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Much of the Sunday political shows was focused on Amber Rudd’s future, which we now know was severely limited.

Brandon Lewis was sent out on the Marr show to defend Rudd. The interview had the potential to be quite interesting as Lewis was the immigration minister last year so he may have been sent out to defend himself. Beyond the standard defence of ‘tackling immigration is the right thing to do’, what the Chair of the Conservative party did manage to do was say Rudd knew of the ambition to increase deportations but it was not a target. When asked whether he and Amber Rudd had ever directly discussed deportation targets, Lewis replied by saying he has been in a room talking about increasing the number of returns.

Defenders of Rudd were also on Peston. Jo Johnson said he is a ‘big big fan’ of Rudd and she’s a great Home Secretary. Johnson also went on to say that it is unrealistic to expect a Secretary of State to see every single memo, which may be true but it is still that Secretary of State’s responsibility if things go wrong. Thankfully Robert Peston pointed out that this is not a trivial matter and is a central element of the department’s work. Ed Vaizey was also on Peston and he said Rudd is fantastic but the last week had not been great and she will have questions to answer (which she now won’t as she has resigned).

Various other matters were discussed throughout the shows. Leader of the Lib Dems, Vince Cable, talked about immigration, saying that several governments have decided the public are bigoted and they need policies to feed their desires. Cable said, ‘race has been a key factor in British politics’. Cable also took a more considered approach when speaking about Rudd’s future saying he wanted to hear what she had to say for herself. Marr did point out that this considered approach may be due to the Lib Dems perhaps being somewhat responsible for the hostile environment policy as they were in government at the time. Cable defended his approach and party by saying for much of his time in power he and his party were fighting against these policies.

Andrew Gwynne also appeared on Marr and he was asked about anti-Semitism. He said it has been made clear by Jeremy Corbyn that Labour party members should not be sharing a platform with anybody found guilty of anti-Semitism or expelled from the party. When asked why this was not put into the party rule book, he repeated his previous point saying it is clear what should and should not be done. He also said the Labour party wants to work with Jewish community groups to change the rules of the party to provide a wider definition of anti-Semitism. Marr provided an example of Jewish people being held responsible for the actions of Israel, Gwynne responded by saying people can criticise any government in a democracy but criticising Jewish people should not be happening. Gwynne is also managing Labour’s local election campaign and he attempted to cool expectations saying it would be difficult to get as good a result in 2014.

Mayor of London, Saqid Khan, also appeared on Peston. He said he thinks there will be protests when Donald Trump visits the UK but said it would probably be inappropriate for him to join in with the protests. He also spoke about how both Theresa May and Trump have created hostile environments in their own countries. Khan would back the Prime Minister if she was to give preferential immigration rights to EU citizens after Brexit. He also spoke about former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, saying that he feels he should be removed from the Labour party and he cannot understand why it is taking so long for a decision to be made.

The leader of UKIP, Gerard Batten, appeared on Robert Peston and when speaking about anti-Semitism he accused the religion of Islam as being inherently anti-Semitic. Robert Peston later sent out a tweet saying Batten’s slur on Muslims is appalling and are the views of the UKIP leader. Batten was then questioned on a statement he has made saying that being called a racist is now worse than being called a murderer or a paedophile; Batten answered by saying he meant you are guilty until you can prove your innocence. Batten also spoke about Sadiq Khan’s statement that he wants an immigration system where EU migrants are given preferential treatment, Batten questioned whether this is racist as most EU citizens are white.

Other guests included: Kate Hoey, who said the one good thing that may come out of the Windrush scandal is that the Home Office may be properly reformed so we no longer see such ridiculous things happen like letters and passports being lost; Jo Swinson said she will be protesting Donald Trump when he visits in the Summer due to the values that he stands for; Ed Vaizey feels the Conservative will have to work doubly or triply hard to win back voters from a BAME background; and John McDonnell spoke about the local elections and said too many factors come into play for any prediction to be made now.

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Parliament returns from recess today and the Prime Minister faces a rough ride in the Commons with an emergency debate on her decision to join America and France in targeting President Assad’s chemical weapons facilities. The subject dominated yesterday’s political programmes, with several high-profile guests on both Marr and Peston discussing the issue.

On Marr, Corbyn attacked the Prime Minister over the decision not to consult MPs and demanded a ‘war powers act’, which would force governments to get parliamentary approval for military action. Corbyn also suggested ‘other groups’ involved in the Syrian civil war may have been responsible for the chemical weapons attack in Douma. Corbyn stated that there was no legal basis for the airstrikes, and criticised the Prime Minister for following Trump’s lead, describing it as a ‘policy made up by Twitter’. In regard to the Salisbury poisoning of Russian double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Corbyn said that he wants to see ‘inconvertible evidence’ that Russia was responsible for the attack.

The Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, also appeared on Marr, with a contrasting rhetoric, criticising Corbyn for denying the likelihood of Russian involvement in the Salisbury attack, describing his viewpoint as a ‘blindness to reality’. Johnson defended the decision to send air strikes, explaining the importance of sending a message to the Syrian leader to deter the ‘barbaric use of chemical weapons’. He also refused to rule out another attack on the region.

On Peston, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster David Lidington stated that there are no plans for legislation with regard to Corbyn’s proposal for a war powers act. Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry also appeared on the show, arguing that Trump should have worked with the UN. She said that it cannot be Donald Trump and the UN making decisions unilaterally. Green Party leader Caroline Lucas also weighed in on the issue, criticising the Prime Minister’s timing of the bombings and accusing her of purposely avoiding a debate in Parliament.

On Sunday with Niall Paterson, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon also criticised the Prime Minister for not seeking Parliament’s approval. She said that the strikes risk ‘escalating an already dangerous situation’, and argued that they do not contribute towards a long-standing and lasting peace in Syria. These comments were echoed by Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon, who emphasised the severity of taking a country to war and accused the Prime minster of paying more heed to the Twitter tantrums of Donald Trump than the British Parliament.

Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable claimed that the decision not to consult Parliament before launching the attack was taken for reasons of political weaknesses and fears of losing the vote. He said that it is essential that the Prime Minister builds a consensus at home before taking action abroad.

 

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There was no way Brexit would be upstaged for a second consecutive weekend on the Sunday shows, dominating the weekend’s coverage. It was discussed on both Peston and Marr, who each hosted several high-profile guests.

There are allegations that Vote Leave gave money to BeLeave (a group allegedly controlled by Vote Leave) so they could get around spending rules. These allegations came from a whistle blower who was not only in Vote Leave but in a relationship with senior Vote Leave figure, Stephen Parkinson. Stephen Parkinson is now a political secretary for the Prime Minister.

There were different calls for different steps to be taken.

Caroline Lucas (Marr) thinks there should be a police investigation, she does not think the Electoral Commission has either the resource or the power to act. She also referenced the Information Commissioner having to wait a week to get a warrant to enter Cambridge Analytica’s office.

Deputy Labour leader, Tom Watson (Marr) said the ministers that were involved in Vote Leave should answer questions to find out what they knew and when they knew it. Watson backed Lucas’ view that the Electoral Commission needs the powers and resources to further investigate. David Davis (Marr) attempted to calm the matter saying we should wait for the Electoral Commission to come to a conclusion.

Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt (Peston) defended Stephen Parkinson, saying as far as he knew Parkinson works with the highest integrity. Hunt went on to say the legal matters are for the Electoral Commission to decide on.

Ben Bradshaw (Peston) said it is for the Information Commissioner, the Electoral Commission and the police to decide on whether anything illegal happened. Heidi Allen (Peston) called for the facts to be separated from the gossip, on the wider story, she said, ‘the whole thing feels pretty filthy’.

David Davis was not just asked about the Vote Leave issue. He made the following claim on the UK’s future relationship with the EU: ‘It will be a free trade deal, a comprehensive one, the most comprehensive one ever’. Davis went on to say that the deal will not be like Norway’s.

The question of Northern Ireland was, of course, raised. Davis said the preferred and ‘likely’ way of resolving this issue will be the UK getting a customs agreement and free trade agreement making the issue easier to solve. The Brexit Secretary went on to say a backup plan does exist and this plan involves Northern Ireland remaining in the customs union. Marr challenged Davis on this saying that kind of arrangement does not exist anywhere in the world, to which Davis suggested the use of new technology could solve any old problems.

The Shadow Brexit Secretary, Keir Starmer was interviewed by Robert Peston and asked about where the Labour Party thinks the new British passports should be made. Starmer said the new blue passports should be made by a British company. When Robert Peston pointed out this could cost £120 million, Starmer replied by saying ‘To put it to a French company is the wrong thing to have done’.

After Tom Watson said a second referendum was something the Labour Party was open to but not calling for, Starmer had to answer a question on this topic where he made clear it was not a policy Labour were putting forward. Watson was asked about the sacking of Owen Smith; he said that when you join the shadow Cabinet you are bound to collective responsibility and your personal views should be put to the side. Watson said he did not think Corbyn had much choice but to ask Smith to step down.  Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald backed up what Watson said, later on Sunday Politics.

One of the biggest non-Brexit stories to come out of the shows was Jeremy Hunt and the NHS. Hunt said he thinks a ‘10-year settlement’ will suit the NHS much better. He said it takes seven years to train a doctor and three to train a nurse, and to be able to structurally plan for this, the NHS needs longer term financial planning. He also said that the public wants more resources for the NHS and this can only really happen when tax is increased and the economy grows.

Hunt also hinted towards making the NHS more efficient in the way data is recorded, explicitly mentioning IT systems. The Health Secretary also dampened speculation that an extra £4bn a year is going to announced for the NHS in the summer, linking back to his earlier comments that he does not like the ‘feast or famine’ way the NHS is currently funded. Hunt didn’t stop there, he went on to set out a policy where mothers would see the same team of midwives through pregnancy and birth. Hunt himself said more midwives will be needed for the policy to become a reality.

Not for the first time since Jeremy Corbyn became Labour leader, the opposition leader’s views on anti-Semitism were questioned. This comes from 2012 when Corbyn defended an anti-Semitic mural on Facebook. The Labour leader has said he was defending free speech and did not realise the mural was anti-Semitic, though he has now said it is. Andy McDonald (this time on Sunday with Paterson) said Jeremy Corbyn has fought anti-Semitic behaviour for a long time. Starmer said the mural was very clearly anti-Semitic and that Corbyn ‘can speak for himself’. Peston thought it would worry people that someone who wants to be Prime Minister did not look closely enough at something before commenting on it.

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Chancellor Philip Hammond made an appearance on both Marr and Peston yesterday, where two topics (neither of which were Brexit!) were dominant: the economy and Russia. Ahead of the Spring Statement (Tuesday 13 March), Hammond gave his view on the state of the economy and said that there is ‘light at the end’ of the austerity tunnel as debt will begin to fall. However, Hammond made sure to point out that the UK is still that tunnel and the national debt must still come down.

When asked by Robert Peston whether he foresees the UK economy reaching a 60% debt to GDP ratio in our lifetime, Hammond responded by saying, ‘It depends on how long you’re planning on living’.

Hammond did have to face some Brexit-related questions. When asked by Peston about EU fishermen, Hammond responded it will be up to the UK to decide whether we allow European fishermen to enter our waters. He also said that it would come down to the results of the negotiation as to whether the UK will have access to the single market.

John McDonnell gave an alternative view of the economy on Marr by saying he did not see Hammond’s assessment as being accurate and that ‘austerity is holding growth back’, lamenting the lack of growth in wages. McDonnell accused the Government of passing the buck on financial management to those that depend on the funding.

All the guests on Marr had to face questions relating to Russia. Perhaps the most notable Russia-related guest was Marina Litvinenko, the widow of ex-Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko who died after being poisoned in London.  She came with a warning to Theresa May that ‘you need to be very selective who you are friends with’ as the history of wealthy individuals coming into a country needs to be considered.

She also made the point that as someone else has been poisoned, it must mean the actions required were not taken. John McDonnell encouraged his Labour colleagues not to appear on Russia Today and that if Russia was involved in the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal, then Britain will need to take steps to isolate the country. Hammond said if there was evidence of a foreign state being involved in the Skripal attack then the Government will be responding appropriately.

Jacob Rees-Mogg was a guest on Peston and he views Russia as a serious threat to the UK and said a robust response is needed. Rees-Mogg also commented on Russian bots, saying he did not know who looks at his Twitter and whether any bots promote his views.

Rees-Mogg also said he would want any money that comes from the UK leaving the EU to go towards the NHS as we are not currently spending enough on health. Over the weekend, Peter Dowd appeared on Russia Today and was questioned on his appearance by Niall Paterson. He said the Labour Party will be reviewing the policy of appearing on Russia Today and he makes a decision on every offer he gets to appear on TV.

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The Sunday political shows continued despite Parliament being in recess for the last week. To quote a former Prime Minister, the focus was ‘education, education, education’.

The Education Secretary, Damian Hinds was out to represent the Government; his position was that courses that cost less to run could come with lower fees as he conceded that the Government expected more variety in tuition fees under the current system. Unsurprisingly, Hinds was not supportive of the Labour policy to scrap tuition fees.

Shadow Education Secretary Angel Rayner also appeared on Marr’s show, arguing that the reintroduction of the maintenance grant is needed. Rayner did not express any hope in the review due to be conducted – she said, ‘another review really isn’t going to solve the problem’. When questioned about the policy the Labour Party put forward before the election to wipe out student debt, Rayner switched focus and said the priority for the Labour Party is making sure that schools are safe.

Robert Peston made sure his show would not be outdone on education with Justine Greening and Lord Willets appearing. Before leaving the Cabinet, Greening said she wanted to make sure the cost of education was not just continuously looked at as action needed to be taken – implying that the review may be more inaction. Greening also pointed out that cutting fees for subjects in the arts or social sciences may lead to students from poorer backgrounds not applying for STEM subjects.

There was mention given to Brendan Cox’s decision to step down from the charities formed in memorial of his late wife, after allegations of his behaviour towards women in a previous role. The scandal around charity abuse was something focused on by Ruth Davidson who said the abusers are in the ‘lowest circle of hell’. She also said the scandal has made it much harder to make the case for UK aid, which is much needed.

It wouldn’t be Politics on Sunday without Brexit being mentioned and Andrew Marr interviewed Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s representative in the Brexit negotiations. Verhofstadt does not think that the UK will be able to get a deal like Canada with additional benefits. He also said Theresa May should think twice before she thinks she can pick and choose which EU regulations the UK adopts once it leaves the EU.

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The Sunday political shows gave us guests from local, regional and national government alongside a former head of the civil service and the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Andrew Marr’s headline guests were Amber Rudd and Gerry Adams. Rudd was asked about Brexit and Brexiteers in the Conservative party; she said they should be aware of the unity in the Cabinet committee on Brexit. Rudd rebuked Jacob Rees-Mogg for his suspicions of how civil servants in the Treasury are reporting their figures. The Home Secretary was confident about the prospects for Britain after Brexit saying the country will ‘absolutely grow’ once the UK has left the EU.

Asked a question about possibly becoming chancellor under Boris Johnson, if he were to become PM, she responded by saying the question was ‘too difficult to answer on a number of levels’ and so passed on answering.

Gerry Adams made what will be his last appearance on Marr in his position as President of Sinn Féin. He expressed a view that the current lack of government in Northern Ireland ‘could be solved by tomorrow’. Adams also gave a warning to Theresa May that her deal with the DUP will ‘end in tears’ once things hit a rocky patch.

He was also asked why he never joined the IRA; his answer was that he was very active in Sinn Féin and despite never joining, he never distanced himself from them. Adams did say that he wished nobody had been harmed in the conflict. He also made clear his view that Brexit will be a disaster for the people of Ireland as the UK Government is unclear on what they want to do. ‘Outstanding’ was the word the Sinn Féin leader chose to use when describing Jeremy Corbyn and said he would like to see him as the next PM.

Vince Cable and Claire Kober were the other guests of note on Marr’s show. The former began positively, highlighting the Lib Dems’ unity on the issue of Brexit. Cable also showed how things can change in a year by pointing out he was not even an elected politician this time last year. Sir Vince believes the Government is making a mess of negotiations with the EU, and he is continuing to press Labour to back the position of a vote on the final deal.

Former leader of Haringey Council, Claire Kober, has had a tumultuous week and she cited the abuse she received in her position and put it down to her being a woman. Kober said that she had not raised any complaints with the Labour NEC due to her lack of faith in it.

A number of pro-Brexit MPs have been voicing concerns that the civil service may not be acting in a completely neutral manner when approaching Brexit, so a former head of the civil service went on Peston on Sunday to say, ‘If you’re selling snake oil, you don’t like the idea of experts testing your product’. Lord O’Donnell did not have any time for the accusations against civil servants, saying they appear to be measures to ‘shoot the messenger’. His wider point was that people like to promote the impartiality of the Civil Service when it is convenient for them.

Shadow Attorney General, Baroness Chakrabarti, used part of her interview with Peston to respond to Claire Kober’s remarks on The Andrew Marr show. Chakrabarti said Labour must do more to get sexism and antisemitism out of the Party but said any complaint made to Labour’s NEC will be investigated. Chakrabarti also called for BBC Director General, Tony Hall, to do more on the issue of equal pay.

Housing Minister, Dominic Raab also appeared on Peston and confidently claimed that the PM would not support the UK remaining in a customs union – contradicting remarks made by Rudd. Raab did support Rudd’s remarks relating to unity in the party. Stella Creasy was another guest on Peston who spoke on the Claire Kober situation calling for Labour to act and sharing the difficulty she has experienced when it comes to making complaints.

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Sunday marked the 2018 return of all the usual political shows, which meant there was a plethora of guests being interviewed.

Alongside new Chair of the Conservative Party, Brandon Lewis and Shadow Foreign Secretary, Emily Thornberry, Andrew Marr had guests coming from Holyrood and Hollywood with First Minister of Scotland and leader of the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon and Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.

Emily Thornberry did very little to convince Donald Trump he would be welcome in the UK, labelling him ‘a racist’ and an ‘asteroid of awfulness’. The Shadow Foreign Secretary did not stop there, saying Theresa May had humiliated the Queen by inviting the President to the UK. Marr pulled Thornberry up on her remarks by saying this attitude could lead to it being harder for the UK to secure a trade deal with the US, but Thornberry responded by saying trade deals are complex processes and it would not depend on the pen of Donald Trump.

Marr finished the exchange by saying we do not know how long Trump will be around, it could be three more years or it could be until 2024, and greater diplomacy could go a long way. Thornberry also spoke on John Worboys, stating he is a ‘threat to women’, and previous rape cases have not been prosecuted properly despite improvements being made.

Brandon Lewis took a different approach to Thornberry by saying it was right for Trump to be invited and discussed how Britain should pursue its relationship with the US, declaring it a ‘very important relationship’. Lewis did condemn Trump’s alleged remarks where he is accused of referring to African Nations as ‘shithole’ countries.

Lewis was asked about abuse of politicians online, and he pledged a tough stance from the Conservatives, saying any candidates who personally abuse politicians online will be suspended. Marr asked Lewis whether he would apologise for the abuse Diane Abbott receives from Conservatives; he didn’t apologise but pledged the strong stance. Marr then moved onto questioning how the online presence of the Conservatives compares to that of the Labour Party who are generally perceived as being better. Lewis said the Conservatives will aim to get better in a respectful manner.

Marr also called the reaction to this tweet from the Tories about banning credit card charges, ‘slightly embarrassing’ as it showed the Conservatives taking credit for EU legislation. Lewis also spoke on the Worboys case letting us know he understands the outrage and how the Justice Secretary will be doing all he can to make sure Worboys remains behind bars.

Sturgeon on Brexit
The First Minister of Scotland was given a very different line of questioning, mainly focusing on how Brexit will impact Scotland. Sturgeon put forward her view that staying in the single market and the customs union would be the least harmful option. When asked whether she accepts that Scotland will be leaving the EU, Sturgeon said she wants an alternative and for the least damaging scenario to be the one that is followed. Marr questioned Sturgeon on whether the Scottish people are actively interested in Scotland becoming an independent country as it does not affect their day-to-day lives. Sturgeon argued back saying this is a misconception people have been making for her entire political life. She said it is not a ‘constitutional abstraction’ as independence is linked to the economy and living standards.

Robert Peston’s headline guests were Culture Secretary, Matt Hancock and Jeremy Corbyn. Hancock suggested the amendments made by the House of Lords last week on Leveson and press regulation could be the beginning of the end for democracy. Hancock was then asked about pay at the BBC and his remarks that men are being paid too much at the broadcaster. When Peston suggested this may just be an operation of the market the BBC operates in, Hancock rejected this by saying the BBC has a ‘special responsibility’ to act on equal pay due to the licence fee. Hancock went on to say he will be having discussions with the Director General of the BBC in the next few weeks about pay for stars. Like Lewis and Thornberry on Marr, Hancock was asked about John Worboys and said it is a positive step that the Ministry of Justice will be considering this case after questions were raised over the process.

Corbyn on Trump
Jeremy Corbyn let Peston know he was not disappointed by Donald Trump cancelling his visit to the UK but took a more measured view than Thornberry by saying he will eventually come. He faced questions on the Labour Party’s position on Brexit, where Corbyn made it clear the Party is not calling for a second referendum on the terms of the UK’s Brexit deal but instead a meaningful vote in Parliament. Peston noted that Corbyn was speaking in the present tense so he was not ruling out changing this position later. The Labour leader took issue with remarks Nicola Sturgeon (and some of his backbenchers) have been making by calling for the UK to join the single market, as for him, leaving the EU means leaving the single market.

Other points of note from Sunday’s shows were Chuka Umunna on Sunday with Niall Paterson, claiming the remarks made by Corbyn were wrong. More disagreement in the Labour Party could be seen when Barry Gardiner told Sunday Politics that he would not have used the same language John McDonnell used to describe Esther McVey after a video emerged of him quoting an activist who said she should be ‘lynched’.

UKIP Chairman, Paul Oakden also told the BBC that party leader Henry Bolton would have to make some tough decisions to make.

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