By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. New Governments often over-react to the errors of the one before. Tony Blair succeeded a faction-plagued Prime Minister who had originally presided over a "Cabinet of chums". Blair responded post-1997 by crafting a Presidential Premiership, giving political appointments such as Jonathan Powell and Alistair Campbell the authority to instruct […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. What's in a paper's online comment section in the morning sometimes lags behind its newsprint equivalent. I add this cautionary note because I can only find two editorials in the centre-right press online this morning about the Liam Fox affair – and neither call for him to go. But […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. It is a statement of the obvious to say that the Coalition is not a steady ship. Liam Fox has as good a claim as anyone to be the leader of the Conservative right in Parliament – never shy of asserting his identity as a "free marketeer, Unionist, Euro-sceptic […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. In a video made yesterday (and linked to here today), the Secretary of State for Defence, Liam Fox, responded to reports questioning the nature of his working relationship with former flatmate Adam Werritty. Fox said: "When accusations get made, the appropriate thing is to investigate them properly, not ask […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. The Financial Times today profiles Theresa May, correctly clocking her reliability, her workrate, her steeliness, her discretion, her relationship with her husband – and her distance from her colleagues: "Ask politicians or journalists about Ms May and they will often let out a small collective groan," the paper writes, […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter. Click on graphic to enlarge. The latest ConHome survey of Tory members is featured prominently in this morning's Sunday Telegraph. Here are a few highlights: The big picture: 64% think the Coalition is still "overall" a good thing for the nation. That's down from 75% but still a clear […]
No big movements emerge from this month's shadow cabinet ratings although it is notable that Ken Clarke and George Osborne are both up by more than ten percentage points. One thing that I will highlight, however, is the solid rating now given to Philip Hammond MP, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Political Betting's Mike […]
One of the most important – yet relatively unnoticed – players in Team Cameron is Andrew Mackay, the Bracknell MP who revels in the title "senior parliamentary and political adviser to David Cameron". His only appearance in the spotlight in this capacity came in December when he dashed (along with a cameraman) to Damian Green’s […]
Theresa May, who was appointed shadow secretary of state for work and pensions last week, has agreed to answer questions from ConservativeHome readers. Leave your questions below or email them to us and we’ll put a broad selection of them to Theresa and then publish her responses. Her brief covers a wide range of policy […]
Alan Duncan is receiving quite a bit of friendly fire at the moment. An unnamed Tory MP tells today’s Telegraph: "Just imagine the shadow business secretary is away skiing when we are going across the country to talk to people hurt by recession. And that, for a would be Business Secretary, at a time of […]
I bumped into four MPs in Westminster yesterday. Three of them talked about the Tory reshuffle and one predicted it might come as early as next week. I had understood that it would not take place until Caroline Spelman’s inquiry had been completed. Whatever the truth on timing I thought I’d record my hopes now. […]
The Conservatives can be pleased with their media impact since Parliament recessed for Christmas: The party dominated the holiday period: The frontbench scored a number of front page splashes including Eric Pickles on council tax (Daily Telegraph); George Osborne on tax relief (Sunday Times), Michael Gove on teacher absence (Daily Mail), and James Brokenshire on […]
The second of our picks of the year. Earlier today we each chose our Backbencher of 2008. Jonathan Isaby’s pick: My choice for frontbencher of the year will come as no surprise to anyone who read this piece – in which I wrote about the man in question a little over a month ago. As […]
According to the Daily Mail "senior Tory sources" have refused to deny that Ken Clarke is about to return to the shadow cabinet; possibly opposite Peter Mandelson. An article in yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph got the speculation going again. Most Tory members would be glad to see the former Chancellor and three-times-rejected leadership candidate back on […]
Further to Jonathan’s post earlier today, the Daily Mail is reporting that "William Hague threatened to lead a Shadow Cabinet walk-out if David Cameron forced his frontbench to give up high-earning second jobs." Two other resignations were also possible, reports the Mail’s Benedict Brogan. In many ways Mr Hague is proof that it is possible […]