Backing Boris | 1 May 2008
From our UK edition
You can add PoliticalBetting.com and Betfair to the list of those who have called the election for Boris.
Peter Hoskin
Thursday
ConservativeHome calls it for Boris
From our UK edition
Here's what ConservativeHome have to say: "Based on a wide range of conversations we've had throughout the day with people in the field and with Tory and other insiders we are confident that on the basis of patterns of turnout, postal votes and canvass returns Boris Johnson has been elected Mayor of London." Fingers crossed that they're right.
Polls are closed | 1 May 2008
From our UK edition
5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ... and polls are now closed. Exit poll data should be filtering through soon. We'll keep you informed.
Was Ken a Tory?
From our UK edition
Hm, I'm not sure about this. But according to Harry's Place, Ken may once have been a Young Conservative. Discuss...
What did The Spectator say about Hiroshima?
From our UK edition
Over at the Spectator 180th blog, we’ve just posted The Spectator’s initial reaction to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. You can check it out here. If you’ve got any requests for other archive articles you’d like to see, then do head over to this thread and have your say.
Is Blair eclipsing Brown in Israel?
From our UK edition
I’ve just returned from Israel, but the issues have followed me to London. Tomorrow the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee convenes in the capital, to discuss the Palestinian situation. Gordon Brown’s expected to speak at the event, but – as I understand it – Tony Blair will be hovering around as well, in his capacity as Middle East envoy. Who – if either – will commandeer the limelight, I wonder? Whilst I was in Israel, not one person had a bad word to say about Blair – the consensus being that he’s doing a lot to promote economic development and peace in the Palestinian territories. I asked Olmert’s spokesman what the Israeli government thought of Brown, by comparison.
It’s election time
From our UK edition
It's local and London election time, and Coffee House will be bringing you frequent news and analysis throughout today and tomorrow. For now, though, an overview of what the papers are saying... Are the local elections a dress rehearsal for the general election? Not so, says Peter Riddell in the Times: “The joy of local elections is their sheer unpredictability and the idiosyncrasies of the results. As even a glance at the candidates in the London mayoral contest shows, we are not seeing clones of Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg rehearsing for the big one in two years time... ...So nothing will be quite what it seems, not least because the first results after midnight will be atypical. Savour the complexities. The 2010 general election will look very different.
Wednesday
A snapshot of Sderot
From our UK edition
Yesterday, I visited the Southern Israeli town of Sderot. Being perched on the border with Gaza, it's subjected to a constant barrage of rockets from Hamas and their associates. A few stream-of-consciousness observations and thoughts below – all lifted from my notebook and from conversations with Sderot locals – as well as some photographs and video footage: 1) On our arrival, at just before 10am, we were told that 8 Qassam rockets had already fallen on Sderot that morning. One of these hit a house in the Niot Neviin suburb, Thankfully, the only casualty was the bathroom [see the video footage I shot on the scene, below], although it's hard to imagine how traumatised the owners must be. They'll have a thousand grim “what-ifs?” running through their heads.
Tuesday
Fuelling conflict
From our UK edition
Jerusalem, Israel Forget Scotland – the fuel crisis we've really got to keep our eyes on is in the Gaza Strip. Israel stopped supplying fuel to the Hamas-controlled region a few days ago, in retaliation to an attack by Palestinian militants. The resultant shortages are causing many Gazan services – including bakeries and farms – to cease operating. And there's a worry that Israel isn't meeting its obligations to the territory that it withdrew from in 2005. It's a crisis that brings the traditional Gazan balancing act into stark relief. Both sides – Hamas and Israel – are weighing different priorities against each other, and hoping that the scales will tip in their favour. First, Hamas. They're far from blameless in all this.
What’s the deal with Syria?
From our UK edition
Jerusalem, Israel Syria received top-billing in our meeting with the Israeli prime minster's spokesman – Mark Regev – in Jerusalem this morning. Sadly, though, he was tight-lipped about that intriguing Israeli strike on a Syrian nuclear facility. How much did the Americans know? “No comment”. Was there a risk of wider conflict? “No comment”. Wha...? “No comment”. What he did say, however, was revealing. Israel is so keen to enter meaningful dialogue with Damascus – and to come to some sort of peace agreement – that they're going to avoid upsetting the apple-cart in public. As Regev put it: “If there is going to be progress [with Syria], then it won't be on the front pages.
Monday
60 years of Israeli independence
From our UK edition
I've just touched down in Jerusalem, ahead of the sixtieth anniversary of Israeli independence next week. Over the next three days, I and a few other journos will be ferried around Ramallah, Tel Aviv and Sderot - meeting with various political and military types along the way. It's a timely visit. Quite aside from the anniversary celebrations, a number of issues are reaching boiling point - the impact of the Annapolis summit; how prime minister Olmert will deal with Syria and Iran; the humanitarian situation in Gaza, etc. etc. I'll be looking to get the lowdown on these, and will blog as much as my itinerary and connectivity allow.
Friday
Any suggestions?
From our UK edition
Over at the 180th Anniversary blog, we're asking which historic events you'd like to see The Spectator's take on. Just head over there to post your suggestions. As part of the anniversary celebrations, we've also posted a recent photo of the current Spectator team. If you really want to know what we all look like, now's your chance...
Spin cycle
From our UK edition
Another issue of PR Week, another scoop for David Singleton. Today, he’s used his Downing Street sources to reveal that Brown’s “obsessed” with the Tories’ press man, Andy Coulson. So obsessed, in fact, that our Prime Minister can talk about little else. Brown may try to convince us that he wakes up thinking only of how to help “people wanting opportunities”, but this constant stream of PR Week exclusives tells us differently. This Prime Minister’s at least as spin-centric as his predecessor. Sadly for him, it’s an obsession which threatens to split No.10 apart.
Field’s Pyrrhic victory?
From our UK edition
Matthew Norman's article in the Independent today is among the liveliest, and most condemnatory, accounts of the Government's 10p tax U-turn. The whole thing's well worth reading, although I thought I'd pull out the last couple of paragraphs – if recent comments are anything to go by, they should chime with CoffeeHousers: "Perhaps with hindsight this will seem a Pyrrhic victory. Maybe one day Mr Field will reflect from the Opposition benches on whether the wisest thing, for Gordon and the party, would have been to refuse those concessions – justifiably so when the Treasury has no idea what precisely they are – and put the PM to the sword in next week's vote.
Thursday
Cooper bombs on Newsnight
From our UK edition
Iain Martin is right to highlight Yvette Cooper's dreadful performance on Newsnight yesterday evening. She personified the Government's actions over the 10p tax rate - confused and unconvincing.
Dorries plans revenge
From our UK edition
Hm. The latest post (entitled 'Secrets') over at Nadine Dorries' blog is very intriguing. Do CoffeeHousers have any ideas what she might be getting at? UPDATE: It seems to have been taken down. Curiouser and curiouser...
Ken ponders defeat
From our UK edition
Is Ken getting worried? Until now he’s been tight-lipped about the prospect of defeat – but that changed this morning at the launch of his full manifesto. He told the assembled journos how Boris should take on the role: "My advice would be don't rush to make rapid change, try to take your time to people and listen, and actually organise a more graduated transition ... Because someone who comes [in] with 'slash and burn' might then find after six months that was a big mistake. So I'd take your time." And even revealed his post-defeat plans: "If I don't win, come 6 May I will be taking the kids to school and starting a book on my last eight years as Mayor.
Running scared
From our UK edition
As Fraser said yesterday – and as Peter Riddell writes in today’s Times – we may be entering a phase in which Labour rebellion and dissent become commonplace. “After all” – Labour MPs might be thinking – “we turned Brown over the 10p tax issue, so let’s use the same tactics again-and-again until we get exactly what we want.” It’s a set-up which could fatally undermine Brown’s premiership – and he knows it. As Jon Craig points out over at Boulton & Co, the vote over controversial detention plans has – as of yesterday – been put back from May to June. A hefty rebellion’s expected. Is the Government just trying to delay the bad news?
Can Boris run London?
From our UK edition
Can Boris run London? That's the question that Matthew answers with a resounding “Yes!” in the latest issue of the Spectator. His article's just been uploaded to the website, so check it out here. Do you agree with Matthew? Have your say – and discuss all matters mayoral – in the comments section.
Wednesday
Introducing The Spectator 180th anniversary blog
From our UK edition
We’ve just launched a blog celebrating the 180th anniversary of the Spectator. You can check it out here. At the moment, there are two posts up – an introduction and a look back at the 1711 Spectator – and there’s plenty more to come over the next few weeks.
