Uk politics

The quotes emerging, in advance, from Nick Clegg's Westminster Hour interview are a mix of the unsurprising and the intriguing. To the first category belongs his claim that "parties in government tend to get a dip in their popularity" – I mean, he's hardly going to say that the Lib Dems' decline in the polls is a disaster, is he? But this, for instance, belongs firmly in the second category: "If we weren't in a coalition now I don't think people would take any notice of the Liberal Democrats ....  If we were in a coalition with Labour, arguably our identity crisis would be even worse." In other words, the Lib Dems are better off in coalition – and they could well be better off in coalition with the Tories.

The reaction to Leon Brittan’s appointment tells us three important things about the current political situation. First, the Tory backbenches are becoming increasingly grumpy at jobs going to people other than them. A large number of Tory MPs who had expected ministerial posts missed out because of coalition. Cameron’s failure to write to many of these people thanking them for their service in opposition has made some of them rather bitter. But this resentment has grown in recent weeks as jobs have gone to various other people. The former Tory MP Paul Goodman says what many of his former colleagues are thinking when he writes, ‘There are more than 300 Conservative MPs. Isn't one of them up to the job of being Trade Minister?

Today is the 70th anniversary of Winston Churchill's 'Few' speech. Here's how the Spectator reviewed it at the time: Mr Churchill looks ahead, The Spectator, 23 August 1940 Mr Churchill surpassed even his own masterpieces of lucid and spirited exposition in his speech on Tuesday, in which he surveyed the first year of the war and the last exciting days of victory in the air and looked fearlessly into the future. During the previous fortnight, and especially during the previous week, the nation had become aware of the fact that the intensified air attack was part of that onslaught on Britain whose approach was trumpeted in Germany.

Nick Clegg’s few days in charge have summed up his current political problem. If he says he agrees with what the government is doing, the media ask what’s the point of the Lib Dems? That’s what happened to him on the Today Programme this morning. But if he talks about where he disagrees with the coalition programme as he did on Monday when discussing Trident, he’s lambasted for exacerbating coalition tensions.   It is all far cry from the early days of the coalition when there was some concern in Conservative circles that Clegg was a thinner, better version of David Cameron.

While Tony Blair has been pledging a slice of his massive post-PM earnings to The Royal Legion, a tale reaches me – from an impeccable source – about what Gordon Brown is up to. He once indicated he'd devote his post-PM life to modest good works, but it appears he is also trying to build up a large nest egg of his own: in the world of public speaking, with six-figure fees. He's asked a London speaking agency to tout for speaking engagements for him in the Middle East and Asia. And the price? He's been offered at $100,000 a pop and is promising to speak on areas covered by his new book, The Financial Crisis, which is due out soon. That should have 'em roaring in the aisles.