UK politics
Labour claims credit for gay marriage bill
Some might say it was rather audacious of Yvette Cooper to send an email to Labour activists this evening urging them to tweet something along these lines: I’m proud to… Continue reading
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David Cameron has caused a crisis in conservatism
David Cameron’s letter to party members added insult to injury after a week of headlines about ‘Loongate’ and the Tory leadership’s decision to bulldoze through the Same Sex Marriage Bill… Continue reading
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Cameron has reached the tipping point
The combination of complacency and incompetence that seems to have afflicted the Conservative Party is a wonder to behold. Janet Daley wrote at the weekend of her frustration at David… Continue reading
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Sir David Nicholson to go: but will it change the culture at the top of the NHS?
Health Service Journal has a great scoop this afternoon that NHS boss Sir David Nicholson will retire in March 2014. The man who was in charge of the Mid-Staffordshire NHS… Continue reading
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The Tory grassroots were feeling neglected long before ‘swivel-eyed loons’ claims
Whether or not Lord Feldman made his ‘mad, swivel-eyed loons’ comments, the story has given the Conservative grassroots the perfect opportunity to tell David Cameron, via the media, how unhappy… Continue reading
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Jeremy Hunt attacks Labour for A&E crisis
Andy Burnham summoned Jeremy Hunt to the Commons this afternoon for a shouty hour about who loves the NHS more. The Health Secretary’s answer to Labour’s urgent question on the… Continue reading
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Inflation falls: but will voters notice?
Today’s drop in inflation is good news for the government. The Consumer Prices Index grew by 2.4 per cent in the year to April 2013, down from March’s 2.8 per… Continue reading
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Cameron’s tax tightrope
David Cameron didn’t spend yesterday wringing his hands in Downing Street about the progress of his gay marriage bill: he was meeting his business advisory group. He allowed Google CEO… Continue reading
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MPs defeat ‘wrecking amendment’ as Cameron tries to patch things up with grassroots
MPs have just defeated Tim Loughton’s ‘wrecking amendment’ to the Same Sex Marriage Bill by 375 votes to 70, after approving the Government and Labour amendment (more on how that… Continue reading
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David Cameron should be out there making the case for gay marriage
David Cameron’s approach to the gay marriage debate inside his own party has been to take a low profile. The passion and eloquence he displayed on the subject in his… Continue reading
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William Hague: Case for changing arms embargo on Syria ‘compelling’
William Hague set out the government’s latest thinking on the horror in Syria to MPs in the Commons today. He explained that if the UK were to consider arming the… Continue reading
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Labour tries to defuse civil partnerships row – by backing government amendment
This morning, Labour was facing a rather awkward choice on the Same Sex Marriage Bill. This afternoon, the opposition party has turned the situation around so that it appears to… Continue reading
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Will civil partnerships kill the gay marriage bill?
There’s a conspiracy theory doing the rounds in Westminster that the ‘wrecking amendment’ for the gay marriage bill is a nifty way of the government dropping the legislation because it… Continue reading
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Maria Miller on defensive against gay marriage ‘wrecking amendment’
The final stages of the Same Sex marriage bill in the House of Commons were never going to be easy, but it is still an odd situation when the minister… Continue reading
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The Liberal Democrats, the natural party of government?
If four years ago, a Liberal Democrat politician had attempted to portray the Lib Dems as the natural party of government we all would have laughed. But that is just… Continue reading
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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
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Top Tory calls party activists ‘mad swivel-eyed loons’
Insulting your own side is a dangerous thing to do in politics and in the current circumstances for any prominent Tory to do it is positively incendiary. But one ‘senior… Continue reading
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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
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Labour is the party that should be worrying about its record on cities
Last month, in a rare and refreshing piece of pre-local election commentary written outside the Ukip prism, author and urbanist Leo Hollis stated that the government does not understand cities.… Continue reading
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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
276 Comments