And so it returns. The first PMQs of 2009 will be covered live by Coffee House here. Stay tuned from 1200… 1204: Here we go. First question from Liz Blackman [LAB], on small businesses – “Can the PM assure me that the help announced today will be focussed at those businesses who need it most”.
An article in today’s Times says that a return to the Tory front bench for Ken Clarke is looking increasingly likely. But a more striking revelation is contained in this paragraph: “The Tory leader believes that the former Chancellor is the only senior Conservative, other than himself and George Osborne, who can command the media
Last week, James highlighted Daniel Finkelstein’s thoughtful, and thought-provoking, article on the Gazan conflict. Today, Danny follows it up with a blog post outlining some of the repsonses he’s received. I’d certainly recommend you read the whole thing, but this passage makes an especially crucial point for/about those who criticise Israel’s actions by bringing up
Seems like Cameron’s debuted a new riposte to Brown’s “do-nothing” charge – accusing the government of behaving like “headless chickens”. Here’s the Tory leader in his interview with the FT today: “The Tory leader’s anger with the prime minister appears genuine. Mr Cameron has been stung by Mr Brown’s lampooning of the Tories’ ‘do-nothing’ approach
Over at his blog, Paul Waugh’s got the lowdown on one of the day’s most intriguing stories. To summarise: the Government’s latest White Paper (availiable here) contains a proposal from Harriet Harman that all public bodies be legally obliged to narrow the gap between rich and poor. Here it is, from page 10 of the
A second opinion poll for the New Year, then, and another which suggests that the Brown bounce is over and that things may be swinging the way of the Tories. Here are the headline results from the Populus number in the Times: Conservatives — 43 percent (up 4) Labour — 33 percent (down 2) Lib
Fraser’s right: the Tories’ new poster campaign really is superb. Highlighting the damage that Gordon Brown’s debt binge will wreak on future generations is an important – and resonant – cause. And the emotive image and slogan that the Tories’ ad men have paired together should tap successfully into the parental voting bloc. But therein also lies a
Trevor Kavanagh’s Monday column in the Sun is always one of the week’s best reads – but today’s is even better than usual. It contains most of today’s major political and economic questions in a nutshell, and offers some useful pointers on how to resolve them. I’d recommend you read it all, but here’s a
Jobs, jobs, jobs. That’s what you’ll be hearing from the Government today, as Gordon Brown hosts a jobs summit in London and outlines his government’s plans to get people back into work during the downturn. From the details I’ve seen so far, those plans sound like an extension of existing New Deal practices – financial
I’ve only just round to watching Cameron’s interview with Marr earlier (on iPlayer here). ‘Tis a shame it was interrupted by so many technical problems, as it was shaping up to be one of the Tory leader’s most engaging performances of recent months. Still, plenty of noteworthy points in there; perhaps none more so than
Alan Milburn’s return to Labour’s “senior team” is another arresting punctuation mark in Gordon Brown’s premiership. Sure, he may not have been brought back into the Cabinet as Peter Mandelson was. But his role as the head of a new commission looking into social mobility – which James commented upon earlier – shows that the
A recession is a time for belt-tightening. But, going off the the Sunday Times’s cover story this morning, some leading civil servants didn’t get that memo. They’re engaging in exactly the same sort of snout-in-trough-ery that we normally see coming from Parliament – and all courtesy of taxpayers’ money. Here’s the case of David Nicholson:
I’ve only just got around to reading George Osborne’s speech at Policy Exchange earlier today, and I’d recommend you check it out if you haven’t already (there’s a full text here). Quite simply, it’s one of more confident and coherent statments that the shadow chancellor’s made during the downturn; full of effective attacks on Brown’s
While we’re discussing Rand (here and here) and the dangers of bureaucratisation and centralisation, it’s worth pointing out this astonishing fact from Open Europe’s latest bulletin: “Open Europe has published new research which shows that the EU is spending billions of euros a year on initiatives to promote itself and its central aim of ‘ever closer union’. In
Simple fact is Ayn Rand’s outnumbered. For all the force and topicality of her Atlas Shrugged – Fraser’s recommendation of which I heartily agree with, although I think The Fountainhead is a more effective dose of Rand’s objectivism – the artistic and literary worlds seem to have much more room for works that, on some
Apologies, after my last post, for the opinion poll one-two punch, but this ComRes effort in today’s Indpendent is well worth pointing out. Only 28 percent of its business leader respondents say that they’re confident in the Prime Minster’s ability to manage the economy – down from 42 percent in October – and only 16
And so the first poll of 2009 delivers a 7 point lead for the Tories. Here are the headline numbers from the YouGov poll in the Sun: Conservatives — 41 percent (-1) Labour — 34 percent (-1) Lib Dems — 15 percent (+1) We’ll need a few more polls to get a clearer picture of
Fraser’s already raised the most important question hovering over today’s rate cut: that is, what options are left once the rate-cutting route has been exhausted? But there’s another question in the air, touched on by Mike Smithson over at Political Betting: just how low can we go? We’re already at the lowest base rate in
With speculation mounting that Ken Clarke’s set to replace Alan Duncan in a dual shadow business secretary and shadow Mandelson role, it’s well worth reading Ben Brogan’s blog post on what Mandy makes of it all. By the sounds of it, the Spinmaster General’s already stirring up mischief; letting it be known that he’d welcome
NBC’s Mark Murray has complied a fascinating bunch of “then and now” statistics from over the Bush presidency. Here’s his complete list: UNEMPLOYMENT RATE Then: 4.2% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2001) Now: 6.7% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 2008) DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE Then: 10,587 (close of Friday, Jan. 19, 2001) Now: 9,015 (close