Isabel Hardman 
Lord Mandelson gives Miliband two big tasks
There is always something quietly devastating about a pronouncement from Lord Mandelson. Today more polls reveal the Labour party is failing to make headway when the Tories are in an… Continue reading
26 Comments
Hammond on manoeuvres? The other Tory MPs who fancy a crack at the leadership
There’s plenty of speculation in Westminster today that Philip Hammond is busy positioning himself as a future leadership contender. Last night he had some pretty strong words about the Government’s… Continue reading
28 Comments
Why was Nigel Farage so rattled on the radio?
Nigel Farage seemed rather rattled when discussing his Edinburgh escapade on Good Morning Scotland today. You can listen to the full clip below, which culminates in the Ukip leader announcing… Continue reading
273 Comments
Turnips, bread-throwing and public weighing: the life of an MP
MPs don’t always enjoy the best of reputations with the voters they represent. In fact, if an MP is notorious and disliked, then at least they are doing better than… Continue reading
3 Comments
Ministers aren’t just preparing for Coalition divorce, they’re organising arguments with their partners too
Reports today that the Conservatives are wargaming end-of-Coalition scenarios in the event of the Lib Dems leaving early won’t come as a surprise, given the bickering over the past few… Continue reading
19 Comments
The Tory Blame Game
Who is to blame for last night’s Tory uprising on Europe? It’s more entertaining to pin the blame on everyone, rather than one person, and in this case, it’s wrong… Continue reading
31 Comments
130 MPs support Queen’s Speech amendment on EU referendum
So 130 MPs have backed the Baron/Bone amendment to the Queen’s Speech. There will be Labour and other parties in this group, but reasonable estimates suggest that 100 Tories went… Continue reading
60 Comments
Cameron says he’s relaxed about tonight’s Queen’s Speech vote. But is he?
MPs are storming their way through the Queen’s Speech debate this afternoon, with a vote on that troublesome EU referendum bill amendment expected around 7pm. But for all their talk… Continue reading
32 Comments
Nadine Dorries: I want to be a joint Tory/Ukip candidate
Nadine Dorries has given an interview to The Spectator this week in which she reveals that she will be holding talks with her constituency association about a joint Tory/Ukip endorsement for… Continue reading
80 Comments
Rigged petrol prices will outrage voters far more than Europe ever could
Believe it or not, while voters might be unimpressed by the ferrets fighting in a sack over Tory Europe strategy, what will interest them far more is the possibility that… Continue reading
20 Comments
Forget the nasty party: this is the Angry Party
Even those who like to specialise in the inner workings of the mind of a Tory backbencher are rather baffled by the twists and turns of the party this week.… Continue reading
147 Comments
Diane Abbott to turn Labour’s attention to a ‘crisis of masculinity’
Diane Abbott has been thinking long and hard of late about how Labour responds to the family. She offers the next instalment of her ideas in a speech to think… Continue reading
96 Comments
DCMS permanent secretary Jonathan Stephens to leave post
Jonathan Stephens, permanent secretary at the Culture, Media and Sport department, has today announced he is moving on, after a cross-Whitehall effort to shift him, I have learned. Stephens, who… Continue reading
4 Comments
Not all eurosceptics are asking for more from the leadership
The Tory MPs who are unhappy with Number 10′s offer of a draft EU referendum bill have been making the most noise this morning, but there have been some interesting… Continue reading
38 Comments
Tory EU turmoil allows Labour and Lib Dems to develop strong message discipline
The dizzy behaviour of the Tory party on Europe is allowing its opponents to develop an incredibly strong message discipline. This is ironic because the Labour party has its own… Continue reading
79 Comments
Tory leadership publishes draft EU referendum bill in a panic, and fails to convince backbenchers
David Cameron was trying to work out how on earth to deal with the latest Europe row in his party. He heard them demanding legislation in this parliament for a… Continue reading
73 Comments
Obama warns Britain that leaving the EU would be an isolationist step
President Obama took care this afternoon when asked about an EU referendum to give as nuanced an answer as possible. He emphasised repeatedly that this was a matter for the… Continue reading
126 Comments
How will the Tory leadership deal with MPs wanting a UKIP pact?
Nigel Farage says his party is in talks with a number of Conservative associations about a joint endorsement with UKIP. He told the Daily Politics today that ‘there is no… Continue reading
57 Comments
Childish childcare bickering continues
Last winter, the surest way to get a Lib Dem to ring you back was to mention the words ‘boundary changes’. Better still to write a piece criticising the party’s… Continue reading
21 Comments
David Cameron needs to become a man with a plan
‘I’m a man with a plan,’ David Cameron told the Conservative party conference in 2008. Now the Prime Minister is struggling to give the impression he does have a plan… Continue reading
59 Comments