Society

Wednesday

Brian Cullen

Brown’s not the only one

There’s an article in the latest New Republic which (perhaps unintentionally) highlights a key similarity between George Bush’s and Gordon Brown’s difficulties.  Jonathon Chait points out that Republican claims that America underwent an economic ‘boom’ under Bush are totally hollow.  He writes: “The whole trick here was to start at the bottom point of the economic cycle and assume that any subsequent improvement was the result of his policies. Of course, this is a ludicrously forgiving measure. Over time, the economy tends to grow, and it also goes through cycles. To point out that we’re better off at the peak of a cycle than at the trough is something that

Brian Cullen

The deceit of protectionism

Jagdish Bhagwati has an excellent piece in the FT today.  He argues that America needs a new deal for trade which supports a globalised market without resorting to protectionism.  He argues  that the Democrats, the worst offenders, and Republicans need to face up to reality and offer plans for restructuring America’s work force (including realigning the education system) rather than just resorting to populist rhetoric.  In particular he berates the US for posturing that protectionism is “altruistic”: “What is doubly offensive about this exercise of political muscle is that it is advanced in the language of altruism: not by saying frankly that it is because “our unions are worried about

Sean Martin

Time to stand up to the RMT

Standing in a stuffy tube train is unpleasant enough without Bob Crow making your life even harder. Almost 3 million people have been hassled again this week with another bout of RMT strikes. Not only are these pay strikes an immense inconvenience, they are also unfair and risky in the current climate. In the current economic conditions of rising inflation there is one thing that will make it ten times worse: wage inflation. This is an economic truth that the RMT and other unions have to accept, above inflation salary increases only exacerbate inflationary pressures. Public-sector workers must recognise that they will have to spend a few less pennies whilst

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Hillary’s brother meets with McCains victory chair

This’ll set tongues wagging: Hillary Clinton’s younger brother met with Carly Fiorina, the chair of the Republican party’s Victory 2008 committee, at a private gathering in Pennsylvania. The event was hosted by the national director of the Citizens for McCain coalition. In the grand scheme of things this isn’t that important, but it re-injects the Clintons into the story at a time that Barack Obama is perceived to be struggling. (The story is, predictably, going crazy on the internet). Although Obama still leads in most polls his advantage is a narrow one, one poll today even has McCain up by five, and there are a few grumblings out there about

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Musharraf’s missed opportunity

Reihan Salam, a Spectator contributor, has a good piece at The Atlantic. In it, he conducts a thought experiment that is worth reflecting on: “It’s worth wondering what might have happened had Musharraf taken a different path. During a landmark speech in January 2002, Musharraf essentially declared war on the Islamic extremists who’d been hollowing out the Pakistani state from within. Popular support for the government – and for the government’s decision to side with the United States – was extremely high. The United States and its allies had offered a generous aid package, and the Islamists were at their weakest. Had Musharraf sought a power-sharing arrangement with the secular

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The things they spend our money on

The Daily Mail flags up this bizarre response from Downing Street to the petition calling for Jeremy Clarkson to be made PM. At the risk of sounding like an old curmudgeon, is this really an appropriate use of taxpayers’ money?

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Politics | 20 August 2008

It is dangerous, almost reckless, for a British Prime Minister to leave the country while in a jam at home. Had Margaret Thatcher not gone to Paris during the Tory leadership contest of 1990, she would probably have found the two extra MPs she needed to survive. Had Callaghan not jetted off for a Caribbean summit in 1979, he wouldn’t have looked so preposterously out of touch when returning to the winter of discontent. So it must have been with the greatest reluctance that Gordon Brown set off on Wednesday for a five-day trip to China. The Prime Minister dislikes travel at the best of times, so the prospect of

James Delingpole James Delingpole

Too much information | 20 August 2008

One of my ambitions this summer is to try not to see even the tiniest glimpse of Olympics coverage on TV. This isn’t mainly a protest about how boring athletics are generally; or about China’s human rights record. It’s more that my hatred of the modern world has risen to such a pitch that I’m now trying to dissociate myself from anything that smacks too scarily of the future. China is definitely one of those things. Call me reactionary, call me racist, but I just can’t bear the idea that, after centuries of Anglo–European, Judaeo–Christian global hegemony, we’re soon going to have to cede economic and cultural place to these

Tuesday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Could the pro-choice McCain VP candidate be Meg Whitman?

There is still buzz that the McCain campaign is seeing if the Republican Party can be reconciled to a pro-choice running mate. It seems unlikely that they would carry on doing this if they weren’t actually thinking seriously about having one, even if they don’t pick one there is a risk that the mere talk of it alienates social conservatives and there is also a risk of appearing to have blinked in a confronation with the right of the party. All the speculation about a pro-choice VP pick has centered on Tom Ridge and Joe Lieberman. But it is worth noting that the former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, a dark horse candidate for the role who

Brian Cullen

Cameron’s right there’s a drink problem – but good luck fixing it

In the new Cameron book put together by GQ’s Dylan Jones the Tory leader has directly addressed the – apparently particularly British – problem of binge drinking.  Cameron explains that: “The police can shut down shops that sell alcohol to young people…we need the police to get in there and sort things out, and arrest people selling drink to people under the legal limit” But Britain’s binge drinking problems aren’t mainly because people are drinking under age but because those legally allowed to drink are drinking too much.  Any visitor to a British town can see hordes of drunken people – almost all of whom are over 18 – engaging

Sean Martin

The numbers show why Labour should dump Brown

There has been much talk over the past few months about Labour’s catastrophic slump and Cameron’s rise. But is it really that bad for Brown? The answer: an unequivocal yes. A quick look at MORI polling data on whether voters are satisfied or dissatisfied with the job a party leader is doing illustrates what a deep hole they are in. Let’s start with David Cameron. MORI say he scores an impressive +21% which is the best Tory showing since Major on the 25th of May 1992 over 15 years ago when he was still enjoying his post-election honeymoon. Nick Clegg’s score of +9 was never equalled by the Lib Dems

Daniel Korski

Next stop, tax stop

The Conservatives have been rightly looking to Sweden for ideas on education policy, now they should be looking a little further south, to Denmark, for inspiration on tax policy. In Denmark, a centre-right government has been in power for eight years and, despite technically being in a recession, the country’s thoroughly modern market economy and pro-active labor market policies – which combines easy hiring and firing with high benefits for the unemployed – is helping to weather the storm. But a key ingredient for Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s success in a country seen as more social democratic than centre-right has been the “tax stop” (or “skattestoppet” in Danish), which

Sean Martin

Increasing freedom

The number of democracies worldwide has almost doubled in the last twenty years, standing at 123 in 2007. These freer and fairer political systems have dramatically increased people’s happiness, a survey has shown. Out of 52 countries, with ten years of data, well being rose in 40 instances. When we think of development we tend to concentrate on income and GDP growth. But, as this study shows, monetary figures miss the true benefit of the freedoms a democratic society affords. Better minority and gender rights coupled with greater political and economic freedom has revolutionised developing societies and increased human well being. It is important when we evaluate progress human development is

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Some withdrawal

From The Washington Post this morning: Russian armored vehicles moved eastward from the town to a point about 30 miles from the capital, Tbilisi, and plowed aside Georgian police vehicles at a checkpoint.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

There’s no proof that Miliband is the answer to Labour’s problems, but we know that Brown is not

This morning’s ICM poll in The Guardian shows that David Miliband is no silver bullet for Labour’s problems: Cameron leads Miliband by the same margin, 21 points, he does Brown on the question of who would be the best Prime Minister. However, Miliband supporters will argue, as The Guardian’s editorial does, that Miliband’s ratings might improve as the public get to know him while the electorate has already made up its mind about Brown; August’s ICM poll shows that Labour under Brown has seen its support fall by 10 points compared to this time last year, while Tory support has risen by 10 points. It says something about Miliband’s name

Monday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Russia’s next step

The latest Russian move in the conflict is to bulk up its forces in South Ossetia. The New York Times reports that the US believes that Russia has moved SS-21 missile launchers into position north of Tskhinvali, from there the Georgian capital of Tbilisi is in range. The Russians appear to be attempting not only to pave the way for incorporating South Ossetia into Russia but to exacerbate the fears of some European countries about admitting Georgia into Nato. To not let Georgia into Nato because of Russian aggression would send a disastrous signal to Moscow, encouraging Russia to believe that the West will back off in the face of

The Spectator

CoffeeHousers’ wall 18 August – 24 August

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

Daniel Korski

General confusion

Pakistan’s government had vowed to start impeachment proceedings against President Pervez Musharraf. A session of the National Assembly, Pakistan’s lower house of parliament, had been scheduled for today to initiate the proceedings. However, Musharraf pre-empted the move by announcing his resignation. Since the election, which saw the return to power of two Musharraf’s foes – former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari, widower of Benazir Bhutto –Musharraf’s main constituency has been in the White House. The State Department grasped a few months ago that the president’s career was unsalvageable. Musharraf chose to jump before he was pushed. This guaranteed that he would maintain a little dignity, and avoids

Sean Martin

Our changing future

English is not the first language of one in eight schoolchildren according to a new government survey. As of January 2007, 85,000 children spoke Urdu and 70,000 Bengali as their preferred tongue. These numbers show that Britain is changing. Our society is becoming more diverse in both face and tongue. However, because English will always be this country’s first language these thousands of children who do not speak English as their mother tongue, need to be equipped with the language skills that are required to flourish both educationally and in the workplace. The educational establishment needs to start giving serious thought to how these pupils’ English skills can be brought