Fraser Nelson is a Times columnist and a former editor of The Spectator.
Don’t mention the relaunch! That will be the motto today as Gordon Brown embarks on his, ahem, new year initiative kicking off with a big speech on health . Cameron is ahead of him: he made his health speech last week. Also Brown is off to India and China later this month (or so they
Last month, I posted about the number of pensioners who die from the cold each winter (more than 20,000). Two events will make it even worse this winter: the decision by N-Power to raise their bills 13% and a cold snap with temperatures as low as -17 predicted. It is in precisely these conditions that
My favourite Ronald Reagan quote is how government is like a baby’s alimentary canal: endless appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other. I now have the chance to study the biological side of this analogy in the form of my (as-yet-unnamed) son, born this weekend. So I’ll be away from Coffee House
I was on BBC Radio Four’s Talking Politics today with Anne McElvoy of the Standard and Michael White of the Guardian – and Dennis Sewell in the chair. During it I made a point which I had thought uncontroversial: how close Cameron came to political destruction last autumn. My theory is that if Brown
The Bhutto murder lets the world see how politicians of all kinds react to such events. Mike Huckabee rather failed the test by offering “sincere concern and apologies for what has happened in Pakistan.” Apologies? He later explained he had misspoke and meant to say “sympathies” – but went on to make other blunders. Brown’s words
I don’t think Musharraf can now avoid be blamed for failing to provide Bhutto with the security she needed. Even worse for him that this should happen in Rawalpindi, the Army HQ and one of the most heavily-fortified cities in Pakistan. There may be a groundswell of anger to be marshalled – the question
Outside the hospital where Benazir Bhutto died, her supporters chanted “Dog Musharraf, dog” – but no one would seriously believe that he, or any political party, was behind it. She herself blamed al-Qaeda and the Taliban for an October attack on her homecoming procession in Karachi which killed 130. The most likely assumption is that
This winter, at least 15,000 British pensioners over the age of 75 will die from the cold. Their death is a normal, recurring fact of British life – since 1991 the figures have oscillated between 17,000 and 37,600. For reasons passing my understanding, it attracts minimal media attention and zero political outrage even though much
This business with the EU and the NHS has been very disorientating. My conscience is pricked by MatthewT, who commented on my previous post: “So you guys are against the EU interfering with UK policies except where you agree with their impact. I didn’t realise Euroscepticism was so nuanced.” Well, m’lud, guilty. My side has
Gordon Brown is an accomplished expert in the art of misrepresentation, here’s a prime example is from his press conference today: On the political funding issue, I think the Conservative Party has exactly the same problems, revealed yesterday, in fact a problem in relation to foreign donors which is not lawful… I think the most important
I wouldn’t have put it past Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley to side with the unions in today’s great health debate – and ConservativeHome wasn’t sure he wouldn’t either. But for once he is (the next words are hard for me to type) doing the right thing and backing Brussels. “What is the government so
It is days like this that remind you why so many on the right were in the “yes” campaign during the Euro referendum of 1975. It was then to the right of Britain on many issues and still is on the issue of healthcare provision. The European Commission will today propose to give Brits the
Alistair Darling was brought on to be a grey, unremarkable chancellor. He’s fast turning into the Nick Leeson of British politics. Leeson, you will remember, was the rogue trader who played double or quits – hoping his small mistake would go away if he gambled even more. But he ended up sinking Barings. Darling should
After perhaps the quietest leadership race in recent political history the Spectator/Threadneedle Newcomer of the Year has not disappointed us. I thought Nick Clegg would win by a mile: in the end his 510 votes are testimony what was (in my view) a superior campaign by Huhne (whom I underestimated). But the real winner was
What I love about this government is that they lose no time passing the blame. Just as Darling fingered the TNT courier company for the lost discs, we’re told that Pearson Driving Assessments is the data company (mis)handling the driver license info. Could this be the same Pearson who (as Dizzy pointed out last week)
In macabre contrast to James’ post about the effects of the US surge, The Guardian splashes on the mayhem in Basra left by Britain’s shameful under-commitment to the provinces under our care. It’s mainly an interview with Major General Jalil Khalaf, the head of the Basra police, who says he can’t control the militias and
It is rare to have a news story by Irwin Stelzer, he normally writes excellent columns for The Spectator and The Sunday Times. But today’s splash in The Sunday Times jumps out for more reasons than the byline. He reveals what I have only heard whispered: that there is paralysis at the very apex of
Gordon Brown’s detractors have long argued that he deserves to be ranked not among Scotland’s economic geniuses but alongside its most notorious confidence tricksters. His great achievement as Chancellor was not to build a great economy, but to create the unshakeable impression that he had done so. He has succeeded, brilliantly, in claiming credit for
David Cameron’s party last night was buzzing, well-attended and full of gossip. He was being teased about Gordon Brown claiming to have “quietly” erected solar panels in his Fife house. Turns out Cameron had even more quietly had solar panels in North Kensington for a couple of years now, before the windmill. Hence the green
It is a strange world where the right are urging nationalisation, but it seems Gordon Brown may bow to that advice. Larry Elliott in The Guardian is impeccably well informed in such matters and today says Brown is drawing up plans for a “new year nationalistion” of Northern Rock. It would show Brown taking the