The Spectator

Tuesday

The Spectator

What to see this Autumn

From our UK edition

If you want to know what’s coming up in the arts this autumn a good place to look is today’s G2, where critics have chosen the ‘50 hottest acts’. The film Atonement, based on Ian McEwan’s novel, with Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, opens on 7 September (I’ve seen a preview and loved it). Other recommendations include: the Royal Opera House’s Iphigénie en Tauride (with Simon Keenlyside and Susan Graham); lots of Sibelius in Manchester and London; Millais at Tate Britain and Renaissance Siena at the National Gallery; and Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse at the National Theatre.

The Spectator

Boris leads primary race by 60 percent

From our UK edition

Conservative Home’s monthly survey of members reveals that Boris is well ahead of the pack in the race to become Mayor of London. Amongst London members, Boris has 70 percent support while his nearest challenger Andrew Boff is on 10 percent. Of course, the primary is open to non-Tories too. But one has to assume that Boris’s lead will only grow when they are taken into account: his high-profile and maverick reputation means that he must be favourite to sweep up most of those votes.

Monday

The Spectator

Was Gordon’s 10 point lead a blessing in disguise for Dave?

From our UK edition

John Rentoul points out in a typically sharp column in today’s Independent that Gordon Brown has benefited from the low expectation surrounding his arrival at Number 10. There had been so much said about Brown’s weaknesses that the commentariat had almost forgotten about his strengths and totally underestimated how adept Brown would prove at turning "his pathologies into assets.” However, the tide may have turned with the poll that put Brown ten points ahead. It has become a benchmark that subsequent polls are being measured against. So, today’s poll which shows Labour up by five—which is not bad, considering that the Tories were leading by five in the same poll at the end of May—is being treated as a bit of blow for Brown.

The Spectator

A consequence of withdrawal

From our UK edition

Newsweek’s investigation into the hunt for bin Laden makes for excellent reading. It gives you a real sense of the trade-offs involving in trying to capture him while not losing large numbers of US troops or destabilising Pakistan. It is a surprise to find Don Rumsfeld who was so gung-ho in his Iraq war planning, acting as the voice of caution here. One detail in the piece should guide us in the Iraq debate. Newsweek reports that: “President Musharraf was wary of his American allies in the War on Terror. In 2002, he told a high-ranking British official: "My great concern is that one day the United States is going to desert me. They always desert their friends." According to this official, who declined to be identified sharing a confidence, Musharraf cited the U.S.

The Spectator

Advantage Cameron | 27 August 2007

From our UK edition

David Cameron will surely be relieved by the finding in today's Guardian/ICM poll that Gordon Brown's lead has narrowed already to five points. But the much more significant figures are the Tories' leads on crime and health. Turn to this morning's Daily Mail, where a survey conducted for Hillary Benn's Environment Department shows that crime and health are now the voters' main priorities. Last week, Mr Cameron finally found his voice on law and order, matching his concern for the causes of crime with a new, unambiguous commitment to robust punishment of offenders. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister persists with his mantra that "education is my passion, health is my priority".

Sunday

The Spectator

Our outrage should give us hope

From our UK edition

The more you read about the murder of Rhys Jones, the more shocking it becomes. The combination of a BMX—a symbol of childhood fun—and a brutal shooting brings home just how brutalised our society has become. Jon Swain’s piece in The Sunday Times comparing Liverpool to the war zones he has reported from painfully details this point. But the sheer level of outrage this pedal-by-shooting has generated should give us hope; especially if this outrage can be harnessed to effect a substantive change in our culture. Before moving back to London last year, I lived in Washington for four years where the kind of incident we saw in Croxteth Park on Wednesday night was tragically common but hardly dominated even one news-cycle.

The Spectator

What the statistics don’t show

From our UK edition

In my Sunday Telegraph column today, I argue that statistics cannot reflect cultural sensibilities, especially in the wake of a horror such as Rhys Jones's murder. But if crime statistics are to be brandished at such a time let them at least be accurate. The Sunday Times reports that - contrary to Jacqui Smith's claim that gun crime is falling - Home Office figures (which exclude incidents involving air weapons) show a fourfold rise since 1998. As David Davis says in his letter to the Home Secretary: "One clear fact on gun-related violence is that if you don't count it, you won't be able to tackle it.

Saturday

The Spectator

Letters to the Editor | 25 August 2007

From our UK edition

Sir: Jeremy Clarke’s interpretation of J.S. Mill (‘Can working men’s clubs survive the smoking ban?’, 18 August) is, I fear, pretty ropey. His first point, that a non-smoker forced to breath in tobacco fumes is in effect under attack and legislation may be needed to defend him, is easily disposed of. Run of the Mill Sir: Jeremy Clarke’s interpretation of J.S. Mill (‘Can working men’s clubs survive the smoking ban?’, 18 August) is, I fear, pretty ropey. His first point, that a non-smoker forced to breath in tobacco fumes is in effect under attack and legislation may be needed to defend him, is easily disposed of.

The Spectator

Naipaul on Walcott

From our UK edition

V.S. Naipaul’s essay on Derek Walcott, the great St. Lucian poet, in today’s Guardian review is as eloquent and insightful as one would expect. What caught my eye is a point that Naipaul makes about the whole idea of the  Caribbean as an island paradise. As he writes, that idea of the beauty of the islands (beach and sun and coconut trees) was not as easy as the poet thought. It wasn't always there, a constant. The idea of beach and sun and sunbathing came in the 1920s, with the cruise ships. (Consciously old-fashioned people, like the writer Evelyn Waugh, born in 1903, refused to sunbathe.

The Spectator

A travesty of justice

From our UK edition

On Tuesday, Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, claimed that, in the case of Philip Lawrence’s murderer, Learco Chindamo, ‘we were misled by the system’. That is true: it is monstrous that the 26-year-old Chindamo, who stabbed the head teacher to death in December 1995, will now escape deportation to Italy, the country of his birth. On Tuesday, Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, claimed that, in the case of Philip Lawrence’s murderer, Learco Chindamo, ‘we were misled by the system’. That is true: it is monstrous that the 26-year-old Chindamo, who stabbed the head teacher to death in December 1995, will now escape deportation to Italy, the country of his birth.

Friday

The Spectator

On the road with Sarkozy

From our UK edition

For any politician to allow someone full access to them so that they can write an 'on the campaign trail with' book is always a risk. It says something about Nicolas Sarkozy’s confidence then, that when the French playwright Yasmina Reza suggested doing this Sarkozy accepted without hesitation. Reza’s account is sympathetic to Sarkozy but also details his impatience and arrogance. The book also reveals that Sarkozy’s wife was never with him during the election campaign. Inevitably, Reza was asked by the press if Sarkozy had tried to seduce her. Her answer to the question was wonderfully French, as the IHT reports: "No, he wanted to seduce France.

The Spectator

The East End Way

From our UK edition

I spent part of this morning on a delightful walk down Brick Lane in east London with the artist and historian Rachel Lichtenstein, recording a piece for the Today programme next week. Rachel, who is a match for anyone in the field of psycho-geography, has a new book out entitled On Brick Lane, which is a majestic oral history of the area, and the first of three planned books on London streets, the next of which will explore Hatton Garden. Rachel’s specific thesis is that social change and middle class entryism has brought to an end a deeply-rooted tradition in this part of the capital city, a tradition that must be recorded for posterity before it disappears. But this is not only a book for those (like me) who are interested in east London history.

The Spectator

An opportunity to fix the broken society

From our UK edition

When trying to understand the impact of events like the shooting of Rhys Jones, turn to the tabloids. Their readers are the ones who suffer from the "broken society" and are most at risk from the violent crime epidemic and think "it could be my son next". The Sun is at its best today. It declares in a superb page long editorial that this is the time for a fundamental rethink. In the Daily Mail, Iain Duncan Smith provides a compelling analysis. Social breakdown, the putrid oases of deprivation in a booming Britain, has been nurtured by Labour policies. The Sun is using David Cameron's phrase "anarchy in the UK" to sum this all up. As Brown asks what went wrong, the Conservatives must now step forward with the solutions. Their analysis best explains how we have come to this point.

The Spectator

Hamas’s mask of moderation slips

From our UK edition

Osama Hamdan is the supposeldy moderate face of Hamas. The organisation’s representative in Beirut, he has met with Michael Ancram and is viewed as the kind of man we can—and should—do business with. Alastair Crooke, formerly the EU’s fixer in the Middle East who now runs an influential think tank advocating engagement with groups like Hamas, wrote a very positive piece about Hamdan for Prospect last year. After talking to him, Crooke concluded that Hamas “will be pragmatic in signalling that it seeks a state on land occupied in 1967 and is not pursuing any destruction of Israel.” Yet, this was not the message that Hamdan was giving out in an interview with the Iranian Arabic channel Al-Kawthar.

Thursday

The Spectator

The MCB is back in with the government

From our UK edition

This morning, Coffee House heard that the government’s policy of freezing out the Muslim Council of Britain was over and that Hazel Blears had met with representatives of the Muslim Council of Britain at a roundtable on the 8th of August. In response to an inquiry from Coffee House, the Department of Communities and Local Government said that they “don’t give details of private meetings.” However, it will confirm that Hazel Blears met with representatives of a dozen Muslim organisations on that date and will not deny that the MCB was one of those groups. The official line from its spokeswoman is that: "There has been no change in our engagement strategy.

Wednesday

The Spectator

What Bush is up to

From our UK edition

At first glance it seems bizarre that Bush invoked Vietnam in defence of his Iraq policy. After all, for years the Bush administration has argued that any parallel to Vietnam is nonsense. But there’s logic to what Bush is doing. By mentioning Vietnam and Iraq in the same breath, Bush has guaranteed that his speech is getting plenty of attention. The hope is that this coverage will allow the message that the surge is making military progress to be communicated to the public. The other thing he is doing is more subtle, he's trying to evoke the consequences of defeat not only in Iraq but at home. Americans, whatever their opinion of either Iraq or Vietnam, have no desire to experience the kind of funk that the country went into after its defeat in south east Asia.

The Spectator

Where the Iraq debate now stands in the US

From our UK edition

This brief Time magazine article is as good a summation as any of the current situation in Iraq and how the US feels about it. Essentially, the surge has made military progress—something that an increasing number of Democrats are prepared to recognise—but the Maliki government has yet to take advantage of this window of opportunity, much to the frustration of the Bush administration.  Overall, the situation in Iraq is more hopeful than it was before the surge started but the Iraqis need to start making political progress soon if this momentum is not to be squandered.

The Spectator

Cameron on crime

From our UK edition

In his speech on youth crime today, David Cameron suggested that those who commit minor offences should have their driving licences delayed. This is a more sensible idea than marching yobs to cash-points and in theory one can see it being quite an effective deterrent against the kind of bad behaviour that can make life so unpleasant. However, the obvious downside is that it could lead to a whole bunch of young people driving without a licence or insurance—after all, these people are having their licences delayed precisely because of their lack of respect for the law and consideration for others.

The Spectator

A Straw man of an argument

From our UK edition

David Davis's op-ed in the Telegraph today on immigration makes an absolutely crucial point about the Learco Chindamo case. As Davis writes, “On the Today programme yesterday, Jack Straw blamed EU law. But the relevant 2004 EU directive was negotiated on his watch as foreign secretary.” Politicians have a habit of doing this. They sign onto something from Brussels and then when faced with the consequences of their actions announce “don’t blame us, Europe made us do it.” If this government is going to push through the new EU treaty without the referendum that they promised the public, then they should be made to carry the can for every decision that is taken under the powers that they have signed away without a democratic mandate.