Politics

Reihan Salam is a fan of Cameron’s plan for shifting power to citizens. The trouble is — as the row over Obama’s healthcare reform shows — technocrats can often be right As neoconservatives pressed for the democratic transformation of the Middle East, curmudgeons on the right and left often wondered if the peoples of the region were in fact ready for democracy. Robust democracy is rooted in a flourishing civil society and a large and literate middle class that is capable of holding elected officials to account. Democracies also require mature and responsible leadership that is committed to the long-term survival of constitutional government. It was and is by no

…Here are some of the posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the past week: James Forsyth thinks we need a larger army, and believes that a televised electoral debate is a potential game-changer for Brown.   Peter Hoskin sees another bubble about to burst, and highlights one of Cameron’s weaknesses. David Blackburn says that the public do not trust the government on defence, and reflects on Debbie Purdy’s victory. Daniel Korski writes that army enlargement should not come at the expense of the Peace Corps in Afghanistan. Matthew Frampton and John Bew believe that we should only to talk to Taliban from a position of strength. Martin Bright wants to know what

James is quite correct. Gordon Brown should certainly leap at the chance to have a live televised debate against David Cameron next year. I assume that the Tories think that Brown will, as he has so often before, see this as too great a risk and, consequently, “bottle it”. Perhaps so. But that’s also why the Prime Minister should welcome the opportunity to make a final stand in an election campaign that he otherwise seems destined to lose. As Brother Forsyth argues, the expectations for Brown are now so low that it’s hard to see how he could actually fail to “win” the debate  – at least in the eyes

The news that our former editor, Boris Johnson, is to appear in EastEnders alongside Barbara Windsor may surprise some, but strikes us as entirely sensible. Modern politics, after all, is a soap opera or it is nothing; and although politicians complain bitterly about ‘tittle tattle’ and ‘personality stories’, it is they themselves who do most of the gossiping, feuding and falling in and out of love with one another. The first ten years of the New Labour government were really an extended soap about Blair Square in which Tony, Peter, Alastair, Anji, Robin and Gordon all had their ups and downs, fallings out, feuds and rivalries. Like Dirty Den, Peter

Here are some of the posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the past week: Matthew d’Ancona characterises the dark ties of loyalty between Gordon Brown and Damian McBride. James Forsyth says that the end is nigh for Labour after the Norwich North by-election, and discovers what the left thinks of the right. Peter Hoskin remembers one of Thatcher’s greatest speeches, and examines the Tories’ proposed bank regulations.  David Blackburn argues that Andy Coulson is safe unless new evidence emerges. Martin Bright wants the Enterprise Allowance Scheme revived. Clive Davis witnesses a strange night at the opera. And Melanie Phillips says that Britain is increasingly anti-Israeli. 

Some will see it as final proof that I have made the journey from left to right, but I have to say I don’t see it that way. In tomorrow’s Telegraph I have written a column calling for the revival of the Thatcher-era Enterprise Allowance Scheme. This initiative gave a £40 per week payment to people who wanted to get off the dole and set themselves up in business. Alumni include Alan McGee, who set up Creation Records on the EAS, Julian Dunkerton of the Superdry fashion label and visual artists Jane and Louise Wilson. New Deal of the Mind was commissioned by the Arts Council to examine the government’s response to the recesssion. Our

Does Cameron think the Beeb impedes fair competition? Will he cut the DG’s salary? The closer Cameron comes to power, the more the Corporation panics, says Anne McElvoy What does David Cameron really think of the BBC? A spectre (or several, perhaps) haunts the taupe corridors of White City, Television Centre and Broadcasting house as a likely Tory victory grows closer. Memories abound of Mrs Thatcher’s Peacock Report, which was intended to begin the dismantling of the licence fee, of Norman Tebbit’s 1986 broadside, unleashed by coverage of the Libyan embassy siege, but really a Kulturkampf against a perceived left-liberal bias. The BBC may not have had an untroubled relationship

…here are some posts made over the weekend at Spectator.co.uk: Fraser Nelson remembers exemplary soldier Lt. Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, and argues that James Purnell is building a platform to run for the Labour leadership. James Forsyth doubts Russia will help to squeeze Iran, and highlights a strategic dilemma for the Tories. Peter Hoskin notes that Lord Sainsbury seeks a new mode of political operation, and laments a procurement strategy that puts troops in danger. Martin Bright discusses the campaign to change the libel laws. Clive Davis says that Norman Tebbit has great humanity. And Alex Massie gives a potted history of cricket’s most heroic victories.

The moral of the story is: don’t mess with the British state. I woke up this morning to a message from my old Observer colleague Antony Barnett, who now works for Channel 4’s Dispatches, urging me to look at page 31 of the Daily Mail. There in all her glory was a transvestite called Delores Kane, who bore a distinct resemblance to the former MI5 officer David Shayler. It’s not so long ago that David announced he was the messiah and now he has decided Jesus was a transvestite and that he, Shayler, must take the form of Delores. I was one of many journalists who worked with David when he left the