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
Home The gross domestic product of the United Kingdom was 0.8 per cent greater in the third quarter of the year than in the previous quarter, which had seen a growth of 1.2 per cent; the new figure was higher than expected. A Sovereign Support Grant will replace the Civil List from 2013, derived from
Here are some of the posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the past week: Fraser Nelson explains how free schools benefit all schools. James Forsyth sets out the new fairness battleground, and reports on a double boost for the coalition’s economic strategy. Peter Hoskin watches Clegg get angry, and says that Cameron’s certainty contrasts with Miliband’s
Some minutes before a scraggly Q&A audience member threw his shoes at John Howard, the former prime minister said he was ‘in broad agreement with the thrust’ of last week’s cover editorial in this magazine titled ‘Howard the Great’. Some minutes before a scraggly Q&A audience member threw his shoes at John Howard, the former
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 reveals that rising living costs will be far deadlier than the cuts, and introduces George Osborne – the Paul Daniels of the political world. James Forsyth says that the Liberal Democrats have been changed forever by the past week, and thinks
Dutch tensions Sir: Rod Liddle’s magnificent portrayal of Dutch politics is marred by one error (‘Orange alert’, 16 October). The anti-immigration and anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders is not ‘almost bizarrely Aryan’, as Liddle states. His grandmother was from a Jewish Indonesian family. His blond hair is peroxided. These facts, unlike many about Mr Wilders, are
Home The coalition government announced cuts under the Comprehensive Spending Review of £23.1 billion, or 3.3 per cent of total government spending, over four years. The schools budget joined the NHS and international aid in being protected from cuts. This will be paid for by deeper cuts in welfare spending. Spending on infrastructure was revised
Click the link below to view the Spending Review Barometer Spending Review Barometer
To govern is to choose. For nine years, Gordon Brown delayed choosing between higher taxes or lower spending, which is why the last time he balanced the government’s books was 2001–02. Since then, we have been building up to the spending cuts announced this week. No matter who won the election, there would have been
Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week. Fraser Nelson ‘reveals’ that 1.5 million jobs will be created during the cuts, and sets out 10 points about the CSR. James Forsyth says the cuts were not as deep as expected, and terms the MoD ‘not fit for purpose’. Peter Hoskin
With the strategic defence review hot off the presses, The Spectator asked Allan Mallinson, Robert Fox, Con Coughlin, Adam Holloway MP and Richard Dannatt to discuss if the time has come for the army, navy and air force to be combined into a massive British Marine Corps. For the benefit of CoffeeHousers, here is Lloyd
Just to point CoffeeHousers in the direction of a trio of delights across the site. First up, is Lloyd Evans’ review of a talk by Kevin Spacey that the Spectator hosted last week, which you can read over at the Spectator Arts Blog. And we also have a web exclusive review, by Lloyd again, of
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 posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the weekend: Fraser Nelson wonders what will become of the Home Office in the Spending Review, and highlights the immigration game. James Forsyth sets out what Liam Fox can learn from IDS, and reports that George Osborne is getting behind infrastructure. Peter Hoskin tracks the latest welfare