Coffee House The Spectator Blog
Refusing to bang on about Europe has brought about even more banging on than before
The BBC loves nothing better than a narrative in which Tory anti-European eccentrics split their party, and a bewildered public votes Labour. It is certainly the case that some of… Continue reading
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Will the draft EU referendum bill calm Tory tensions?
The last few days have seen the Tory party losing its collective head. Number 10 hopes that the publication of a draft referendum bill will begin to restore order. If… Continue reading
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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
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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
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Gove: I’d vote to leave the EU if referendum held today
In a firecracker of an interview on the Andrew Marr Show, Michael Gove confirmed that if an EU referendum was held today he would vote out. But he followed this… Continue reading
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EU referendum amendment is just first step in long battle
As expected, the backbench Tory campaign for an EU referendum bill started as soon as the Queen’s Speech proved not to contain one. The first battle is over an amendment… Continue reading
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What was Clegg’s priority in the last few hours of the coalition talks? Stopping a European renegotiation
The latest extracts of the Andrew Adonis’ book on the 2010 coalition negotiations couldn’t have been better designed to stir up Tory backbench bad feeling to Nick Clegg. Adonis claims that… Continue reading
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Why David Cameron can’t copy Harold Wilson on EU renegotiation
It’s at times like this I’m glad I’m not a Europhile. I imagine that Lord Lawson’s article in today’s Times is causing Brussels-lovers up and down the land a number… Continue reading
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European debate returns to Tory MP vs Tory MP
One of the inevitable consequences of Lord Lawson’s announcement that he’d vote ‘No’ in an EU referendum is that the ideological divides over Europe in the Tory party are starting… Continue reading
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The Tory party holds its nerve – for now
The dust is settling from the County Council elections and, crucially, the Tory party seems to have stayed steady. Yes, David Davis has had a pop at the number of… Continue reading
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Grant Shapps on the Tories and Thatcher
It is one of the paradoxes of modern British politics that in the post-war era the power and hold of political parties have declined and our system has become more… Continue reading
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Is Andrew Mitchell the right man for Britain in Europe?
It now looks almost certain that Andrew Mitchell will be our next EU Commissioner in 2014. The job was not advertised and the backroom selection process remains a mystery. In… Continue reading
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Should the United Kingdom become an independent country?
Last week, Alex Salmond announced the date for the referendum in Scotland, 18 September 2014. The question is phrased to his advantage. ‘Should Scotland become an independent country?’ it asks.… Continue reading
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Angela Merkel’s domestic imperative
The Cyprus situation has demonstrated that until the elections in the autumn, Angela Merkel’s primary focus is on a domestic audience. She clearly wanted to show that Germany is now… Continue reading
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Tories who say that Cameron is making ‘no difference’ underline the coalition’s communications failure
You should take note when Benedict Brogan, an influential and widely sourced journalist who has been very close to the Cameron and Osborne operation over the years, writes of the fire-sale… Continue reading
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Why I love Beppe Grillo
‘Crazy Italians!’ you might think. Offered the choice between Bunga Bunga Berlusconi, an ex-Communist and a Brussels stooge, one in four of them went and voted for a stand up… Continue reading
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Mitch’s pitch on Europe
Andrew Mitchell’s piece in the FT today marks his return to normal politics post-Plebgate. Up to now, Mitchell has confined his post-resignation comments either to his old stomping ground of… Continue reading
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Sir John Major on how to win an EU renegotiation
John Major knows a thing or two about naughty Tory MPs and Europe. So David Cameron would do well to listen to his Chatham House speech today in which he… Continue reading
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‘We are the voice of the people’: the MEPs planning to block the EU Budget cut
The EU budget ‘victory’ cheers go on in the Commons, but the facts seem to have been lost in the Prime Minister’s ‘triumph’. What the cheering Tories can’t quite grasp… Continue reading
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Cameron closes in on EU Budget success
The news coming back from Brussels is all pretty good for David Cameron, as Isabel noted this morning. He’s not isolated and looks set to succeed in his fight to… Continue reading
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