James Forsyth is former political editor of The Spectator.
It has long been clear that the shadow Cabinet’s second jobs are a vulnerability just waiting to be exploited. Today’s Evening Standard brings an example of this: “THE TORY shadow cabinet has been raking in thousands of pounds in cash and perks from failing banks. Three prominent shadow cabinet members–William Hague, Ken Clarke and Francis
Walter Russell Mead, whose book Special Providence is one of the best works on American foreign policy, has a fascinating essay in The New Republic arguing that the current financial crisis will actually strengthen and sustain American power. Mead writes: “Cataloguing the early losses from the financial crisis, it’s hard not to conclude that the
The more comes out, the more it seems that the Tories did go back on a deal on expenses that had been hashed out between the parties. Iain Martin writes this morning that, My understanding from a senior shadow cabinet member is that Cameron over-ruled his whips. “The chief is absolutely furious”, he tells me.
Barack Obama is the first Democrat to be Commander in Chief in the post 9/11 era. The election of a Democrat was a necessary requirement for the emergence of a new, settled American foreign policy for this time. You can’t have a bi-partisan foreign policy consensus when only one party knows the foreign policy challenges
This week’s shadow Cabinet reshuffle was designed to make it campaign not government-ready. But the Tories do need to prepare for government as they are going to confront a huge set of problems. Policy Exchange have produced a pamphlet with ‘100 Reasons why Britain needs to change’ and, even leaving aside the country’s ever worsening
James Forsyth says that both Brown and Cameron are mesmerised by the new President, who will be the lodestar of political life in this country. The contest to lay claim to his policies and style has begun — the risk being that our leaders are found sorely wanting by comparison David Cameron and Gordon Brown
“We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of
Interesting line in Obama’s speech: “Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred.” I actually prefer this to the war on terror formulation as you can’t be at war with a tactic. It is clearly meant to send a signal that Obama, whatever some European governments might like to think,
On pure rhetorical terms, the speech was not as great as Kennedy or Reagan’s first. But it gave us a guide to his presidency. We saw an Obama here who was lifting a nation up, bracing it for the challenges ahead but with confidence in the future. Indeed, the passages about how America would overcome
My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. The traditional praise for
Douglas Alexander has a piece over at LabourList trying to claim Barack Obama for Labour. But Alexander needs to do his research better, as in his piece he attacks the man Obama has picked to overhaul the entire US regulatory system. Alexander writes: “As I argued recently in the Telegraph, David Cameron, like John McCain,
It is almost a ritual for an incoming president to announce that he wants to change the tone in Washington, D.C., a town where partisanship gets in the way of the people’s business far too often. But few have made as impressive a start on this front as Barack Obama. After last week’s supper with
One of the real puzzles of this reshuffle is why Nick Herbert, one of the best policy brains in the shadow Cabinet, has been moved to shadow DEFRA. The decision to hive off a Department of the Climate Change and Energy from it has taken away its most politically important and intellectually challenging responsibilities. A
Since Peter Mandelson’s return to British politics, the press has hung on his every word. The man is box office; if you’re a TV or radio booker he is the best get in the government. Mandelson has quite brilliantly exploited this media obsession with him. But by appointing Clarke to shadow him, the Tories have
Radical reform of Britain’s public services must be a priority for the next Tory government. But today’s reshuffle was a blow to the reform agenda. This morning, two of the three key public service jobs—education, welfare and health—were in the hands of committed reformers. Now, only education is. The reformers have long given up on
David Cameron’s decision to move Dominic Grieve from Home to Justice shows that he is capable of rectifying his own mistakes, an important quality for leader. Grieve was appointed in a panic, in an effort to shut down the story when David Davis resigned over 42 days. It was apparent at the time that Grieve
James Purnell can take great satisfaction from the Tory reshuffle today. The decision to replace Chris Grayling as shadow DWP with Theresa May shows that the Tories do not think that there is much political advantage to be gained on welfare reform now. If the Tories were planning to make this a major dividing line
Caroline Spelman and Alan Duncan have both been moved from their current jobs but are staying in the Shadow Cabinet. This suggests that at least two of the current members of the Shadow Cabinet will be leaving. Other rumours doing the rounds at the moment are that Dominic Grieve will be moved to Justice and
ConHome is reporting
More than any other modern politician, Barack Obama’s political career has been made and punctuated by his speeches. He became a figure on the national political stage while still a State Senator in Illinois because of his speech to the Democratic National Convention in 2004. His Jefferson-Jackson speech in Iowa in late 2007 was the
