Just to recommend a great debate that’s fizzing away over at Comment Central. On one side there’s Daniel Finkelstein, who – I think it’s fair to say – is less-than-impressed with what he calls the Lib Dems’ “punk” tax cuts, and advocates a more cautious approach. On the other, there’s Nick Clegg, who says those
Good timing from David Cameron. On the day the papers preempt the official notice that unemployment has risen above 1.8 million – its highest level since 1998 – the Tory leader gives a speech on the subject of mass joblessness. The main message is of how the Tories “will not stand aside” as people lose
Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers’ Wall. For those who haven’t come across the Wall before, it’s a post we put up each Monday, on which – provided your writing isn’t libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency – you’ll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section. There is no
A mischievous video from the folk over at ConservativeHome: Do leave your feedback on the relevant ConservativeHome page.
An effective article from George Osborne in today’s FT. Here’s the key paragraph on the public finances: “Today, we must let the automatic stabilisers function. But as Lord Burns, former permanent secretary at the Treasury, warned last week, borrowing beyond that without being clear how the bills would be paid would be ‘very dangerous at
It now seems that Labour and the Tories are willing to follow the Lib Dem lead on tax cuts for low- and middle-income earners. Yesterday’s papers had news that Brown & Darling are preparing a range of cuts for possible inclusion in the forthcoming pre-Budget report. And today’s Telegraph reveals that Cameron & Co. are
A poppy rests on a memorial for the fallen and missing of World War I, in Ypres, Belgium. Today, thousands of remembrance services will take place across Britain, ahead of the 90th Anniversary of the armistice on Tuesday.
The Spectator’s own James Forsyth has just been revealed as the top mainstream media performer in Politics Home’s Presidential Election Predictor Competition. Along with Rob Schlesinger, of the US News and World Report, and Chuck Todd, of NBC’S First Read, James correctly predicted the election outcome in 18 of 20 battleground states. Congratulations, James! For
For Gordon Brown, one of the greatest boons of the Labour triumph in Glenrothes is that it gives him an opportunity to tighten his stranglehold on the economic narrative. All he need do is spin the byelection as a referendum on the Government’s approach to the downturn, and the Labour victory as a public endorsement
How much have the Deripaska affair and the Tories’ flimsy response to the economic and financial crises affected George Osborne’s standing within his party? A fair bit, if this survey of party members by ConservativeHome is anything to go by. I quote from their findings: “…support for the Shadow Chancellor has also plunged among the
To some extent, Gordon Brown deserves the plaudits he’s getting this morning. Yes, the Labour victory in Glenrothes will be have been catalysed by a number of factors – the quality of their candidate, Lindsay Roy; the financial and economic crises; the deployment, cynical though it may have been, of Sarah Brown; and the failings
Lindsay Roy (Labour) — 19,946 votes (55.11 % of total vote, up 3.20 percentage points on 2006) Peter Grant (SNP) — 13,206 votes (36.49%, up 13.13 points) Maurice Golden (Conservatives) — 1,381 votes (3.82%, down 3.82 points) Harry Wills (Lib Dems) — 947 votes (2.62%, down 10.04 points) Of course, the main talking point from
I’m always slightly wary about calling elections, so I’ll refrain from doing so now. But here’s a thread for CoffeeHousers to leave their predictions. At the moment, the betting markets suggest that the SNP will triumph. But a PHI100 poll earlier today recorded a distinct split between politicians and the media on this – a majority of media
Exhibit A: Yvette Cooper urges the banks to pass the interest rate cut on to borrowers. Exhibit B: The state-owned Northern Rock withdraws tracker mortgages – which follow the movements of the base rate – to avoid passing rate cuts on to new borrowers.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been critical of Team Osborne’s inability to distil their economic message – and their attacks on Gordon Brown – into simple language that can sink into the public consciousness. But, to be fair, Osborne’s just coined a fairly effective one-liner on the interest rate cut, that deserves highlighting: “It may
So, those pushing for a 1 percent cut in interest rates have got their wish – and then some. The Bank has just announced a 1.5 percent cut in base rates, bringing them down to 3 percent. That’s the biggest cut since 1981. Now what does this – frankly, quite astonishing – move tell us? Two things, in
Courtesy of Ladbrokes: SNP — 2/5 Labour — 7/4 Conservatives — 100/1 Lib Dems — 100/1
And so the polls have opened in an election closer to home: the Glenrothes byelection. We should see a result by the early hours of tomorrow morning, but the current expectation is that the SNP will come out narrowly on top. Both the betting markets and party insiders are playing down Labour’s chances. Whilst Alex
And so back to the relative drudgery of Westminster politics with Coffee House’s live blog of PMQs. Not that Obama’s election victory won’t feature in the to-and-fro between our party leaders – as Ben Brogan reveals, Brown’s going to use the opportunity to continue casting Obama as a “fellow progressive” rather than one of those
For the record, here are Gordon Brown’s and David Cameron’s reponses to the Obama election victory: Gordon Brown “I have just sent my warmest congratulations to Senator Obama, on his election as President of the United States of America. And I have also sent my best wishes to Michelle, and his family. This is a moment