• Rebels, rebels 81 Conservative MPs defied a three-line whip to vote in favour of a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. Some other big rebellions. Number of rebels Majority 37 (Lab) National Service Bill 1947 Government win by 188 72 (Con) Shops Bill 1986 (Sunday trading) Government lose by 14 41 (Con) E.C.
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, insisted on being present, along with leaders of the 10 EU countries not part of the eurozone, at a summit on the crisis surrounding the currency bloc. At an earlier summit of leaders of all 27 EU countries, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France told Mr Cameron: ‘You say you
Britain has never been defined by its place on the map. Our nation’s reach and interests have always been global, not merely continental. Not so long ago, a quarter of humanity was united under our empire. Today, in empire’s place, stands the Commonwealth. This weekend, the Queen convenes the meeting of its various heads of
The hands of Big Ben are approaching the designated hour, and the bells are about to toll for our Readers’ Representative Award. Only a few days remain for you to vote for your favourite parliamentarian. Dwindling time is not the same as no time, of course. New runners can emerge and overtake old favourites in
Here is a selection of a posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the last week. Fraser Nelson asks if Brits are more likely to riot than the foreign born, and wonders when MPs will wake up to Shale. Sam Gyimah MP says that now is not the time for an EU referendum. James Forsyth says that
Analysis and details to follow
UPDATE: CoffeeHousers all, we’re offering a mini cask of Hobgoblin beer to the author of the most mischievous comment made on the website this week. The winner, picked by Coffee House’s editorial team, will be announced on Friday. ———————————————————————————————————– Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers’ Wall. For those who haven’t come across the Wall before, it’s
…here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the weekend. Fraser Nelson reveals the Queen’s secret of success, and says Cameron’s making a mistake by restarting the Tory Wars. Douglas Murray says we have lessons to learn on how to handle dictators. James Forsyth has news of a poll showing support for an
Given the hold that Goethe had over the German elite in the 1920s, it is impossible that the Weimar Republic’s leaders could have been ignorant about what happens when desperate politicians start printing money. In Part II of Faust, the devil suggests to an emperor that he solves his fiscal crisis by mass-producing banknotes. He
Home After the resignation of Liam Fox as Defence Secretary, a report by Sir Gus O’Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, found that there had been a ‘clear breach’ of the ministerial code in his working relationship with Adam Werritty, who had accompanied him on 18 foreign trips. Dr Fox, he said, had been warned about Mr
• Mummy’s secret recipe A terminally ill taxi-driver from Torquay has volunteered to be mummified for a Channel 4 documentary. Here is what Egyptian mummification involved, according to Herodotus: — Extract brain through nostrils. — Cut opening in side of torso with sharp stone and remove contents. — Wash cavity with palm wine and pounded
• Gone with the wind Sir: Your recent campaign against wind farms is brought, perhaps, to a conclusion by Matt Ridley’s splendid article on shale gas (‘Shale of the century’, 15 October). Yet at no time have you referred to that other blot on the domestic landscape, the solar panel. I wonder why. As with
A blue tide has washed over the latest nominations for The Spectator’s Readers’ Representative award. Last week, your votes were for parliamentarians from right across the political spectrum: Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, even the occasional Ukipper. This week, they are mostly for Conservatives. Perhaps this is a sympathy vote following Liam Fox’s resignation. Perhaps it
Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the last week. Daniel Finkelstein is left slightly underwhelmed by Martin Scorsese’s biopic of George Harrison. Fraser Nelson laments the poverty of Britain’s energy debate, and offers a bottle of champagne to anyone who can help to explain George Osborne’s growth plan. James Forsyth charts
