Here are George Osborne’s answers to the first five questions put forward by CoffeeHousers: Tiberius “I understand the reasons for not committing to upfront tax cuts, but there are bound to be some savings available from reform. Do you have any idea at this stage how much could be available, and where would you seek
Ok, so it seems like you CoffeeHousers generally don’t agree with our appraisal of James Purnell (exemplified by Fraser’s article “Meet James Purnell: the best hope Labour has of avoiding disaster”). But what does the Tory party think of the work and pensions secretary? Here’s a hefty quote from Tara Hamilton-Miller’s excellent article in the New Statesman today, outlining just
It’s by-election day today in Glasgow East, and you can expect frequent updates and analysis from the Coffee House team. At the moment, the consensus is that it’s too close to call. As Fraser said yesterday, the numbers suggest a narrow Labour victory, but – if you factor in low turnout and the mobilising power
Today’s Standard reports on an accusation that David Cameron is giving Tory donors free publicity by staging photo-calls at the factories they own. Of course, there may be nothing in it – and it’s hardly at the level of cash-for-honours. But, at the very least, it’s a reminder that Cameron needs to be very careful indeed. He
Over at Political Betting, Mike Smithson’s got the latest Ipsos MORI poll results. They have a hefty, 20-point lead for the Tories. Here are the numbers in full: Tories on 47 percent (up 2 from last month); Labour on 27 percent (down 2); and the Lib Dems 15 percent (down 1).
Steve Richards has landed an interview with Ed Balls in today’s Independent. The schools secretary discusses the Sats fiasco, but it’s the same old story – he declines to apologise, and frequently deploys the phrase “arm’s length”. But he’s a bit more revealing when it comes to the subject of where it’s gone wrong for
The latest Glasgow East by-election odds from William Hill: Labour — 1/3 SNP — 9/4 Conservative — 33/1 Lib Dem — 50/1 Hat-tip: Politics Home
Did any CoffeeHousers watch Ed Balls being grilled in the Commons, just over an hour ago? Unfortunately, I had to miss it, but reading the transcripts over on Politics Home it seems like Balls is shamelessly continuing to dodge responsibility. Here’s a snippet of what he had to say: “I share the frustration and anger – this should not have
James Purnell is on manoeuvres. That certainly seems to be the consensus, and it’s one that I agree with. The same’s also been said of Ed Balls and David Miliband. But I’m struck by just how differently Purnell is going about things from his potential rivals. His approach could pay dividends. You see, the manoeuvres of Ed Balls and
The Sun reports that British taxpayers subsidised the House of Commons Refreshment Department to the tune of £5.5 million over the past year. That’s 43 percent of its running costs – and means that MPs enjoy cheaper drinks than the rest of the country, as well as 12 bars which operate without licence and with
The Guardian have just published their latest ICM poll. The headline numbers: the Tories are on 43 percent (down 2 from last month); Labour on 28 percent (up 3); and the Lib Dems on 19 percent (down 1). So Labour have cut into the Tory lead. When you look at the other findings, though, the picture looks
The response to James Purnell’s welfare proposals has been near-unanimously positive. Here at Coffee House Towers, the feeling – outlined by Fraser here – is that they’re a positive step towards getting some of the UK’s 5.1 million benefit-claimants back into work. And even Purnell’s opposite number, Chris Grayling, has been gracious enough to call the proposals
It’s been a couple of weeks since we asked CoffeeHousers to put forward their questions for George Osborne. We’ve since picked out the best ten, which have now been put to the shadow chancellor. He’ll get back to us over the next couple of days. The CoffeeHousers whose questions were chosen can e-mail me on
Welcome to this week’s Wall. As always, this is your space to write and chat about any topics you want. Do let us know if there are things you’d like to see us cover on Coffee House. Or if you’d like to post any photos or videos to the Wall, please e-mail them to me on phoskin
I’m open to alternative suggestions from CoffeeHousers, but if I were to summarise this government in one word, that word would be “wasteful”. Today’s Guardian, for instance, tracks yet another example of massive squander. Remember the Government’s £35 billion ‘Building Schools for the Future’ scheme (BSF), which Brown says will result in UK schools being
The Mist 15, Nationwide As any fan of Howard Hawks, George A. Romero or John Carpenter will know, it’s not the monsters outside your window that you should worry about. It’s the people who are trapped indoors with you. Your friends, family, acquaintances and colleagues. The Humans. They’re the most horrific things of all. This
Here’s one for whilst you’re winding down on a Friday afternoon: a Guardian article outlining Ken Livingstone’s 10 favourite London haunts. I’m not sure whether they’re in any particular order, but the restaurant Vasco & Piero’s Pavilion fills the number one spot. And Livingstone also finds room for Tate Modern and the Natural History Museum,
We’ve just uploaded the content from the latest issue of the Spectator Business – you can access it here. In particular, I’d recommend you read Michael Millar’s piece on the resurgance in trade union militancy – “Are we heading for an autumn of discontent?” It’d be great to hear your views on this, or on any other articles
George Osborne has kindly agreed to a Q&A session with Coffee House. So, post your questions for him in the comments sections below. And, in a week-or-so’s time, we’ll pick out the best ten and put them to the shadow chancellor. He’ll get back to us all a few days later. And the commenters whose questions
“It worked for Tony, so it might just work for me.” That’s what must be going through Gordon Brown’s head at the moment, as – according to this story in the Independent – he’s turning to leading Blairite figures, such as Alistair Campbell and Peter Mandelson, for advice. If true, it’s fairly astonishing – after
