17 Apr 2013 10:51:33

Conservative parliamentarians react to Margaret Thatcher's funeral

1.45pm: A selection of the comments made after the funeral:

10.45am: The streets outside St Paul's are crowded, the congregation is in place, and the funeral service is soon to begin. We shall be updating this post throughout the day with a selection of comments by Conservative parliamentarians, starting with some that have been made this morning:

13 Apr 2013 12:57:39

Gove on Thatcher's record and legacy: "Social bonds need to be nurtured more carefully"

by Paul Goodman
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George Osborne was first off the blocks to commemorate Margaret Thatcher, doing so in the Times (£), and Owen Paterson was second, doing so on this site.  Other have followed since, and all have been laudatory.  Michael Gove has held back until today, despite being seen by many admirers of Thatcher as the Cabinet Minister who, in government, has followed in her footsteps most closely, for three main reasons.

First, he's had more executive impact than any other Cabinet Minister - thus making an impact, as she did.  Second, he's done so at Education, a department often seen as having institutional centre-left sympathies; certainly it was certainly a department which frustrated and tamed her when she was herself Secretary of State.  Finally, his free schools policy in particular is winning converts for conservatism, or at least a hearing for its views and values in places where it previously hasn't always had one.  Gove has learned Thatcherite lessons about raiding behind the opposition's lines and reaching "the rising class".

His piece behind the Times paywall is therefore all the more interesting because it is the least hagiographical of all those that have appeared to date.  Gove acknowledges his early socialism, but writes that by the time he went to University he knew that "while half the world was ruled by tyrannies and totalitarian cliques, Britain had a leader determined to liberate them" - a nod to his still-undimmed neo-conservative take on foreign policy.

However, he adds that "the attitude of my generation of Conservatives is now more complex." Why? Because the transition from a manufacturing economy to a modern one meant that the Eighties were "years of loss and sorrow for millions".  The Education Secretary says that "social bonds need to be nurtured more carefully", and lauds the values of "care, nurture and solidarity that protect the vulnerable at times of change".

The sum of the article is that while some Conservatives of his generation saw Thatcher as "mother", the grown-up course for them now is to go their own way - acknowledging, as adults must, that while children should honour their parents, they must also live their own lives.  It is a strikingly bold and critical take - Thatcherite in breaking a cosy consensus; confirmation that Gove likes to go his own way, and risky, in terms of his relationship with the party's right.

12 Apr 2013 10:22:29

Karen Allen chosen as Conservative candidate for South Shields byelection

By Harry Phibbs
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Congratulations to Karen Allen who has been chosen as the Conservative candidate in the South Shields byelection.

The Shields Gazette reports:

At the General Election in May 2010, she finished second to Labour’s David Miliband – whose resignation has triggered the latest by-election –polling 7,886 votes, or 21.6 per cent of the total vote.

Born and raised in South Shields, she attended the town’s Harton Comprehensive School and studied A-levels at Central Newcastle High School in Jesmond. Before taking up a place at university, she spent six months teaching in Moscow and then three months as a farmhand in
Norway.

She gained a BA (Hons) in English Literature at Queen Mary University of London and upon graduation went to the City and worked at Lloyd’s Insurance brokerage.

Ms Allen has been involved in the Conservative Party on a local level for a number of years, and previously served on the executive of the pressure group Conservative Way Forward (CWF).

She also served nationally on the Conservative Future Executive – the youth wing of the party.

On Local government: South Tyneside Council underspends by £176,000

10 Apr 2013 17:57:34

Thatcher tributes: The chamber to watch today is the Lords, not the Commons

By Paul Goodman
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I look into my glass,
And view my wasting skin,
And say, "Would God it came to pass
My heart had shrunk as thin!

 The words in a speech that move most deeply, more often than not, aren't actually deployed in it.  They are: I was there.  Lords Jopling, Wakeham, Fowler, Waddington and Tebbit have spoken in the Lords, as has Lady Williams from the Liberal Democrat benches.  My old boss Lord King of Bridgwater is there, and has spoken, too; Lord Howe was present, but has apparently left. Lord Heseltine is absent.  But in that other sense, he was there. 

Continue reading "Thatcher tributes: The chamber to watch today is the Lords, not the Commons" »

10 Apr 2013 15:28:48

David Cameron leads Parliamentary tributes to Thatcher: "She made the political weather"

By Harry Phibbs
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Powerful well judged speeches from David Cameron and Ed Miliband opened the special session of the House of Commons for tributes to Lady Thatcher.

Opening proceedings Mr Cameron said:

Those of us who grew up when Margaret Thatcher was already in Downing Street can sometimes fail to appreciate the thickness of the glass ceiling she broke through…

…from a grocer’s shop in Grantham to the highest office in the land.

At a time when it was difficult for a woman to become a Member of Parliament, almost inconceivable that one could lead the Conservative Party and, by her own reckoning, virtually impossible that a woman could become Prime Minister – she did all three.

He reminded the House of her courage in facing the threat of terrorism:

It is also right to remember that she spent her whole premiership – and indeed much of her life – under direct, personal threat from the IRA.

She lost two of her closest Parliamentary colleagues – Airey Neave and Ian Gow – to terrorism.

And, of course, she herself was only inches away from death in a terrorist attack in 1984…

…and yet it was the measure of her leadership that she shook off the dust of that attack, and in an outstanding conference speech reminded us all why democracy must never give in to terror.

Continue reading "David Cameron leads Parliamentary tributes to Thatcher: "She made the political weather"" »

8 Apr 2013 17:54:38

Parliament to be recalled for tributes to Margaret Thatcher

By Paul Goodman
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It will be especially interesting to see how Ed Miliband and Labour MPs handle the occasion.

2 Apr 2013 13:01:27

Three campaigns are promised by Sir Gerald Howarth, the new Chairman of Conservative Way Forward. Take note, Number Ten

By Paul Goodman
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Sir Gerald says of his new appointment: “As a country we face enormous challenges, just as we did when Margaret Thatcher took over the leadership of the Conservative Party in 1975.  The principles which guided the transformation of Britain then can, when applied to our current problems, do so again."  And he promises three campaigns: on competitiveness and growth, social mobility and...defence!

I would raise an eyebrow, were I in Downing Street.  The former Defence Minister's knighthood has done nothing to blunt his sharp politics - and, when it comes to the family and defence, Sir Gerald has never been backward about coming forward.  He is a great survivor of the now endangered breed of socially traditionalist MPs.  Ask him what he thinks about same-sex marriage...and then retire, having lit the blue touchpaper, to the safest corner of the room.  And try to ensure that several large tables are placed between you and him.

Continue reading "Three campaigns are promised by Sir Gerald Howarth, the new Chairman of Conservative Way Forward. Take note, Number Ten" »

30 Mar 2013 08:05:10

Don't cut taxes. Don't cut welfare. Don't cut aid. Tory MPs in marginal seats tell Matthew Parris what they want and don't want.

By Tim Montgomerie
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Matthew Parris has spent the last 48 hours asking forty Tory MPs in the most marginal constituencies nine questions. He lists the answers in his column for today's Times (£). Thirty of the forty MPs took part in his survey. One refused to take part. Nine never got back to him. Here are the nine questions and the thirty respondents' replies...

Immigration. Has Mr Cameron got it about right? Or further “crackdowns”?

21 said he'd got the balance about right. Nine weren't sure or wanted more crackdowns.

Euro-referendum: should the date be brought forward?

25 said Cameron should stick to his current timings.

Euro-withdrawal: would the Forty like the Party to get off the fence and recommend this?

28 said not yet but some in this number wouldn't rule it out if the PM couldn't get better terms.

Human rights: scrap our Human Rights Act? Withdraw from the European Convention?

Mixed views on this question but Matthew Parris reports, in my view crucially: "My respondents’ only (and common) hesitation was that the PM must not promise what cannot be delivered." Mark Field MP has already spoken powerfully about the danger of over promising and not delivering on the ECHR.

Taxation: a substantial tax cut before the next election?

All wanted tax cuts but 23 ruled out a tax cut that wasn't properly funded.

Welfare: substantial new spending cuts before the next election?

Nineteen said no; eight said yes.

NHS: further structural market-based reform or privatisation before the next election?

23 said no.

Overseas aid: cut it this side of an election?

26 said the Coalition must stick to its promises on 0.7%.

And gay marriage: jettison the Bill?

28 said no believing a U-turn was now too late.

Finally, I asked whether in their own constituency (and whatever their own opinion of the Prime Minister) they found David Cameron to be, on balance, a vote-winner or vote-loser.

On this question all thirty of Mr Parris' respondents voted the same way: "Every one of them believed that Mr Cameron was an asset for them with the general voter."

***

You can read Matthew Parris' full article here (£) but his key message is that the Tory MPs who appear on TV moaning about the Coalition and David Cameron generally represent safer seats and are not representative. His article concludes with these words from one of his respondents: "The biggest divide in our party is not Left versus Right; it’s safe versus marginal."

28 Mar 2013 13:26:36

Mixed reaction from Conservative MPs to Cameron's micro-shuffle

By Paul Goodman
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• Further to Tim Montgomerie's report earlier this morning, Conservative MPs and others are asking whether the main driver of the move was the Liberal Democrats' desire to get Hayes out of DECC - though they will find Michael Fallon no pushover: the very opposite - or David Cameron's wish to get him into Downing Street.

• If the latter is the case, a further question arises - namely, does the Prime Minister now feel that his position with part of his own party is so troubled as to justify a small reshuffle?  If so, is the move a sign of strength or weakness?

• As one of the founding members of Cornerstone, the gregarious Hayes is not in a bad position to make overtures to the centre-right of the party.  But he isn't on easy terms with all of it, let alone other parts of the Parliamentary Party.

• And as the tweets above indicate, there is irritation among some MPs with an interest in energy policy at Hayes being moved out of DECC.  After all, he was moved to that department in order to "deliver our people a win on wind farms" - as Cameron is reported to have told him.

27 Mar 2013 06:36:59

Martin Callanan MEP provides his monthly update on events from the European Parliament

Martin Callanan MEP is Chairman of the European Conservatives. This is his monthly letter to ConHome readers. Follow the ECR Group on Twitter.

When is a deal not quite a deal? When it's agreed in the European Union of course! Last month, 27 Presidents and Prime Ministers returned home from the EU summit after securing agreement on cutting the next seven year EU budget.

But, thanks to the Lisbon Treaty, the agreement must be accepted by the European Parliament by an 'absolute majority' (over half of all MEPs, not just of those present).

MEPs have been posturing for several years on the matter. They've demanded not just an increased budget but also new 'own resources' (directly-levied taxes). So when EU leaders agreed to a budget cut, many MEPs were up in arms.

Last week, the parliament adopted a resolution on the deal. To be clear, this was not the parliament's final vote on the matter but just a way of setting out the terrain ahead of talks between MEPs and national governments. Nevertheless, a significant majority of MEPs voted to reject the deal in its current form. Included amongst them were UKIP and the Liberal Democrats. UKIP voted against the deal because they want a 100 percent cut; yet, ironically, if they vote that way when it comes to the final vote, their posturing may actually lead to the parliament rejecting the agreement. The result? We would move to annual budgets adjusted for inflation: a budget increase year-on-year.

Continue reading "Martin Callanan MEP provides his monthly update on events from the European Parliament" »

25 Mar 2013 16:55:51

Download your own “12 Conservative Achievements” card

By Peter Hoskin
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Y’know that list of “12 Conservative Achievements” that was handed out at Spring Forum? Grant Shapps did promise, in his article for ConHome yesterday, that you’d be able to download your own copies from today – and he wasn’t lying. You can find it here, ready to be printed, distributed, memorised, discussed, whatever. We’ve pasted our copy below

This is all part of CCHQ’s plan to spread the word about what the Tories are achieving in Government. Aside from this list, there have been the leaflets that were handed out after the Budget, as well as the cards that were handed out during last year’s conference. Indeed, it’s like I said in a column last September:

“The Coalition is entering an awkward, adolescent phase of the Parliament, when less can be blamed on the sins of governments past, and more emphasis must be placed on the achievements that have been sealed and the achievements that are yet to come.”  

Anyway, here are the 12 Conservative Achievements (click for a larger version):

Continue reading "Download your own “12 Conservative Achievements” card" »

24 Mar 2013 09:00:11

The Sunday Times reports that "AT LEAST" ten police officers conspired to falsely discredit Andrew Mitchell

By Tim Montgomerie
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The Sunday Times (£) leads this morning with news that "AT LEAST" ten police officers were involved in a conspiracy to smear Andrew Mitchell.

The newspaper reports that the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is now extending its inquiry to uncover the full extent of that conspiracy:

"The 10 officers allegedly involved are from four police forces. Several are accused of fabricating allegations about what Mitchell said during the incident or making false statements to the media afterwards. Others are accused of leaking details of the case to the media."

If The Sunday Times' report is correct, The Sun, in particular, will have some apologising to do. Mr Mitchell is also likely to return to the frontbench but, I'm told, not the frontline. Something like a powerful Cabinet Office job is more likely.

Jon Gaunt, the man reported to be part of the Police Federation's campaign against Andrew Mitchell, announced yesterday that he was joining UKIP.

23 Mar 2013 18:08:40

How Andrew Griffiths helped to cut beer duty

By Paul Goodman
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With debt doubled and the deficit high - on one count, it hasn't fallen - cutting beer duty is a frippery.  Furthermore, government must tax something and, this being so, I'd rather tax spending than income.  In particular, there's a strong case for "sin" taxes on alcohol and tobacco, as long as they're not set at a level which encourages evasion and smuggling.  None the less, I'm no longer a politician, and can see that there are benefits in the budget's beer duty cut not only for George Osborne, but for beer drinkers (a bit) and the brewing industry (rather more).

So congratulations to Andrew Griffiths, the MP for Burton and Uttoxeter, Chairman of the Parliamentary Beer Group...and seasoned, effective political campaigner.  (He was Eric Pickles's Chief of Staff when the latter was Party Chairman.)  I suspect that Griffiths didn't join the Beer Group just because he likes a pint.  The brewer Molson Coors is based in Burton, and Griffiths will thus have been nursing his constituents' interests by pushing for the cut.  He's given an interview to his local paper, the Burton Mail, about how the campaign was won.

Continue reading "How Andrew Griffiths helped to cut beer duty" »

22 Mar 2013 11:39:33

Let's not forget that debt rose under Labour BEFORE the financial crisis struck

By Tim Montgomerie
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Tobias Ellwood MP to Ed Balls during yesterday's Budget debate (my emphasis):

"When the right hon. Gentleman was in office, the UK debt was £347 billion. Before the crisis struck, it rose to £624 billion. After the crisis it ratcheted up another £200 billion."

You'll find no defence from me for the Coalition's inadequate deficit reduction strategy (see yesterday) but let's never forget that Labour increased debt in good economic times.

20 Mar 2013 09:10:15

George Osborne's biggest Budget-day decision – he's joined Twitter

By Peter Hoskin
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Forget the personal allowance. Forget the beer duty escalator. Forget capital spending. Only one thing matters on this Budget morn’: George Osborne has done what David Cameron did towards the end of last year and joined Twitter.

The Chancellor has only tweeted once so far (see above), presumably because he has a few things to be getting on with. But he’s already racked up over 10,000 followers. For some reason, I suspect they’re not all friendly.

Although we shouldn’t layer too much analysis over such news, it’s still rather striking that Mr Osborne should join Twitter, and now. Is the Submarine Chancellor finally rising to the surface? Watch this Twitter profile, I guess.