David Blackburn

Tuesday

David Blackburn

Coulson escapes unscathed 

From our UK edition

So far, so good for Andy Coulson and the Tories. The former News of the World editor’s appearance before the Culture Select committee earlier today passed without further revelations. And, despite the efforts of Labour spin doctors, this remains a media scandal, not a political one. The real drama occurred when the News of the World’s lawyer, Tom Crone, and editor Colin Myler gave evidence, and even that was pretty tame. Illustrating that there are no new revelations, the committee asked further questions concerning the emailed transcript of a tapped conversation sent by a junior reporter to Neville Thurlbeck, NotW’s chief reporter. Collective amnesia seems to have beset the NotW: Crone, the junior reporter and Thurlbeck recall next to nothing about this email.

Monday

David Blackburn

CoffeeHousers’ Wall, 20 July – 26 July

From our UK edition

Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers' Wall. For those who haven't come across the Wall before, it's a post we put up each Monday, on which - providing your writing isn't libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency - you'll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section. There is no topic, so there's no need to stay 'on topic' - which means you'll be able to debate with each other more freely and extensively. There's also no constraint on the length of what you write - so, in effect, you can become Coffee House bloggers. Anything's fair game - from political stories in your local paper, to chat about the latest football results.

Wednesday

David Blackburn

The view from Threadneedle Street

From our UK edition

Despite appearances, the G20 meltdown protest around the Bank of England is fertile ground for the Conservatives. There is an enormous middle class presence here that is nothing short of livid with the government’s economic policy. I spoke to a group of young women from south east London who would have looked more at home Sloane Ranging than in the midst of an allegedly anti-capitalist demonstration. They were aged 18-24, the age group the recession is now hitting hardest, and they made it clear they were opposed to nothing other than “excessive bailouts and stimulus at the expense of hard pressed taxpayers” and the government’s “headless chicken approach”. They expressed “broad support” for the Tories’ caution.

Tuesday

David Blackburn

The Myners contradictions

From our UK edition

Lord Myners finally came before the Treasury Select Committee this morning to answer for his role in the Sir Fred Goodwin pension saga. John McFall asked Myners if he had been misled or negligent. Myners pleaded “neither”, but his answers did not support that claim and were totally inconsistent with what he has said in the past. They also highlighted the government’s reckless approach to the bailout negotiations; an approach which ignored all necessary scrutiny. Myners recalled the tumultuous weekend of 11th-12th October 2008, when he met RBS’s directors to negotiate the first banking bailout.

Saturday

David Blackburn

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Intelligence Squared event report – ‘Afghanistan: the future’

From our UK edition

Yesterday’s Intelligence Squared / Spectator event was a discussion, rather than the usual debate. There was no motion, and panellists presented possible outcomes. Matthew Parris was mischievous, rejecting all analyses except that “Afghanistan is not Britain’s fight”. What was this “nearly third rate power doing there”? Fighting a war “we can’t afford” against a “cultural and religious identity we don’t understand is mad”. Britain was not fighting at the Afghans’ invitation. “Imagine the card: The Afghan people request and require your presence for a limited military occupation.

Saturday

David Blackburn

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Intelligence Squared debate report – ‘The era of American dominance is over’

From our UK edition

There were few facts and plenty of fictions last night as Intelligence Squared debated whether the era of American dominance is over. Oliver Kamm, journalist and author, proposed the motion. He strode about the stage Cameron-style, with the sound bites to match. “America was on the wane because Americans had lost the appetite to lead.” US dominance rested on guaranteeing “public goods: international trade, currency reserves and collective security.” His vision of American decline owed nothing to the “tendentious deterministic theories of the milieu of anti-American Oxbridge educated Europhiles, such as Michael Moore and Harold Pinter”, (neither of who went to Oxbridge). Rather, Kamm’s vision was “rooted in indisputable facts”.

Tuesday

David Blackburn

Top Tory calls for a cut in living standards

From our UK edition

Labour have been making hay out of the tin-eared comments of various Tories on the recession. First, there was John Maples saying that the recession should be left to take its course. Then, there was Andrew Lansley speculating about the possible health benefits of a recession. But today John Redwood has topped them both with this post on his blog: 'The truth is that both the UK and the US have to cut living standards… People and governments have spent too much and borrowed to do so.   Now the world's markets are saying enough is enough. Living standards in both the public and private sector have to be brought down. The private sector has to sell more abroad and consume less at home. The government sector has to get closer to just spending what it can collect in taxes.