Society

Wednesday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Position perfect

David Cameron’s interview in The Guardian this morning once again demonstrates his skill at political positioning. By citing Barack Obama as the inspiration for his call for people to take responsibility for their own actions, Cameron is moving to ensure that his message is not seen as old-fashioned Tory moralism but rather associated with the hippest brand in politics today. Indeed, both Brown and Cameron have been keen to agree with Obama’s rhetoric on this. Labour is still underestimating Cameron, though. As this dismissive quote suggests: “What does he want to do, tell fat people they are not entitled to treatment on the NHS?” one senior minister said. “Cameron has

Paul Johnson

And Another Thing | 16 July 2008

The other evening I went to a ‘pig roast’ in our Somerset village. It was a tremendous turnout from far and wide. There is something about the idea which stirs up deep guzzling instincts, and certainly this pig on his spit looked, and smelt, gastronomically alluring, despite the fact that six of his live colleagues waited in a nearby pen for their ‘pig race’, another local custom. People sat on bales of hay, eating slices of the pork wedged in buns. There is no elegant way of doing this, I reflected, an observation subsequently confirmed by study of the photographs taken. So what? I don’t suppose the original feast when

Judi Bevan

Can London be turned around like a troubled company?

Tim Parker, the bubble-haired venture capitalist hired to cut costs at City Hall and make Mayor Boris’s vision a reality, strolls down the curved walkway to greet me smiling widely, just like his photographs. Tall and rangy, this socialist-turned-capitalist, who is to be paid just £1 a year, is all charm and apologies for failing to turn up for our appointment the day before. He takes responsibility like a good leader should, although I suspect the serried ranks of apparatchiks from the not-so-ancien régime of attempted sabotage. They should watch out: while turning round the AA, Parker earned the sobriquet ‘Prince of Darkness’ for his skill at excising surplus staff.

Mark Leonard

Big Brother versus YouTube: let the Beijing Games commence

Mark Leonard, Britain’s pre-eminent analyst of modern China, says the Olympic genie is out of the bottle. The prospect of global scrutiny has actually increased repression as the authorities try to stamp out dissent. But digital technology is impossible to police ‘For years we couldn’t wait for the Olympics to start. Now we can’t wait for them to be over.’ That is how a Chinese friend described the horrible limbo in Beijing as a control-freak state tries to anticipate and eliminate any possible challenges to its glorious coming-out party on the 8th of the 8th, 2008. It is clear to any visitor to the Chinese capital that while China hopes

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Nudge, nudge: meet the Cameroons’ new guru

The economist Richard Thaler — a favourite of the Cameron and Obama camps — talks to James Forsyth about the power of ‘nudging’: small transformative acts of persuasion No one likes to be pushed, prodded or shoved. But no one objects to a nudge in the right direction. The idea that people can be nudged into making better choices is the brainchild of Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, two whip-smart University of Chicago academics. The two professors see nudging as the ‘real third way’, an alternative to both government regulation and laissez-faire liberalism. The idea is the new big thing; the two politicians of the moment — Barack Obama and

James Fergusson

The house that Jock built

When John Murray was sold in 2002 it was billed by the Daily Telegraph as ‘the oldest independent book publisher in the world’. The firm had been in the same family since the first John Murray began selling books in Fleet Street in 1768. It was also, reported the Telegraph, ‘the last of London’s “gentlemen publishing houses” ’. But when were publishers ever gentlemen? The poet Byron wrote of his publisher in 1816, ‘I believe Murray to be a good man with a personal regard for me. But a bargain is in its very essence a hostile transaction . . . Do not all men try to abate the price

Tuesday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

What’s the matter with France?

Since yesterday was Bastille Day, this seems as sensible a moment as any to ask: whatever happened to France? How did a once-great nation fall so low? And, are there any grounds for hoping that France may recover from this shameful, pitiful, nadir? I speak, of course, of cycling. No Frenchman has won the Tour de France since Bernard Hinault took his fifth yellow jersey way back in 1986. Worse still, apart from Laurent Fignon (winner in 84 and 85 himself), no Frenchman has since come even close to hauling on the Maillot Jaune in Paris. It gets worse: Fignon won the Giro d’Italia in 1989 and Laurent Jalabert took

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Dumping Darling

Gordon Brown has no chance of improving Labour’s poll ratings let alone winning the next election unless Labour can close the gap on the economy. The Tories currently have a 13 point lead on this subject according to Populus while back in September 2007 Labour were 23 points ahead on this issue. A lot of people in Westminster will tell you that Labour can’t turn this around with Darling at Number 11. They say that he doesn’t have the authority a Chancellor needs or ‘connect’ with the public. Indeed, the post-Budget polls found that 47 percent of voters thought Darling wasn’t up to the job and it is hard to

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The Mail calls for Smith’s head

The Daily Mail sets about Jacqui Smith in its editorial today. It declares that: “This sorry little cameo only confirms that this Home Secretary is so hopelessly out of her depth that she makes a predecessor such as Charles Clarke seem like a Colossus. Surely, amid rising violence and mayhem in the streets, the public deserves better.” Now, The Daily Mail falling out with a Labour Home Secretary is not that surprising. But considering the influence that The Mail has on Brown, this editorial will give Jacqui Smith a nervous moment or two. I still think, though, that Brown will be loathe to move the most senior female member of

James Forsyth James Forsyth

It is not Shahid Malik’s willingness to meet the Moonies that should worry us most

Paul Waugh’s scoop about Shahid Malik agreeing to chair a meeting held at the Commons by the Moonies suggests that Malik—or his staff—should do a bit of research before agreeing to things. But far more worrying is what Dean Godson reveals in The Times this morning about Malik’s desire to attend Islam Expo even after Hazel Blears had ruled that it was inappropriate for any Minister to attend because of the platform being offered to those with extreme views: “Shahid Malik, MP for Dewsbury, had other ideas and sought to attend in a personal capacity. He was persuaded not to attend Islam Expo only with the greatest difficulty – after

James Forsyth James Forsyth

McCain’s Commander in Chief advantage

Barack Obama holds most of the aces in this presidential campaign. His supporters are more enthusiastic than McCain’s, he is out fund raising his opponent and he can control the news agenda almost at will. But McCain still has one significant advantage that is keeping him in with a chance: Americans are far more comfortable with him as Commander in Chief than Obama. The numbers from the latest ABC / Washington Post poll illustrate just how sizable McCain’s advantage is on this front: Would McCain be a good Commander in Chief? Yes: 72% Would Obama? Yes: 48% To be sure, Obama has a chance to close this gap during the campaign.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Brown needs to serve up some policy beef to the electorate

One of the big puzzles of the Brown premiership is the complete absence of policy innovation. There was a belief among both Brown’s critics and supporters that he would wheel out a whole set of big ideas in his fist year in office. But now I doubt that most people could name off the top of their heads a genuinely innovative policy that he has championed as PM. Rachel Sylvester, essential reading as always, turns her attention to this subject in her column today.  Having gone through the leadership’s policy submission to the Labour National Policy Forum, Sylvester writes that: “The only new policy that I could spot in more than

Monday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Outrage Up to 11!

Jesus, people, would you get a grip? Apparently there is bipartisan outrage over this week’s very amusing New Yorker cover: Obviously the New Yorker, that bastion of shoddy journalism and fist-bumping reactionaries, is hell-bent on destroying America. And apple pie. Hell, they probably want to restrict the franchise… Oh, hang on… Ben Smith reports that according to: Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton: “The New Yorker may think, as one of their staff explained to us, that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Senator Obama’s right-wing critics have tried to create. But most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree.” Most readers will, of

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Vive la France

Bastille Day always reminds me of how jealous I am of the French national anthem. La Marseillaise is a splendidly, rousing song. There is nothing quite like hearing a crowd belting it out with passion. This scene in Casablanca when Victor Lazlo leads Rick’s Cafe Americain in a stirring rendition of it is, to my mind, one of the finest scenes in cinema.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Don’t be fooled by Brown’s smokescreen

Before every European Union summit the British government briefs the press on a set of red-lines which it promises to stand firm on. These are self-imposed tests which the government knows it will pass but as the summit goes on, the line is spun that the red line are under attack. But it always works out in the end and the Prime Minister returns to reassure the nation that no ground has been given. All this is designed as a smokescreen to distract attention from the myriad of other issues where the government has given way. I suspect much the same is going on with Gordon Brown and the Unions.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Railing against the system

Train travel in this country can be pretty awful, especially on the weekends. But it is still shocking to read Andrew Gilligan’s account in today’s Evening Standard of his journey from Birmingham to London: “I was physically assaulted, called a f***ing c*** and a prick, and left stranded after the last train back to London had gone. The person who did all this was not a mugger or a hooligan, or even one of my political enemies, but a member of staff of Virgin Trains.” Gilligan had caused such a ruckus by trying to take his bike on the train without a specific reservation, hardly a hanging offence and something

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Who does Cameron want sitting round the Cabinet table?

Considering the amount of chatter there is about a possible Tory reshuffle, Philip Johnston’s Telegraph column is a good reminder that the skills that make someone a good opposition spokesman are quite different from those that make a good Cabinet Minister. As Johnston points out only one of the shadow Cabinet have been in an actual Cabinet—William Hague as Welsh Secretary—so it is hard to know who might or might not make a good minister. But considering this is probably the last planned reshuffle, Cameron will do before the next election he is bound to be thinking about this. One move that might be prompted by this thought is shuffling

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Protecting free speech

The American press is significantly freer than the British one because of the free speech guarantee enshrined in the First Amendment. In the US unlike in the UK, the burden of proof in libel cases is on the plaintiff not the defendant; making it far harder for the powerful to use the threat of libel actions to silence the media. However, there has been an increasing trend for people to indulge in so-called ‘libel tourism’, suing American authors and journalists in English courts. Senators Specter and Lieberman are proposing a legislative remedy to this problem: “Our bill bars U.S. courts from enforcing libel judgments issued in foreign courts against U.S.