Society

Saturday

Toby Young Toby Young

Status Anxiety | 10 October 2009

Don’t be misled by their Bullingdon days: Boris and Dave are masters of re-invention Last night, More4 broadcast a 90-minute drama-doc called When Boris Met Dave that I helped to make. It documents their Eton and Oxford years and I hope they saw it — or, at least, recorded it on Sky Plus — because the impression given in the press is that it was a spiteful hatchet job designed to cause them maximum discomfort. In fact, it was nothing of the kind. On the contrary, when we handed the film in to Channel 4 I was worried they’d think it was a Party Political Broadcast on behalf of the Conservative party.

Mary Killen

Dear Mary | 10 October 2009

Q. We are in the habit of entertaining guests from overseas, including a countess, at a bush camp in one of the excellent KwaZulu Natal game reserves. Usually we go, in a group of up to eight, on game walks, which bring us up close to animals including rhinos. From time to time, when a rhino coughs or stomps or advances in our direction we have to scramble up into the branches of nearby (if we are lucky) trees. This is predictably wild and disorganised and less agile guests tend to clog up access to the branches. As a host I would like some advice on protocols please, Mary. Would

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Brown has two minor retinal tears

That Downing Street felt obliged to disclose that Gordon Brown has visited Moorfields eye hospital and has two minor tears in his right retina is revealing of the current demands for transparency from politicians. I suspect we are moving towards a situation in which British Prime Ministers, like US Presidents, will open up their medical records to inspection and make public the details of their medicals while on the job. But my first reaction on hearing the news about Brown was to be reminded of how impressive it is that he has reached the very top of politics despite such problems with his eyes. Whatever one thinks of Brown’s performance

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Brown and the voters

Gordon Brown’s interview with the Telegraph contains this revealing exchange: Is he still missing an emotional link to voters? “Look I’ve talked about the treatment the health service gave me and my family (he means the operations to save his sight and the care of his daughter, Jennifer, who died in infancy). I’ve talked about how I was brought up, in a pretty ordinary town. “People know what happened to me. I don’t try to make any secret of it, but I’m trying to get on with the job.” The answer is almost an admission that he doesn’t have that emotional link despite having talked about his life in personal

David Blackburn

The Italian Right prepares for life without Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi has said that he’s “the most persecuted man in the history of the world and the history of men”, despite having “spent millions on judges”, before checking himself and saying “lawyers”. Now I can think of several other candidates for this unfortunate accolade, but there’s no doubt that the loss of his immunity has left Berlusconi on the rack and facing imminent legal proceedings. Even if Berlusconi starts spending millions on judges it’s unlikely to save his political career. If Patrizia D’Addario’s more sordid disclosures are credible then Berlusconi is used to a little persecution, but the Right in Italy is not used to life without Berlusconi. Berlusconi’s success rested

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

When will the Nobel Peace Prize be awarded to Rod ‘Seacole’ Liddle?

Another year of bitter disappointment – I have once again failed to win the Nobel Prize for Peace. My pitch – that I deserve to win it because I am not George W Bush – had a lot going for it, I thought. But instead the honour went to Barack Obama, whose pitch was identical. Neither of us – Barack or me – have done anything whatsoever to enhance world peace, aside from not being George. I assume they gave it to Barack instead of me because he is black: fair enough, I can see the point of that. Still, I think I came closer than usual in the running

Rory Sutherland Rory Sutherland

The Wiki Man | 10 October 2009

Every time I am forced to listen to whingefests such as You and Yours, I wonder if it’s time to invent the mirror image of a consumer affairs programme — where Britain’s largest businesses get to expose the behaviour of their worst customers. Every time I am forced to listen to whingefests such as You and Yours, I wonder if it’s time to invent the mirror image of a consumer affairs programme — where Britain’s largest businesses get to expose the behaviour of their worst customers. ‘And, in a packed programme this week, Tesco launches a shocking investigation into the behaviour of Mr M. Jones of Rotherham after he ignores

Lucy Vickery

Competition | 10 October 2009

Lucy Vickery presents the latest competition In Competition No. 2616 you were invited to continue Edward Lear’s self-portrait in verse — ‘How pleasant to know Mr Lear’ — or T.S. Eliot’s response — ‘How unpleasant to meet Mr Eliot’ — for a further 15 lines, substituting the name of the poet of your choice, or sticking to the originals if you preferred. Lear’s poem, and Eliot’s response, proved to be a fruitful starting point, prompting an avalanche of entries in which Larkin, Eliot and Pound made regular appearances and were mostly unpleasant to meet. I stumbled across Lear’s masterclass in the art of self-deprecation on the Edward Lear Home Page

Matthew Parris Matthew Parris

Another Voice | 10 October 2009

I will only ‘Think Bike’ if the bikers can be persuaded to ‘Think Motorist’ ‘29 BIKERS KILLED OR INJURED IN THE LAST 5 YEARS’, says the big yellow roadside sign as I drive along the A515 between Ashbourne and Buxton, on my way to this week’s Tory conference in Manchester. The sign is repeated many times along the old Roman road. It is rather shocking. ‘THINK BIKE’, says another sign, presumably directed at motorists. ‘50’ says the speed limit sign, endlessly repeated, both painted onto the road and displayed on steel poles by the side of it. ‘IT’S 50 FOR A REASON’, say yet another series of signs. And then

Venetia Thompson

The market is flooded with single City boys

Venetia Thompson says that if you don’t mind slumming it for a bit, you can snap up an out-of-work banker or trader whose stock is sure to rise soon I’m back behind enemy lines in the Square Mile, thankfully nowhere near the trading floor I used to inhabit, but in a place nearly as terrifying: Coq d’Argent, the City restaurant synonymous with suicide attempts. Perfect backdrop then for a first date who, within five minutes, utters the immortal words: ‘You know, there is an upside to unemployment. Since being made redundant, I have finally been able to get around to focusing on my love life. This is my first date

Interconnect

The Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year Awards 2009

All is not lost. While the standing of parliament as a whole is at a low ebb, our readers have jumped at the chance to highlight those politicians who — whisper it — are a credit both to their exulted positions and to the country. All is not lost. While the standing of parliament as a whole is at a low ebb, our readers have jumped at the chance to highlight those politicians who — whisper it — are a credit both to their exulted positions and to the country. Yes, your nominations for The Spectator/Threadneedle Readers’ Representative Award have been pouring in for the past couple of weeks, and

The Spectator

Portait of the Week

Among austerity measures outlined by Mr George Osborne, the shadow chancellor of the exchequer, at the Conservative party conference in Manchester was that the pensionable age for men should rise to 66 no earlier than 2016, instead of by 2026. He also promised a one-year pay freeze for public-sector workers, apart from the million who earn less than £18,000. On the eve of his speech, Mr Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, came up with the wheeze of suddenly announcing that pay for people in the public sector such as GPs and judges would be frozen. The Conservatives also showed their seriousness in responding to the public deficit by banning overt consumption

Allan Massie

The Father of Scottish Tourism

‘How do we make Scott more popular?’ The question ran round the table and none of us had an answer. ‘How do we make Scott more popular?’ The question ran round the table and none of us had an answer. It was a meeting of the Abbotsford Trust. I am not myself a trustee, but was there as a member of an advisory committee. The Trust itself was set up after the death of Dame Jean Maxwell-Scott, Sir Walter’s great-great-great-granddaughter who, with her late sister, Patricia, had owned Abbotsford for many years and had made it the happiest and most welcoming of houses. Scott bought it in 1812. It was

Deborah Ross

Easy romp

Zombieland 15, Nationwide Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee 15, Key Cities I can’t say I care much for zombies — that is, film zombies; I’ve never met a real one — but the horror-comedy Zombieland is quite fun and does feature such a delicious cameo from Bill Murray it almost makes up for all the overlong scenes in which the zombies groan and stagger and spew black bile and haemorrhage blood and generally do what zombies do. I don’t think I even get zombies. OK, they’re the living dead, but what do they have against the living living? What have the living living ever done to them? Why do they always

Friday

The Spectator

This week’s issue of the Spectator<br />

The latest issue of the Spectator is released today. If you are a subscriber you can view it here. If you have not subscribed, but would like to view this week’s content, you can subscribe online now. Three articles from the latest issue are available for free online to all website users: James Forsyth reveals the Tory plans that George Osborne didn’t mention in his speech. Samir Shah argues that racism that is no longer an issue in the UK And Rod Liddle says that the electorate prefers its toffs to act with chutzpah Additionally, all of last week’s issue has now been uploaded to the website. Here is a

Thursday

David Blackburn

The people will make it happen

Cameron’s speech might have lacked flair, but it was a brilliant rhetorical exercise. He cast himself into the distant future and reflected on his premiership. He saw a society that had paid its way back from the brink of collapse by rationing excess and embracing austerity. He saw a society that was flourishing, where the poorest attended the best schools, where people were empowered to work hard and were rewarded for doing so. Returning to the sombre present he said: “It will be a steep climb. But the view from the summit will be worth it.” But this rhetorical tour de force was inspired by a substantial philosophical argument. Cameron’s

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Tories Pledge Painless Defence Cuts?

So, the headlines from Liam Fox’s speech today concentrate on his pledge to reduce MoD costs by 25% without, of course, there being any impact on “front-line troops”. Our old chum Mr Efficiency Savings is being asked to report for yet another tour of duty. Doubtless there are indeed parts of the defence civil service that can be pruned and reformed. But, as this post from Think Defence suggests, this isn’t going to be easy. Indeed, there are probably areas of the MoD civilian service that need an increase in staff, not a cut. But, again, I still don’t understand Tory priorities. Health spending and, just as weirdly, international development

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Organ Markets: Still Needed

This is why we need an organ market: The number of people agreeing to donate their organs after death is growing, but at a slower rate than the number of patients who need them, a report warns. The first year of a concerted effort to boost UK donation rates did see the number of transplants rise as more co-ordinated services were implemented. But the Organ Donation Taskforce notes the waiting list continues to grow… One of the key factors behind this increase is the increasing incidence of kidney failure in the UK – particularly in the over-50s and black and ethnic minority communities. Of those on the list 1,000 will

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Story of the Day

I think this is probably the best intro you’re likely to read all day week: A gay man tried to poison his lesbian neighbours by putting slug pellets into their curry after he was accused of kidnapping their three-legged cat. Fair play to the Daily Mail. This is tabloid, er, catnip. As always, the story itself is a little sadder than the lede, but that’s the kind of sentence you don’t get to write very often. Hats off to Jaya Narain, the hack responsible for this gem. [Hat-tip: Mark Steyn who alerts you to another great story,]

Wednesday

Daniel Korski

Defensive moves

So, General Dannatt is to be a Tory Peer. This worries me greatly. On balance, General Dannatt did a good job as Army chief. Not a great job, but a good one. His interventions boosted the morale of frontline troops and his concern for the care of soldiers, especially the wounded, was important. Conversely, many defense analysts thought he was too cautious on military reform, blocking the Army’s transformation into an effective counter-insurgency force and opposing stop gap procurement in case it compromised future acquisition projects. But the real concerns over General Dannatt’s ennoblement are different. General Dannatt should have given his sucecssor a clear run at the job. He should