Politics

‘We cannot have a situation where the banks are able to privatise their profits and nationalise their losses,’ declared Vince Cable in 2008 in the midst of the banking collapse. But steel companies?  That is a different matter. Cable has demanded that the government take on the pension liabilities of Tata’s British employers in a last gasp attempt to attract a buyer and save the plants. On the subject of nationalising pension liabilities, Cable has form – as business secretary he forced the taxpayer to take on the responsibility for paying postmen’s pensions so that he could sell off the Royal Mail – which he did, at a giveaway price.

For football fans, June 10th – the day Euro 2016 kicks off – is likely to be a more exciting prospect than June 23rd – when Britain votes on whether to stay in the EU. But could lovers of the beautiful game see English football become unstuck in the event of Brexit? Richard Scudamore, the chief executive of the Premier League has said Britain should stay in the EU; West Ham’s vice chairman Karren Brady has made a similar argument, suggesting that Brexit would have ‘devastating consequences’. But not everyone agrees: former England player Sol Campbell says that with Britain in the EU ‘mediocre overseas footballers, especially from Europe (are)

When Sir Gus O’Donnell was head of the civil service, those who worked under him would have prided themselves in the code that he was supposed to uphold: to be impartial, avoid politics and do their best to make sure the public is not misled. This morning, Sir Gus was involved in what can only be described as a systematic attempt to mislead the public about the EU and the terms in which Britain would leave. His point: that it would take more than two years to negotiate the terms of UK’s exit, and this deadline could only be prolonged with hard bargaining from hostile partners. “Obviously at the end of

You might expect that the murder of Christians would excite particular horror in countries of Christian heritage. Yet almost the opposite seems to be true. Even amid the current slew of Islamist barbarities, the killing of 72 people, 29 of them children, on Easter Day in Lahore, stands out. So does the assault in Yemen in which nuns were murdered and a priest was kidnapped and then, apparently, crucified on Good Friday. But the coverage tends to downplay such stories — there has been much less about Lahore than Brussels, though more than twice as many died — or at least their religious element. The BBC correspondent in Lahore, Shazheb

It takes an achingly long time for the British to see a lickspittle of mass murderers for what he is. For years, you jump up and down shouting ‘look at what he’s done!’ All but a handful ignore you. But he’s a character, the rest cry. He’s not like those poll-driven, focus-group–tested on-message politicians, who speak in soundbites. He is passionate about his beliefs. So he is, you reply, and that’s the problem. Since the marches against the Iraq war of 2003, I have written against George Galloway. He has supported Baathist regimes it is fair to describe as fascist: Saddam Hussein’s Sunni Arab dictatorship in Iraq after it had gassed the Kurdish

Zac Goldsmith’s mayoral campaign hit a bum note this month when his attempts to reach out to the Indian community backfired. The Conservative MP found himself accused of ‘racially profiling’ voters who have Indian sounding names with patronising leaflets. Happily he appears to have a different plan in place when it comes to winning over the Pakistani vote. Step forward Imran Khan. The Pakistani politician, and former cricketer, has endorsed Goldsmith’s mayoral bid. Khan says Goldsmith has the ‘leadership capabilities to make a great mayor’: Zac Goldsmith is running for mayor of London. Have known him for 20 yrs. He is an honourable man with strong convictions & compassion. 1/2 —