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Latest from Coffee House

Latest from Coffee House

All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories

Steerpike

Johnson becomes PM

It’s no secret that the Johnson family is an ambitious one – particularly when it comes to politics. So, with two Johnsons currently in government – Boris and Jo – it was only a matter of time until one became Prime Minister. Step forward Stanley Johnson. Boris Johnson’s father Stanley has been elected Prime Minister.

A mixed-race princess is just what the Royal family needs

We’ve had a brown president in the White House and today, that palest of institutions, the Royal family, is formally admitting a mixed-race girl into its bosom. Wow, just wow. I do wonder, speaking as a mixed-race girl myself, does this acceptance of colour into one of the world’s oldest monarchies mean that brown people

Camilla Swift

‘Princess Meghan’ has arrived to cheer up Britain

So, Princess Meghan it will be. No, I know that won’t be her name officially. But we all know that whatever Meghan Markle’s official title ends up being (right now, it seems most like she’ll become the Duchess of Sussex), ‘Princess Meghan’ will be her unofficial title in the press. The news of Harry and

Theo Hobson

James Bond is a notorious British sex pest

In an article yesterday, Niall Ferguson tried to take a nuanced position on our changing sexual mores. I think he was right to refer to James Bond – I’m surprised other pundits have not. We’re still in quite a muddle, he says, while we revere this fantasy of droit de seigneur. Indeed. Not long ago

The fall of tyrants is always a family story

Robert Mugabe’s resignation fascinates because the fall of tyrants is always a family story, decline of the father, writ large. What a strange creature he is. Who else would give a speech of such orotundity that it contained archaic words like ‘pith’, ‘collegiality’, ‘comported’, ‘untrammelled’ and ‘vicissitudes?’ No British politician has used such language since

Sunday shows round-up: Borrowing and Brexit

Liam Fox: EU trade deal must be settled before Irish border The International Trade Secretary has stated today that no final decision can be reached on the border between Ireland and the UK until a trade deal is settled, defying an EU ultimatum that the border question must be settled within the next ten days.

Charles Moore

Germany’s green energy drive left Merkel vulnerable

For a very long time, Angela Merkel successfully appealed to the post-war German longing for consensus. She hugged potential rivals in her motherly embrace. The rise of Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) makes this much more difficult. As its name suggests, it really does offer something different. Given its pariah status, people assumed that parties would

Germany’s political system is starting to unravel

A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of populism. Last week in Berlin, Christian Lindner, leader of the Free Democrats, walked out of Germany’s coalition talks, plunging the Bundesrepublik into an unprecedented crisis. Meanwhile in Trier, the ancient Rhineland city where Marx was born and raised, locals were busy preparing for next year’s Karl

Israel is becoming ever more part of the Arab Middle East

This month, I attended the spectacular centenary dinner for the Balfour Declaration at Lancaster House, with descendants of many of its creators: Lloyd Georges, the photographer Christopher Sykes, grandson of Sir Mark Sykes. The dinner was hosted and organised by Jacob Rothschild and Roderick Balfour, who entered with the prime ministers of Israel and Britain.

Hope in Zimbabwe

With Robert Mugabe’s departure goes one of the caricatures of late 20th-century Africa: the tinpot dictator who brutalises his opponents, impoverishes his people yet manages to extract enough wealth from a decaying economy for a fleet of Rolls-Royces and a private jet to speed him off to private medical appointments in Singapore. But his long-overdue

Alex Massie

Ireland has punctured Brexiteers’ wishful thinking

In his column this week, James Forsyth reports there is ‘mounting anger’ inside the government at the way the Irish government are behaving over Brexit. I am sure there is, though it still surprises me that people are surprised to discover that the Irish government is defending its own interests. Doubtless this is why you

Ed West

How much is immigration to blame for the housing crisis?

I’m never going to be able to own my home, that’s why I’ll vote Labour; also the Tories are horrible to immigrants and they don’t think animals are alive or something, my friend Molly shared it on Facebook. That’s basically the crux of the argument I’m hearing, obviously a reductio one, and I sense the

It’s time for more schools to have an ‘unsafe space’

A school’s decision to create an ‘unsafe space’ – where controversial ideas and works be discussed by pupils – has resulted in the predictable backlash. Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys, in Canterbury, has been accused of providing a platform for people to be xenophobic, sexist and racist. This is not the case. The ‘unsafe

Steerpike

David Gauke taunts John McDonnell over Russia Today

Alex Salmond has been in the firing line of late over his decision to host a chat show on Russia Today. The former First Minister of Scotland has come under difficulty as numerous politicians have declined an invitation to appear on the channel. However, Mr S suggests he give John McDonnell a call. David Gauke

Katy Balls

Five things we learnt from the IFS Budget briefing

It’s the day after Philip Hammond’s Budget and so far the Chancellor has managed to avoid disaster. Broadly speaking, his Budget has been well-received. The Prime Minister this morning went so far as to say the Chancellor ‘did a very good job’. Meanwhile, another of Hammond’s old foes softened its stance, with the Daily Mail

James Forsyth

Michael Fallon calls for a revival of shareholder capitalism

In the Budget debate today, Michael Fallon made his first intervention since resigning from the government over misconduct allegations. Fallon’s contribution was broadly loyal to the government, taking the fight to Labour in his typical style. But he said he’d seek an opportunity in the near-future to talk, with greater freedom than collective responsibility had

Steerpike

Listen: John McDonnell fails the numbers test

It’s something of a terrifying thought, but if Labour defeat the Tories at the next election, John McDonnell will be the new occupant of No.11 Downing Street. One of his main roles as chancellor will be to have a grasp of the numbers that matter. But it seems that may be too much to ask

Tom Goodenough

Philip Hammond’s Budget: the newspaper verdict

Only a month ago, in its damning editorial the Daily Mail said Philip Hammond was a ‘dismal, defeatist, relentlessly negative’ Eeyore. Today, they ‘rescind’ the Chancellor’s nickname, and the paper isn’t the only one to praise Hammond’s Budget: The Sun says that Hammond delivered his first Budget for its readers. While the paper admits that it

Nick Hilton

The Spectator Podcast: Merkel’s crack-up

On this week’s episode, we look at the situation in Germany, and whether Angela Merkel can hold things together. We also speak to Norway’s immigration minister, and discuss the dying art of cottaging. After 12 years as Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel is this week facing the worst crisis of her premiership. Coalition talks collapsed after