Fraser Nelson is a Times columnist and a former editor of The Spectator.
I have farmer friends in the Highlands who are forbidden from felling trees in their own backgarden – and, ergo, can’t extent their house. The poor souls have to wait until there’s a windstorm and head out with their chainsaws at 3am to fake the death of trees – and, even then, it’s touch-and-go if
Here are a few more pieces from around the world on the Egyptian revolution and its aftermath. Andrew Neil: More about the Muslim Brotherhood. Charles Krauthammer says a freedom plan is not enough, America needs a freedom doctrine. Foreign Affairs: Who are rest of the Egyptian opposition? Bikyamasr: Israel’s take on Egypt’s new army government.
The world is full of jubilation this morning, and I wish I could join in. Perhaps we are indeed witnessing Egypt on its way to democracy, thereby inspiring a similar wave of uprisings in the Arab world. It’s not hard to be mesmerised by the prospect of the Arabs rejecting the dictators foisted on them by the West in
Yesterday was momentous, but we should not lose sight of the head of the IMF saying that the Chinese renminbi could take steps to becoming a global reserve currency. To be specific: Dominique Strauss-Kahn has in mind adding renminbi to the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights system. In itself, no big deal – but a notable
Balls is a bit like a vampire – he has bite, but he works best in the darkness. In the House of Commons, with those lights shining on him, his powers drain. George Osborne had the better of him in their brief exchanges at Treasury Questions. Balls led on the snow joke. But Osborne had
In October last year, Osborne announced a new levy on banks’ balance sheets. It was 0.05 percent for this calendar year, before rising to 0.075 percent from 2012 onwards. But, today, the Chancellor has announced that the ‘introductory’ rate has been abolished – so banks will be charged the 0.075 percent rate on all liabilities.
We at The Spectator have not had much company in criticising Mervyn King for the failure of his monetary policy. The Bank of England governor has a status like the Speaker used to: someone whose position must command respect, otherwise the system collapses. And yet there are Octopuses with a better track record in inflation
In opposition, one of David Cameron’s strengths was the speed at which he dumped bad ideas. But, now, he is starting to acquire a habit for U-Turns – especially those called for by minor celebs. We’ve seen Scottish school milk, NHS Direct, BookStart, school sport – and soon, I suspect, forests, World Service cuts and
What to think about Egypt? Pick up most newspapers and you see a flood of words, but a trickle of information. Not so with this week’s Spectator, which has everything you need to know – and nothing more. Here are some pieces that I thought may interest CoffeeHousers. 1. What you need to know. Our
It will have been a quiet morning in the Balls household. Fresh economic indicators suggest that the British economy is not in some cuts-induced recession but, instead, doing rather nicely, thank-you. As I said last week, economic health is assessed by all manner of indices – and the ONS (which is forever having to tear
The Guardian’s Sarfraz Manzoor was on Aled Jones’s show on Radio Two this morning (titter ye not – it’s great Sunday music) discussing how members of his Muslim family shunned him after he married a Christian. He had this to say: “It hasn’t made me doubt my faith. What it’s made me do is feel
I wish I could be more enthusiastic about the events in Egypt and Tunisia – but, as I say in my News of the World column (£) today, the citizens of the Arab world all too often have a choice between a Bad Guy and a Worse Guy. Egypt looks like its choice is between
The new issue of The Spectator is out in the shops today – subscribers can read it online, or on Kindle/iPad – and here are a few pieces that I thought might interest CoffeeHousers. 1. The death of meritocracy. Social mobility – or the lack thereof – is a subject that no political party
“Recession here we come, a snow-dabbed double-dip” tweeted Faisal Islam, Channel Four’s economics editor. He summed up much of the hysterical reaction. It may spoil a good story, but here is what I suspect the broadcasters won’t tell you today. 1. Erratic GDP swings are common when recovering from a recession. Remember how stunned everyone
To the chagrin of CoffeeHousers, I have long rated Ed Balls and his abilities. He has a degree of brilliance, albeit tragically deployed in the services of a destructive economic agenda. But as we welcome him back, it’s worth reminding ourselves that his abilities are of a specific type. He understands economics (even though
So, who’s next after Andy Coulson? This question is oddly important, and will certainly influence the direction of his government. It shouldn’t, but you have to understand the way the Cameron operation works – and of how life looked before George Osborne persuaded Coulson to come on board (hoodie hugging, husky-riding, etc). Coulson was an
Balls is back. The author of Gordon Brown’s economic policies for 15 years. The man who bears more responsibility for anyone else – other than Brown – for the asset bubble and the consequent crash. But I suspect that, right now, Theresa May is doing cartwheels and George Osborne cursing. Balls, for all his many
How big does inflation have to get before our politicians admit that it’s a problem? Once again, it has “surprised” on the upside – the CPI index stood at 3.7 percent for December, against a supposed target of 2.0 percent. And the RPI index, which the nation called “inflation” until Gordon Brown asked the media
Ed Miliband has had three launches in three months – but, much as I hate to admit it, things are getting better for him. His party are now consistently ahead in the polls, so in my News of the World column today I look at what’s going right. Here are my main points: 1) Cameron’s
The latest issue of The Spectator is out today, and I thought CoffeeHousers might like to read the cover story by Nick Cohen. Its theme is brilliantly captured by Jonathan Cusick’s cover image (left) of the yellow Lib Dem bird shot through its heart with a Tory arrow – but there’s more to it than
