All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
The most striking aspect of Labour’s response to the Queen’s Speech yesterday was that it is ‘sympathetic’ to the Tory plan to lower the £26,000 benefit cap for workless households to £23,000. This is a policy position that Harriet Harman developed after some discussion with the rest of the party as she prepared to respond
Does anybody else remember life in Britain before the year 2000? Despite the distressing increase in the number of walking, talking human beings one meets who were born since the millennium, there must be some other people who remember those times. Yet what a picture of that era is now being painted. Take the incredibly
George Galloway’s announcement on Twitter this afternoon that he is standing for London Mayor hasn’t surprised many, given he suggested he would do so before he even lost his seat as Respect MP for Bradford West. But it is still significant because it means that there will now be a fierce left-wing force splitting the
David Cameron is in Holland and France today trying to pave the way for the renegotiation of the terms of Britain’s EU membership. Number 10 believe that now the referendum is definitely happening, the bill for it was published today, they can get other countries to engage with Cameron’s concerns. As I say in the
The Tube isn’t an obvious political arena, but recently, it has become the backdrop for a number of flashy feminist statements. Last year, a blog which pictured women eating on the Tube provoked outrage among female activists, who held a picnic on the Circle line in protest. More recently, the infamous Protein World adverts, which supposedly encouraged body-shaming,
So now we know just how serious the Guardian is about breaking America: the newspaper has dumped British tea. Not content with the declaration of war on HP Sauce last year, the sandal-wearing bores have found a new enemy lurking within British society: dirty, racist tea. Joel Golby (who writes about ‘general stuff for VICE and the Guardian Guide’)
When GQ editor Dylan Jones hired Peter Mandelson as a columnist for the men’s magazine in 2001, he was accused of trying to head off criticism that the publication, which was adorned with racy celebrity shoots at the time, was going downmarket. However, little did Jones know that his highbrow hire was actually a… celebrity!
Following months of speculation, Tony Blair has finally announced he is standing down as the Quartet Representative to the Middle East after eight years in the post. It is tempting to ask whether anyone will notice. His time in the job has been marked by a stagnation of the Peace Process, a hardening of the position
The Kennington Tandoori is a favourite late-night eatery for MPs of all persuasions. Last night was no exception, with Tom Watson spotted planning his bid for deputy leader of Labour over curry and beers, and the SNP’s foreign affairs spokesman Alex Salmond seen enjoying poppadoms with a gaggle of Nats. But word reaches Mr S that all was not
Early in the campaign for Scottish independence the SNP commissioned a party political broadcast called Two Futures. It told the story of Kirsty, a baby due to be born on polling day. ‘What kind of country will I grow up in?’ she asks in a childish falsetto. One vision of the future is full of
When the Conservatives won a surprise majority in the election, many businesses breathed a collective sigh of relief that the two Eds would not have a chance to implement their ‘anti-business’ policies. Retail expert Mary Portas appeared to express her own personal relief when she appeared at Hay this week to discuss her memoir. Portas, who was appointed by David Cameron
Defeating Isis is a task that neither America nor Britain are particularly keen to take on. In this week’s View from 22 podcast, Andrew Bacevich and Douglas Murray discuss what Western countries can realistically do to take on the group and which countries America and Britain should work with. Should Iran be considered a potential partner? And even if America was more
From ‘Boys and Compulsory Service‘, The Spectator, 29 May 1915: [To the editor of The Spectator] Sir,— The wasteful expedient of universal service may be unavoidable, but I submit that loss will outweigh gain if we compel boys under twenty to fight abroad. To this, however, I would admit one exception—married men of whatever age.
The man in the pub’s solution to the ongoing panic about legal highs is to ban them. ‘Ban ‘em all! S’obvious, innit? I can’t believe politicians haven’t thought of it already. Yeah, go on, I’ll have another…’ Here’s the thing. It is obvious and politicians have thought of it already. The reason that it never
Boris has finally spoken. Intervening on his Tory colleague Cheryl Gillan, who was complaining about a lack of funding for rural public services and transport, the new MP for Uxbridge said ‘Will she not agree that in fact her constituents get a superb service from Transport for London?’ He thanked the government for its continued
The SNP have done a rather good job this afternoon of uniting the rest of the Commons against them by indulging in the shameful practice of – brace yourself – clapping in the Chamber. This is on top of trying to turf Dennis Skinner out of his preferred seat to the extent that the octogenarian
I see. So now we have the result of the Irish referendum on gay marriage, and now we’ve heard the Roman Catholic Church’s chastened response, we shall have to rewrite Exodus 32, which (you may remember) reports Moses’ (and God’s) furious reaction to the nude dancing and heretical worship of Moloch in the form of
The first day of the Parliamentary session always has a slightly back to school feel to it. There are two, traditionally, witty speeches that are full of in jokes. The leader of the opposition then makes a speech that mixes the serious with humour and the Prime Minister replies in kind. But today won’t be
Reports are coming in that Tony Blair is set to stand down as a peace envoy to the Middle East. AP is reporting that the former Prime Minister has tendered his resignation to the Quartet on the Middle East — consisting of representatives from the US, EU, Russia and the UN — and will leave in June. Blair
Harriet Harman was on fighting form in Parliament today when she responded to the Queen’s Speech. Between telling David Cameron to watch his back for Tory leadership hopeful Boris Johnson and remembering the Ed Stone, Harman paid tribute to Simon Burns, who gave the first speech. Speaking about the Tory MP, she revealed that in his heyday
Leon Brittan’s memorial service on Tuesday packed the West London Synagogue, but there were some notable absentees. We in the congregation were informed that the government was represented by Lord Howe (the Earl Howe, not Geoffrey). He is an estimable man, but well below Cabinet level. Since Brittan had been Home Secretary, it would normally
Keep an eye on the government’s ban on legal highs. The Conservative manifesto pledged to outlaw all the horrible chemicals kids smoke and snort for fun these days, on account of them being easier to get hold of than the straightforward, honest illegal narcotics we had when I were a lad. Certainly they’re worth banning,
In this View from 22 special podcast, James Forsyth, Isabel Hardman and I discuss the first Conservative Queen’s Speech in 19 years and the government’s legislation plans for the next 12 months. We discuss the challenges David Cameron will face trying to pass these bills, as well as the traps for the Labour leadership contenders. You
Should one of the oldest pubs in Britain – ‘Ye Olde Fighting Cocks’ – really change its name to ‘Ye Olde Clever Cocks’? This is what the animal rights organisation Peta is proposing, after deciding that the pub – which has had the same name since 1872 – should choose to celebrate ‘intelligent, sensitive chickens’. Thinking
Six more Labour MPs have endorsed Yvette Cooper as leader: Coffee House has the names exclusively. Emily Thornberry Ian Austin Jim Cunningham Karen Buck Lyn Brown Steve McCabe They’re an interesting mix, ranging from Londoners like Karen Buck, Lyn Brown and Emily Thornberry to those with seats in the Midlands, such as Ian Austin, Jim
This week, the Guardian published its annual university league table. The rankings are as bewildering to anyone acquainted with the reality of university reputations as they are misleading to anyone who is not. Should you wish to study Economics, for instance, you are told that you would do better taking an offer from Surrey (4)
Anyone would think that those drafting the Queen’s Speech might have had a bet on to see how many Tory soundbites they could shoehorn in. Apparently the Queen’s government will ‘adopt a one nation approach’, with a nod to ‘supporting aspiration’. Of course, her ‘government will continue with its long-term plan’. It could have been
Can it be that the great fantasy kingdom of Fifa has finally collapsed? Is this the fall of Oz? Is it possible that this vast sporting organisation – one that has survived for so many years on sheer effrontery – is now on collision course with reality? The Swiss police’s dawn raid on the headquarters
He may be a national treasure, but it’s safe to say that Dennis Skinner’s annual crack during the Queen’s Speech have been a bit lame of late. The veteran MP always makes a joke in the silence as Black Rod enters the Commons chamber. Last year we had ‘Coalition’s last stand,’ in 2013: ‘Royal Mail for
Unlike Pope Francis I can’t actually remember when I consciously gave up television and I have in fact watched it occasionally in other people’s houses on various occasions. But it was probably at least as long ago as he, twenty odd years ago. When I went to university there wasn’t a television in our room and there
David Cameron has decided to stall on human rights reform for now, partly because the Tories couldn’t quite work out how to get the reforms they wanted, and partly because the Prime Minister knew that he had a rebellion in his own party on his hands, opposition from almost all other parties bar the DUP,
Her Majesty has just delivered the first Conservative Queen’s Speech in 19 years — or as David Cameron described it, a ‘One Nation Queen’s Speech from a One Nation Government’. Here are the key pieces of legislation the government will be looking to pass over the next 12 months. Full Employment and Welfare Benefits Bill (and
In September last year I wrote about horses being illegally grazed and abandoned, and the inability of landowners to do anything about it. Back then, the government were poised to debate the topic for two hours in a bid to find some kind of solution to the problem. It’s not an issue that gets all
Could there be a sadder sight today than Nick Clegg, intervening on behalf of his now tiny ‘minor party’ in the Queen’s Speech debate? The Lib Dem leader is responding to this afternoon, his first intervention since the general election, and plans to use his slot to complain that the Tories are already turning their