Society

Monday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Latest Defence Fiasco: I See No Ships

There’s a decent discussion to be had on defence priorities and on the future of both the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. Furthermore, you can argue about the number of aircraft carriers this country might need. There’s a case for saying that the resources devoted to the new Queen Elizabeth Class carriers could have been more usefully employed elsewhere. But if there’s a case for scrapping the carriers there’s also a case for building two of them or, though this is not on the cards, three “super-carriers”. What makes no sense, however, is building just one aircraft carrier. And yet that’s where we seem to be. Actually, it’s

Peter Hoskin

The Tories develop their <em>de facto</em> Glass-Steagall Act

The most striking aspect about George Osborne’s speech today is how it concentrates on retail banks – the banks you and I do business with – rather than the big investment banks.  He’s expected to announce that retail banks should stop paying “excessive cash bonuses” to their senior staff, but should instead reward them with shares in the company and use the cash they would have dished out to increase the amount of credit in the economy.  This won’t apply to investment banks. The separation rather recalls the American Glass-Steaghall Act, which split commercial banks from their riskier investment counterparts.  The thinking behind it was that the investment banks could

Sunday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

A second round won’t solve all of Afghanistan’s election problems

It is being hailed as a diplomatic triumph that Hamid Karzai has agreed to a run-off in Afghanistan’s presidential election. (Who is getting the credit for Karzai relenting is, as Daniel notes, fascinating). But as Dexter Filkins points out in The New York Times, the second round of the Afghan election could be as marred by fraud as the first one. It is hardly reassuring that the chairman of the supposedly independent election commission is already saying that “Karzai is going to win.” The question is how much Karzai is prepared to rein the levels of fraud in to try and maintain Western support. It has long been suggested that

Martin Bright

My BBC Radio 4 Analysis programme on Secrecy

Can secrets ever be good for you? I used to describe myself as a “free speech fundamentalist” and believed that there were almost no circumstances in which official secrets should be withheld from the public (one exception was when disclosure would put the lives of individual members of the armed forces or intelligence services at risk).  But over recent years I have become worried that the cost whistleblowers pay for their disclosures is too high. I worked closely with two high-profile leakers, Katharine Gun from the government’s secret surveillance centre, GCHQ, and Derek Pasquill, a former Foreign Office civil servant. Both ended up being hauled in front of the courts

David Blackburn

The EU prepares for a Conservative government

The wheels seem to have come off Tony Blair’s EU presidency campaign and no doubt there is much genuflection and soul-searching in Connaught Square. The Director of the Centre for European Reform, Charles Grant, gives an intriguing explanation at Comment is Free: ‘Yet it may be the Conservatives who spike Blair’s chances of getting the job. William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, has told the other EU governments that the Conservatives would see support for a Blair presidency as a “hostile act”. A week ago, Blair was the clear favourite, with the likely support of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, plus several of the smaller countries. But on my travels

Peter Hoskin

The Tories now have a monopoly on the language of optimism

So how big a blow was the news that we’re still in recession to Gordon Brown?  Well, compare and contrast his latest podcast on the Downing Street website with David Cameron’s article in the Sunday Times.  Brown’s effort is necessarily defensive.  Gone is the “we’re leading the world” bombast of a few weeks ago, to be replaced with a crude “pledge” to get the economy growing again by 2010: “My pledge to you is to make reform of the financial sector a reality, and to see Britain’s economy return to growth by the turn of the year.” While Cameron’s effort is considerably more agressive, and concentrates on outlining a “pro-growth,

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Yes, Let’s Talk About Immigration

Of all the great mysteries of modern British politics the notion that no-one is permitted to talk about immigration must surely be one of the most remarkable. After all, as this excellent, persuasive, post at the Enemies of Reason makes clear  there are plenty of people and plenty of newspapers that never shut up about immigration. And they tend to view it as a bad, even wicked, thing. Indeed one could go further. The people from whom one rarely hears are those that, generally speaking, think that immigration is a good, not a pernicious, thing. Heck, consider the political parties: Labour talk about “getting tough” about immigration and “cracking down”

Saturday

Melissa Kite

Real Life | 24 October 2009

You couldn’t make it up If I’m ever stuck for a plot for a dark and twisted dystopian sci-fi novel I must remember to open my front door and start a conversation with a traffic warden. You are always guaranteed a richly surreal and deeply macabre experience when you engage with the bizarre regime of local authorities which charge people to park outside their own homes. The other day I went out to remonstrate with a warden over a fine that had been issued to my father for parking slightly to the left of the correct bay for visitors. He’d only been there a few minutes, and as the visitor

Taki

High Life | 24 October 2009

New York Something’s bothering me about the Polanski business. No, unlike Harvey Weinstein and Bernard-Henri Lévy — not to mention that Mitterrand paedophile — I will not defend Roman’s actions with a 13-year-old, but I will say that, with friends like his making fools of themselves defending him, it will be a miracle if he gets off with a slap on the wrist. Although this may sound pompous, I doubt if any of his defenders have known Polanski as long as I have — 40 years and counting — but let’s take it from the top. What Hugo Rifkind wrote about him and his defenders in these pages on 3

Robin Oakley

The Turf | 24 October 2009

It takes a lot to keep me away from Newmarket’s Champions’ Day meeting but the prospect of an hour on stage at Cheltenham’s Literary Festival with Ruby Walsh and Paul Nicholls talking about Paul’s autobiography Lucky Break (Orion, £20) was lure enough. The champion trainer’s careers master might have been surprised to find the ever-reluctant schoolboy there. When Paul said he wanted to go into racing he warned him, ‘You will never make a living out of horses.’ Uh-huh? Paul’s horses have won some £3.5 million in each of the past two seasons. The ‘lucky break’ occurred when a horse kicked out in a Devon lane in 1989 and painfully

The Spectator

Lost in the post

The readers’ dinner held at Spectator headquarters last week was, as might be expected, a sparkling, bibulous affair. The readers’ dinner held at Spectator headquarters last week was, as might be expected, a sparkling, bibulous affair. The only cloud was the realisation that, unfortunately, many subscribers had not received the latest issue of the magazine, thanks to the inefficiency of the Royal Mail and the disruption caused by recent industrial activity. Alas, this sorry situation seems likely to continue for some time to come, as the postal workers’ union seems hell-bent on trying the public’s patience still further. Like many other Royal Mail customers, The Spectator is looking for a

The Spectator

Will no one take on the BNP?

Nick Griffin has won an important victory just by being invited to appear on Question Time. To secure such a slot on prime-time television represents the greatest single accomplishment in the history of the fascist and neo-fascist movements in Britain. Oswald Mosley may have once filled the Albert Hall, but that granted him an audience of 5,000 and all were converts. The BBC delivers an audience of millions. For every 50 people who conclude that Griffin is a buffoon, one may decide he just might have a point. And that is all the BNP needs. Instead of complaining to the BBC, as several ministers have done, we should instead ask

The Spectator

Portrait of the Week – 24 October 2009

On the brink of a planned national postal strike, Royal Mail announced it was recruiting 30,000 temporary staff to deal with the existing backlog and the normal Christmas rush, twice the number usually taken on. The Financial Services Authority published rules to make mortgage lenders assess strictly the ability of borrowers to make repayments, and to ban ‘self-certification’, which had allowed a million borrowers to take up mortgages without providing evidence of income. Five prison managers faced charges of gross misconduct after the Chief Inspector of Prisons found that prisoners at Wandsworth and Pentonville had been switched on the eve of inspections. Mr Peter Hain, the Welsh Secretary, asked the

Carla Powell

Diary – 24 October 2009

Pope Benedict’s visit to Britain next year is a true historical landmark, as it will be the first official visit of a reigning pontiff in history. Pope Benedict’s visit to Britain next year is a true historical landmark, as it will be the first official visit of a reigning pontiff in history. John Paul II’s visit in 1982 was a private one. Gordon Brown says he invited his Holiness, which — if true — would represent a gross breach of protocol. Only the Queen can invite a head of state to Britain. Baroness Thatcher also discussed the prospect of a visit when she met the Pope in Rome earlier this

Dot Wordsworth

Mind your language | 24 October 2009

Why are Cheshire cats said to grin? The question was posed in 1850 in Notes and Queries, the Victorian periodical that operated on the same principle as Wikipedia, through readers’ contributions. Why are Cheshire cats said to grin? The question was posed in 1850 in Notes and Queries, the Victorian periodical that operated on the same principle as Wikipedia, through readers’ contributions. The question, and some answers, are included in an entertaining selection from Notes and Queries made by Justin Lovill under the title Ringing Church Bells to Ward off Thunderstorms (Bunbury Press, £12.99). I gave a copy to my husband to keep him quiet, but he keeps reading out

The Spectator

Letters | 24 October 2009

Race is still an issue Sir: I do not share Samir Shah’s flawed assumption that Britain is no longer a racist society (10 October). How many people of ethnic minorities are members of the current cabinet? How many vice-chancellors are non-whites? Would it be possible, in the current climate of religious prejudice, racial discrimination and Islamophobia, for a person of any ethnic minority group to become prime minister? Are ethnic minorities fairly represented in the house of lords and house of commons? Yes, Britain is more racially tolerant than it was ten years ago, but it still has a long way to go before it can break down social, cultural

Toby Young Toby Young

Status Anxiety | 24 October 2009

As luck would have it, the opening gala of the London Film Festival usually coincides with my birthday, and this year was no exception. My wife and I put on our best evening clothes and set off on what promised to be a great night out: a movie premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square followed by a party at the Saatchi Gallery. This year, the film was Fantastic Mr Fox, Wes Anderson’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s story. This is a firm favourite in our household, mainly because it is so gloriously ‘off message’ compared to 99 per cent of contemporary children’s literature. Instead of the usual homilies about

Mary Killen

Dear Mary | 24 October 2009

Q. The other night I met someone with whom I got on really well. Yet because I am a young journalist and she is an editor, I did not email her the next day, in the normal way, to say, ‘Let’s keep in touch’. I thought it might seem pushy and as though I was looking for work. Mary, was I right to hold back in this case, given the professional implications? Name withheld, London A. No. It is fine to email such people met socially. If they are at the top of their profession they will be pushy themselves and will welcome your initiative. They will also welcome having

Peter Jones

Ancient & modern | 24 October 2009

Parliament is supposed to be open, to be democratic and to serve the people, but MPs first of all attempted to close down any investigation of their expenses, and now continue to kick and scream against demands that they pay any money back. All this leads one to conclude that they have given up caring about their own reputation and that of parliament, so deeply stuck in the mire have they become. This is extremely dangerous. In his unpublished de Legibus (‘On Laws’), Cicero offers some especially instructive views on the matter in his reflections about senatorial corruption. He writes: ‘The senatorial order must be untainted by impropriety and serve

David Blackburn

For want of leadership and a clear aim

A Channel Four News You Gov poll suggests that an overwhelming 84 percent of the public think that the war in Afghanistan is being lost and that British troops specifically are not winning in Helmand. Just because a large majority think that British troops are losing the fight does not mean that the public are not behind the forces’ efforts, but it is hardly a ringing endorsement and British servicemen deserve support. But, this poll should send a clear message to the cross-party consensus in this country and Nato leadership that the current ill-defined strategy is failing. It is telling that Jeremy Corbyn MP, vice-chairman of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament,