The Spectator

Saturday

The Spectator

Enrichment – Best of the Rest

Azamara Club Cruises www.azamaraclubcruises.co.uk 0844 493 4016 Azamara offer upscale boutique cruises within the Royal Caribbean Cruise portfolio. Azamara prides itself on offering guests two or three nights in ports such as St Petersburg, Sorrento, Venice and Monte Carlo. Its two ships, Azamara Quest and Azamara Journey, take just 650 passengers each and are able to enter smaller harbours. Every cruise has a ‘destination specialist’ on board to give in-depth information about the ports of call. In December Quest will sail from Singapore to Hong Kong and in January it sets out for a 14-night Chinese New Year voyage. In the spring it will sail from Dubai to Athens. In April Journey will make a transatlantic voyage and a seven-night cruise of the Adriatic coast.

Friday

The Spectator

The week that was | 17 September 2010

From our UK edition

Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week. Fraser Nelson introduces the new look Spectator. James Forsyth asks who is behind Nick Boles’ proposed Tory-Liberal pact, and wonders if the polls are telling the story of the Labour leadership. Peter Hoskin says that Nick Clegg is getting forceful on welfare reform, and reports on Osborne and Cooper’s knock about. David Blackburn opposes the government’s EU policy, and argues that a Whitehall cabal has hijacked the spending review. Hon Ruth Richardson explains how she re-balanced New Zealand’s budget. Susan Hill ponders age. Rod Liddle stokes the moronic inferno. Alex Massie reflects on the Labour leadership.

Thursday

Monday

The Spectator

CoffeeHousers’ Wall, 13 September – 19 September 

From our UK edition

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.

The Spectator

Just in case you missed them… | 13 September 2010

From our UK edition

…here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the weekend. Fraser Nelson ponders what it is to be British. James Forsyth asks if anyone wants AV on its own merits, and reckons that there is a communication gap No.10 needs to fill. David Blackburn examines the case for Britain’s EU budget rebate, and ponders Frank Field’s limbo between fantasy and reality. And Alex Massie has some Sunday morning country.

Saturday

The Spectator

Letters | 11 September 2010

Outfoxing the ban Sir: Your editorial (‘Fox news’, 4 September) rightly welcomes Tony Blair’s admission that the Hunting Act was ‘a fatal mistake’ as does everyone who hunts, although there is a certain frustration that he missed the clear opportunity to adopt compromise proposals that were available to him right up to the end of the parliamentary process. As far as the current government is concerned, I am not certain that you are being entirely fair. A free vote on the repeal of the Hunting Act followed by a government bill is not just a Conservative party commitment, it is now part of the coalition programme. Even those, like myself, who are ardent supporters of repeal could not expect this issue to be at the top of the new government’s agenda.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 11 September 2010

Nearly six million people began to receive letters from HM Revenue & Customs telling them they had paid the wrong amount of tax. About £2 billion has been underpaid, at an average of £1,380 per person, and £1.8 billion overpaid, averaging £420 per person. Connaught, the social housing maintenance company, which employs 10,000 people, went into administration. As his special adviser resigned, Mr William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, issued a statement saying: ‘Any suggestion that his appointment was due to an improper relationship between us is utterly false, as is any suggestion that I have ever been involved in a relationship with any man.’ He said that they had occasionally shared hotel rooms with twin beds while campaigning.

The Spectator

War and peace | 11 September 2010

One subject about which we hope pupils will always be taught is the Blitz, which began in London 70 years ago this week. The ‘spirit of the Blitz’ may have been over-romanticised, but it is right that the brave determination with which Britons faced the aerial assault remains a source of national pride. But British courage is perhaps not best recalled by the proposed new memorial to the airmen of Bomber Command in London’s Green Park. While no one can doubt that we are deeply indebted to the 55,573 who lost their lives, and who are already remembered at the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede, there is a good reason why a memorial specifically dedicated to Bomber Command was not built after the war.

The Spectator

Bac to the future

From our UK edition

A small revolution was announced by the Education Secretary this week, undramatic in itself but one which promises to end Labour’s practice of eroding academic standards in order to make the statistics look good. A small revolution was announced by the Education Secretary this week, undramatic in itself but one which promises to end Labour’s practice of eroding academic standards in order to make the statistics look good. Michael Gove has declared he will replace the current system of league tables, which judges schools on all GCSE passes, with a system that looks only at the five traditional subjects.

Friday

The Spectator

The week that was | 10 September 2010

From our UK edition

Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week. James Forsyth charts the coalition’s shifting horizons, and notes the coalition’s vulnerability on crime. Peter Hoskin says that Alan Johnson has been caught in the Coulson crossfire, and recalls Stephen Green’s double-dip warnings. David Blackburn watches the vice chancellors scupper Vince, and believes that Andy Coulson has loosened the noose that was tightening around his throat. Rod Liddle thinks that Sir Liam Donaldson can seriously damage your health. Alex Massie points out that Andy Coulson already faces a day in court. And Melanie Phillips explains why Tony Blair remains a class act.

Monday

The Spectator

CoffeeHousers’ Wall, 6 September – 13 September

From our UK edition

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.

The Spectator

Just in case you missed them… | 6 September 2010

From our UK edition

…here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the weekend. James Forsyth welcomes Michael Gove’s introduction of the international baccalaureate, and says that David Miliband is still trying to escape the Blairite box. Peter Hoskin ponders Cameron and Clegg’s response to the AV rebels, and believes Nick Clegg’s problems are surmountable. Reform's Patrick Nolan offers lessons from the Irish and Canadian spending cuts experience. And Alex Massie reports on the Scottish Tories, the most useless political party in Europe.

Saturday

The Spectator

Letters | 4 September 2010

From our UK edition

U and Pre-U Sir: I am, as a student approaching the A2 year, sick with envy at the small number of my friends lucky enough to be currently taking the Pre-University course. Not only did John Witheridge (‘An answer to the A-level debate — and Gary Lineker’, 28 August) succinctly describe the previous year of school for me with ‘spoon-fed coursework, punctuating and confusing the learning process with obsessive assessment’, but he also displayed the far more appealing alternative in the Pre-U syllabus. While I continue to attempt to meet the endless, pointless ‘Assessment Objectives’ of A-levels, it appears that Pre-U students enjoy a far more rigorous, yet encouragingly independent, form of learning.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 4 September 2010

From our UK edition

Mr Tony Blair, the former prime minister, published his political memoir, A Journey, in which he said that Mr Gordon Brown drove him to drink, but not an ‘excessively excessive’ amount: ‘The curse of Gordon was to make these people co-conspirators, not free-range thinkers. Mr Tony Blair, the former prime minister, published his political memoir, A Journey, in which he said that Mr Gordon Brown drove him to drink, but not an ‘excessively excessive’ amount: ‘The curse of Gordon was to make these people co-conspirators, not free-range thinkers. He and Ed Balls and others ... it was more like a cult than a kirk.’ He did not sack Mr Brown lest he became ‘the figurehead of a far more damaging force well to the left’.

The Spectator

Fox news

Perhaps the most surprising part of Tony Blair’s memoirs is the passage in which he reveals one of his deepest regrets: it’s not Iraq, but the fox-hunting ban. Blair now says that the 2005 reform was ‘a fatal mistake’ and even admits to having been swayed by a metropolitan bias against country dwellers. ‘I started to realise that this wasn’t a small clique of weirdo inbreds delighting in cruelty,’ he writes, ‘but a tradition, deeply embedded by history and profound community and social liens, that was integral to a way of life.’ Pro-hunting groups will see Blair’s admission as too little too late.

The Spectator

Science fictions

What is it about international organisations that makes them so impervious to criticism? If the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were a British ministry or quango, it is inconceivable that its chairman, Rajendra Pachauri, would still be in his post. The IPCC’s reports, which have been accepted by governments around the world as a definitive judgment on the science of global warming and used to influence policies with huge economic and social consequences, have over the past few months been exposed as shoddy pieces of work which would have disgraced an undergraduate thesis.

Friday

The Spectator

The week that was | 3 September 2010

From our UK edition

Here are some of the posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the past week: Fraser Nelson says that Tony Blair is aiming to become a freelance statesman. James Forsyth highlights the biggest threat to the coalition, and reports on cricket's dilemma. Peter Hoskin says that Blair wants Labour to be more like the coalition, and argues that Labour needs a Byrne rather than a Balls. David Blackburn outlines Brown's plan for the future, and watches the education battle open. Ed Howker highlights Blair's contempt for the left. Susan Hill praises the NHS. Alex Massie gives his take on the Hague affair. Melanie Phillips laments that Londonistan continues to provide British hospitality to genocidal fascists.

Thursday

The Spectator

Access this week’s Spectator for free

From our UK edition

This week, for one week only, we are making this week’s magazine available to non-subscribers online, courtesy of Saab 95 Saloon.   Click here to access the best written magazine in the English language, featuring Fraser Nelson’s and Bruce Anderson’s verdicts on the Blair memoirs, Ed Smith and Roger Alton on cricket’s latest betting scandal, as well as Taki and Joan Collins on what the future holds for St.Tropez. Subscribers have free access to The Spectator through the website, iPhone and iPad. See new.spectator.co.uk/digital for more.

Tuesday

The Spectator

Just in case you missed them… | 31 August 2010

From our UK edition

...here are some of the posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the bank holiday weekend: Fraser Nelson wonders who governs Britain, and asks whether Labour will boldly go with 'Red Ed'. Peter Hoskin says that we're just seeing Same Labour, and watches Alistair Darling exhume Cameron's Big Mistake. David Blackburn has some bad news for Ken Clarke, and comments on Danny Alexander's admission about tax cuts. Susan Hill considers love and marriage. Alex Massie gives his take on cricket's latest betting scandal.

Monday

The Spectator

CoffeeHousers’ Wall, 30 August – 5 September

From our UK edition

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.