…here are some of the posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the weekend: Fraser Nelson warns that David Cameron needs to up his game. James Forsyth reports on Cameron’s warnings of tax rises from the Tories’ spring conference, and questions their unwillingness to support the creation of a bad bank. Peter Hoskin introduces Coffee House’s national debt counter, and says that any chance Brown had
The beat goes on Sir: I read with growing rage James Delingpole’s column (You know it makes sense, 18 April). After castigating the policing of the G20 demonstrations, he takes the opportunity to list a number of actions the police have taken in recent times that he objects to. But some context is required. I
We asked a distinguished panel to assess the Mayor’s progress — and what he should do next David Cameron Boris and his team have done a brilliant job in the last year. Under his leadership City Hall has become less extravagant, and more focused on the right priorities: making London a safer, greener and more
On Budget Day, Alistair Darling achieved something rare among chancellors of the exchequer and unique among members of this Labour government. He actually made us feel sorry for him. By common consensus, he faced — with a stoical calm that has come to be admired even by his opponents — an almost impossible job. Markets
Here’s a selection of the Budget-related posts that have been made on Coffee House today: Coffee House live blogged Alistair Darling’s Budget statement here. Matthew d’Ancona sets out the politics of the 50p tax rate, and wonders whether any politicians will stand up for aspiration. Fraser Nelson reveals what the Treasury told lobby journalists, and
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 – provided 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: Fraser Nelson watches Ed Balls struggle against the truth, and reports on Liam Byrne giving his support to Balls. James Forsyth reveals what a broken ballot box tells us about the future of the Labour Party, and wonders whether Labour will greenwash the
Liddle’s Lent Sir: As someone who is employed by and works within the Church of England I have been waiting 20 years to see an article like Rod Liddle’s (‘The C of E has forgotten its purpose’, 11 April) appearing in a major British publication. He is accurate in nearly everything he says. The current
In his long preparations for next Wednesday’s Budget, Alistair Darling must have constantly asked himself: could the challenge possibly be more gruelling? The task facing the Chancellor was always going to be formidable: he cannot go on borrowing without limit, amassing undreamed-of fiscal deficits in order to maintain inflated levels of public spending. Indeed, the
There’s a special pullout in this week’s issue of the magazine, analysing Obama’s first 100 days in power. All the article from it are available online, and you can access them via these links: Reihan Salam, the leading young conservative intellectual, argues that although Obama isn’t doing badly, the sheen has already come off his
Just to remind CoffeeHousers that we’re running a Q&A with Eric Pickles. We’ll be taking your questions until 10pm this evening, before putting the best to the Tory chairman. To submit a question click here.
Here are some of the posts about the Damian McBride scandal on Spectator.co.uk: Matthew d’Ancona says that the McPoison remains, ands casts his eye over the usual suspects. Andrew Neil stresses that Gordon Brown let the dogs out. Fraser Nelson analyses what McBride tells us about Brown, and reveals the smears that backfired. James Forsyth
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 – provided 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
Listen and learn Sir: We’re going to have to get used to cuts, says Kate Chisholm (Arts, 28 March), while criticising the axing of the last children’s programme on the BBC’s mainstream networks as a cut too far. Last year a meagre £1.6 million of the £460 million the BBC spent on its radio services
The naming and shaming of MPs who are abusing the expenses system is becoming a Sunday ritual. Each week the papers carry a fresh set of revelations; each week public cynicism about our elected representatives becomes more deeply entrenched. This would be bad enough if the MPs involved in these scandals were merely time-serving backbenchers.
As Oscar Wilde quipped of Little Nell’s death, you would have to have a heart of stone not to laugh. On 24 November, Alistair Darling told the Commons: ‘I, too, am forecasting that output will continue to fall in the UK, for the first two quarters of [2009]. But then, because of decisions taken in
Just to flag up that, because of the Easter weekend, the content from the latest issue of The Spectator has been uploaded to the website a day earlier than usual. You can access all the articles here, but here are some highlights: Rod Liddle says that the Church of England has forgotten its purpose. Fraser
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 – provided 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 over the weekend on Spectator.co.uk: Matthew d’Ancona marks the rise of the neo-confs. Fraser Nelson reports on Alistair Darling’s less optimistic forecast, and laments Ed Balls’s take on education policy. James Forsyth thinks the Government is taking us for fools, and analyses Gordon Brown’s global temptation. Peter Hoskin
Bloody rude Sir: Michael Portillo (‘The view from Basra’, 28 March) accuses the British army of arrogance and, effectively, of incompetence. He says we’ve been humiliated. This may accord with his new television persona, but it is still disingenuous, apart from being bloody rude. It is his own political class that has been shown up