All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
The decision to extend the deadline for voters to register in the EU referendum hasn’t gone down well with everyone. As Isabel Hardman has said, whether it’s a cock-up or a conspiracy, ‘Leave’ won’t like the extension which came about after the government’s website went down on Tuesday evening. But are they right to feel
Washington, DC The Bernie Sanders campaign has always been touched by irony. Now it is turning into a mad joke. He cannot win the nomination — but, like a deranged old dog, he’s still fighting. Rather than concede defeat to Hillary Clinton, he keeps scrapping away. He hopes somehow to win the primary in DC
Sarah Wollaston’s defection to Remain is a blow to the Leave campaign, whatever some of its supporters might say. The Tory MP is notoriously independently-minded, and unafraid of changing her mind, too, which makes her a rare species in Westminster. She is also totally uninterested in a government job, which makes it more difficult for
It’s ten years since I graduated and I’ve just managed to clear my student loan, which isn’t a bad achievement on a journalist’s salary. The day I finished my politics and economics degree, my debt stood at £11,500. That covered the course and living costs for three years of study and a year spent in
The news that Sarah Wollaston has switched from being a Brexiteer to a Remain-er has gone down like a cup of cold sick with the Out camp. Although the Conservative MP says she defected because the claim that Brexit would free up £350m per week for the NHS ‘simply isn’t true’, conspiracy theories have since emerged. What’s
Another day, another house price survey. Today’s research from chartered surveyors predicts that house prices are set to drop for the first time since 2012, as demand for property falls at its fastest rate in eight years. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) says there will be a short-term drop in UK house prices over the next three
What would you say if a powerful cyclists’ pressure group ganged up on the NHS and lobbied it to provide free cycle helmets to anyone who asked for one, accusing it of having on its hands the blood of every helmet-less cyclist who died while the NHS tried to spurn the demand? I think I
To subscribe to The Spectator’s weekly podcast, for free, visit the iTunes store or click here for our RSS feed. Alternatively, you can follow us on SoundCloud. The EU referendum on June 23rd looks set to be one of the most important political moments in a generation. But if Britain does vote out, what would
It was only a matter of time before Glastonbury, the world’s most middle-class festival, caught up with the latest political trend. In an announcement heralded as brave, pioneering and ‘necessary’, a group called ‘The Sisterhood’ have announced a women-only venue at the four-day festival. ‘In a world that is still run by and designed to
‘The isles of Greece! The isles of Greece! Where burning Sappho loved and sung, Where grew the arts of war and peace, Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung!’ I couldn’t agree more with Lord Byron about the joys of the Greek islands. Here in Cephalonia, the poppies are out, back-lit by a strong spring sun.
Coffee House Shots James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman discuss George Osborne’s performance Abridged transcript of George Osborne’s interview with Andrew Neil. AN: Now you claim the European Union could cause armed conflict if we leave, could put a bomb under our economy if we leave – the Prime Minister’s words: hurt pensioners, collapse house
PODCAST: Listen to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman discuss George Osborne’s performance: In a feisty interview with Andrew Neil, George Osborne has just declared that Turkey is not going to become a member of the EU. Osborne said that ‘Turkey has gone backwards’ since 2010 when David Cameron voiced his enthusiastic support for it joining
Something about the extension of the deadline for registering to vote in the EU referendum doesn’t add up. It even smells a bit fishy. Last night, the registration website crashed as tens of thousands of people tried to register before the midnight deadline; and in response, parliament today announced that it will pass emergency legislation
Tensions are worsening in the Tory party over the EU referendum, with Leave campaigners telling Coffee House that they will now not notify pro-Remain colleagues when they visit their constituency. This is an established convention that all MPs across the House of Commons follow, of letting one another know when they are visiting their turf,
Has the reason behind David Cameron’s relaxed appearance in last night’s ITV debate been uncovered? Mr S only asks after one snap happy parliamentarian sent a photo to the EyeSpyMP Twitter account of the Prime Minister chillaxing on the Commons terrace with a pint on Tuesday night: David Cameron chillaxing on the Commons Terrace last
The government’s announcement of a 48-hour extension to the voter registration deadline has surprised those who were sitting in the Commons only a few hours ago, who heard Matt Hancock agree with Bernard Jenkin that an extension any longer than a ‘short period’ would make this country look like a joke. The length of time
Is Corbo working for the Tories? The Labour leader was such a pushover today that Cameron turned what should have been a televised monstering into a party political broadcast on behalf of left-wing Conservatism. Corbyn raised tax-avoidance, the minimum wage, and short-term contracts — three of Cameron’s strongest issues. The PM boasted that prosecutions of
One of the most influential and learned figures in the British European debate is Rodney Leach. In the 1990s, he helped lead those of his fellow businessmen who became convinced that the abolition of the pound would be a disaster. He was a moving spirit in Business for Sterling and then in the ‘No’ campaign
With the EU referendum just weeks away, Jeremy Corbyn is now trying to exploit Tory divisions over the issue. At PMQs today, he invited Cameron to attack both Priti Patel and Michael Gove. The Labour leader also criticised the whole decision to suspend collective responsibility. Cameron, aware of how much he needs Labour’s help between
The Treasury says that the cost of the UK leaving the EU would be £4,300 per household – but compared with what? We’re not told. As a cross-bencher, I naturally take very seriously the task of checking and challenging the work of the government so I put down two Parliamentary questions which eventually elicited the
Now that the next President of the United States is set to be either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, many voters are trying to work out which candidate is the ‘least worst option’. Now Ruby Wax has put forward her two cents’ worth. Giving a talk on her book A Mindfulness Guide For The Frazzled,
Women of the world unite! Back Hillary Clinton! Otherwise, prepare to be damned to that special place in hell that former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright insists exists ‘for women who don’t help each other’! Exclamation marks are crucial to discussing Hillary Clinton for President. If you don’t deploy one at the end of each
It’s no coincidence that everyone – from Elvis to George W. Bush to Barack Obama – managed to get a selfie with Muhammad Ali. Ali invented celebrity culture – and the selfie. He was the first global figure to throw aside the early 20th-century cults of self-deprecation and privacy, and fully embrace the modern gods
It’s a phrase you don’t hear much these days: ‘civic pride’. And, if a new report is to be believed, it won’t be long before it goes out of fashion altogether. According to Britain at Home, a comprehensive bi-annual study commissioned by Lloyds Bank Insurance, more than half of UK homeowners live in neighbourhoods that
Elon Musk, the billionaire inventor and entrepreneur, the twenty-first century’s answer to Howard Hughes, believes we are living in a computer simulation. The chances that we exist in ‘base reality’ are billions to one, he says. Last week he told an audience of Silicon Valley tech evangelists: ‘Forty years ago we had Pong. Like, two
Nowadays it’s difficult for the BBC to air anything without facing some accusation of bias. As well as the well documented strand of right-wing bias and EU bias, there’s now anti-Corbyn bias — with the BBC’s Nick Robinson even accusing his employer of the latter. Last night things got so bad in the EU debate
House prices have grown faster than predicted, The Telegraph reports, despite concerns that buyers would hold back ahead of this month’s EU referendum and a lull in the market after the buy-to-let-surge earlier in the year. The annual rate of growth in May was 9.2 per cent, unchanged since April, according to Halifax. Prices had been expected to
Hillary Clinton can be a hard woman to love. Even in the greatest moment of her political career last night, as she finally claimed the Democratic nomination on behalf of American women, her delivery didn’t quite match the occasion. The crowd was amped up. Electrified. But where a Donald Trump or a Bernie Sanders or a
David Cameron and Nigel Farage both avoided making any disastrous blunders during last night’s TV showdown and for that reason alone they’ll be pleased with their performances. Those in the ‘Leave’ camp especially were concerned about what Farage might do or say when he took to the stage. On the basis of last night’s showing,
Welcome to Coffee House’s coverage of ITV’s EU referendum debate. David Cameron and Nigel Farage faced public questions on the EU referendum. Here’s our commentary, as well as audio and video highlights, from the discussion. PODCAST: Listen to Fraser Nelson, James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman give their verdict on Cameron vs Farage: DAVID CAMERON: James Forsyth David
One of the ways that Number 10 likes to signal to Westminster that it is taking a situation seriously is to hold a meeting in Cabinet Office Briefing Room A. Calling COBRA is a sign that this is a Crisis, and that the Government has got it under control, simply by meeting in a rather
It is difficult not to be Eurosceptic. The euro is in trouble, Greece has been bankrupted by Angela Merkel’s fiscal rules, and the Schengen agreement on open borders is collapsing as economic migration seems impossible to stop. Genuine refugees are sadly lost in the human tide of misery landing on the shores of Greece and Italy. And the
The Commons may have rather big legislation to debate at the moment, but the government itself seems to have tuned out until after the referendum is over. There was no Cabinet meeting this morning, and ministers are busy fighting one another at campaign events, rather than bustling about in their departments. Even departmental question sessions
As I entered my 30s I remember thinking how lucky I was. I had a successful career, owned property and was enjoying life as a singleton. Many of my friends were already married, some with children, but the desire wasn’t quite there for me. I wasn’t ready. Now as I march towards my 40s, I’ve