Ed Miliband’s ten-year plan speech – full text and audio
This afternoon Ed Miliband gave his last speech to the Labour conference before the general election.
The Spectator
Tuesday
The Spectator at war: Aerial warfare
From The Spectator, 26 September 1914: The early afternoon papers of Friday publish a Reuter telegram to the effect that a Zeppelin flew over Ostend at eleven o'clock on Thursday evening, dropped three bombs, and flew away again. The damage was one office wrecked and one dog killed. If that is the bag of one Zeppelin in Ostend, what, after all, would be the bag of one hundred Zeppelins in London?
Monday
The Spectator at war: A costly experiment
From The Spectator, 26 September 1914: On Thursday the Press Bureau issued a very striking descriptive account of the situation at the front, written by "an eyewitness present with General Headquarters." It supplements the spirited narrative issued in the earlier part of the week, and shows that under pressure the War Office has discovered a very efficient military journalist among its combatant officers. "Todgers's can do it when it likes." It states that we are face to face with siege warfare, and that the Germans are in effect employing material which they had collected for the siege of Paris. The official war correspondent summarizes operations from September 18th to 20th by borrowing from the statement of a neighbouring French commander to his corps.
Ed Balls’ speech on balancing the books – full text and audio
Twenty years ago, starting at this Labour conference, we together took the historic step of reforming our party’s constitution. The result is on the back of our membership cards today.
Sunday
The Spectator at war: Letters from the front
From The Spectator, 19 September 1914: WE have no war correspondents present with the forces, to our great loss; and we are now in the quaintly topsy-turvy position of reading accounts of battles and of fighting in the letters sent home by individual officers and men—letters which might just as well have been written by the trained correspondents who have been forbidden to take the field.
Saturday
The Spectator at war: Servants of the nation
From The Spectator, 19 September 1914: Friday's Times contains a letter from Lord Cromer on "Germany and Ourselves" which will give a double pleasure to thousands of readers. Its wise and vigorous terms are most useful and most timely in themselves, and they show how completely he is now restored to health :— "Let me add my firm conviction that the fear, which seems to prevail in some quarters, that, as a result of the war, the external and internal policy of this country may be guided by what is termed the military party,' is a pure delusion, and merely affords additional proof that as in the early days of the French Revolution, politicians of a certain type allow themselves to become the prey of words and formulas.
Friday
Podcast special: Alex Salmond’s resignation
Was Alex Salmond's resignation a surprise? And what should the SNP do now that it has lost the referendum that it fought for over so many years? In a View from 22 Spectator podcast special, James Forsyth and Hamish Macdonell analyse the First Minister's decision, and who might replace him.
David Cameron’s statement to the nation on devolution
Here's the full text of the Prime Minister's speech this morning in reaction to the 'No' vote in the Scottish independence referendum. listen to ‘David Cameron's statement on devolution’ on Audioboo The people of Scotland have spoken. It is a clear result. They have kept our country of four nations together. Like millions of other people, I am delighted. As I said during the campaign, it would have broken my heart to see our United Kingdom come to an end. And I know that sentiment was shared by people, not just across our country, but also around the world….because of what we’ve achieved together in the past and what we can do together in the future. So now it is time for our United Kingdom to come together, and to move forward.
The aftermath of Scotland’s ‘no’ vote
We're drawing this live blog to a close, but we'll keep you updated on the day's events in fresh posts on Coffee House. 09:52 The Union is saved – but at what cost? James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson ask what's coming next in a new Spectator special. 09:49 Paddy Ashdown, the former Lib Dem leader, has come out against a rushed devolution settlement for England: PM's speech was good. But rushing England into the Scottish timetable makes no sense. We need a more deliberative approach, to get it right — Paddy Ashdown (@paddyashdown) September 19, 2014 09.30 Here's James Forsyth on Ed Miliband's speech in reaction to the referendum: Ed Miliband has just spoken to a Labour rally in Glasgow.
