Fraser Nelson is a Times columnist and a former editor of The Spectator.
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As the Blair memo shows us today, the grinning charlatan had the right idea. He stayed too long, and as a result his own popularity was destroyed. But he knew how to fight the Tories. If his “trust schools” idea had not been torn to shreds by Labour rebels (who were directed by Brown), Michael Gove
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The choice facing the governing party is between defeat and annihilation, says Fraser Nelson. For now, Labour is mired in ‘division without decision’ as Jack Straw, David Miliband and others wait to see who — if anyone — will wield the knife against Gordon Brown The catalpa trees in New Palace Yard are in bloom,
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Like the Road Runner’s Coyote speeding off a cliff, it will take some time before Britain looks down and realises that Brown has led us over an economic precipice. The CPI target of 2% inflation will be a joke – from now until about 2010. We’re likely to hit 5% by Christmas and stay there for
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I, for one, am weeping no tears about the collapse of the British Energy takeover deal. Invesco and Prudential – the institutional shareholders understood to have led the backout – are right to say that if energy prices are likely to be high for the foreseeable future then a greater premium should be attached to
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David Miliband has now gone so far he can’t go back. But could this be his “botched election” moment? His appearance on the Jeremy Vine show went well, inasmuch as the callers lined up to denounce Brown and he seemed to engage with them well. His defence of Brown was again so weak that it
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Cameron “does” punters very well. When I’ve followed him on the campaign trail, I’ve been struck by how he has a gift whereby he can click with pretty much anyone. For those who didn’t see his interview on Newsnight last night, you can watch it again here. It was arranged by Radio One’s Rajini Vaidyanathan,
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I just bumped into John Mason, the glorious victor of Glasgow East, nemesis of the once mighty Scottish Labour and trigger of Gordon Brown’s leadership woes. He hardly said a word, being shown around with the demeanor of an awe-struck schoolboy who’s escaped from the pages of the Beano. I have said before that he
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David Miliband was always expected to lay out his creed somehow – the surprise is that he has done so now. Here’s my take. Straw’s move last week, with his “calm down, dear” routine, where he persuaded Labour that he was in charge, was intended to show it was him, not Miliband, that worried MPs
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Is the next war more likely to be Pakistan than Iran? It looks more and more like that each day, especially as Barack Obama makes snarling at Pakistan the biggest plank of his foreign policy. Obama was at it again today saying that al-Qaeda and the Taliban “have got safe havens there (in the Pakistani
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Bruce Anderson says if Brown went now he’d be a “strong candidate for the accolade of ‘worst Prime Minister since 1900’” and it’s got me thinking – why just a candidate? Who would compete with him for this title? My take is that in politics (as in life) you play the hand you’re dealt. The
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I wonder what Gordon Brown thought of the Kennedyesque overtones which Obama wanted to put on his European visit. Kennedy is Brown’s hero, of course, and he nicks hugs amounts from his speeches. As Brown paraded Obama in No10’s back yard yesterday for the cameras, waving his arms to show he was imparting his wisdom
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Here, as promised, is the Shadow Cabinet Rich List published in today’s News of the World – reproduced with kind permission. You can read my introduction to the list here. 1: Lord Strathclyde: £10m 2: Philip Hammond: £9m 3: George Osborne: £4.3m 4: Jeremy Hunt: £4.1m 5: David Cameron: £3.2m 6: Dominic Grieve: £3.1m 7: Francis
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The Shadow Cabinet Rich List is published today by the News of the World (where yours truly is a columnist). It shows there are 19 millionaires around that table. Conservatives, of course, tend to come from a business background, whereas Labour come from public services. Wealth from previous jobs tends to be stored in the
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Barack Obama should learn a little more history before his next visit – history about America, that is, not Britain. “Our founding institutions were profoundly shaped by the English tradition,” he said outside No10 today. Not quite. It was profoundly shaped by the Scottish Enlightenment (see here for more) – and one of the great
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Oh, joy. It has all started. I’m in the BBC News studios, reviewing tomorrow’s papers – and there is plenty to savour. The Indy says Purnell has cut a deal with David Miliband not to stand. The FT has Jack Straw who is shocked – shocked – to find talk of mutiny. It emerges that “several Cabinet members and senior MPs
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Dunfermline, Crewe, Glasgow East – the phenomenon of safe Labour seats being upended is one that deserves a little more attention. Let’s consider that incredible turnout in Glasgow East – 42% in a seat where 48% turned up for the general. For the first time in decades, a political party (the SNP) campaigned hard there.
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Aside from schadenfreude, there is not much in the Glasgow East result to make David Cameron smile. It reminds us that what is happening nationally is a fury directed at Labour, not Obama style enthusiasm for the Tories. I had initially thought coming third was quite a result for Cameron but went to bed before
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It’s official – the SNP has taken Glasgow East with a majority of 365 in what is, quite simply, a stunning victory. [And quite a result for Cameron, he’s pushed the Liberal Democrats into third place, getting real traction in a constituency where Tory vote is normally no higher than staff members and blood relatives]. This is
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The SNP crowd is on the pitch – they think it’s all over. And the latest speculation I have picked up – amazingly – is a four-figure SNP majority. If the SNP do win, one thing should go on the record – John Mason, their candidate, was perhaps the worst of the main four candidates. He
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Defeat is written all over Douglas Alexander’s face on the BBC News Channel, and SNP deputy leader Nicola “Gnasher” Sturgeon is trying very, very hard to contain her grin. Mentally, she’s punching the air. What jumps out at me is that Labour’s intends to blame defeat on the economy. But can someone explain to me