Uk politics

Thursday

Toby Young

Why I want my schools to ban the burka (and the miniskirt)

For most people, the question of whether to ban the burka is a purely theoretical one. Not for me. As the chairman of a charitable trust that sits above two schools, it’s something I’m obliged to consider. Usually, the heads of the schools fight tooth and nail to preserve their autonomy, claiming that such and such an issue is an ‘operational’ matter and therefore none of my beeswax. But in this case, they’re happy to kick the decision upstairs. It’s not a matter for me alone, but for the trust’s board of directors, of which I’m only one. And I can’t predict how the board will vote. Nevertheless, I will

Camilla Swift Camilla Swift

Piggies in the middle: why we need to have confidence in our food labelling systems

Just 9 months after the horsemeat scandal revealed that products labelled as beef did, in fact, contain horsemeat, one might have expected the food standards authority to have cracked down on food labelling – particularly when it comes to meat. But in an investigation broadcast earlier this week by the BBC’s Farming Today programme, a reporter bought a pork chop ‘at random’ from Tesco. It was labelled with the ‘Red Tractor’ logo, which ought to mean that it ‘is fully traceable back to independently inspected farms in the UK’. However, lab tests showed that the meat probably came from a Dutch farm – in fact there’s less than a 1%

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Tory MPs hold away day on strategy, policy, and general knowledge

Tory MPs are currently heading off to Oxfordshire for an away day. But the Tory leadership is keen to emphasise that this isn’t just another BBQ-style event. There will, they say, be a substantial policy element to it as well which could make things interesting as regular rebels Sarah Wollaston, Adam Afriyie and Peter Bone will all be in attendance. George Osborne, Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt will all hold policy surgeries. Backbenchers will be invited to offer their views on what the government should be thinking about doing in all these areas. They’ll also be presentations on the media environment by Craig Oliver and the new Number 10 press

Matthew Parris Matthew Parris

Coalition with Labour would suffocate the Liberal Democrats

I write this in Glasgow, at the Lib Dem conference. Nick Clegg has invented a constitutional doctrine. The doctrine teaches that after a general election, the party that comes third (should it have cohabitation in mind) must first approach the party that won the most seats. But there is no such rule. Our unwritten constitution is clear, minimal and simple. Any two parties jointly capable of commanding a Commons majority have an effective right to form a government together whenever they wish. That right is born of their joint ability to bring down any other government on the instant. So after the general election in 2015, unguided by the rule

Wednesday

Isabel Hardman

Lib Dem conference: Five takeaway lessons

1. The Lib Dems think they will be in power again after 2015 This whole conference was aimed at making that easy by encouraging activists to back grown-up policies rather than argue about goldfish. The Lib Dem leader placed great emphasis in his speech on his party’s ability to work with any party, arguing that it didn’t matter who he got on with better personally. As James writes, the Lib Dems had a good conference because they think there will be another hung parliament. 2. The Lib Dems believe in coalition more than they believe in anything else. Clegg’s ‘this-is-who-I-am’ passages in his speech explained his frustration with two-party politics,

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Lib Dem conference: Dr No tells party activists that he loves blocking popular policies

Nick Clegg’s speech was supposed to be about how the Lib Dems are the modifying party. They stop the nasty Tories doing lots of nasty things, and under different circumstances, they’d stop Labour being incompetent. The text of the speech suggests that Clegg is trying to say that what the Lib Dems stand for more than anything else is better government: that is, government that doesn’t do mean or incompetent things (both of which are judged by the moral compass of the junior coalition partner, of course). He closed his speech by saying: ‘In the past the Liberal Democrats would eke out an existence on the margins of British politics.

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Lib Dem conference: Why Nick Clegg gave a personal speech

Why did Nick Clegg choose to give ‘his most personal speech so far’ at this year’s autumn conference? Ed Miliband, after all, has been giving these speeches for three years now, each apparently more personal than the last. And Clegg doesn’t really have any more compelling a story than anyone else in Westminster: like Miliband, his parents have a fascinating story to tell, but his own upbringing has been pretty standard for a politician. But this conference was the first opportunity Clegg has really had to market himself because for a few years his reputation was so toxic in the country, and the decision he had taken to go into

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Lib Dem conference: It is Nick Clegg’s party now

There has always been a sense that Nick Clegg and his coterie have been separate from the rest of the Liberal Democrats. They were more hard-headed in their politics, more professional in their approach and more ambitious for power. But every year of Clegg’s leadership, the party becomes more like the leader. This conference, the Cleggites have been in the ascendant in the hall and on the fringe. The leadership has won every important vote, the activists have happily engaged in surprisingly non-ideological discussions about future coalitions and there has been far less hand-wringing about the compromises of power. In the first years of the coalition, speaker after speaker would

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Free school meals plan shows Lib Dems have a tortured view of the state

There’s plenty of fun to be had with the Lib Dems’ decision to give all infant school children free school meals. Firstly there are the letters from MPs like Simon Hughes slating the policy (the Southwark MP told constituents that his local council was ‘spending £15 million giving free school meals, some of this going to the borough’s richest families, irrespective of whether they can afford to pay for them already’). And then there’s the fact that the party has attacked universalism on a number of other fronts, most notably the winter fuel payment, which Nick Clegg and colleagues say is a waste of money as it goes to rich

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Nick Clegg: Only the Lib Dems can finish the recovery properly

Nick Clegg will be closing the Lib Dem conference today with what is being billed as one of his most personal speeches yet. It has echoes of a Miliband ‘this is who I am’ offering, with the Lib Dem leader trying to explain the personal experiences that shape his thinking today. He will say: ‘My upbringing was privileged: home counties; private school; Cambridge University. I had a lot of opportunities. But I also had two parents who were determined that my brothers, my sister and I knew how lucky we were. On both sides, their families had experienced huge upheavals. ‘My Dutch mother had spent much of her childhood in

Steerpike Steerpike

Coffee Shots: Liberal Democrats really enjoy their party conference

The Lib Dems have had a great party conference, haven’t they? Well, perhaps. The conference centre has been a little flat at times. Sometimes delegates have struggled to look really truly excited about debates on tax: And at times, everything has just been far too much: Even for former leaders… Some debates have offered a handy opportunity for catching up on the sleep missed by staying out late at Glee Club: While others haven’t been very well-attended, but have at least offered a chance for a catch-up… …some light reading… …or that favourite Lib Dem pastime, knitting.

Sebastian Payne

Conservative party membership has nearly halved under Cameron

134,000. That’s how many members the Conservative Party now has, according to Paul Goodman at ConservativeHome. Despite months of campaigning from the site, the only figure Conservative HQ would release is that 253,600 people voted for David Cameron as leader in 2005. Today’s number means that membership has nearly halved throughout Cameron’s eight-year term as party leader. Tracking the memberships of political parties is difficult, as they are under no obligation to release any details. The House of Commons Library released a paper in December last year, compiling all the figures they could find. From this, this is how memberships of the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties has dropped

Sebastian Payne

Lib Dem conference: Wednesday fringe guide

Every morning throughout party conference season, we’ll be providing our pick of the fringe events on Coffee House.  Today is the final day of the Liberal Democrats’ annual conference in Glasgow and the fringes are drying up. But if you are up bright and early, there are still a few worth catching: Title Key speaker(s) Time Location UK skills policies and industrial strategies: why should they be joined up? Vince Cable 07:15-08:30 SECC, Ness Pensions and Welfare Q&A Steve Webb 09:00-10:00 SECC, Alsh 1 Environment Q&A Ed Davey 10:30-11:30 SECC, Alsh 1 If you have any good fringe spots we’ve missed,  let us know in the comments thread below.

Tuesday

Sebastian Payne

Luciana Berger lambasts Ed Davey over inaccuracies in his conference speech

Ed Davey hasn’t had a great conference. First the jokes in the energy secretary’s speech bombed. Then a sign fell on his head on live television (above). Now he’s got Luciana Berger on his case over factual errors. The Labour MP has written to Davey to point out contrary to what he said in his conference speech, questions have been asked by the Labour front bench about climate change. Here is what Berger had to Davey about the ‘untrue claims in your speech to Lib Dem party conference’: Dear Mr Davey, I am writing to you about factually inaccurate statements made in your speech to the Liberal Democrat party conference

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Lib Dem conference: Nick Clegg to announce free school meals for all infant school pupils

Nick Clegg has had a good party conference, and wants to round it off with an announcement that will leave a warm glow in delegates’ tummies. So he’s announcing free school meals for all children in infant school from next September. This will be a key feature in the Deputy Prime Minister’s speech tomorrow afternoon, and also represents the key trade between the two coalition parties over tax breaks for married couples. The latter is likely to appear in a conference speech or two when the Tories meet in Manchester the week after next, and the Lib Dems have a provision in the Coalition Agreement that they will abstain on

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Why Cable’s zero hours contracts crackdown won’t ruffle Tory feathers

What do the Tories make of Vince Cable’s crackdown on zero hours contracts? The Business Secretary’s review has been long-known, but yesterday he announced that he would ‘act against abusive practices in zero hours contracts, like exclusivity arrangements which prevent workers seeking alternatives’. Some read this as an overture to Labour, but from conversations that I’ve had recently with senior Conservatives, I’m not so sure. The Tories haven’t given us many clues on what they do make of zero hours contracts, largely allowing the debate to be framed by Labour, and then leaving Cable to talk about them. But Conservative ministers are not unhappy with tackling exclusivity arrangements, whereby a

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Lib Dem conference: The subtle clear yellow water between the coalition parties

Aside from the usual outright bashing of the Conservative party, the Liberal Democrats do want to put some clear yellow water between their party and their coalition partners on subtler issues. They don’t just want to talk about the ‘Tea Party Tories’, as Vince Cable did yesterday, but also about some of the different decisions they would like to take after the 2015 election, if they have their way. To that end, when Danny Alexander appeared on the Today programme, as well as slapping down Vince Cable’s talk of an early coalition break-up, he repeated Nick Clegg’s hint that the Lib Dems could ringfence NHS and education spending into the

Sebastian Payne

Lib Dem conference: Tuesday fringe guide

Every morning throughout party conference season, we’ll be providing our pick of the fringe events on Coffee House.  The Liberal Democrats’ annual conference has entered its fourth day and again, there are plenty interesting sessions with key Lib Dem throughout the day – be sure to check out for the traditional Glee Club if you fancy watching a surprising number of MPs singing your favourite liberal tunes: Title Key speaker(s) Time Location New thinking on the welfare state Steve Webb 07:15-08:30 Crowne Plaza, Castle 3 UK Automotive: Supporting growth through industrial strategy Vince Cable 08:30-09:00 Campanile, Monet 2 What is social housing’s purpose and how should we pay for it?

Monday

Sebastian Payne

Tim Loughton attacks ex-families minister Sarah Teather for having no children

Tim Loughton has done his bit to fuel coalition tensions today. At the Conservative Renewal conference this weekend, the former children and families’ minister appeared to suggest Sarah Teather, the former Lib Dem families minister, did a poor job ‘because she didn’t produce one of her own’. As Matthew Holehouse reveals at the Telegraph, Loughton made the following remarks he has claimed were ‘off the cuff’: ‘I guess I have form…particularly since leaving the DfE as minister for children and families so made my pronouncement on family policy. It’s not just that I have changed my mind when I was no longer minister. ‘The person who was actually really in

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Lib Dem conference: Vince Cable says Coalition could end before 2015

Cabinet colleagues’ concerns over the housing bubble and immigration was only one facet of Vince Cable’s fringe interview this evening. What he told Steve Richards about the Coalition was also highly significant, and the biggest example of his freelancing to date. Where Cabinet colleagues have previously insisted that this Coalition is built to last, Cable said it was ‘certainly possible’ that it could end before the general election, although he wouldn’t be drawn on the circumstances in which that would happen, or which issues could cause him to leave the Cabinet. ‘I think President Obama has illustrated very clearly in recent weeks the dangers of parading your red lines,’ he