By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Iain Martin was once the loneliest pundit on Fleet Street – at least the loneliest centre right pundit. In opposition he called for George Osborne to be replaced as Shadow Chancellor. It was a brave call and I'm not sure his relations with the man who eventually became Chancellor […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter David Cameron is reported to be considering not proceeding with the boundary review at all, rather than see it voted down by Liberal Democrat backbenchers and Ministers who – in the latter case – he would have to dismiss. There are also complaints about Conservative backbenchers voting against the […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Liam Fox gave an interview to today's Sunday Telegraph in which he implied that the Liberal Democrats should be more modest in their expectations and Cameron should be more ambitious with his. "They have to remember," said the former Defence Secretary, "that they are a sixth of the Coalition, […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter David Cameron writes for this morning's Sunday Times (£) and sets out why the Coalition still has a uniting purpose. Two paragraphs stand out to me. One in which he set out some core beliefs and another in which he set out the Coalition's main achievements (so far). THE […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Forget for a moment that most of us didn't want to be here. Most Tory members didn't approve of the kind of changes Cameron made to the Conservative Party. Most Tory members didn't think much of the awful Tory election campaign. Most Tory members wanted to govern as a […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter Because this bill is neither one thing nor the other, it threatens the stabililty of our constitution There are two workable models for the House of Lords. The first is for it no longer to be a revising chamber, and for a wholly elected second chamber to replace it […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter I was under the misapprehension that, since this is a Coalition Government, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats take the same whip. This misunderstanding was buttressed by the Number 10 website, which lists Alistair Carmichael as a Deputy Chief Whip (and number three in the Whips' Office). I should of course […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter If you want some optimism this weekend I recommend Matthew Parris' Times column. There's no Times paywall for the Jubilee weekend and he argues that, despite the media froth, the Coalition is actually doing quite well. Most Eurozone leaders would, he writes, give their eye teeth for the troubles that […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter The Quad hadn't dotted the i's and crossed the t's but one week before the Budget George Osborne thought he had agreement to cut the top rate of income tax from 50p to 40p. Something happened, however, in the few days running up to the Budget that meant the Chancellor […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Forget austerity. Forget Leveson. Forget the NHS reforms. Forget the welfare and school reforms. The biggest landscape-changing political event of the parliament so far has been the formation of the Coalition. The first impact was immediate. Approximately two million left-leaning supporters of the Liberal Democrats walked into the arms of […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Adrian Beecroft wrote a report for the Government that aims to create a climate in which businesses are more willing to hire extra workers. His argument is a simple one. Employers will be less keen to hire if it is expensive and time-consuming to fire them if, in due course, […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Even Ken Clarke seems to believe that it's now only a matter of time before Greece leaves the €urozone although I must have missed his apology for his constant recommendations that Britain should have joined the burning building. Over the coming weeks the Government will face its gravest test since […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter It's worth noting Grant Shapps' Daily Telegraph article this morning. There are a trio of reasons for this. Firstly, Ministers don't write for newspapers all that often, so it's interesting when they do. Secondly, Shapps is the Minister of State for Housing and Local Government, but he writes not about housing, […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter I got a stern lecture from a Tory MP last night about my "Tory MPs are at war" blog of yesterday evening. The Government is fundamentally sound, I was told, the party's biggest problem is its "crazy Right". If only everybody could get behind the leader, she said, all would […]