Making it work Sir: Your leading article (24 April) tells us that: ‘A hung parliament would be a disaster. Coalitions do not work in Westminster’s adversarial system.’ Can’t you see that the adversarial system, with its focus on doing down the opposition rather than on working collegially to decide what might be best for the
On the eve of the third television debate by the leaders of Britain’s three main parties, on the subject of the economy, the Institute for Fiscal Studies published a report on the size of the spending cuts and tax rises needed and criticised the parties for failing to set out how they would achieve them.
It was always dangerous to let Gordon Brown near real voters. His election campaign has been constructed so that he meets as few as possible. Labour aides have been asked to pose as audiences. The Prime Minister has always been a backroom man: he is at his best with spreadsheets and opinions. He is easily
Next week’s election may well bring Conservatism to a crossroads. Next week’s election may well bring Conservatism to a crossroads. If David Cameron fails to secure a majority, he will have a choice: should he seek to enter a deal with the Liberal Democrats as the flailing Ted Heath tried (and failed) to do in
It has been a busy week at Spectator Live, where Gaby Hinsliff has argued that Gordon Brown looks too knackered to carry on and Jo-Anne Nadler interviews William Hague, who wants to be Foreign Secretary. Here is what Spectator.co.uk made of the final televised debate; Fraser Nelson says that Cameron shone, Clegg wobbled and Brown
Over at Spectator Live, our panellist Gaby Hinsliff asks who has the three qualities – momentum, hope and stamina – needed to close the deal in the last week of campaigning. After his exhausted blunder yesterday, Gordon Brown looks finished. Also at Spectator Live, you can read an exclusive interview with William Hague, written
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 explains why Cameron is right about the regions, and argues that the Tories must work harder to sell the Gove schools plans. James Forsyth watches Cameron make the Big Society more accessible, and catches Cable flip-flopping on yet another issue. Peter
Delingpole’s victims Sir: In his most recent column (You know it makes sense, 17 April), James Delingpole suggests that ‘even as the wall is pushed on top of’ me by anti-gay Islamists, I ‘will be squealing with [my] last breath that it’s all the fault of Western imperialism and white heterosexist Islamophobia.’ I found this
Some 150,000 British travellers were stranded when the National Air Traffic Services stopped all flights from 15 April because of a cloud of fine volcanic ash drifting from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. Some 150,000 British travellers were stranded when the National Air Traffic Services stopped all flights from 15 April because of a cloud
The volcanic ash cloud over Britain, which for days kept nearly all aircraft grounded, was much more than an inconvenience. For many, it was a catastrophe. Businesses that rely on air-travel have been paralysed, weddings ruined, and tens of thousands of passengers stranded abroad or stuck at home. Yet for all the chaos — which
As we celebrate St George’s Day, it is worth asking just what England has done to deserve being landed in such a mess. She certainly did not vote for it. In the last election, the Conservatives won the most English votes. And no one, aside from 24,500 Fifers, has ever crossed a box beside Gordon
It’s been a busy week at Spectator Live, where Gaby Hinsliff argues that what’s wrong the TV debates is the visual aspect, and Rory Sutherland thinks that the Lib Dem surge may give the Tories a lasting advantage in Middle England. There is also a selection of videos, polls and additional articles for your delectation.
So, as Daniel Korski wrote earlier, a vote for Nick Clegg keeps Labour in office – surely fertile territory for a killer poster? Here’s a selection of CoffeeHousers’ ‘Vote Nick Get Gordon’ posters. Remember him? – Sam Davidson ——————————————————— Buy one, get one free – Disillusioned ——————————————————— Don’t get duped again – Hamish
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
It’s been a busy weekend at Spectator Live. We have the complete video footage of the leaders’ debate and you can read Will Straw analysis on the event here. Also, we’re conducting a readers’ poll: do you think that the Lib Dems will finish second? And here are some articles from the rest of the
Tea parties began here Sir: Daniel McCarthy is right that the tea party is ‘a symbol of colonial rebellion’ (‘The trouble with tea parties’, 10 April). But where does he suppose the rebels drew their inspiration from? The American patriots of 1773 didn’t see themselves as revolutionaries, but as conservatives. In their minds, all they
Mr Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, sent the Foreign Secretary to a nuclear security summit in Washington, so that he could launch the Labour party manifesto in an empty hospital in Birmingham. It promised to halve the annual deficit by 2014, through growth, taxes and cuts, but not to raise rates of income tax and
If economics is the dismal science, manifesto-writing must rank as a candidate for the most dismal of arts. Too often in recent times it has been a case of writing down the word ‘future’ and then throwing virtuous-sounding words such as ‘fairness’, ‘change’ and ‘all’ into the air and seeing in what order they land.
Keep up to date with the election on Spectator Live, where Gaby Hinsliff urges the need for police reform. Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week: The Leaders’ Debate: Fraser Nelson believes that the novelty of Nick Clegg won it for him. James Forsyth celebrates a good night for