The Spectator

Mr Gordon Brown is prepared to campaign actively for Mr Tony Blair, whom he replaced as Prime Minister, to be the first permanent president of the European Council of the European Union, Downing Street said. Mr David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, had said earlier that Mr Blair would be a good candidate because ‘we need someone who, when he or she lands in Beijing or Washington or Moscow, the traffic does need to stop’. Sir Christopher Kelly, the Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, told party leaders the outline of his report on MPs’ expenses, to be published next week, and shortly afterwards there was a leak of his recommendations that MPs should no longer be able to claim for mortgage payments on second homes or to employ spouses as secretaries.

Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week Fraser Nelson sees a cartoon that epitomises modern Britain. James Forsyth argues that Liz Truss’ candidacy must stand, and doubts that the army is being funded to its target level. Peter Hoskin is encouraged that IDS is being tasked with finding “affordable policy solutions”, and waits as the Tories prime their civil service shake-up. David Blackburn believes that MPs should get a free vote on the Kelly Review, and says that Thursday was another day where Brown was on the road to perdition. Lloyd Evans watches Dave miss another opportunity. Susan Hill can see rural poverty and deprivation all around. Rod Liddle wants to start a campaign of mass disobedience.

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. Five articles from the latest issue are available for free online to all website users: The idea of President Blair has seen the re-emergence of the Tories’ Blair complex. James Forsyth argues that the Tories’ attempts to scupper the advent of President Blair pay their target the highest compliment; Blair will be flattered.   Christina Lamb has witnessed over 20 years of war in Afghanistan. She has always maintained that the answer to the war on terror’s Afghan dimension was to send more troops.

Spectator Business, the sister magazine of The Spectator, is on the lookout for talent again.  We're tracking down Britain's best young entrepreneurs of 2009. Last year, we profiled ten young people who had made their mark in industries ranging from media and entertainment to food production and social networking. They included Marc Burton, a partner in exclusive London nightspot Whisky Mist, and Victoria Lennox, who was then president of Oxford Entrepreneurs and has since gone on to head up the National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs. This year, we are inviting readers and contributors to nominate entrepreneurs under the ago of 30 who have impressed you with their vision and determination.

The readers’ dinner held at Spectator headquarters last week was, as might be expected, a sparkling, bibulous affair. The readers’ dinner held at Spectator headquarters last week was, as might be expected, a sparkling, bibulous affair. The only cloud was the realisation that, unfortunately, many subscribers had not received the latest issue of the magazine, thanks to the inefficiency of the Royal Mail and the disruption caused by recent industrial activity. Alas, this sorry situation seems likely to continue for some time to come, as the postal workers’ union seems hell-bent on trying the public’s patience still further.

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. Five articles from the latest issue are available for free online to all website users: The unions are on the rise again. The Royal Mail dispute illustrates that concerted union action could frustrate the Tories’ reform agenda in the future. James Forsyth reveals how the Tories plan to tame the unions. The BNP are using the public’s real fear of Islamism to attract support for their racist movement, says Melanie Phillips. If the political class wants to take on Griffin, it must first join the fight against Islamofascism.

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.

No Sants-culotte Sir: I was disheartened but, in these days of sloppy journalism, hardly surprised to read Charles Moore’s snide remarks (The Spectator’s Notes, 10 October) about Hector Sants’s apparently palatial house in Oxford. I have no particular opinion as to whether, as chief executive of the Financial Services Authority, Mr Sants should be paid more, the same or less than the Prime Minister. What I do know is that prior to joining the FSA, Sants had spent many years as a very senior, successful and presumably handsomely rewarded executive at Credit Suisse. Before that he held a similar position at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, which was acquired by Credit Suisse on very generous terms in 2000, and he would also have benefited from this.