House of Commons
The endless tiny errors of the NHS
I wrote recently elsewhere about Jeremy Hunt’s good new book examining unnecessary deaths in the NHS. Someone should write a…
Chips Channon’s judgment was abysmal, but the diaries are a great work of literature
It is often said that the best political diaries are written by those who dwell in the foothills of power.…
The lockdown delay has triggered a constitutional crisis
It is not the Battle of Marston Moor, but it strikes me that we are now in something of a…
Bitter memories: my craving for a pint
It is enough to drive a man to drink. The most glorious weather, so suitable for white Burgundy on a…
There’s nothing wrong with Jacob Rees-Mogg lying down in the Commons
If you are a journalist covering politics this year, every moment is a bad moment to take a holiday. I…
Could the vote on the Brexit deal set a record for a government defeat in the Commons?
Big defeats Could the vote on the Brexit deal set a record for a government defeat in the Commons? Aside…
Is ‘woman’ now an offensive word?
I do not know whether the Speaker of the House of Commons called the present Leader of the House a…
Order, order! In the Commons, you are where you sit
Diet nannies will spend Christmas telling us ‘you are what you eat’ but in the House of Commons ‘you are…
This really isn’t how Robert Mugabe would run a referendum
It is not what Robert Mugabe would do. Calm down. These are ‘spiv Robert Mugabe antics’, said the Tory backbencher…
Harriet Harman’s diary: the joys of being a ‘former’
One of my constituents has been in an Indonesian prison since May. Journalist Rebecca Prosser was arrested with her colleague…
A Commons consensus on bombing Syria is further away than ever
David Cameron doesn’t do regret. It is not in his nature to sit and fret about decisions that he has…
How Labour can depose Jeremy Corbyn
Labour’s centrist forces could take years to recover. Or forever
Spectator letters: Cutting the Lords, and a defence of Edwin Lutyens
Trimming the ermine Sir: I am a new boy in the House of Lords compared with Viscount Astor — though…
Cunard – a triumph of steam-age privatisation
Steam privatisation Cunard celebrated its 175th birthday by sailing three liners down the Mersey. The formation of the Cunard Line…
Cicero’s advice for Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Jack Straw
In responding as they did to the Daily Telegraph ‘sting’, Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind may well have done…
The real problem with our MPs: they’re obsessed with the super-rich
Had the public been asked, before Monday morning, to identify two MPs who stood for honesty and decency, the names…
Five more MPs making Malcolm Rifkind’s day rate
Golden league Some MPs who earn Sir Malcolm Rifkind’s rate of £5,000 a day: — Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury): £3,333…
If you think Britain’s corrupt now, watch what happens if we ban second jobs for MPs
Last year, I had an exchange with Hugo Rifkind on Twitter in which I bet him dinner at Clarke’s that…
It costs £34,000 to become an MP. No wonder they expect higher pay
Mark Simmonds has been in politics long enough to know not to expect much sympathy from his constituents. He resigned…
Here comes Boris! The next Tory leadership fight has just begun
The next Tory leadership battle has just begun
For Boris, choosing the right seat will only be half the battle
Choosing the right seat is only half the battle for Boris
Parliament's next crisis: a dangerous shortage of middle-aged men
The House of Commons is off for the summer. But few MPs and ministers expect to make it through to…
Origins of the toe-rag
‘I am glad to say that I have never seen a toe-rag,’ said my husband, assuming, as unconvincingly as one…
The spy who came in from le Carré
The single most terrifying moment of my adult life occurred at 8.55 a.m. on the morning of Tuesday 5 August…
John Bercow must rein it in — Parliament can't afford to depose two Speakers in a row
John Bercow could go down as a great reforming Speaker of the House of Commons. It’s thanks to him, in…
