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One of the most compelling arguments for the existence of the House of Lords is what political scientists, borrowing the language of biologists, call ‘redundancy’. We have two eyes and two kidneys in case one malfunctions. In the case of the repackaged EU Constitution — now called the Lisbon treaty — the House of Commons
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A reminder that – after all your suggestions – Coffee House has begun its detailed analysis of Brownies, those little lies that our Prime Minister constantly tells. The introductory post is here. And Fraser’s breakdown of Brownie No.1 – Inflation – is here. Also, Coffee House will be starting its Budget coverage this weekend. Before,
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A podcast of last night’s Spectator / Intelligence Squared debate – “Britain should have a referendum on the EU Treaty” – is available here. Lloyd Evans’ web exclusive report on the debate can also be accessed here.
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A reminder that the Spectator / Intelligence Squared debate – “Britain should have a referendum on the EU Treaty” – begins at 18:45 tonight. Standing for the motion are Lord Lamont; Neil O’Brien, the director of Open Europe; and the award-winning historian Andrew Roberts. They’ll be opposed by Denis MacShane MP; Vernon Bogdanor, Professor of
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With today’s key vote dominating the headlines, a reminder that The Spectator / Intelligence Squared are holding a special emergency debate at 18:45 tonight – “Britain should have a referendum on the EU Treaty”. There’s a heavyweight line-up of speakers. Standing for the motion are Lord Lamont; Neil O’Brien, the director of Open Europe; and the award-winning historian Andrew
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Be sure to check out some of the posts made over the weekend: Peter Hoskin offers his cultural picks, and reflects on Gordon Brown’s speech to the Labour Party Spring Conference. Fraser Nelson investigates whether David Cameron is the British Barack Obama. And over at Americano, James Forsyth reports from Texas on why Obama may
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Rip up Blairism by the roots Sir: Michael Gove (Politics, 23 February) gives a eulogy to Tony Blair, ‘I admired Tony Blair. I knew Tony Blair’. I had hoped that David Cameron’s claim to be ‘the heir to Blair’ was just a silly mistake springing from inexperience. It is more worrying to find that Blair
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The Spectator on why the Speaker is further besmirching the reputation of Parliament The Speakership of the House of Commons has been aptly described as ‘the linchpin of the whole chariot’. This is why the lamentable conduct of Michael Martin, who has occupied the Speaker’s Chair since 2000, is more than just another parliamentary ‘sleaze’
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Here – for the benefit of CoffeeHousers – is the full text of a letter from Lord Tebbit that will run in tomorrow’s Spectator: “Sir: Michael Gove gives a eulogy to Tony Blair, ‘I admired Tony Blair. I knew Tony Blair’. I had hoped that David Cameron’s claim to be ‘the heir to Blair’ was just a silly
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Tonight, an all star panel debate whether all schools should be allowed to select their own pupils. Speakers for the motion are Chris Woodhead, former chief inspector of schools, Dr Martin Stephen, High Master of St Pauls, and Lord Tebbit. Opposing them are David Bunkett, Fiona Millar, Cherie Blair’s former aide, and William Atkinson, headmaster
From our UK edition
Just a reminder that the latest Spectator/Intelligence Squared debate – “All schools, state as well as private should be allowed to select their own pupils” – begins at 18:45 tonight. The speakers for the motion are Professor Chris Woodhead, the former Chief Inspector of Schools; Martin Stephen, High Master of St Paul’s School; and the Rt Hon Lord Tebbit. Whilst those against
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Be sure to check out some of the posts made over the weekend: Fraser Nelson sets out the Coffee House ethos, and also charts Britain’s spiraling drugs problem. Peter Hoskin suggests that Gordon Brown should shift into “short-term mode” in order to regain credibility. James Forsyth reflects on how the Tories can seize the political
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This turbulent priest Sir: Seeing that it was I who wrote the article in The Spectator five and a half years ago advancing the case for choosing Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury the week before he was actually shortlisted for the job, I have something of an obligation to ask myself whether I got
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History may not judge the Northern Rock fiasco to be Labour’s Black Wednesday. Instead, the banking saga might yet become to Gordon Brown what ‘sleaze’ was to John Major. The potential symmetry is one of form, not content (there is no hint of personal corruption in the saga of the collapsed bank). Just as ‘sleaze’
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With Boris again laying into Gordon Brown, CoffeeHousers should remember to have their say on the latter’s most misleading statements. What tops your list of Brownies?
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Pause for tort Sir: Reading Sir David Tang’s diary last week, in which he recounts the story of me ‘Googling’ him on a train, made me reflect on how recollections of events can differ between honest witnesses. My own diary for that day read as follows: ‘Am sitting on the train trying to work when
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If there is a posture that will be indelibly associated with the Chancellorship of Alistair Darling — brief though it may turn out to be — it is that of a man forced into retreat under a hail of ridicule. Last month he backed away from ill-thought-out proposals to reform capital gains tax in the
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The Spectator announced its eleventh consecutive growth in sales this week and with its success in mind we will be launching a new title, The Spectator Business. These are exciting times ahead for us as we begin to expand our current coverage of news analysis and comment through our new monthly title, The Spectator Business,
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Yesterday, we posted a letter by Wajid Shamsul Hasan, the former Pakistan High Commissioner to London, in which he took issue with a Coffee House post by Rani Singh. Here, Rani responds to his points: Dear Wajid, Thank you for your comments of yesterday. I wrote in a recent blog post that Musharraf has been “doing cuddly”. In
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Coffee House was recently sent the following letter from Wajid Shamsul Hasan, the former Pakistan High Commissioner to London: Sir, Your report by Rani Singh made quite a jolly read, referring to Musharraf’s ‘feminine side’, his liking for the arts’ and, as you put it, doing cuddly’. Does one detect the influence of Musharraf’s well-oiled