s Channel 4 who now seem to be struggling to get to grips with the North. Cathy Newman — the Channel 4 news presenter — has penned a blog for the Telegraph in which she suggests that Angela Rayner — the Shadow Education Secretary — is one to watch. Alas, although the article itself is full of praise for the Labour politician who hails from Stockport, the Twitter sell is another matter entirely. In a message to her followers, Newman told them

Tom Goodenough

Philip Hammond’s Brexit scepticism is alive and well

In the run-up to the referendum, Philip Hammond was one of those warning of the dire consequences of a vote to leave the EU. He predicted that Brexit would have a ‘chilling effect’ on the UK economy and said there would be uncertainty for years to come. Since being made Chancellor, Hammond has softened his language about the doom and gloom of Brexit. But only just. This morning, he’s been touring the studios and airwaves ahead of his keynote speech at the Tory party conference in Birmingham. His headline announcement? Ditching the policy put in place by George Osborne to wipe out the deficit by 2020. But while the Chancellor

Tom Goodenough

Conservative party conference, day two: The Spectator guide

Philip Hammond takes to the stage today at Tory party conference to discuss the Conservative’s plans for an economy that ‘works for everyone’ – echoing Theresa May’s first pitch as Prime Minister on the steps of Downing Street. We’ll also hear from Sajid Javid, Andrea Leadsom and Liam Fox in some of the other big speeches of the day. Here’s the full run-through of what’s on today: Conference: 10.30am – 12.30pm: An economy that works for everyone Business secretary Greg Clark Communities secretary Sajid Javid Transport secretary Chris Grayling Chancellor Philip Hammond 2.30pm – 4.15pm: Culture secretary Karen Bradley Environment secretary Andrea Leadsom International trade secretary Liam Fox 4.30pm – 5.30pm:

Sunday

2 Oct 2016

Steerpike

Listen: Liam Fox savages Nick Clegg at Tory conference

On Sunday afternoon both Boris Johnson and David Davis gave speeches on Brexit in the main hall at Conservative conference. Happily, their fellow Brexiteer Liam Fox was not too left out and had a chance to share his thoughts at the Conservative Voice’s ‘Brexit, Europe and the world’ reception that evening. Clearly stung after Nick Clegg suggested he didn’t have a job at a recent Press Gallery lunch, Fox went on the offensive — branding the Lib Dem leader a ‘serial loser’ for doubting his power: ‘I hear Nick Clegg said I didn’t have a job because what we were acting on was delusional. Well I’d just ask you — before

Steerpike

Theresa May responds to Labour’s sisterhood

While Scottish Labour struggle to fill their events with supporters, the Scottish Conservatives can take heart that their resurgence is still going strong. Attendees for the Scottish Conservative and Unionist party reception queued around the bend to hear Ruth Davidson speak. Davidson spoke of her surprise that officials had put the Scots in a room where they could break things, before moving on to the F-word. After Labour’s women conference saw Harriet Harman and her comrades describe Theresa May as a non-sister, Davidson struck back — suggesting that it is the Conservatives who did the best for women’s equality. ‘People often ask what we do for women in this country, and I say

James Forsyth

A Boris speech that made you think

Boris Johnson’s speeches at Tory conference have normally been dedicated to making the audience laugh. As Mayor of London, he was freed from the constraints that Cabinet Ministers must labour under and so could have more fun than any other speaker. But as Foreign Secretary, Boris is constrained both by the conventions of diplomacy and a Number 10 that is keeping a particularly close eye on him. Now, Boris being Boris he didn’t totally obey the usual diplomatic niceties. He began by telling the audience how when he met the Russian Foreign Minister in New York at the UN general assembly last month, he had told him that Russia’s problems

Tom Goodenough

Coffee House Shots: Theresa May’s big Brexit speech

The Conservative party conference has started and Theresa May has kick-started this year’s gathering with her big speech on Brexit. The Prime Minister revealed earlier that Article 50 will be triggered by March next year. And when she took to the stage in Birmingham, she offered up a few more small glimmers about her Brexit plan. James Forsyth was in the hall to listen to the speech and he said the PM did her best not to talk about ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ Brexit. But was she successful? ‘I thought what was interesting about it was that she tried to say that this soft and hard Brexit distinction is wrong. But

The Spectator

Full text: Boris Johnson’s conference speech

I was at the UN general assembly in NY the other day and talking to the foreign minister of another country. I won’t say which one, since I must preserve my reputation for diplomacy, but let’s just say they have an economy about the size of Australia (though getting smaller, alas). Plenty of snow, nuclear missiles, balalaikas, oligarchs, leader who strips to the waist you get the picture. After a few tense exchanges my counterpart gave a theatrical sigh and said that any difficulties we had in our relationship were all Britain’s fault: “It was you guys who imposed democracy on us in 1990”. I was a bit startled by

Isabel Hardman

Theresa May’s ‘hard Brexit’ hint

We had heard a great deal of Theresa May’s Brexit speech to the Conservative party conference before – to the word, in fact, with the Prime Minister using the same scripted soundbites that she’s deployed as a shield against having to answer questions about Brexit directly. ‘We will not be able to give a running commentary or a blow-by-blow account of the negotiations,’ she told the hall, warning that ‘history is littered with negotiations that failed when the interlocutors predicted the outcome in detail and in advance’. It was difficult not to think of the most recent negotiation where this has happened: David Cameron’s attempt to change Britain’s relationship with

The Spectator

Full text: David Davis’s conference speech

Ladies and gentlemen, on the 23rd of June the British people voted for change. And this is going to be the biggest change for a generation: we are going to leave the European Union. It was we, the Conservative Party, who promised the British people a referendum. It was David Cameron, a Conservative Prime Minister, who honoured that promise. And now it will be this government, a Conservative government that will lead the United Kingdom out of the European Union and into a brighter and better future. This must be a team effort. And I am proud to count myself part of Theresa May’s team. I don’t know what it

The Spectator

Full speech: Theresa May on ‘Britain after Brexit’

81 days ago, I stood in front of Ten Downing Street for the first time as Prime Minister, and I made a promise to the country. I said that the Government I lead will be driven not by the interests of a privileged few, but by the interests of ordinary, working-class families. People who have a job, but don’t always have job security. People who own their own home, but worry about paying the mortgage. People who can just about manage, but worry about the cost of living and getting their kids into a good school. And this week, we’re going to show the country that we mean business. But

Alex Massie

Why didn’t Theresa May campaign for Brexit?

According to Theresa May, interviewed by Tim Shipman in today’s Sunday Times, Brexit will make the United Kingdom ‘a sovereign and independent nation‘ once again. I know we are all supposed to be impressed by our new Prime Minister and much enthused by her Matron Gragrind approach to politics that is, again, such a refreshing change from the soft-furnished Call me Dave years but, really, can we pause for a moment to note that this is twaddle. Because if it were true – and if it were true that Mrs May believes this – then we are asked to believe that Britain was not, before its blessed liberation in June, a sovereign or independent nation. And if she

Steerpike

Lord Feldman attempts a comeback

What a difference a year makes. This time last year Lord Feldman was giving a speech as party chairman to welcome Conservative party members to Tory conference. Now no longer chairman, Feldman is out of government along with the majority of the Notting Hill set. However, this hasn’t stopped Feldman from attending this year’s event in Birmingham. While David Cameron has decided to chillax and give the event a miss, Mr S hears his old chum is in town. A little birdy tells Mr S Feldman is here to make the case for his review into the party. The report — published in March — suggested a need for a more diverse selection of candidates and