Politics

Now that I think about it, Simon Heffer’s broadside against Caledonia-dire-and-rotten, missed one obvious target. Sure, Alastair Darling is a much-ridiculed, much-villified Chancellor of the Exchequer but so too was the last-but-one Scottish Chancellor. Remember Norman Lamont? He may have represented an English constituency but that only emphasised how far he’d travelled from his Shetland roots. Just as Darling is presiding – if that’s the applicable term – over the current financial apocalypse, so “Peerie Norrie” was the bluffer in charge during the last economic debacle: Black Wednesday. I think it unfair, however, to blame Scotland writ large for this sorry duo. Not when there’s a smaller, handier target. Both

If it’s easy to pick on politicians, it’s easier still to pick on lobbyists. This is true on either side of the Atlantic. As Peter says, today’s allegations in the Sunday Times that Labour peers are trading cash for legislative amendments are unlikely to increase the esteem in which parliament is held. While members of the House of Lords are first in the firing line, I suspect we’ll also probably hear calls for a further clampdown on lobbying. All, of course, in the name of removing temptation from what Guido Fawkes calls our “parliament of whores”. In the United States, Barack Obama spent most of last year railing against the

Here are some of the posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the past week: Matthew d’Ancona writes about a worthy opponent for Obama. Fraser Nelson responds to LabourList over national debt, and wonders whether Britian is going to go the way of the Royal Bank of Scotland. James Forsyth thinks the latest Tory reshuffle is a setback for Tory radicalism, and spots Barack Obama’s memo to Miliband. Peter Hoskin says that now’s the time for “new politics”, and outlines the Pickles approach. Lisa Hilton highlights an affront to faith and thought. Alex Massie wonders about Cameron the radical. Melanie Phillips observes a defining moment. Clive Davis marks the moment of Obama’s

James Forsyth says that both Brown and Cameron are mesmerised by the new President, who will be the lodestar of political life in this country. The contest to lay claim to his policies and style has begun — the risk being that our leaders are found sorely wanting by comparison David Cameron and Gordon Brown would not be human if they had not felt a little jealous on Tuesday night. They will never give a speech like Barack Obama or draw a crowd as big as his. To rub salt in the wound, Obama had just achieved — without knowing it — what they have spent their adult lives trying

I had thought that the Scottish Tories suggestion that they would invite Barack Obama to come to Scotland to collect his “Obama tartan” represented the most shameless attempt to hop aboard the Change We Can Believe In Express. But not so! Segolene Royal claims the prize: “Yes, I inspired Barack Obama and his team copied us” He sent a team to Paris to study her “Desire for the Future” site. “He took the idea of ‘win-win’ and the ‘citizen expert’ from us.” [Ms Royal said.] Oddly, this inspirational example seems to have been overlooked by most, nay all, other observers and chroniclers.   [Hat-tip: Ben Smith. Translation from the French