All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
This year’s party conference season was hardly memorable, but YouGov’s Joe Twyman seems to have made the most of what was on offer. In a post on the polling organisation’s website, Twyman writes: ‘At the Labour conference in Brighton I met someone who, it subsequently transpired, had even gone as far as having ‘It’s the
Oh dear. Poor old Adam Afriyie. Just over a week ago he was boasting of a ‘cross party’ campaign behind his amendment to James Wharton’s EU referendum bill. Now the updated list of signatures has been supported, and there hasn’t exactly been a stampede of support. Last week, the amendments said this: Adam Afryie Keith
The government’s business taskforce will give a presentation today to Cabinet on its report on slashing EU regulation. David Cameron has already indicated that he will support the 30 recommendations in the report, compiled by M&S chief executive Marc Bolland, Kingfisher chief executive Ian Cheshire, ATG Access managing director Glenn Cooper, BTG chief executive Louise
Greetings from the 2013 Radio Festival, in Salford. I’m here to take part in a debate about whether or not radio reflects the opinions and concerns of a broad enough tranche of the public. It certainly does a better job of this than TV; Radio Five (especially Nicky Campbell) and some of the local stations
According to the weird and wonderful folk at Greenpeace, the home of the longest running magazine in the English language is sitting on a gold mine. A black gold mine. Using sophisticated web technology, Greenpeace have created mapping software of Britain’s lucrative shale reserves. Simply enter your postcode to find out if you are set
Is immigration still a taboo subject? The debate may have opened up for politicians but voters are still anxious about discussing it, as a new poll from Sky News demonstrates. 42 per cent stated they think the current debate about immigration is being unfairly ‘shut down’ by accusations of racism, compared to just 24 per
The Tory talk of backing an increase (£) in the personal tax allowance to £12,500 serves several purposes. First, it makes it easier for the Tories to champion raising the rate to £10,000 and it gives them a tax cuts that’s aimed at low and middle income earners. But it also draws a neat dividing line with
After insisting that her appointment in no way represented a ‘lurch to the left’ at the weekend by repeating the policy pronouncements that her predecessor was allowed to come out with, Rachel Reeves pitched up at DWP questions today with the same strategy that Liam Byrne had employed when taking on the Tories on welfare.
Phil Reilly, a Lib Dem spinner, was hit by a car earlier today. He says that a hardback copy of Power Trip by Damian McBride, contained in a bag slung over his shoulder, took the brunt of the impact. ‘It’s possible a copy of @DPMcBride’s book saved my life,’ he tweeted. Readers will recall that
It is just two weeks since Boris Johnson came over all loyal at the Conservative party conference. The Mayor, it was reported, was putting his weight behind David Cameron because of the presence of Lynton Crosby and the apparent private offer of a safe seat. But it looks like he’s back to being troublesome by
Mr Steerpike is keen for your captions for this shot of the Chancellor and the Mayor at Peking University.
When you started your first job, did you arrive on time on your first day? Did you come dressed in the right clothing, show willingness to help with any and every task, ask questions when they were necessary and take advice even if you privately disagreed? You might think such behaviour would be obvious, but
Rather to my embarrassment, I find that I missed last night’s episode of the BBC2 three-part series on The Ottomans, Europe’s Muslim Conquerors, in which I briefly featured. So Heaven knows what I actually said in it; it’s been a while since filming. But I’m rather hoping that the point I wanted to get across
Now that the middle class squeeze has become my sujet du bore at the fancy north London dinner parties I attend, I was interested in Saturday’s New York Times piece about what foreign billionaires are doing to our insane property prices. One statistic really stuck out: ‘An astonishing £83 billion worth of properties were purchased
A new Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons will be elected on Wednesday. Eleanor Laing is said to be the favourite; but Mr S has been reading the runes for the other candidates. Henry Bellingham surprised colleagues by giving a solid speech last week that, according to one backbencher, was ‘witty and had gravitas’.
Number 10 didn’t make any effort to shoot the fox hunting story that’s doing the rounds at today’s lobby briefing. Responding to calls from a cross-party group of MPs for a partial lifting of the hunting ban to allow farmers to use a full pack of dogs to flush out foxes, the Prime Minister’s official
So hunting returns to the front page of the Telegraph, just like old times. But today provides an intriguing variation on the norm. Instead of Tories calling on the Prime Minister to scrap the Act (my preferred route) we have Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru leading calls to make some relatively minor changes in the
So goodbye then, Sir Richard Branson. Just one question before you go: will you, from the comfort of your sunny Caribbean tax haven, continue to lecture us about the merits of remaining in the ruinously expensive EU? It would look a little off, no?
George Osborne is in Beijing at the moment, drumming up support for Britain in the global race. Although that doesn’t quite work because Britain is obviously racing China in this global race, but all the same, he wants China to run alongside Britain cheering it, rather than sledging as it steams ahead. And to be
Theresa May’s police reform agenda will take a big step forward tomorrow with the announcement that Police and Crime Commissioners will be able to appoint overseas officers as chief constables. As I say in the Mail on Sunday, this’ll mean that successful foreign police chiefs, such as Bill Bratton the former head of the New
In his five years as Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer has shown a striking appetite for (self-) publicity and given the job a higher profile than ever. He’s just informed the world, from Andrew Marr’s sofa, that he’s opposed to plans by the Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, to tear up the egregious Human Rights Act
Much rejoicing in the ranks of education reformers today as just one sinner repents. Tristram Hunt has toldthe Mail On Sunday that Labour doesn’t think free schools are just for ‘yummy mummies’ and that now his party does support free schools, but under the ‘parent-led academies’ banner. This is supposed to be a Damascene moment
It’s an ill wind that blows no one any good. The financial crisis that came to a head five years ago with the failure of Lehman Brothers has been especially beneficial to the economist Paul Krugman. In his widely read New York Times column and blog, Krugman regularly boasts that he has been ‘right’ about the crisis
Should the government simply give up on Middlesbrough, Burnley, Hartlepool and Hull? In a leader titled City slickers, The Economist argues that these towns are trapped in a spiral of decline and attempts to ‘save’ them are futile: ‘Middlesbrough, Burnley, Hartlepool, Hull and many others were in trouble even before the financial crisis. These days
The establishment has a target in its sights; you can always tell from the tone of the Today programme. In this case, it’s Northern Ireland’s abortion law. The occasion is the genuinely tragic case of Sarah Ewart, who travelled to Britain this week in order to abort a foetus with the most severe case of
An old journalist told me that there was a time when people used to know the names of national newspaper editors. It’s a mark of Fleet Street’s decline, he said, that Alan Rusbridger of the Guardian and Paul Dacre of the Mail are the only well known editors today. He added that Rusbridger is famous
What part of ‘no’ don’t they understand? Our politicians have proudly unveiled their new plan to license the press, as if this was is in their power to do so. In fact, the press in Britain has been free from political interference for generations. The British government simply does not have the power to regulate
Here is the revised Royal Charter on press regulation agreed by the three parties. It replaces the draft published in March this year. It begins: NOW KNOW YE that We by Our Prerogative Royal and of Our especial grace It seems that Parliament would bring down 300 years of free expression using a principle that parliamentarians like Pym, Hampden, Haselrige,
On Wednesday I brought you the news that a politician could actually be funny occasionally. Many of you were shocked, disparaging or simply could not agree, so here is the case for the defence. I’ve got hold of the video of Nick Clegg’s comedy turn at the LBC 40th Birthday party, so you can be
The Snowden files continue to dominate the news today. Vince Cable has said that the Guardian newspaper had provided a ‘considerable public service’ by publishing Edward Snowden’s leaked material. This contrasted with Nick Clegg’s effort on LBC Radio yesterday (above). Clegg said that it was important to have a debate about technology and privacy, before
I was on the Daily Politics earlier, discussing the Guardian / Snowden leaks and debating against a representative from the campaign group ‘Liberty’. The ‘Liberty’ representative kept saying what a lot of apologists for the actions of the Guardian (now including Vince Cable) have been saying – that Snowden and the Guardian should in some
Len McCluskey is doing Conservative HQ’s work for them. The emboldened Unite leader is welcoming the return of socialism under Red Ed. Last night at the annual Jimmy Reid lecture, McCluskey spoke passionately of Miliband’s bold new agenda: ‘Ed Miliband’s speech to the Labour conference was – some would say – the most genuinely radical
Ed Miliband, everyone seems to agree, has had a good few weeks, even months. Everyone agrees on this even though Labour’s position in the polls is not significantly better now than it was before the summer. The Labour leader, and again on this everyone seems to agree, has been setting the agenda. David Cameron has
Question Time last night featured Tory bad boy, and granny’s favourite, Adam Afriyie. Gosh he was a spectacle to behold. Coiffed and primped like a Savile Row supermodel, he looked as if he’d spent six months in makeup. His tailored suit was as smooth as Clingfilm. His hair was a combed flap of silvery darkness.