Theresa may

Don’t try to be liked, and buy your steak at Aldi – the lessons I’ve learned in 2016

Merry Christmas everyone. Here are some things I learned — or relearned — in 2016.   1. That which does not kill you makes you still alive. It’s weird to think that less than 12 months ago I was in hospital, dosed up with morphine, battered and bruised with a broken clavicle, numerous cracked ribs and a pulmonary embolism which can actually kill you, don’t you know. And now it’s as if the whole thing never happened. Well, apart from the hideous titanium plate, like a giant centipede, which I can still feel all stiff across my collar bone. And the bastard hunting ban my family has imposed on me…

Commons votes in favour of invoking Article 50 by the end of March

461 MPs have just voted for Theresa May to invoke Article 50 by the end of March. The Tory amendment to Labour’s opposition day motion passed comfortably with only 89 MPs opposing it—and Ken Clarke the only Tory amongst them with 20-odd Labour Mps joining the SNP and the Lib Dems in voting against. Now, this vote is not binding and if the government loses its appeal to the Supreme Court will not be sufficient to satisfy the courts. But it does indicate that the government will be able to get an Article 50 bill through the Commons without too much trouble. It does make you wonder why Theresa May

Isabel Hardman

Nicky Morgan’s wrong trousers

Does Theresa May understand what life is like for the just-managing families she purports to stand for? The Tory party has seen a fair bit of snipping over the past few days over whether the Prime Minister’s £995 Amanda Wakeley trousers, which she wore for a newspaper interview and was then ridiculed about by one of the Cabinet ministers she sacked. Nicky Morgan told the Times that ‘I don’t think I’ve ever spent that much on anything apart from my wedding dress’ and that the pricey garb had been ‘noticed and discussed’ in party circles. You might expect that in order to look the part on the world stage, a

Tom Goodenough

Spectator live blog: The Supreme Court’s Brexit hearing, day three

It’s day three of the Supreme Court’s landmark case on the triggering of Article 50. Here’s how the day unfolded:  4.15pm: The Supreme Court hearing has now finished for the day. The Lord Advocate, Lord Wolffe has been putting forward the Scottish Government’s case. So far, he has told the court that using prerogative powers to trigger Article 50 would be an ‘unconstitutional’ step. But he makes it clear that the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to veto Brexit. You can read the Scottish Government’s full submission to the Supreme Court here. 3.30pm: Ronan Lavery now takes up the argument on behalf of Northern Ireland. Lavery warns that Brexit

Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: Brexit, political pygmies and repentant Remainers

MPs will vote for the first time today on the Government’s Article 50 timeline. While Labour have said the decision to spell out the plan for Brexit is a ‘welcome climbdown’ by ministers, is this afternoon’s debate merely delaying the actual process of Britain leaving the EU? That’s the Sun’s verdict on today’s proceedings, with the paper saying a ‘coalition of political pygmies’ are ‘stringing out the process in Parliament’. It goes on to say that Theresa May’s opponents ‘should stop pretending’ they are worried about democracy and Parliamentary sovereignty and instead own up to ‘their true aim’ – ‘reversing the referendum result’. The Sun reserves its biggest ire for what

Katy Balls

Theresa May agrees to publish Brexit strategy before invoking Article 50

With the Supreme Court ruling on the government’s Article 50 appeal not expected until the new year, Theresa May is facing a more immediate Brexit headache. After around 20 Conservative MPs were expected to back a Labour motion today — tabled by Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer — calling for the Prime Minister to ‘commit to publishing the government’s plan for leaving the EU before Article 50 is invoked’, No. 10 has staved off the rebellion by agreeing to Labour’s demand. Accepting Labour’s motion, ministers have added an amendment of their own — that the House should ‘respect the wishes of the United Kingdom as expressed in the referendum on 23 June; and further calls on the

Michel Barnier plays hardball on Brexit

Michel Barnier, the Commission’s Brexit negotiator, has been giving a running commentary on Brexit this morning. Barnier, striking a predictably tough stance before the negotiations start, said that he wants the divorce aspects of the Article 50 deal concluded by October 2018, to give sufficient time for ratification. This, essentially, means that there’ll be one year of negotiations from after the German elections next autumn. But Barnier’s position is that only once this deal has been agreed, can talks move on to what the future relationship between the UK and the EU will be. In other words, no talks on trade until the exit process has been agreed. He emphasised

Spectator live blog: The Supreme Court’s Brexit hearing, day two

The second day of the Supreme Court hearing has seen the Government continue to put forward its case for why it should be allowed to pull the Article 50 trigger without the say so of Parliament. And Lord Pannick has been arguing why Parliament must give approval for the start of the process of Brexit. Here’s how the day unfolded on our Spectator live blog: 4.30pm: Pannick’s main pitch is about the power of Parliament. He tells the Supreme Court that ‘Parliament is sovereign and only Parliament can remove that which it has incorporated into domestic law’ – meaning that Brexit cannot be started by the Government without the agreement of Parliament. He

Will Theresa May take her mansplaining mission to Bahrain?

Last month, word began to spread around Whitehall that the Prime Minister would not take kindly to any ‘mansplaining’ — after No 10 took umbrage at male politicians, officials, diplomats and journalists talking over, patronising or failing to listen to May. As the Times revealed, the row was triggered after Sir Mark Lyall Grant, the national security adviser, managed to do at least one of the above during a visit to Downing Street. So, Mr S can’t help but wonder how exactly May is going to get on on her upcoming visit to the Gulf region. On her two-day trip to Bahrain, May will become the first female politician to attend the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council. While she

Tom Goodenough

What the papers say: The Supreme Court’s Brexit case

Today’s Supreme Court hearing on Brexit is undoubtedly the most controversial in the court’s seven year history, says the Times. The case will examine the Government’s appeal against the earlier High Court ruling that Article 50 cannot be triggered without the say-so of Parliament. But what’s most remarkable about today’s hearing is the fact Theresa May allowed it to get to this position in the first place, the paper says. The Times suggests that ‘at any point since Theresa May entered Downing Street in July she could have called and easily won a parliamentary vote mandating her to deliver Brexit’ – but in choosing not to it shows ‘an early

Steerpike

Westminster fashion police turn on Theresa May

Claws out in Westminster. Since Theresa May was appointed Prime Minister, several of her one-time cabinet colleagues have taken issue with her government’s Brexit stance. After May sacked Nicky Morgan as education secretary, Morgan has become a key member of the post-Brexit awkward squad — regularly voicing criticism of the PM. Over the weekend, the pair’s relationship took another turn for the worse. In an interview with the Times, Morgan made a dig at May over a £1,000 pair of leather trousers the Prime Minister had worn in a photoshoot for the paper the week before. Discussing whether May can really promise to help the ‘just about managing’ families while wearing high fashion, Morgan said it had ‘been noticed and

Brexit strategy

For months, now, a hunt has been on for the government’s Brexit strategy. Theresa May has quite rightly refused to disclose it. She knows that the European Union needs to be seen to make Britain suffer. She will have to ask for for a lot, only to back down so the EU can have its pound of British flesh. The hope is that she can then emerge with what she wanted all along. So a game of bluff is under way. This has created a rather unsatisfactory situation where Parliament wants to know where she will draw the line, and she refuses to say. Her every word is scoured for

Portrait of the week | 1 December 2016

Home Paul Nuttall, aged 39, was elected leader of the UK Independence Party. He said: ‘I want to replace the Labour party and make Ukip the patriotic voice of working people.’ Theresa May, the Prime Minister, was rebuffed by Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, and by Donald Tusk, the President of the European Commission, when she proposed settling the status of British and EU expatriates even before Article 50 was invoked. She made another attempt in talks with Beata Szydlo, the Prime Minister of Poland. There was some interest in a note photographed on papers being carried after a meeting in Downing Street by Julia Dockerill, an aide to Mark

PMQs gets interesting as Tory Eurosceptics coordinate their activities

A rare event at PMQs as Jeremy Corbyn went on the economy. The Labour leader had some well-crafted questions but rather spoiled things by confusing the IMF and the IFS, enabling Theresa May to declare that it is a good job she stands at the government despatch box and he sits on the opposition front bench. May gave little away, as is her wont, but Corbyn again went on social care — which is, obviously, an area where Labour think they can make political advances. A couple of Tory Eurosceptics asked May about reciprocal rights for UK and EU citizens respectively and the refusal of the EU to engage on

Theresa May’s boardroom crackdown asks more questions than it answers

In recent weeks, Theresa May has attempted to perform a balancing act between looking after the interests of ‘just about managing’ families and keeping big business on side. On becoming Prime Minister, she gave several speeches suggesting the need for a radical overhaul of the way businesses — and capitalism — work in order to help those left behind by globalisation. Yet May has had to soften her language to appease business leaders — backtracking, in a speech to the CBI, on a pledge to put workers on company boards. Today Greg Clark tried to set out what May’s crackdown on corporate greed will actually entail. The business secretary insisted

Fraser Nelson

Why wait for Merkel? Theresa May should guarantee the status of EU nationals now

The news that Theresa May offered to do a deal on expats – only to be rebuffed by Angela Merkel – is unsurprising. The Prime Minister has ended up in a pretty bad, unbecoming position on EU nationals using them as bargaining chips in a way that has appalled her critics (and even some of her supporters). So it’s not surprising that she wanted to get this awful business over with in her recent meeting with Merkel. She suggested: let’s just agree an EU-wide deal whereby everyone’s expats can stay where there are. But, again unsurprisingly, Merkel rebuffed her. Before their meeting, Merkel said publicly that they would not and could

Steerpike

Nicholas Soames brings Mark Field down a peg or two

Although Theresa May is reluctant to say that Brexit means anything other than… Brexit, on Monday we were given a glimpse of what else it could stand for. Mark Field’s Chief of Staff, Julia Dockerill, was snapped carrying some intriguing notes on the topic following a reported meeting with David Davis: is this the first insight into Brexit seen going into No10 from the Brexit/cabinet office women holding was with Mark Field MP ? pic.twitter.com/XXeFGFQIa0 — PoliticalPics (@PoliticalPics) November 28, 2016 No.10 have since insisted that the notes — which included an admission that the UK is unlikely to be offered single market membership — do not represent any government line. However, it’s

Theo Hobson

Theresa May’s religious faith should bring her more joy

I like the fact that Theresa May is an Anglican, a good, solid, unashamed, unflashy Anglican, whose allegiance has not wavered since childhood. It reassures me. For the CofE is a place of pragmatic idealism, public service, profound humanism, good humour, self-criticism. Also, it’s just about the only place where class and racial divisions are routinely overcome. But when she actually says anything about her faith, she doesn’t come across very well. She sounds nervous of saying the wrong thing, which is fair enough, as horrid bloggers are waiting to pick and sneer at her words. And (pick, sneer) she sounds a bit pinched and negative about her experience as

What the papers say: Castro, Carney and Brexit

The Daily Mail calls those who ‘heaped adulation’ on Fidel Castro over the weekend – including the likes of Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell – ‘useful idiots’. The paper says after Castro’s death on Saturday, the Cuban leader’s supporters are ignoring the ‘poverty he inflicted on his people’ as well as his torturing of political opponents and the fact that he ‘failed his people abysmally’. So why, the Mail asks, do those like the Labour leader have such a different view of the former Cuban leader? The paper suggests in its editorial that there is a simple answer: ‘Messrs Corbyn, McDonnell and Co have never grown up since their student days’. Meanwhile,