James Forsyth is former political editor of The Spectator.
From our UK edition
The evidence all seems to strongly suggest that George Osborne did nothing illegal in Corfu. But that does not mean he should escape without criticism. What he did was clearly foolhardy in the extreme. If Osborne has just googled Deripaska he would have seen enough material to make him hesitate about even being in his
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From just released Tory statetment on the issue.
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Apparently, all three will be published shortly.
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George Osborne’s performance at a press conference just now was typically confident. He even ended with a flourish: ‘the journalists say follow the money, but in this case there is no money to follow.’ Osborne stuck to a denial of the specific charge that he had solicited a donation, repeatedly stressing that he ‘neither asked
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The Battle of Corfu, the first encounter in the Mandelson-Osborne war, just escalated with Nathaniel Rothschild’s allegation in The Times that “George Osborne, who also accepted my hospitality, found the opportunity of meeting with Mr Deripaska so good that he invited the Conservatives’ fundraiser Andrew Feldman, who was staying nearby, to accompany him on to
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Gideon Rachman floats, on his blog, the rumour that Obama might make Oprah Winfrey Ambassador to London, and no it is not April Fool’s Day. I doubt very much this will happen, there are other ambassadorships I’d expect she’d prefer, but it does illustrate a long-standing weakness in the way the United States appoints its
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I’d recommend to everyone today’s editorial in the Washington Post. I’ve posted a couple of key extracts below but if you have a couple of minutes it really is worth reading the whole thing, it is a fantastic corrective to the current narrative about the causes of the crisis: “[T]he problem with the U.S. economy,
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On The Today Programme this morning, David Cameron came out firmly against any extra public spending financed by more borrowing. For the first time in this financial turmoil, there is now clear blue water between the two main parties. Cameron argued that such a move would only prevent the Bank of England from reducing interest
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Thomas Friedman argues in his New York Times column today that the end result of this financial crisis will be more globalization not less. “The real and sustained bailout from the crisis will happen when the strong companies buy the weak ones — on a global basis. It’s starting. Last week, Credit Suisse declined a
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Colin Powell’s decision to endorse Barack Obama is a blow on a personal and a political level to John McCain. Despite being on opposite side over the best way forward in Iraq, the two men remained close. When McCain’s primary campaign was in deep trouble, Powell donated to it. Cynics will accuse Powell of trying
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As Pete notes, Darling has committed the government to a Keynesian stimulus package. This is going to be funded by yet more borrowing, worsening the government’s already bad debt problems. If the Tories win the next election, this spending spree is going to leave them facing some tough questions about cutting public spending. This is
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The Sunday Times reports that by 2010 2 million households will be in negative equity based on current trends. This is a further reminder of how the politics of the crisis are going to change once the real economy starts to be hit by it. As Matt puts it in his Sunday Telegraph column, “it
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There is a great tick-tock in The Times this morning about how the bank recapitalisation plan came into being. The take-away point is that the Chancellor was much more the driving force behind it than the Prime Minister. Here are the key extracts: The Times can reveal today that the Chancellor believed that recapitalisation was
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James Forsyth on how the two candidates earned their party’s nominations and how the final stages of the campaign are playing out It was on the eve of the Iowa caucus, 2 January, that it became clear that Barack Obama’s candidacy was more than just a form of political entertainment. Obama’s last speaking engagement was
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PMQs is frequently derided as something that is only of interest to the Westminster Village. That may be true but it helps frame the way that political reporters and commentators see the battle between the parties and plays a crucial role in determining the mood of the parliamentary parties. This week’s clash will be one
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No conservative columnist has better understood Obama than David Brooks and his column today on Obama sums up both Obama’s strengths and his weaknesses quite brilliantly. Here’s how he concludes: “He doesn’t have F.D.R.’s joyful nature or Reagan’s happy outlook, but he is analytical. That’s why this William Ayers business doesn’t stick. He may be
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The Sage of Omaha takes to the New York Times to explain why he is moving his personal investments from US government bonds to shares, a move that is the opposite of what most people are up to: “The financial world is a mess, both in the United States and abroad. Its problems, moreover, have
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Steve Richards’ column this morning is thought-provoking. Here’s the central plank of his argument: “In some ways there are parallels for Cameron in the dilemmas Neil Kinnock faced during the miners’ strike under Margaret Thatcher in the mid 1980s. Kinnock was torn as to what to do. He instinctively sympathised with the miners, but disapproved
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The Tories returned to the fray on the economy with David Cameron’s speech in the City this morning. There is much to criticise Gordon Brown for in terms of his economic management but Brown has done a brilliant job in the last couple of weeks in setting out a narrative that because he can’t be
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Bagehot in The Economist makes the sensible—but overlooked—point that Brown’s strengths are his weaknesses and vice-versa: “In his response to the crisis, Mr Brown has demonstrated many of the traits that contributed to his ruination before. One is a fondness for plagiarism. He is a natural copycat, as he demonstrated to his cost last year
