Society

Friday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Bailout Politics

So, no deal in Washington. NYT account here; WaPo here. Politico’s story contains this detail that, unsurprisingly, has been making waves: According to one GOP lawmaker, some House Republicans are saying privately that they’d rather “let the markets crash” than sign on to a massive bailout. “For the sake of the altar of the free market system, do you accept a Great Depression?” the member asked. Well. I hadn’t realised that was the choice. House Republicans are obviously being blamed for the impasse, but I rther think there are plenty of Democrats who will be content enough with the current state of play. They don’t like this either. Certainly they

James Forsyth James Forsyth

McCain must win tonight’s debate to get his campaign back on track

John McCain will attend tonight’s debate despite there not yet being a deal on the bailout. Realistically, McCain couldn’t afford to miss it. Obama’s biggest weakness is still the Commander in Chief test: McCain has to ram home the point that he is significantly better qualified for this role than Obama if he is to have a real chance of winning the election. McCain also has to better Obama tonight to regain momentum. The last week of presidential campaign coverage has been dominated by a string of stories that hurt McCain. First, there was the row over McCain’s campaign manager’s alleged ties to Freddie Mac. Second, there was the Sarah

James Forsyth James Forsyth

McNulty for Chief Whip?  

The Sun reports today that Tony McNulty is the new favourite to replace Geoff Hoon as Chief Whip. George Pascoe-Watson reveals that Brown was told by a Minister that if he appointed Nick Brown to the job, “All hell would break. It would destroy any Cabinet unity and people would feel very uncomfortable.” McNulty would be a savvy choice by Brown. As he showed during the 42 days debate he knows how to persuade Labour MPs to stay on side. He is a friendly and engaging presence on TV and is long overdue promotion to the Cabinet. Brown’s reshuffle dilemma is that he needs to be bold to show that

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Crashed Ferraris

A great stat about the financial crisis from the Daily Mail: “There were 734 second-hand Ferraris placed on the market last week.” Hat Tip: The Week

Peter Hoskin

One for the Presidential Debate junkies

It’s still doubtful whether Presidential Debate junkies will get their fix tonight.  But here’s something to tide them over: footage of the very first televised Presidential Debate – between Kennedy and Nixon – which took place 48 years ago today.  It lacks the two candidates’ opening and closing statements (for a full transcript, click here), but there’s still plenty to savour – from Nixon glowering to the Mad Men stylings.  Classic politics, and classic TV:

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Brown’s St Helena moment

Martin Kettle’s column this morning contains an absolutely astonishing example of how much of a control freak Brown is: “Four years ago, ministers decided that Britain’s South Atlantic island possession of St Helena needed to have an airport. If planes could land on the tiny island, more than 1,200 miles from the nearest continent, its economic and demographic decline could perhaps be turned around. Plans began to be made. The airport was scheduled to open in 2010. Earlier this year, the Foreign Office finally asked the Department for International Development to sign off on the airport. The file went up to the secretary of state, Douglas Alexander. But instead of

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The new capitalism

Most paradigm shifts in politics are recognisable only in retrospect, but it’s fairly clear we’re living through one now. When you have the US seeking to nationalise $700bn of dodgy assets and the average British household now liable for £3,020 of Northern Rock debt something has changed. But what? I’ve been struggling to find a proper analysis of this, so it was great to read Irwin Stelzer’s meaty lecture to the Centre for Policy Studies where he says that, though free marketeers may hate it, a New Capitalism is now upon us. Here’s his take:-  “You know that a revolution has succeeded when the opponents of change capitulate. Which is

Thursday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

“We just wanted to choose a really large number”

So, how’s the financial rescue plan coming along? Are you inspired with confidence? Not so much… In fact, some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use to buy up bad debt, are fuzzy. “It’s not based on any particular data point,” a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. “We just wanted to choose a really large number.” Meanwhile, and for once, good news for Detroit! With Congress preoccupied with the massive, $700 billion bailout plan for the financial industry, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler have finally secured Part One of their own federal rescue plan. A bill set to be passed by Congress and signed

Louisa Stoppard

Introducing ID cards

Today, Jacqui Smith unveiled the first ever ID card . These earliest cards are designed for foreign residents (and will be sent out in November to marriage visa holders and international students). Will this really improve security? Or is it just a way of ‘softening up’ the process of national implementation? Either way, expect fakes to appear on the streets in the next few weeks…

Matthew Dancona

Dr Rowan Williams’s red rag to the capitalist bulls

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s article in the new issue of the Spectator – featured on this morning’s Today programme – is already making waves. Dr Williams has form as a controversialist, of course: his remarks about sharia law caused a storm earlier this year, though he insisted that his argument had been distorted and misunderstood. This time I think he knew exactly what he was doing. To say that Marx was “right” about certain aspects of capitalism is self-evidently a red rag to a bull – as is the Archbishop’s claim that the way in which we talk about the market strays into “what the Jewish and Christian scriptures call idolatry.” Yet

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Bush’s bailout plea

President Bush’s dramatic statement to the nation last night was aimed at persuading recalcitrant House Republicans to support the bailout bill. His bald statement that without immediate action by Congress, “America could slip into a financial panic, and a distressing scenario would unfold” was meant to create the political pressure to bring them into line. Today, Obama and McCain will join key Congressional leaders at the White House to try and hammer out a deal. McCain in a bold but risky moved has pushed for postponing the first presidential debate on Friday until Congress reaches a deal. Obama has cleverly responded by saying the president should be able to multi-task.

Wednesday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Who will be the new Chief Whip?

If Geoff Hoon is to be moved in the coming reshuffle, which seems almost certain, who to make the new Chief Whip will be a telling and tricky decision for the PM. Many Brown loyalists are furious about Hoon’s light-touch approach to the rebels. His comments about the rebellion have been ambivalent—“I simply don’t think at this stage it’s appropriate” is hardly a ringing endorsement—and they fume that Chief Whips are meant to put the thumb-screws on rebels rather than treating them with kid gloves. Brown must be tempted to move a loyalist into the slot. But if someone did start putting the rebels on the rack, that could push

Jon Cruddas

Jon Cruddas’s conference diary: part 6

Well that it is for another year, on the train back to London. Brown is in a stronger position than when he started and the right of the party is split – i.e. a good conference. The moderate, pragmatic centre left around Compass are on the move. Today was ‘women’s day’. Didn’t start too well. Apparently at 3am Ruth Kelly resigned- in the bar of the Radisson! Well I was in the bar at 3am and I’m sure Ruth was not there. Although I do remember the whole of the press gallery running into the Hotel lobby after some familiar looking guy. Harriet made a barnstorming speech. Didn’t get in

James Forsyth James Forsyth

This is no time for a meeting

The Telegraph is reporting that Gordon Brown will not be seeing the US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, the main mover on the US bailout plan, on his trip to the States. This is despite Brown saying in his conference speech that “I and then Alistair will meet financial and government leaders in New York” to make proposals for how to stabilise and “rebuild the world financial system” Brown desperately needed to come out of the Labour conference with some momentum. But the Ruth Kelly resignation and the fact that his meetings in New York on the financial crisis in New York are far from high-powered have denied him that. It

James Forsyth James Forsyth

There are some things only a woman can do

Harriet Harman in many ways had the easiest speech of the conference to deliver. All she had to do was throw red meat to the delegates – but she did so effectively. Certainly, the standing ovation that the two thirds full hall gave her was far more sustained and heart-felt than the one David Miliband received earlier in the week. Harman’s speech was based around a highly feminised attack on David Cameron. It is personal and unpleasant–it assumes that Cameron is the kind of man who’ll say anything to have his ‘wicked way’ with you and then will forget about you. But I wonder if it could be effective; it

Jon Cruddas

Jon Cruddas’s conference diary: part 5

Tuesday night/Wednesday morning GB’s speech nailed it. No game changer in terms of tax policy, though. The ‘Spectator/Compass middle class tax cut’ was not even announced. Very clever; we must be saving it for next week. The speech worked for GB—the conference response was significant; indeed profound. The space for the coup plotters has been closed down. They in turn are seriously pissed off about how good it was. Rumours persist regarding the Flint martyrdom video. I hate these big speeches and instead watch them on TV. Sarah showed guts. Most significant was Brown’s more emotional language through the use of individual stories rather than long lists of achievements and

James Forsyth James Forsyth

How Kelly is hurting Brown

Ruth Kelly’s resignation has guaranteed that Brown’s speech is going to be a one day story. Rumours are swirling about why she has gone and why the news leaked out now—the worst time for Brown. In her speech to conference just now, Kelly said what a privilege it had been to work with both Blair and Brown. But tellingly her last line was ‘we can and must do better.’