All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
In the last two days, Nato and European leaders have declared that Gaddafi must go, but both have baulked at taking unilateral action. Their reticence has sparked a response from those in favour of intervention. Speaking in Brussels today, David Cameron said that situation on the ground may be getting worse and that Europe and
The multiple crises in North Africa, from the revolution in Tunisia, through the protests in Egypt and to the conflict in Libya, has reinvigorated British foreign policy. In the last couple of years classic international issues have been pushed to the side by a need to focus on economic statecraft. Foreign ministers became less important
Project Merlin, the deal between the government and the banks, was meant to turn the page on banker bashing. But the deputy prime minister is still stuck on the previous page, telling Radio Sheffield today ‘I want to wring the neck of these wretched people’ the bankers. The language isn’t very statesmanlike and is
The momentum behind the Arab Spring revolutions appears to have been checked – for now. The Libyan domino hasn’t fallen. But there’s more unrest to come in North Africa. On March 21, a group called Youth for Change will hold mass protests throughout Sudan. Youth for Change (sinister name) are inspired, obviously, by what has
And, meanwhile, William Hague and David Cameron have issued statements on the disaster. Here’s Hague: “My thoughts are with the people of Japan at this time. We are in contact with the Japanese government and I have asked our Ambassador in Tokyo to offer all assistance we can as Japan responds to this terrible disaster.
Graphs and tables cannot ever convey the full tragedy of the situation in Japan, but the one above captures an important fact: that today’s earthquake is historic in size. At 8.9 magnitude, this Japanese disaster is the 7th largest on the US Geological Survey’s books. Because it struck on the seabed, its destructive energy is
What have the Lib Dems ever done for us? That’s the question that Nick Clegg sets about answering in interview with the Independent today — and he does so with righteous vigour. “Brick by brick, policy by policy, decision by decision, sometimes almost invisibly,” he insists, “we are putting in place good policies that will
Spot the mistake the New York Times makes here. Unfortunate but amusing. This produced, as it would, a fine correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to the new Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny as a female. Enda Kenny is a male. As I suspected this was New York’s fault, not Sarah Lyall’s
I think it perfectly reasonable for the state to deny prisoners the right to vote and that losing the franchise is one of the consequences of incarceration. But as far as I know no-one in this country has suggested denying ex-prisoners their voting rights. They do things differently in the United States. Over to Roger
The tragic truth is that in Libya Colonel Gaddafi appears to be on the way to regaining control. As the US director of national intelligence said today The tragic truth is that in Libya Colonel Gaddafi appears to be on the way to regaining control. As the US director of national intelligence said today, the
Today’s decision to leave base rates at an emergency 0.5 per cent — the lowest since the Bank of England was founded in 1694 — shows how Britain is running out of options. Not even Mervyn King would deny that Britain has an inflation problem: global prices may be up, but the UK seems to
From the moment David Cameron started agitating for a no fly-zone, he’s been looking for allies. France and Denmark look like they will support him, with Russia and India opposed and China perhaps willing to abstain at the United Nations. But what about closer to home, inside the coalition? Since the formation of the coalition,
Mark Wallace has been passed some very interesting information about local Conservative associations. He writes: ‘Apparently Andrew Feldman reported (at a meeting this morning) on a study CCHQ has carried out into the effectiveness of local Conservative Associations. In a “mystery shopper” exercise, CCHQ wrote to over 300 associations under the guise of being a
As you all know, one may be a designer of ladies’ underwear or a great dictator. But not both. Similarly, one may have passed a healthcare reform that’s a mini-version of Obamacare or one may become the Republican party’s next presidential nominee. But not both. That, at least, is held to be Mitt Romney’s awful
The situation in Libya is still uncertain, but the fog of war is clearing to expose a depressing picture. Forces loyal to the Gaddafi regime are conducting a successful offensive. The Times’ Deborah Haynes confirms reports (£) that Zawiya has fallen and rebels have been forced from the oil town of Ras Lanuf. William Hague
There is a war on. Not in Libya but in Helmand, where nearly 9,000 British troops are fighting. Last year was in fact the deadliest of more than nine years of war for Afghan civilians, the United Nations has just reported. You would not know it, though. For the events in North Africa have almost
A British Bill of Rights has long been the Tory leadership’s sticking plaster solution to the problems posed by the ECHR. The idea is that a British Bill of Rights would give this country a greater margin of appreciation in interpreting the convention. But this morning this plan is in tatters. The long-awaited commission
The cuts in spending are going to feel very unpleasant indeed. Rising interest costs, resulting from past expansions in public debt, are going to crowd out other parts of the budget. It is proving difficult to curb the cost of transfers, such as benefits and pensions, and this combines with the ring-fencing of health and
The various revolutions popping up, like boils, in the Middle East (or “North Africa”, as the BBC likes to call it) seem to be going much the way this magazine predicted a bunch of weeks ago. The liberal, freedom-lovin’ ordinary people of Egypt, for example, have now begun their persecution of the Christian minority, setting
As expected, John Hutton’s review of public sector pensions has recommended that final salary schemes end. Hutton was across the broadcasters this morning, explaining that he was reflecting an “inescapable reality”: “The solution to this problem is not a race to the bottom, it’s not to hack away at the value of public service pensions.
The government says that the forthcoming budget is going to be all about growth. And rightly so: the economy is still in the doldrums, and without much stronger growth than we are currently witnessing, the coalition has no hope whatsoever of balancing the budget by 2015. But few of the measures being trailed in advance
Who benefits from school choice? Conventional wisdom claims it’s the sharp-elbowed, well-heeled middle-classes that do the best. That’s the same CW that thinks the Big Society is all very well and good for Hampstead but it can never work in Hackney. This has never seemed especially persuasive to me, not least because these ideas are
Lefties like to think the Laffer Curve never applies; righties are too fond of thinking it must apply to any tax in almost any circumstances. Both views are mistaken. Cutting tax does not always increase revenue, but sometimes it can. As this excellent piece by Donna Edmunds observes, at least 80% of the £6.63 it
Newt Gingrich’s campaign to secure the Republican party’s 2012 nomination doesn’t deserve to be taken as seriusly as plenty of serious people seem to be taking it. No-one thinks Newt can win but he receives vastly more coverage than other (and sane!) no-hopers such as Gary Johnson. Perhaps that’s explained by the fact that Newt
Today’s news that Nato has intercepted an Iranian weapons shipment to the Taliban shows the threat Iran poses to international order and just how dangerous it would be for this regime to develop a nuclear capability. The shipment means that the regime, or at least part of it, wishes to assist those who want to
Curiouser and curiouser. We in Coffee House have been saying for some time now that – whatever Mervyn King thinks – Britain has the worst inflation in the Western World apart from Greece. An OECD report out today shows we’ve got it worse than most eastern countries too. Korea, Turkey and Estonia are the only
All hands to the Defence Select Committee this afternoon, for questions about the nation’s security apparatus. Of course, most onlookers were not remotely interested in the answers. For them, this gathering was convened to see if William Hague might regain his “mojo“. He didn’t get the chance. This was Letwin Hour. Or Letwin’s Two Hours,
One of the hardest tasks of any opposition is to gain the trust and credibility to run the economy. After what happened over the last few years, Labour have an enormous credibility gap. Ed Balls’ decision to oppose any measure to deal with the deficit has reduced Labour’s economic credibility still further. So too has
Today’s PMQs was full of verve and bite. A welcome change after last week’s washout. It’s all getting a bit tasty between Ed and Dave. The Labour leader opened with Libya and after making ritual noises about wanting to support the government’s foreign policy he admitted he found it hard not to voice his ‘concern
Public sector workers will be waiting nervously for John Hutton’s pension review, due out tomorrow. It is likely to mandate extra pension contributions of around 2.5-3.5 percent of pay and new ways to make entitlements grow more slowly. Policy Exchange advocated a similar solution in a report published last year. Predictably, the TUC is up
VERDICT: A turgid sort of PMQs, where most of the quips were clumsy rather than cutting. Cameron probably won it by virtue of one of the few direct hits – his line about Ed Miliband knifing a foreign secretary, aka MiliD – and because Miliband failed, really, to prod and aggravate the coalition’s wounds over
Sue Cameron’s FT Notebook is always laced with delicious vignettes. This morning, she reveals that the new cabinet manual has been withdrawn temporarily because Sir Gus O’Donnell’s Latin grammar is like Pooh’s spelling: it wobbles. What are things coming to when even Sir Humphrey puts the definite article before a Latin phrase? Cameron also reviews
The garbled horror stories just keep on rolling out of Libya. According to the latest reports, Gaddafi’s troops have attacked the rebels in Zawiyah with redoubled violence and force. Aircraft, tanks, bombs, mortars – all have been used against the city and its people, with what one assumes are bloody results. As one resident puts
One of the worst kept secrets of David Cameron’s leadership is that some in the inner circle don’t think much of the members of the shadow Cabinet who are now in Cabinet. What is far more dangerous is when the leader himself lets slip his low opinion of some of his colleagues, as Ben Brogan
