The Spectator
Thursday
Monday
CoffeeHousers’ Wall, 15 November – 21 November
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 topic, so there's no need to stay 'on topic' - which means you'll be able to debate with each other more freely and extensively. There's also no constraint on the length of what you write - so, in effect, you can become Coffee House bloggers. Anything's fair game - from political stories in your local paper, to chat about the latest football results.
Just in case you missed them… | 15 November 2010
...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 on Michael Gove's latest radical proposal. Daniel Korski highlights the growing tensions between Washington and Beijing. Susan Hill recommends some overlooked charities. Rod Liddle lambasts Yasmin Alibhai-Brown. The Spectator Arts Blog remembers the comedy of the Little Waster. And the new Spectator Book Blog reviews the Man Booker prize winner.
Saturday
Letters | 13 November 2010
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 all tanned up from days on Bondi beach. And always very polite. I travel to England twice a year and use the trains and tubes, and the ferry over to France, and am always impressed by the orderliness I encounter. Sure, I see some fat, tattooed, pierced, appallingly toothed people, but surely they are the descendants of Sir Francis Drake and the armies of Nelson and Wellington?
Remember the living
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. Armistice Day, however, has always been about the living as well as the fallen. The poppies we wear are not just a commemoration of Flanders, but a sign that we support our soldiers in the battlefield today. Since the Taleban were toppled from Kabul nine years ago, 180,000 servicemen and women have fought campaigns in either Iraq or Afghanistan.
Barometer | 13 November 2010
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 into exile in France to escape a second trial on a charge of seditious libel. —He returned in 1768 to stand for election in Middlesex and won, but was then quickly imprisoned over a pornographic poem. —Four by-elections followed, all won by Wilkes; three times the election was declared void and on the final occasion his opponent was declared the winner.
Portrait of the week | 13 November 2010
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 Abu Hamza, who is in jail, against an attempt to remove his British citizenship. There were three nights of rioting at Moorland prison, south Yorkshire. The bishops of Fulham, Ebbsfleet and Richborough, and two retired bishops, announced that they were joining the Catholic Church as members of an ordinariate allowing the use of ‘liturgical books proper to the Anglican tradition’.
Books of the Year | 13 November 2010
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) is an absorbing and elegant account of Smith’s mind and of the Scottish context, social and intellectual, that produced it. D. R. Thorpe’s Supermac: The Life of Harold Macmillan (Chatto, £25) gives a wonderful sense of Macmillan’s complexity and stature and of the place of personality in the fortunes of power and the making of policy.
Friday
The week that was | 12 November 2010
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. Peter Hoskin outlines ten things you need to know about the IDS reforms, and reveals Alan Johnson's deceptions and out-of-date figures. David Blackburn reports on Britain's threadbare defence establishment, and highlights the mounting concerns over Ireland's economy. Daniel Korksi tells our politicians to stop dreaming of Leo McGarry. Rod Liddle enjoys Labour's latest method for reconnecting with voters.
Tuesday
Introducing the Spectator Book Blog | 9 November 2010
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 also house the Spectator Book Club's Book of the Month feature. The current book of the month is Portrait of the Mother as a Young Woman by Friedrich Christian Delius – which you can discuss in this post, or by following the link in the 'Book of the Month' box, located in the top right hand corner of every books page. And do feel free to make recommendations for future Books of the Month while you're there.
Monday
CoffeeHousers’ Wall, 8 November – 14 November
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 topic, so there's no need to stay 'on topic' - which means you'll be able to debate with each other more freely and extensively. There's also no constraint on the length of what you write - so, in effect, you can become Coffee House bloggers. Anything's fair game - from political stories in your local paper, to chat about the latest football results.
Just in case you missed them… | 8 November 2010
…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 battle is remarkably consensual, and says that Douglas Alexander is hiding from some inconvenient truths. And Alex Massie condemns the sympathies of some Celtic fans.
Introducing the Spectator Book Blog
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. And, as ever, the comments section is yours. The Book Blog will also house the Spectator Book Club's Book of the Month feature. The current book of the month is Portrait of the Mother as a Young Woman by Friedrich Christian Delius – which you can discuss in this post, or by following the link in the 'Book of the Month' box, located in the top right hand corner of every books page.
Saturday
Letters | 6 November 2010
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 course, struggles under the terrible burden of always being right. But let’s see if a little astute correction might deflate the bubble of embracing self-love he so very complacently inhabits. Any event-organiser knows that free drinks (and possibly live sex plus public executions) will get the attendance numbers up. It’s easy. But there are higher goals than mere numerical popularity.
Barometer | 6 November 2010
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 officially exist. It was once known by that name but is now called the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) in government circles. — There were once 17 ‘MIs’. The original MI6 dealt with legal and financial affairs. It spent much of the first world war housed in a single flat in Whitehall Court.
Portrait of the week | 6 November 2010
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 Dubai. Both parcels were sent from Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, and addressed to synagogues in Chicago, though British authorities said the bomb discovered in the East Midlands was intended to explode in the air. Both bombs had spent some time in the holds of passenger planes. Theresa May, the Home Secretary, said the bombs had been made by the organisation known as al-Qa’eda in the Arabian Peninsula.
It can’t hurt to ask
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 lines’, all over again. How quickly David Cameron has settled into the role expected of him by Brussels. To pretend that he is happy to be giving away an additional £450 million a year to the EU. To sound the bugle of triumph, no matter what the outcome. To his credit, Mr Cameron did not pretend to be pleased about his latest instructions from the continent: to grant prisoners the right to vote.
Friday
The week that was | 5 November 2010
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 Blackburn notes that there’s little triumphalism among Republican leaders, and condemns prisoners’ voting “rights”. Susan Hill calls for more generous donation to be made to small charities. Rod Liddle has more on the ginger rodent saga. Alex Massie introduces Speaker John Boehner. And Melanie Phillips writes in defence of control orders.
Monday
CoffeeHousers’ Wall, 1 November – 6 November
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 topic, so there's no need to stay 'on topic' - which means you'll be able to debate with each other more freely and extensively. There's also no constraint on the length of what you write - so, in effect, you can become Coffee House bloggers. Anything's fair game - from political stories in your local paper, to chat about the latest football results.
Just in case you missed them… | 1 November 2010
...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 the spending review. David Blackburn says that Cameron is beginning a European odyssey, and ponders Labour’s Lib Dem strategy. Martin Bright charts the fault-line at the heart of the coalition. Rod Liddle has a crack at Harriet the hypocrite. Alex Massie introduces the Irishman of the year. And Melanie Phillips considers Obama’s electoral psychodrama.