By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter Has anyone else pointed out yet that our electoral cycle this year will be different from usual? The norm is that elections take place in the spring and the party conferences in the autumn. The political parties are judged to have done well or badly in the elections; the […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter David Cameron may find a solution to the Abu Qatada problem "within the existing legal regime", as the Home Secretary put it yesterday. Britain may reach a new agreement with Jordan about evidence that could be used in court. An appeal to the European Court of Human Rights's Grand […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter. Regular readers of ConservativeHome will know that I'm not the biggest fan of Ken Clarke. I've agreed with much of the centre right press when they've attacked his weak approach to prisons and sentencing. I am, however, much more sympathetic to the Justice Secretary's latest proposals which would allow […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. David Cameron's speech to the Council of Europe today sought to make the case for reform of the European Court of Human Rights. The ECHR, Mr Cameron said, has become too active in meddling with the affairs of national governments – behaviour which is now undermining not just the […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. Earlier today, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson addressed the London Assembly with his proposed budget. Boris' re-election campaign has said the draft budget "could not have made the choice for the next Mayor of London any clearer". The most noticeable thing about the speech is that instead of focusing […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter The murders of Jamie Bulger and Stephen Lawrence happened within a few weeks of each other. The first took place in February 1993, and loosed a wave of national revulsion which swept Tony Blair, then Shadow Home Secretary, to a prominence which left him well placed for Labour's leadership. […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter I am a sceptic by temperament and thus can't help viewing David Cameron's speech on problem families earlier today through a dispassionate lens. Some of the questions that come to mind are those that any responsible opposition should ask. Will councils fund 60% of the cost of family interventions […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter The Coalition may not be united on the significance of marriage but in the latest sign that it is making progress on family policy it has agreed a £448 million programme to address the challenges represented by Britain's 120,000 most chaotic families (1% of the total population). It appears that […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. Senior members of the Government's Commission on the proposed British Bill of Rights are urging that Parliament take control of nominations for Britain's next judge at the European Court of Human Rights, according to sources. In a draft letter, a copy of which ConservativeHome has seen, four Commission members […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter 24 hours ago Ken Clarke was telling the House of Commons that mandatory sentences for 16 and 17 year-olds were "un-British". Today he's been forced to climb down in the face of a tenancious campaign by The Sun and from Conservative backbencher Nick de Bois, MP for Enfield North. […]
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 Joseph Willits Follow Joseph on Twitter Here is some of the press coverage following on from Theresa May and Ken Clarke's speeches to the Conservative party conference: Theresa May's speech in full - Politics.co.uk The Human Rights Act must go to restore "sanity" - Independent May says immigration law will be "amended so that article eight of the […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter Theresa May will today go head-to-head with Nick Clegg over the human rights act by announcing that she wants to the immigration rules to end the abuse of "the right to a family life" – often referred to as "Article 8". She will examine how to make clear in […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter I asked recently whether or not the Party will stand candidates to be police commissioners. There are two extreme options: that Conservative candidates should stand for all vacancies, and that such candidates should stand for none of them – leaving the door open for Party-supported independents. A few weeks […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter. This week's Spectator trails a Peter Oborne pamphlet for the Centre for Policy Studies. Oborne names the guilty men (and women) who attempted to lead Britain into the €urozone. He names prominent businessmen, politicians and other establishment figures. He pays particular attention to the BBC's dreadfully biased coverage at […]