…here are some of the posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the weekend: Fraser Nelson says that IDS is showing how arguments are won. James Forsyth reports on Prince William’s visit to Afghanistan, and gives his take on David Laws’ account of the coalition negotiations.. Peter Hoskin wonders what happened to Labour’s economic message, and reports
Vulgar debate Sir: I have to disagree with Theodore Dalrymple on his always jaundiced view of England and the English (‘Common people’, 6 November). I work in a tourist area of Sydney and find the English/British the least offensive of any of the overseas visitors. They are also the most attractive, especially the young backpackers
Various political attempts to institute a national British day have failed, perhaps because Britain already has one. It is Armistice Day, and it is marked not by the waving of flags, or by the recitation of a national creed, but by keeping a silence in memory of those who sacrificed their lives for our country.
Radical cheek Phil Woolas, the first MP for 99 years to have his election to Parliament overturned, has fewer supporters than the Radical MP John Wilkes, who managed to have his election overturned four times in the Middlesex election fiasco of 1768. —Wilkes was first barred from the House of Commons in 1763 after going
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, visited China with four Cabinet ministers and 43 business leaders. He said he hoped for ‘greater political opening’ in the country. A £750 million order for Rolls-Royce engines and a £45 million order for pigs were announced during the trip. A Special Immigration Appeals Commission upheld an appeal by
Blair Worden J.R. Maddicott’s The Origins of the English Parliament 924–1327 (OUP, £30) is not one for the bedside, but its wide and profound scholarship has much to teach us about the roots and functions of an institution now subjected to so much unhistorical criticism. Nicholas Phillipson’s Adam Smith: An Enlightened Life (Allen Lane, £25)
Here are some of the posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the past week: Fraser Nelson says that the 50p tax rate is the coalition’s most expensive policy, and explains the difference between English and Scottish poppies. James Forsyth writes that the Lib Dems have been spared by idiotic students, and sets out Labour’s Woolas trouble.
Just a quick post to point CoffeeHousers in the direction of the new Spectator Book Blog (or http://spectator.com/books/blog/). In addition to the in-house team, the new blog will host independent bloggers and writers, providing a wide range of book reviews and discussion topics. And, as ever, the comments section is yours. The Book Blog will
Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers’ Wall. For those who haven’t come across the Wall before, it’s a post we put up each Monday, on which – providing your writing isn’t libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency – you’ll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section. There is no
…here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the weekend. Fraser Nelson says that diversity is the name of the ‘free schools’ game, and wonders if David Cameron is simply too nice. James Forsyth analyses the Archbishop’s intervention, and urges that British values be taught at school. David Blackburn notes that the welfare
Welcome to the new Spectator Book Blog. We hope that the exchanges that were a feature of the Book Club’s old discussion boards will thrive in a more expansive space. In addition to the in-house team, the new blog will host independent bloggers and writers, providing a wide range of book reviews and discussion topics.
House style Sir: How quaint that Simon Jenkins writes ‘working class’ without irony (‘Who do you Trust?’, 30 October). He must be among the very last to do so. But then he is chairman of that stultified repository of selective memory, the National Trust. I wonder why he thinks ‘working class’ means stupid. Jenkins, of
Secret history John Sawers, head of MI6, defended the organisation by saying ‘secrecy is not a dirty word’. Secret history John Sawers, head of MI6, defended the organisation by saying ‘secrecy is not a dirty word’. Here are a few things which the organisation does not attempt to keep secret: — MI6 still does not
Home A bomb was found at East Midlands airport. Home A bomb was found at East Midlands airport. It was in a parcelled computer toner cartridge filled with pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), the high explosive found in the underpants of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on a flight to Detroit last Christmas day. A similar parcel was found in
A familiar story was played out in Brussels last week. A British prime minister entered the conference chamber vowing he would not give one inch to the European Union. He emerged a few hours later having given way but nonetheless declaring a ‘spectacular’ victory. It was John Major and Maastricht, Tony Blair and his ‘red
Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week. Fraser Nelson celebrates an unorthodox genius. James Forsyth says that the Europe issue hasn’t gone away, and discusses a model of coalition policy making. Peter Hoskin explains why Ed Miliband has been duplicitous about debt, and ponders Cameron’s bad news day. David
Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers’ Wall. For those who haven’t come across the Wall before, it’s a post we put up each Monday, on which – providing your writing isn’t libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency – you’ll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section. There is no
…here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the weekend James Forsyth asks if the coalition is control of Control Orders, and notes that Boris is at his most dangerous to Cameron when he comes from the right. Peter Hoskin hears that Gordo is back, and sees that the Tories are rallying after
Exit stage right A new far-right movement, the English Defence League, held protests in Leicester and London. Postwar British history is full of the corpses of failed far-right parties. — The League of Empire Loyalists was a neo-Nazi party which split in 1957 over whether to allow Jews to join. Why any would want to
God and taxes Sir: I was surprised that we won the advance vote in the Spectator debate over faith schools (‘Taxpayers’ money should not fund faith schools’, 13 October). Ten years ago we would have lost it resoundingly, and it demonstrates the massive change in attitude over the last decade. I suspect this is partly