Books and arts opener – 24 September 2015
The Spectator
Thursday
Conscription and democracy
From ‘The will of the majority’, The Spectator, 18 September 1915: The minority may declare, as have some of the trade union leaders, that they are the people—though in reality they are only a twentieth part of the community—and have a right to say what shall and what shall not be done in this country. In the last resort they will find that nineteen-twentieths are stronger than one-twentieth. This country is a crowned democratic republic in which ‘the people’ means ‘the people’, and not a junta of Jacobins… If the State decides that it must have compulsory military service, just as it has decided that it must take some 35 per cent of the incomes of the rich, there can be no tolerance of resistance to either decree.
Thursday
Letters | 17 September 2015
What firefighters do Sir: Leo McKinstry’s vicious, misleading article ‘Out of the ashes’ (12 September) shows that he has no understanding of the real issues facing firefighters today. He implies firefighters sit around doing nothing while other emergency services are doing the real work. Nothing could be further from the truth. Firefighters rescue more than 38,000 people every year, working regularly with paramedics, ambulance staff and police. There has been reluctance in the past from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) to sanction firefighters stepping in to help with medical rescues as a matter of course, since such moves need to be made carefully, with assurances that proper training will be given and equipment issued so that no lives are put at risk.
Barometer | 17 September 2015
It’s their party Jeremy Corbyn won the Labour leadership contest with 60% of the vote among four candidates in the first round. Which leader has the largest mandate from their party? — David Cameron was elected in 2005 with 28% of the vote out of four candidates in the first round (held among MPs only). He won 68% of the party vote in the run-off with David Davis. — Tim Farron won 57% of the Lib Dem vote this year. Only two candidates stood. — Nicola Sturgeon was appointed as SNP leader unopposed last November. — Nigel Farage was elected Ukip leader in 2006 with 45% of the vote (among four candidates) in a first-past-the-post system. — Natalie Bennett was elected Green leader in 2012 with 59% in the final round of voting.
Portrait of the week | 17 September 2015
Home In the shadow cabinet chosen by the new Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, the Exchequer went to John McDonnell, a left-winger who had run his campaign for the leadership. Although Mr Corbyn’s defeated rival Andy Burnham was given the Home Office portfolio, most appointments were from the left. Angela Eagle, the new shadow business secretary, was also named shadow first secretary of state and would perform at Prime Minister’s Questions when the Prime Minister was away. Her twin sister Maria Eagle got the defence portfolio. Even Diane Abbott was given international development. Mr Corbyn had received 59.5 per cent of 422,664 votes cast; of the 105,000 who had paid £3 to register as supporters, 88,499 voted for him. Tom Watson was elected deputy leader.
Books and Arts opener – 17 September 2015
Time to tax
From ‘The coming budget’, The Spectator, 18 September 1915: At present the large majority of householders and electors pay no direct taxation of any kind. They know nothing of the Income Tax collector’s demand-note, and they never receive a call from the rate collector. This system is not only fiscally but politically unsound, and a Cabinet which includes both parties in the State ought to take advantage of the present opportunity to remedy one of the worst features of our Constitution. The simplest method of dealing with the problem is to require employers to collect the Income Tax on wage-earners at the source, exactly in the same way that bankers collect at the source the Income Tax on dividend-owners.