The Spectator

Thursday

The Spectator

Welfare wars

From our UK edition

George Osborne is refreshingly uninterested in his public image, believing that he will be judged by the success (or otherwise) of his economic policies. So when the Chancellor pops up to give a speech, he spends little time trying to mask his underlying aim — which is usually to sock it to Ed Balls, his opposite number. He is a Chancellor-cum-strategist who weighs every policy for the damage it could inflict upon his opponents. And on the issue of welfare, he sees an opportunity to strike. Introducing a benefits cap has been the single toughest policy introduced by this coalition government. It is also the most popular with the public, and the Chancellor seems to find this intoxicating.

The Spectator

Spectator letters: Kensington answers back to Sebastian Faulks 

From our UK edition

Pirates and Tories Sir: Daniel Hannan is himself a pirate, masquerading as a Conservative MEP (‘Here come the pirates!’, 4 January). Oddly, since he’s fighting an election against it in May, he found nothing to criticise in Ukip, while attacking the European People’s Party, who are not standing in the south-east of England. He’s certainly right that we should not lump all protest parties in Europe together, though on weak ground in suggesting there are no differences between the mainstream EU parties. What did surprise me, though, was his description of the Front National as ‘essentially constitutional’. So he’d be confident that, were the Front National to gain power in France, subsequent elections would proceed smoothly?

The Spectator

Barometer: Storm waves? It could be three times worse

From our UK edition

The test of a wave Waves measuring 27ft from peak to trough were seen off Land’s End as the stormy weather continued. How do these compare with the highest waves ever measured? — Waves of 67ft were measured by a buoy off the coast of Donegal in December 2011, the highest found around the British Isles. — The highest wave yet recorded during a storm was one of 91ft during Hurricane Ivan in August 2005. — A landslip in Lituya Bay, Alaska, on 9 July 1958 created a local tsunami which tore down trees 200ft above sea level. Water directly opposite the landslip site splashed to a height of 1,720ft, tearing down trees even at that height. Comparison shopping Retailers have begun to publish their sales figures for the pre-Christmas period.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 9 January 2014

From our UK edition

Home George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, made it clear in a speech that he intended to cut £25 billion after the next election, with about half of the savings coming from cuts in welfare payments. Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister, said that the means proposed were ‘unrealistic and unfair’ and showed that the Conservatives wanted to ‘remorselessly pare back the state for ideological reasons’. Nick Clegg told the Commons that official estimates suggest that more than 1,500 Syrians had entered Britain last year through the asylum system. Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, said that Mr Clegg had ‘a very important ceremonial function as David Cameron’s lapdog-cum-prophylactic protection device’.

Monday

The Spectator

The wit, wine and wisdom of Simon Hoggart, 1946 – 2014

From our UK edition

Simon Hoggart, one of the Spectator's best-loved columnists, died yesterday after fighting pancreatic cancer for over three years. He began writing for the magazine in the mid-nineties, and started the column for which he was most well known in The Spectator – the Wine Club – in 2001. His last column was printed in our Christmas issue. Here are some of his contributions from our archive: Diary, 19 April 1996 'I'm just back from a week in France. Naturally I took a case of non-French wine over on the ferry so as to have something decent to drink. The French are terrifically complacent about their wine, believing that the worst they produce is better than the best from anywhere else.

Friday