The Spectator

Saturday

The Spectator

Cameron fails the test

From our UK edition

The most perceptive indictment of the Blair era was delivered, in an admirably candid speech last September, by Alan Milburn (interviewed by Fraser Nelson on page 14). Describing his own rise from a council estate to the ranks of the Cabinet, Mr Milburn asked, ‘Do we think that for a child growing up today in one of Britain’s poorest estates such mobility is possible or likely? Sadly, I think not.’ That observation should inspire the core mission statement of the next Conservative government. Asked about his gilded schooling at Eton and youthful indiscretions, David Cameron has stuck to the mantra that a person’s origins should be irrelevant: ‘What matters most of all is what you’re going to do.

Friday

The Spectator

Those with a past need not apply

From our UK edition

"George Bush could never get elected President if he went to Yale now," according to Google CEO Eric Schmidt. His argument is that he’d be caught on mobile phone cameras every time he got out of control; making a political career impossible. Schmidt might be right about Bush, he was after all the scion of a famous political—and Yale—dynasty. But I’m not sure that this applies to that many other people. For instance, are people now snapping the Bullingdon when they go out? I actually don’t think Bush would have been elected president without his hell raising past as it alleviated any concerns that Americans might had about the regal nature of the presidential succession.

The Spectator

Things got worse

From our UK edition

A fact I dropped into my political column has been picked up by Iain Dale and (rightly) questioned. Could unemployment for under-25s really be worse than under the Tories? I accept, it sounds made up. Didn’t Brown piously rail against this youth unemployment and call them “Major’s children”? Hasn’t he delivered millions of new jobs in this economic boom? It’s worth responding to in full, because as this cuts to the heart of the myth of Brown’s economic “miracle”. There’s new jobs created all right – as our immigration figures testify. But for young Britons unemployment is actually worse now (14.5%) than the day Blair stepped into office (14.3%).

The Spectator

Where left meets right

From our UK edition

Throughout the French presidential campaign Nicolas Sarkozy was lambasted by his critics as an American neo-con with a French passport. This description was excessive, but there’s little doubt that Sarkozy is more pro-American than the average French politician and his acceptance speech on election night sounded some distinctly neo-con notes about the universality of human freedom. So at first glance it is surprising that he has handed over the foreign ministry to a Socialist. But on closer inspection, it is not. Bernard Kouchner, the founder of MSF, is one of the very few French politicians who was publicly prepared to say that they saw merit in overthrowing Saddam because of the brutal nature of his dictatorship.

The Spectator

Bad timing

From our UK edition

Good to see Paul Wolfowitz taking my advice. In a way the whole story's about bad timing. For him, in the sense that a relatively insignificant and disputable allegation of misconduct caught him out at a time when an unstoppable tide was running against the ideological clique of which he's a leading light. And bad timing for us, in the sense that if he'd gone a year ago, a despairing Gordon Brown might have applied for the World Bank presidency and been hailed as the perfect man for the job. How much better it would have suited him than the one he's just got.

The Spectator

The end of an era

From our UK edition

The last Bush-Blair press conference marks the end of an era. However, close the relationship between Bush and Brown turns out to be—and I expect it will be closer than people expect—there won’t be the same level of bonhomie that there has been between these two. Nor will Gordon Brown speak American as fluently as Blair does. But Brown starts the relationship with a lot of capital in the bank. Crucially, the Bush administration has grasped that Brown will need to something to show for being close to Bush—so expect something meaningful on education in Africa. There is also a recognition that pro-Americanism is no longer the default in British politics.

Thursday

The Spectator

A convenient quote

From our UK edition

It is the worst kept secret in Washington—and that is saying something—that Al Gore and Hillary Clinton don’t get on. Many DC insiders have long claimed that Gore would get in to the Democratic race if he thought that was the only to stop her. So these comments he made to the New York Times about running for president are bound to fuel speculation that he’s planning to jump in later this year:. “I’m not issuing a Shermanesque statement because that’s not where I am. I’m not ruling it out for all time. Although I cannot presently foresee any circumstances, such circumstances could emerge.” “And such circumstances could emerge in 2008?” “It’s extremely unlikely, but not impossible.

The Spectator

Museum piece

From our UK edition

What are museums for? I wish I’d never asked the question but I did once unfortunately in a Douglas-Home-Memorial-Prize-winning essay which caused a bit of a stink in the increasingly PC museums and galleries sector, and which I’m now going to have to justify in a debate starting at 6pm tonight at Merseyside Maritime Museum in Liverpool. I've been invited, I fear, to be the evil elitist posho in the suit who everybody hates.

The Spectator

Cricket lovely cricket

From our UK edition

It is hard to utter the phrase “glorious summer of sport” with a straight face today thanks to the grim drizzle that is our lot but the sporting summer is now officially under way with England taking on the West Indies at Lords. Spare a thought for the Windies, though. Not only have they fallen from being the undisputed masters of the game to one of the worst teams in the world but they also had to start this Test Match without having bowled a single competitive ball; testimony to the absurdity of the current international cricketing treadmill.

The Spectator

Scotland’s new leader

From our UK edition

So Alex Salmond has become Scotland's first minister, with no  majority. If he can't legislate, his administration may be the best Holyrood has had yet. Its hard to think of one Scottish Parliament bill which has been any use since 1999. And easy to think of appalling misgovernment. Jack McConnell's old slogan was 'do less better'. He ended up doing nothing, appallingly. Yet always with a flurry of junk legislation in the background. Scotland needs competent government more than new laws. If Salmond provides that, he'll be doing well.

Wednesday

The Spectator

The man who crowned Gordon

From our UK edition

In politics, as in life, destiny is a capricious business. Andrew Mackinlay, the Labour MP for Thurrock, must have assumed that it was his bleak fate to be remembered as the politician who hectored the wan Dr David Kelly and called him "chaff" at a Commons select committee meeting in 2003. This evening, however, history has revealed a quite different role for Mr Mackinlay who became the 308th MP to back Gordon Brown, prompting John McDonnell, the last remaining alternative candidate, to throw the towel in. It is certain that Mr Brown will now be Labour leader and Prime Minister - the first PM since Eden in 1955 to have reached Number Ten unchallenged and the first leader of his party since Lansbury in 1932 to have got the job without a contest.

The Spectator

Why Willetts is right

From our UK edition

Is it just me, or is David Willetts largely right in the great Tory grammar school row? Ah yes, it would appear to be just me who thinks so. That is if the Conservative blogosphere is anything to go by. I have just bumped into Mr Willetts, who appears remarkably calm for a man responsible for The Greatest Cameron Sell-out (so far). And so he should be. This really might be Cameron’s Clause 4 moment. That was Labour’s out-moded expression of its gut instincts which the party accepted had not been implemented when it was last in power and would not be when it next got into government. In that case, why cling to dogma when the world has moved on? The greatest domestic issue this country faces is the backwards slide of social mobility.

The Spectator

Lord of the ratings

From our UK edition

Now, I am as much a fan of reality television as the next man, but there are limits. It’s one thing to take inspiration from Golding’s Lord of the Flies – as all reality shows do – and quite another to try to recreate that masterpiece, as Variety reveals CBS now proposes to do. The idea is apparently to take forty children aged 8 to 15 off to ghost town (rather than an island) and let them start from scratch. Now you have to be a bit weird to want to watch children returning to the Hobbesian state of nature, but my experience as a parent suggests that most of them will have the time of their lives, and the rest will be able to quit when they like. But literary sacrilege is another matter.

The Spectator

The Grammar School row

From our UK edition

We’ve just posted our editorial which is a strong attack on the Tories for their anti-grammar school stance. Scroll down for further comment on the subject from Matthew d’Ancona and James Forsyth. Update: Iain Martin argues that this might be Cameron's Clause 4 moment below and David Willetts defends himself on ConservativeHome.

The Spectator

No smoke without ire

From our UK edition

In yesterday's Guardian, there was a literally smokin' hot piece lpiece by David Hockney (because our greatest living artist was pictured wreathed happily in cigarette smoke to accompany the piece) inveighing against the smoking ban. I read and enjoyed the article, and thought Hockney made a reasonable point, that smoking does not necessarily lead to certain death, can be very enjoyable, and more to the point in his case, is important for his mental health. Now, in the piece, Davod Hockney (whose book of portraits I had been looking at only the day before, fancy!) said he lived in California in such style and amplitude that the smoking ban on public places didn't really effect him one way or the other. Well, blow me down.

The Spectator

A flaw in project Cameron

From our UK edition

Broadly speaking, I’m impressed by the Cameroon project: Dave is right to face down his critics and stick with his strategy to “decontaminate the brand”. Yes, we in the Westminster village are already chewing our arms off in boredom, but it is at precisely such moments that you know a message might – just might – be getting through to people who do not spend all their time talking about politics. It is only two years since the Tories were hammered in a third successive general election. The local elections showed that Cameron is making impressive progress, but he and his colleagues are well-advised to persist with their reassurance, reassurance, reassurance strategy.

The Spectator

Have you earned pudding?

From our UK edition

For those counting calories, there’s a website just for you: www.walkit.com not only gives you written directions plus map on how to walk from A to B (central London only) but also tells you how many calories you have burned up in the process. So when you next walk to a restaurant you will be able to work out whether or not you have lost enough calories en route to eat that pudding.

The Spectator

A brainless policy

From our UK edition

There is something phenomenally depressing about the relish with which the Tories are burying grammar schools. Here are the most effective implements of social mobility this country has ever had—by 1969 they had pushed Oxford’s intake from the state sector up to 62 percent, far higher than today’s 55 percent which is achieved in party by positive discrimination—and the Tories want to run a million miles from them on the grounds of political expediency. David Willetts sounds far from convincing when he says, “We must break free from the belief that academic selection is any longer the way to transform the life chances of bright poor kids.” The gap in quality between grammars and the rest of the state sector is illustrated by the fact that 98.

Tuesday

The Spectator

Melissa Kite bites back

From our UK edition

Tory blogging is close to death, I can announce. It's been in intensive care for some time thanks to the meanderings of Iain Dale and the endless pronouncements of ConservativeHome but now the Cornerstone has launched a blog and, mind crushingly dull as it is, it can only be a matter of time before these sites start eating each other. Conservative blogs are already almost exclusively the preserve of right wing men of a certain age. www.Cornerstonegroup.wordpress.com is just overkill. To explain for those who actually have a life, Cornerstone is a group of Christian right wing MPs who follow Iain Duncan Smith - yes, that's right, some people still think this is a good idea. They believe in - altogether now - "traditional family values".