Politics

Now we know. Until now, we Americans have been wondering whether we were witnessing from the new boy on the foreign policy stage a cock-up or a considered change in Britain’s policy towards the United States. When Gordon Brown exclaimed that he would never have appointed the man who wears his hatred of the American president and the neoconservatives as ‘a badge of honour’ had he known how offensive Malloch Brown would be to George Bush and the Americans, there was an inclination to believe him, even though it taxed credulity to think the Prime Minister had been so badly briefed. When the Prime Minister ‘went out of his way

Labour talks about grammar schools as if they are something out of the dark ages. They’re also currently trying to make it easier for them to be abolished by ballot. Yet, all this disguises the fact that the number of grammars schools pupils in England has been rising steadily under Labour. In 1997 there were 127,780 children enrolled in grammar schools, by 2007 that number had risen to 156,800 (see Table 16). Now, with this government we can’t know if this is another failure of an intended policy or proof that Labour just cynically bash grammars for partisan advantage. One other thing worth noting, the next time Balls starts talking about

A new poll has devastating numbers in it for the Prime Minister and the Chancellor. Public confidence in their ability to handle economic problems has collapsed faster than Northern Rock stock and is down 33% since September. Only 28% of the public now have faith in their handling of the issue, The Times finds. Considering emails are now coming out showing that senior managers did indeed sign off on the way that the now missing data was transferred from HMRC to the National Audit Office things can only get worse for Brown and Darling, at least in the short term. The news that the NAO had expressed concern over the mode

So where is the “junior official” who sent all the 25m record on two computer discs? What news of the British civil service’s answer to Nick Leeson? Waiting for his Tory knighthood? In the Bahamas, collecting the £100m from the Hugo Drax of identity fraud? Or in a dungeon underneath No10 waiting for personal treatment from Mr Brown? He’s being kept safe from wicked media in a hotel, apparently, hospitality of the Public and Commercial Services trade union (who may, who knows, flog him to the highest bidder this Sunday).   All this arouses suspicion from some quarters here in Westminster. The PCS is a little too active, it is

As Alistair Darling scurries off to the House to make a statement on the latest crisis to rock the Treasury, Martin Vander Weyer has some thoughts on the latest developments in the Northern Rock saga. As Martin argues, from a position where no was really blaming the government they have managed to land themselves right in the middle of the blame game. Back before Brown took over, it used to be the joke in Whitehall that the worst job in government would be being Gordon Brown’s Chancellor. How true that has turned out to be.

When Gordon Brown was riding high in the polls, the Brownites were a ubiquitous present. Now, they have gone to ground. Last night’s, Blair documentary was a reminder of just how factional the Brownites are by nature and it seems those old instincts are coming out again. Ben Brogan reports on his indispensable blog that someone called him on Sunday afternoon to sound off about David Miliband: “There’s a feeling around that he trying to rerun his leadership campaign and, fairly disgracefully, destabilise Gordon Brown. His friends believe he’ll be in a stronger position if he distances himself from Mr Brown when he’s in touble. He should remember that he