Sebastian Payne

Tuesday

22 Dec 2015
Sebastian Payne

Podcast special: 2015 in review

Christmas is almost here, so it’s time for our annual year in review podcast. In this View from 22 hour-long special, I’m delighted to be joined by a stellar line-up of Spectator contributors to look back on the events of the past twelve months, as well as asking each of our guests for their person of 2015. Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth discuss the surprise Tory victory in May’s general election and how David Cameron has finally proven himself a winner. Does he now have the whole Conservative party behind him? And who should take credit for this victory? Fraser Nelson and Alex Massie look at the rise and rise of the SNP and how Nicola Sturgeon managed to take the party to new heights after losing the independence referendum.

Podcast special: 2015 in review

Friday

18 Dec 2015
Sebastian Payne

Nigel Farage warns Douglas Carswell: ‘it’s going to have to end’

Nigel Farage popped up on the Daily Politics today to warn Douglas Carswell that critical comments about his leadership cannot continue. The Ukip leader said the Clacton MP's views don't have any particular significance, despite the fact he is the only Kipper who was elected in May's general election: ‘Well he did but so what? He’s one person. So what? We cannot have one individual every single time there’s a Ukip conference and it finishes with a story of disunity and it’s all being caused by one person. And frankly, I think it’s going to have to end.’ Farage was quite shifty on what the ‘end’ might be, although he did point out 'it will not be me who makes these decisions, it will be Douglas' — so it doesn't look as if he will push to deselect Carswell or remove the party whip.

Nigel Farage warns Douglas Carswell: ‘it’s going to have to end’

Wednesday

16 Dec 2015
Sebastian Payne

John Major: leaving the EU would push Britain into ‘splendid isolation’

David Cameron is heading off to a European Council meeting tomorrow, where talks will continue on reforming Britain's relationship with Brussels. But this will not yield results instantly, according to one of his predecessors. Sir John Major explained on the Today programme this morning why Thursday and Friday won't be 'high noon' for these talks: ‘It’s a process, there will be discussion aimed at an agreement. That discussion will take place, everybody will leave and state their own positions but underneath that, there will be a movement either towards an agreement or against and we won’t actually know about that until they come to the crunch sometime next year.’ Although Major said he does not want be Cameron's backseat driver — a reference to his own time in No.

John Major: leaving the EU would push Britain into ‘splendid isolation’

Tuesday

15 Dec 2015
Sebastian Payne

Brexit is gaining momentum, according to two new polls

Two new opinion polls suggest that support is growing for Britain to leave the European Union. Today’s Daily Telegraph reports on an ICM survey which shows that half of voters back Brexit, if the undecideds are excluded: the first time since 2013 that voters are evenly split. But when the undecided voters are included, it is a much tighter split: 42 per cent would vote to stay in, compared to 41 per cent for leaving. It’s a similar story in a Survation survey in today’s Daily Express, which has a five-times larger 10,000 sample size. This survey reports that 42 per cent want to leave the EU, compared to 40 per cent who would vote to stay in. Taking out the undecided voters, 51 per cent currently back Brexit, while 49 per cent want to stay in.

Brexit is gaining momentum, according to two new polls

Monday

14 Dec 2015
Sebastian Payne

Nicky Morgan: children’s services need to find ‘different ways of working’

Children's services in local government will be taken over if they are deemed to be failing by Ofsted, David Cameron is announcing today. In an effort to avoid child abuse cases such as those in Rochdale and Rotherham, the government will carry out about more emergency inspections and services which fail to improve within six months will be taken over by higher performing local authorities. The Prime Minister says: 'Children’s services support the most vulnerable children in our society. They are in our care; we, the state, are their parents; and we are failing them. It is our duty to put this right; to say poorly performing local authorities: improve, or be taken over. We will not stand by while children are let down by inadequate social services'.

Nicky Morgan: children’s services need to find ‘different ways of working’

Sunday

13 Dec 2015
Sebastian Payne

Donald Trump may be riding high in the polls, but watch out for Ted Cruz

So how has America reacted to Donald Trump’s proposal to stop all Muslim immigration? Has the Donald gone too far? Not at all, according to the Wall Street Journal and NBC News: Trump has overtaken former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who has fallen back into fourth place on 11 per cent. Trump remains the frontrunner, now on 27 per cent. So who can trump Trump? The best bet, it seems now, is Ted Cruz, the Senator for Texas. He has moved up from 10 per cent in October to 22 per cent — it's also the first time he's the second most popular candidate. Plus, another poll from Bloomberg Politics and the Des Moines Register says that in the key primary state of Iowa, he is the most popular candidate with a ten-point lead over Trump.

Donald Trump may be riding high in the polls, but watch out for Ted Cruz

Friday

11 Dec 2015
Sebastian Payne

Patrick McLoughlin: government may still back second runway at Gatwick

‘Gutless’ is how this morning’s papers are describing the government’s decision to yet again delay the decision on where in the South East to build a new runway. On the Today programme this morning, the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin attempted to explain why the government has changed its mind — noting ‘we could have said we couldn’t have taken this forward at all’: 'I think we’ve made some important movements already. We’ve accepted what Davies says about the need for additional capacity in the South East and we’ve said that we will make a decision on that over the summer'. Most significantly, McLoughlin signalled the government is still toying with expansion at Gatwick. ‘Please get off the fixation of a third runway’, he told John Humphreys.

Patrick McLoughlin: government may still back second runway at Gatwick

Tuesday

8 Dec 2015
Sebastian Payne

Liz Truss defends government spending on flood defences

The flooding in Cumbria is continuing to cause misery for thousands of people and as often happens in these situations, attention has turned onto whether the government has done enough to protect people. Liz Truss, the Environment Secretary, popped up on the Today programme to defend the government’s flood defence plans. She described what has happened in Cumbria as a ‘devastating situation’, which was the result of an ‘extreme event’: 'The scale of this was absolutely extraordinary – to have half a metre more of water than we’ve seen before in any of these towns and cities in Cumbria was extraordinary'. Despite ‘an environment where overall the government budget is reducing’ Truss insisted the government is ‘spending more on flood defences because it’s a priority’.

Liz Truss defends government spending on flood defences

Monday

7 Dec 2015
Sebastian Payne

Tories begin to attack Sadiq Khan for his links to Jeremy Corbyn

Now Jeremy Corbyn has passed his first electoral test in Oldham West, the Conservatives are focusing on the next one: the 2016 London Mayor election. CCHQ has launched SadiqWatch today, a new website which shows off the Tories' lines of attack against Sadiq Khan for the first time. Just like the Not Ken Again site from the 2012 Mayoral race, the videos and graphics don’t mention they’re from the Tories, but the site's footer does say (in small print) they are produced at CCHQ. The most striking attack line is in the standfirst of SadiqWatch: ‘Holding Corbyn’s candidate to account’. As one of the 35 Labour MPs who nominated Jeremy Corbyn for Labour leader, the Tories are planning to say that Corbyn and Khan are inextricably linked.

Tories begin to attack Sadiq Khan for his links to Jeremy Corbyn

Friday

4 Dec 2015
Sebastian Payne

Labour wins Oldham West and Royton by-election with huge majority

Labour has won the Oldham West and Royton by-election. Jim McMahon has returned the seat with a 10,835 majority, down from 14,738 in May’s general election. Although there were some wobbles during the short campaign, it appears Labour has put in a very good performance, increasing its vote share by seven per cent, while Ukip has again come a distant second. Labour can attribute much of its successful to a solid local candidate, Jim McMahon, The higher than expected turnout of 40.26 per cent (two thirds of May's general election) has definitely helped Labour. Here are the results: Labour: 62 per cent (+7.3%) - 17,322 votes Ukip: 23 per cent (+2.7%) - 6,487 votes Conservative: 9 per cent (-9.7%) - 2,596 votes Lib Dem: 4 per cent (no change) - 1,024 votes Green: 2 per cent (-1%) - 249 votes Although Ukip was hopeful of taking the seat, the party never truly believed it could win – insiders often described it as a ‘tough nut to crack’.

Labour wins Oldham West and Royton by-election with huge majority

Thursday

3 Dec 2015
Sebastian Payne

Jeremy Corbyn’s New Politics has ushered in an era of appalling online bullying

It was meant to be about open debate and discussion, consensus through dialogue. But so far, Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour party and the arrival of the so-called New Politics has resulted in division and a lot of abuse and bad feeling. In light of last night’s vote on Syria airstrikes, Twitter and Facebook have been exploding with extraordinary levels of comments and abuse that no one, MPs or otherwise, should be subjected to. For example, hard-left groups such as Lefty Unity, have been using Twitter to stir up agitation against the MPs they disagree with: https://twitter.com/LeftUnityUK/status/672323042161332224 As well as telling those well-intentioned MPs who voted for the airstrikes they have ‘blood on their hands’: https://twitter.

Jeremy Corbyn’s New Politics has ushered in an era of appalling online bullying

Wednesday

2 Dec 2015
Sebastian Payne

Podcast special: Syria airstrikes and Hilary Benn’s extraordinary speech

The House of Commons has voted to carry out airstrikes in Syria this evening by a majority of 174, but today's debate has been overshadowed by an incredible speech from Hilary Benn. In this View from 22 podcast special, Fraser Nelson, James Forsyth, Isabel Hardman and I discuss the implications of the Commons vote and what the shadow foreign secretary's address means for the Labour party. Has Benn challenged Corbyn's authority with his barnstorming speech that has won praise from all parties? How long will the glow last? Did Benn inspire the large number of Labour rebels? You can subscribe to the View from 22 through iTunes and have it delivered to your computer every week, or you can use the player below:

Podcast special: Syria airstrikes and Hilary Benn’s extraordinary speech

Tuesday

1 Dec 2015
Sebastian Payne

Hilary Benn on Labour’s Syria split: ‘People of principle can reach different decisions’

Tomorrow, Labour will try out something curious during the Commons debate on airstrikes in Syria. The opposition side of the debate will be opened by Jeremy Corbyn, who will argue against airstrikes, and later closed by Hilary Benn, who will make the case for them. This may sound all very dynamic and different but there is a simple and important question ordinary folks will be wondering: what is Labour's policy on Syrian airstrikes? On the Today programme, the shadow foreign secretary said he is in favour of the strikes because ‘there is a clear and present threat from Isil Daesh' and called for respect from the opposing sides within Labour - possibly in response to Corbynite MP Clive Lewis, who has warned pro-strike colleagues 'on their heads be it': ‘Because people of principle can reach different decisions about how to deal with the threat.

Hilary Benn on Labour’s Syria split: ‘People of principle can reach different decisions’

Monday

30 Nov 2015
Sebastian Payne

CCHQ announces independent inquiry into Elliott Johnson

The board of the Conservative party met this afternoon and finally agreed to hold a fully independent investigation into circumstances around the death of RoadTrip activist Elliott Johnson and the allegations of bullying by Mark Clarke. CCHQ has said the investigation will be ‘timely, objective, and comprehensive and independent from the Chairman, CCHQ staff and Party volunteers'. In a statement, the Conservative party said: From tomorrow (1 December), the investigation will be conducted in its entirety by the law firm Clifford Chance LLP. This will include taking witness statements and the collation and review of all written evidence. Clifford Chance LLP will review all interviews already conducted and give those already interviewed the option to be reinterviewed.

CCHQ announces independent inquiry into Elliott Johnson

Sunday

29 Nov 2015
Sebastian Payne

John McDonnell: Ukip is ‘an evil force within our society’

John McDonnell spoke at a Momentum curry dinner in Oldham yesterday evening, following a day on the doorstep ahead of Thursday’s by-election. I was lurking at the back and there weren't many other journalists there. The shadow chancellor raised expectations for Labour holding onto the seat, as well as telling Momentum activists that the party has to defeat Ukip, who are seen as the most likely challengers, because it is an ‘evil force within our society’: WATCH 1/3 John McDonnell at Momentum curry dinner: #Ukip is "an evil force within our society" https://t.co/H8qzcmrQ1S — Sebastian Payne (@SebastianEPayne) November 29, 2015 ‘There are some within the party, and in the media in particular, who are trying to say "well this is the first test of Jeremy’s leadership" and hoping that in some way we would lose this by-election and then that would be a slap in face for Jeremy in first weeks and all the rest of it.

John McDonnell: Ukip is ‘an evil force within our society’

Friday

27 Nov 2015
Sebastian Payne

What’s really driving Labour’s row over Syria?

Is Labour working through its policy differences on bombing Syria or is the shadow cabinet genuinely split? The New Politics dictates that public debate and consultations should be encouraged, so the Corbynites don't see a problem with the current situation. John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, tweeted this morning to ask everyone to 'calm down' because Labour is going through the process of deciding its position on Syria: https://twitter.com/johnmcdonnellMP/status/670181630678597633 Diane Abbott, the shadow international development secretary and another key Corbyn ally, has told Coffee House that any talk of a free vote on bombing Syria is premature because the position is undecided: 'I think that talk about a free vote is putting the cart before the horse.

What’s really driving Labour’s row over Syria?
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