Society

Monday

Peter Hoskin

Recommended viewing

A reminder tonight that – for all its sins – the BBC still produces some top drawer television. I have in mind the episode of Panorama which screened at 2030, on the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan. For the most part balanced, informative and beautifully shot, it set out what our armed forces have accomplished so far, and the challenges they will face in the future. There were powerful ‘talking head’ contributions from Hamid Karzai and Brigadier Mark Carleton Smith. Whilst disturbing footage of the Taleban making – and detonating – roadside bombs was a stark reminder of the enemy that our troops, and the West, face. If there was a

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Washington readies itself for an Obama presidency

The atmosphere in Washington today is very different from it was four years ago. Then, everyone was on tenterhooks. Today, I haven’t spoken to a single person who thinks the result is in doubt (and that includes several McCain supporters). The conversation has moved on to Obama’s appointments, the future of the GOP and whether Obama is winning what amounts to a two-term mandate. One thing worth thinking about is how Obama will handle a Democratic Congress with comfortable Democratic majorities in both chambers. For instance, the rationale for Obama’s health care plan—which is not universal in the way that the one Hillary presented was—was that it stood a better

Peter Hoskin

Beware a confused message

The Tories have followed their dawn raid against the BBC with broadcast interviews this afternoon.  It’s all a natural part of pushing the message.  But what is that message?  The headlines on Politics Home’s invaluble ‘Green Box’ tell a seemingly contradictory story: 13:14 Cameron: BBC bosses should be paid less and regulated by Ofcom 13:41 “Politicians should not dictate BBC salaries” says Jeremy Hunt They don’t quite chime together, do they? Clicking through to the stories that the headlines link to (here and here) reveals two things:  1) This isn’t misrepresentation of the Tory arguments by Politics Home.  The given headlines do summarise the main points of Cameron’s and Hunt’s

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Learning to love President Obama

Only two days to go before we find out which candidate for the American presidential campaign will be suing the other for voter fraud. Or, more likely, Barack Obama will carried home by an historic turnout – and, I have to confess, I will be quite pleased by that result. Not because I’ve succumbed to his charm, but because anyone on the centre-right who argues that America is a force for good in the world will have their task made a lot easier by President Obama. I’ve long regarded anti-Americanism as a belief system all in itself – and one of the most underrated and menacing forces in the world today. As

James Forsyth James Forsyth

On the verge

The state polls today show what an advantage Obama has with a day to go. He leads in Ohio and Pennsylvania, two states that McCain has to win, by seven and ten points respectively. If it wasn’t for the memory of how wrong the polls were before New Hampshire, everyone would be calling this. (These polls, though, are almost certainly more reliable. In New Hampshire they were surveying a far more volatile and fast moving electorate). It is hard to believe that this amazing election is almost over. There is almost a sense that we have thought about it so much that we can at times forget just how historic

Peter Hoskin

Trouble for Mandelson?

Mandrake asks a sensible question in today’s Telegraph: “The last thing “Mandy” Mandrake would want to do is to cause any trouble for my near namesake Lord “Mandy” Mandelson, but when the Business Secretary appears before the House of Lords on Thursday to answer questions about his links to the Russian aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska, there is one matter I would like to see cleared up. Why, when I broke the story on October 6 of how Mandelson and George Osborne had been entertained aboard Deripaska’s yacht the Queen K, did the Business Secretary’s spokesman Peter Power tell me categorically that the social gathering was the “only contact” that he

Peter Hoskin

CoffeeHousers’ Wall, 3 November – 9 November

Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers’ Wall. For those who haven’t come across the Wall before, it’s a post we put up each Monday, on which – provided your writing isn’t libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency – you’ll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section. There is no topic, so there’s no need to stay ‘on topic’ – which means you’ll be able to debate with each other more freely and extensively. There’s also no constraint on the length of what you write – so, in effect, you can become Coffee House bloggers. Anything’s fair game – from political stories in your local

The Spectator

Record traffic for Spectator.co.uk

We now have October’s monthly traffic figures for Spectator.co.uk – and they show our highest-ever “unique user” and “page impression” statistics.  In October, unique users soared to 338,053 – an increase of 39 percent on September.  And 2,147,545 page impressions were recorded – an increase of 15 percent. Following on from the revamp of the online Spectator Wine Club, today will see the launch of the new Spectator Book Club.  Both Coffee House and Americano will count down the final days to the US Presidential election.  And, as ever, Melanie Phillips, Stephen Pollard and Clive Davis will continue to provide their unique takes on the latest political and cultural issues.

Peter Hoskin

The Tories vs the Beeb

In the wake of BrandRossGate, the Tories have sensed a political opportunity, and – to some extent – they’re making something of it.  How so?  Well, David Cameron attacks the BBC in a piece for today’s Sun.  Whilst the shadow culture minister, Jeremy Hunt, does similar in a post for Centre Right. By-and-large, the articles touch on the same issues – “decency” and “bloated salaries”, for instance – although it’s striking that Cameron dwells on a topic that the Tories have tended to shy away from in the past: namely, the “political bias” of the Beeb.  Here’s the relevant passage: “But, I can hear the cry, what about the left-wing bias? My answer is: yes, the BBC

Sunday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Your election night viewing guide

Here’s Americano’s guide what to watch for hour by hour on Tuesday night  / Wednesday morning: 7 pm (Midnight UK Time) Polls close in six states. The battleground states of Virginia and Indiana won’t be called instantly but watch to see if Georgia and South Carolina are. If they’re not, that suggests that black turnout has soared. If Virginia is called within the hour for Obama, that means that he is almost certainly on course for victory and quite comfortably.  7.30 pm Ohio’s polls close. This state is an absolute must win for McCain but they don’t count their votes quickly here. 8 pm 15 states and the District of

Peter Hoskin

The Old Crowd

After the headline-grabbing returns of Peter Mandelson and Alistair Campbell, it’s looking increasingly likely that David Blunkett will be the next New Labour veteran to be welcomed back into the governmental fold.  According to today’s Mail on Sunday, he’s already discussed taking on a “party troubleshooter” role, although he’s said to be holding out for a Cabinet position.  Word is: he just might get one, too. You can see the thinking behind this redraft for The Old Crowd – experienced hands in a time of trouble; dogged war-horses who can take the fight to the Tories, and all that.  But it’s a risky approach.  The fact remains that Mandelson, Campbell,

Peter Hoskin

Lewis Hamilton, World Champion

Lewis Hamilton, 23, becomes the youngest-ever winner of the Formula One drivers’ world championship.  And in dramatic style.  He achieved the fifth place he needed in today’s Brazilian Grand Prix only on the very last corner of the race.  Great stuff.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

What 9/11 effect?

Four years ago, Bush v. Kerry was essentially a foreign policy choice. If you knew someone’s view on the war, you probably knew which way they were going to vote. The final days of the campaign were dominated by arguments about who could best keep America safe. But now foreign policy has largely been bumped from the closing conversation. Both McCain and Obama talk about it far less than they did during the primaries. One of the many ironies in all this is that if the primary electorates had know how little role foreign policy would play in the general election, they probably wouldn’t have nominated McCain or Obama. Instead,

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The final Sunday

The Sunday before a presidential election is always odd. The candidates are madly criss-crossing the country in one final effort, the press are trying to predict the result while covering themselves for all eventualities and the country is wondering who is still really undecided at this point. This morning’s papers and the Sunday shows are dominated by process talk—which states are in play, whose ground game is better and reflections on the campaign as a whole. Structurally, these conservations favour the frontrunner. They tend to emphasise the momentum that he has. Indeed, it is noticeable how Obama is spending most of his final few days on the trail in states

Peter Hoskin

Licence fee under fire

The BPIX poll in today’s Mail on Sunday gives the following headline voting-intention figures: Tories on 45 percent (down 1); Labour on 31 percent (up one); and the Lib Dems on 13 percent (no change).  Political Betting’s Mike Smithson  outlines the reasons to be wary of those numbers – but some of the poll’s below-headline findings on the BBC remain striking.  They suggest that around 73 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds – the so-called ‘yoof’ audience that the BBC targets with hosts like Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand – think that the current licence fee is unjustified.  Across all age ranges, that figure rises to 74 percent. Now, this –

Peter Hoskin

Heaven & Hell

The term “video installation” normally sets my cultural alarm bells off.  But, on my Sunday stroll around the internet, I’ve come across one such video installation that’s actually quite effective – so effective, in fact, that I thought I’d share it with CoffeeHousers.  Entitled Civilisation – and put together by Marco Brambilla – it’s a three-minute long depiction of Hell, Earth and Heaven, which meshes together hundreds of pre-existing video clips to form a busy and intricate collage.  In other words: Hieronymus Bosch for the 21st Century.  It’s currently being screened at the Christopher Grimes gallery in Los Angeles – where its 26-foot dimensions must make playing the ‘What Film

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Barclays took the right path

The angry reaction to Barclays’ decision to recapitalise using Middle Eastern money rather than a taxpayer bailout mystifies me. In my News of the World column today, I argue that Barclays may well become 30% Arab but its 100% correct. It has no duty to accept a UK taxpayer bailout over more expensive Arab money, as is widely suggested. Its duty, in fact, lies is in the reverse. A taxpayer bailout is supposed to be the last resort, preventing the banking system from collapse. I’m glad that John Varley, Barclays’ chief executive, realises that even if some politicians do not. As Guido notes, Vince Cable has disgraced himself in claiming

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Losing the war on drugs

Are UK drugs seizures really going up? The Home Office said exactly this in a press release last week but closer inspection reveals the most extraordinary statistical manipulation, rumbled by my colleague at the Centre for Policy Studies, Kathy Gyngell, who blogs on it here. Here’s the scam. The Home Office boasts about “a record 186,028 drug seizures by police and HMRC… an increase of 15 per cent’”. Clear enough. What purports to be a statistical bulletin makes the case further, showing the steady rise of seizures going back years plus a handy graph showing this triumphant, latent surge. But what about the amounts seized? Here is where one smells

Saturday

The Spectator

Wall Street Journal – correction

The Spectator corrects a recent article Correction: In the version of Victoria Floethe’s story that appeared in this week’s magazine, we inadvertently referred at one point to the Wall Street Journal instead of the New York Post.  We accept that there is no basis for suggesting that the WSJ might have indulged in an act of gleeful revenge towards Michael Wolff.  We apologise for our mistake.

The Spectator

Letters | 1 November 2008

Poorer each day Sir: Patrick Macaskie (‘The market needs short-sellers’, 25 October) is indeed correct in suggesting that the problems caused by excessive borrowing could be solved by a round of inflation; in the same way the problem of a building having caught fire can be solved by allowing it to burn down. As Macaskie points out inflation transfers value from saver to borrower. In the aggressive inflation of the Seventies people who had borrowed money and had employers who were able to provide inflation-linked pay rises did very well as they were able to pay off their liabilities quickly with devalued money. This course may appeal to government, since