Pity Alex Salmond and his separatist supporters. The publication of their manifesto for Scottish independence this week is no threat to the Union, but a requiem for a dream now vanquished. The devolution settlement gave them the rope, and now they’ve managed to hang themselves with it. During Mr Salmond’s tenure as First Minister, Scotland’s
Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week. Fraser Nelson calls for a debate, a proper debate, about climate change, and asks who cares about the playing fields of Eton. James Forsyth ponders some testing times for the Tories, and reckons there might be life in the class war yet.
The latest issue of the Spectator is released today. If you are a subscriber you can view it here. If you have not subscribed, but would like to view this week’s content, you can subscribe online now. Six articles from the latest issue are available for free online to all website users: As the world
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 considers the Iraq inquiry we should be having. James Forsyth argues that the Tories must develop a three-pronged strategy in light of recent polls, and describes Zac Goldsmith’s tax status as a major embarrassment for the Tories. Peter Hoskin ponders PBR
Not so special Sir: The only ‘disrespect’ Obama can really be accused of is a degree of indifference to the British delusion of a ‘special relationship’ with the USA (‘A special form of disrespect’, 21 November). One would have thought that after the con-trick of Lend-lease, the wholesale vacuuming-up of British nuclear and aviation technology,
Floods swept Cumbria after 12.4 inches of rain fell in 24 hours (at Seathwaite), the most ever recorded in Britain. Main Street in Cockermouth was more than waist deep in water. Some 1,300 houses were affected, and insurance claims were expected to reach £100 million. PC Bill Baker died in the collapse of the Northside
The concept of a ‘Red Tory’ is not an easy one to grasp. T he concept of a ‘Red Tory’ is not an easy one to grasp. Is it someone who believes in huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’ for all, or is it an inversion of a champagne socialist: someone who preaches free markets from beneath
Amid the wreckage of this week’s floods the most depressing comment came from a government scientist who called for a national register of bridges. If we had a register, he argued, the relevant authorities might in future be better able to predict which bridges are likely to go the same way as Workington’s two went
Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week. Fraser Nelson wonders if Britain’s economy is turning Japanese. James Forsyth highlights the risk that a hung parliament poses to UK bond market, and makes the case for sending 40,000 troops to Afghanistan. Peter Hoskin spots Lord Mandelson making mischief, and urges
The latest issue of the Spectator is released today. If you are a subscriber you can view it here. If you have not subscribed, but would like to view this week’s content, you can subscribe online now. Six articles from the latest issue are available for free online to all website users: Prepare for a
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 on Spectator.co.uk over the weekend: James Forsyth welcomes David Cameron’s emphasis on growth, and highlights an important member of the class of 2010. Peter Hoskin looks behind the closed doors of Brussels, and observes a fine line between love and hatred for Peter Mandelson. David Blackburn identifies where
Eliot’s anti-Semitism Sir: I yield to none in my love of T.S. Eliot’s work, and have even managed to defend to myself the iffy passages about Jews in his poetry. But the letters that Craig Raine quotes in his review (Books, 14 November) are so blatantly, even honestly, anti-Semitic that they leave no room for
Mr Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, said during his speech at the Lord Mayor’s banquet that he wanted a meeting of allies in London in January about Afghanistan, to set a timetable and ‘identify a process for transferring district by district to full Afghan control’. Mr Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, said during his speech
Having been reprimanded by the broadcasting regulator Ofcom for a clutch of on-air errors, this report is just the most recent evidence that the Corporation is now form-filling when it should be programme-making. At times it is as if the viewers are receiving a service that incorporates all that is undesirable: a costly administration unable
It is now 12 years since the Queen was first obliged to enter the Palace of Westminster and deliver a speech studded with the most awful New Labour clichés. Over the years, Her Majesty’s dismay during the state opening of parliament has become steadily more visible — and little wonder. As Labour ekes a fifth
Seiko is collaborating with leaders and innovators in a variety of fields to celebrate the release of the Ananta Collection Luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent annually moves nearly a quarter of a million people around the globe. So for president and chief operating officer Joss Kent, being organised is a given. With 62 offices
Ferdinand Mount Andrew Brown has spent a lot of his life writing about religion, not least for The Spectator. He has never written anything remotely like Fishing in Utopia (Granta, £8.99), but then nor has anyone else. The book tells the story of how the author fell in love with Sweden and everything Swedish, including
Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week. Fraser Nelson congratulates Michael Heath, and introduces Britain’s AWOL ally. James Forsyth praises Chris Grayling’s commitment to elected police commissioners, and finds an example of corruption that is shocking even by the standards of the Karzai government. Peter Hoskin says that Brown