Fraser Nelson is a Times columnist and a former editor of The Spectator.
Much as I applaud the Tory education plan in general, my heart sinks when I see stories such as one on the front of The Observer that Cameron wants all kids to read by the age of six. This strikes me as the contradiction running through Tory policy: to regulate, or liberalise? The plan for
Oliver Letwin’s enemies thought they had seen the last of him at Blackpool. His idea of laying out a policy smorgasbord had almost sunk the party, they argued. Yes, there were some good ideas (mainly from Iain Duncan Smith) but having multi-millionaires like Zac Goldsmith proposing a Happy Planet Index and telling the shoppers not
Why did Gordon Brown say “British jobs” for British workers rather than just “jobs?” John Denham wriggled out of this question this morning. I suspect the real answer is that Gordon Brown – a stickler for statistics – is painfully aware of a trend the media has never picked up on: the huge brain drain
Brown lost over immigration at PMQs, but wasn’t thumped which is a result for him. He is desperate to tease out a Tory split on the EU referendum, and may be making progress. I notice that when Brown embarked on his usual misleading economic boast (incapacity benefit numbers are dropping about as fast as Venice
I love it when Alex Salmond sets a deadline for Scottish independence. First was his “free by ’93” slogan, followed by a lame joke about “nationalist heaven in 97”. Then came his prediction that the “union will not live to see its 300th birthday” (ie 2007 – a deadline shared by Sean Connery). Now he’s
David Miliband was the guest of a press gallery lunch today and the Foreign Secretary had prepared the obligatory joke. Inspired by the decision of his French and German counterparts to record a duet, he would make a record with Lord Malloch-Brown. They agreed an Elton John track, he said. He suggested “sorry is the
Now that the European Court of Auditors has refused to sign off the EU’s accounts for the 13th year in a row citing “errors of legality and regularity”, I have a serious question to put to CoffeeHousers. Can anyone think of a more financially corrupt institution outside of Africa?
Cameron is on rather shaky ground claiming to abolish the council tax cap. His plan for a national annual tax rise, thus freeing councils to go over this limit in a referendum, has an obvious flaw. What council would get a “yes” vote to the referendum question do you want to pay more tax? So
Blessed are the cheese makers, I mean, changemakers. Good old Brown. As James says, it was a Blairite speech – so much so that he’s resurrected the star of Blair’s 2005 conference speech the “changemakers”. It is one of those strange Blairite neologisms and like Ben Brogan I have no idea what a “new network
I had always expected a major Brown backer to start selling shares in our PM. But I would never have guessed it would be Sir Ronald Cohen, who is supposed to be the PM’s chief fundraiser. But you’d hardly notice it: “Adviser to Brown praises Cameron” whispers the Guardian on page 10 (and longer interview
It took the Queen only eight minutes to read the speech Gordon Brown’s advisers had prepared for her and even she looked bored by the end of it. The Prime Minister may have waited ten years for this chance to set the parliamentary agenda, but one searches this Queen’s Speech in vain for any sense
Gordon Brown has come out of hiding to give Adam Boulton a quick interview, and his (belated) take on the Queen’s Speech. It’s all about setting out long term views, apparently, and “unlocking the potential” of young people (an admission that it remains locked for millions?) Ten years ago, he said, the question was ‘can
For all their woolly policies, the LibDem are dirty fighters, as anyone who has seen them campaign will attest. So it was only a matter of time before its leadership election turned vicious. Chris Huhne has dropped off press releases demanding that his rival Nick Clegg seeks corrections from newspapers who have suggested he’s in
I regularly enjoy Camilla Cavendish’s pieces, but to keep doing so I have to skip over anything she writes about the environment. It spoils it. How can a commentator who normally penetrates conventional wisdom be so taken in by it on this subject? Today, she’s wondering why people aren’t more worked up about climate change.
It was supposed to be the big day when Gordon Brown put the case for detaining terror suspects for up to 56 days and took on his backbenches. Instead he, um, bottled it. Jack Straw was sent out to open the debate on Home Affairs (called by the Tories) and Jacqui Smith closed it, talking
Walking into the press gallery, I saw something I haven’t seen for ages. Labour MPs animated, laughing, roaring, unfrozen. David Cameron was making the light-hearted speech which follows opening of parliament, and making everyone laugh. “We welcome the climate change bill, and when it comes around next year we will welcome it again”. Labour MPs
Poor Liz. After ten years of being used to regurgitating Blairite language in the Queen’s Speech, she now has the Brownite argot to contend with. “My government will meet the rising aspirations of the British people” she says, as if reading the subtitle of last month’s pre-Budget. All the old Brown favourites are there: all
The immigration statistics saga takes another turn today, as the News of the World produces figures showing that immigrants from the 25 EU countries account for just 32% of the total. Ergo, ministers have been able to control immigration all along – and its repeated suggestions to the contrary are untrue. It fingers Liam
There is something about impending doom which focuses the mind. That is why the Tory conference in Blackpool was perhaps the most effective brainstorming session in the party’s history — albeit inadvertently. David Cameron arrived facing an election. He left the northern seaside resort having scared Gordon Brown away from going to the polls —
The only flaw in Louis Armstrong’s Wonderful World is the line “I see babies crying/I watch them grow/they’ll learn much more/than I’ll ever know.” Education, it turned out, did not progress like science, transport, medicine and pretty much everything else has since the song was written. And today we are told that literacy standards here
