Argentina 19 Scotland 13
Bugger. Time to go and talk the game over with Mr John Walker and Mr Macallan. Mr Bruichladdich may also be asked his opinion. I’d consult Mr Highland Park but he’s exhausted.
Sunday
Gordon’s Recovery Plan
Now the Brown fight back begins. I hear tomorrow he will announce plans to accept 500 Iraqis as asylum seekers, thus helping the translators. Generous? Not if you consider that 1,550 immigrants settle in Britain each day, and that 520 Iraqis work for the Ministry of Defence. And what about Bosnian and Afghan staff? We’ll
Polls show that the Tories might have won an autumn election
The details of the YouGov / Sunday Times poll show just how dangerous a November election would have been for Labour. The Tories are ahead 41 to 38, but amongst those certain to vote their lead rises to 45-36: very close to the ten point advantage they need for a working majority. The Tories also
Gordon wasn’t ready for the fight
The Marr-Brown interview made me realise Brown wasn’t ready for this election either. His claim that the Tory inheritance tax proposal would have “led to economic disarray” is laughable and would have perished on the doorsteps. Yet, he will–“of course”–look at inheritance tax again (expect him to raise the threshold, copying the Tory policy). He
A ringside seat
Just left the Andrew Marr Show, where I was on the sofa discussing the day’s big story before the full broadcast of Andrew’s pre-recorded interview with Gordon, in which the PM called off the snap election. As I argue in today’s Sunday Telegraph, it is only a fortnight since Brown was on the very same
Brown attempts damage control
Gordon Brown’s performance on Sunday AM this morning did little to repair the damage that has been done to his reputation. Brown kept stressing that he had a “duty to consider” an early election but never explained why it took him so long to rule it out. He talked endlessly about how he wanted to
Saturday
Just say no | 6 October 2007
In New York, I head for Citarella on Broadway only to be confronted by a noisy demo at the entrance. (Among New York foodies, Citarella is to Whole Foods what in London Waitrose is to Tesco.) People in straw sandals and peasant dresses are handing out leaflets proclaiming ‘Say no to foie gras!’ Citarella is
Smoking zone
As of this week my boy (17) is no longer legally entitled to buy cigarettes. His half-brother (16) the same. It must be galling for a teenager finally to reach an age when he or she becomes legally entitled to join the adults in one of their glamorous vices, to enjoy that entitlement to the
Letters to the Editor | 6 October 2007
Arnie on the big screen Sir: There’s no truth in Fraser Nelson’s suggestion that Governor Schwarzenegger changed his schedule in response to polls or any other political considerations (‘This will be Cameron’s finest hour’, 29 September). The Governor was delighted by the opportunity to speak to the Conservative conference, and only regrets that other responsibilities
The Spectator’s Notes | 6 October 2007
Blackpool Such is the strange rhythm of politics that this turns out to be the most successful Conservative conference for many years. George Osborne, who only a week ago people kept telling me was a disaster, put in a commanding performance. His promise to lift the threshold of inheritance tax to £1 million did not
Diary – 6 October 2007
Thank the Lord this will be the last time conference-goers have to endure the hellhole that calls itself Blackpool. The last time I stayed in a Blackpool hotel at a party conference was in the mid-1990s. I woke up at 2 a.m. on the first night covered in sweat. I hadn’t been indulging in any,
Ten years on, I’m still prone to a townie’s faux pas when I go deerstalking
As a lover of good drama, my favourite week of the year falls in the late summer when I make my annual pilgrimage to Scotland. The fabulous scenery, the weird and wacky costumes, the inventive use of language — it all adds up to a very memorable few days. No, I’m not talking about the
Mind your language | 6 October 2007
I was having lunch with friends last week in a fairly swanky gastropub, and the menu promised a ballontine of quail. The waiter told me that ballontine meant that the quail had been deboned, then stuffed. It was quite nice to eat, but I have only just discovered what the menu intended to say, which
Your problems solved | 6 October 2007
Q. An elderly relative has developed the disgusting habit of licking her knife after using it for, say, jam, and then using it again to help herself to butter. It’s horrid having to take butter from a dish into which some one else’s saliva-strewn knife has been plunged. Any ideas? B.M, North Berwick A. Re-educate
When Morons Attack
It’s the baseball play-offs. Hurrah. Let’s Go Yankees! But that also means it’s time for America’s sportswriters to be even dumber than is customarily the case. For the sake of your sanity as well as for proper hilarity, trot on over to the lads at Fire Joe Morgan. Recent highlights include: how your mother probably
Gordon Brown’s Just So Stories
The Tories don’t really want a November election, but after a successful conference – producing a bounce that has them level with Labour in one poll and three points behind in another – they’re quite happy to see Gordon Brown hoist on his own petard. Brown’s dance of the seven veils on the question of
The Gentleman’s Gentleman Shrugged
Your weekend essay question comes from Blood and Treasure: It always struck me that the antonym of Ayn Rand is PG Wodehouse. In Wodehouse world, it’s the servants who have all the brains, do all the work and generally carry everybody else. If Jeeves shrugged, society would collapse. Who is John Galt? Bertie Wooster, that’s
Picture of the Day | 6 October 2007
I trust that Steve Clemons, pride and joy of the New America Foundation, won’t object if I thieve this adorable picture of his dogs, Oakley (left) and Annie. I grew up with spaniels and have no idea about Weimeraners at all. Are they loopy and excessively highly-strung? Or are they as beautifully melancholy as they
OK, let’s talk Turkey…
Andrew Sullivan says Turkey may be the United States’ “most important ally” (really?) and condemns “myopic” Europe for not immediately welcoming a non-European country into the EU. Easy for him to say of course. So does Andrew support the resolution coming before Congress that would (finally) recognise the Armenian genocide? Or does he line up
Cameron hits Brown hard
David Cameron takes a decidedly more aggressive tone in a piece he has written for tomorrow’s Sunday Times than he did on TV earlier. He writes, “what will now be remembered is farcical weeks of secret briefings, hurried policy announcements and, most shamefully of all, the exploitation of the British troops in Iraq for party