All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
My thanks to the ever-vigilant Mr Eugenides for alerting me to this wee gem: Pubs [in Edinburgh] are launching marathon cheap drink offers in a bid to beat new licensing legislation. The new rules, introduced last week, aimed to prevent “happy hour” offers by forcing publicans to keep drinks at the same price for a
James says that the government is at odds with itself over the Megrahi Case. He cites these statements to support his argument that while either of these claims may be true, they cannot both be: David Miliband on the Today Programme on September 2nd: “We did not want him [Megrahi] to die in prison.” Ed
1st May 1930: Australian opening batsmen Bill Woodfull (1897 – 1965, left) and Archie Jackson (1909 – 1933) going out to bat against Worcester at Worcester. Photo: E. F. Corcoran/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images. The other day Patrick Kidd wrote a nice post on cricket and the outbreak of the Second World War, but, speaking of
Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers’ Wall. For those who haven’t come across the Wall before, it’s a post we put up each Monday, on which – providing your writing isn’t libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency – you’ll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section. There is no
…here are some of the posts made over the weekend on Spectator.co.uk: James Forsyth highlights a devastating assessment, and reports that Unite isn’t united in its support for Labour. Peter Hoskin wonders whether Alistair Darling will have the spending gauntlet thrown back in his face, and gives his take on the news that Nick Griffin
David Miliband on the Today Programme on September 2nd: “We did not want him [Megrahi] to die in prison.” Ed Balls on the Today Programme on September 7th: “None of us wanted to see the release of al-Megrahi” Considering that Megrahi was sentenced to life imprison for his role in the Lockerbie bombing, I cannot
To my mind the most interesting political story of the weekend is tucked away inside The Sunday Times. Jonathan Oliver reports that Unite, a trade union which donates huge sums of money to Labour, might be taken over by those who believe that the union should stop funding Labour. (The new leadership would not be
After the abortive plot to smear Richard Dannatt, you’d have thought Labour would have learnt their lesson: that it’s often politically foolish, not to mention indecent, to pick petty fights with the military top brass. But – what’s this? – today’s Mail on Sunday reports that certain Labour figures may have been priming another smear
The Beeb’s admission that they have invited Nick Griffin onto a future episode of Question Time is causing quite a stir. Two main questions are emerging from it all. First, should the BBC give a platform to the BNP? And, second, should other politicians appear on a show with BNP figures? The Tories have already
Well done, Alistair. After taking on Brown over the crude “Labour investment vs Tory cuts” dividing line – and winning – it sounds as though the Chancellor is challenging another of the PM’s lies: that the government’s “stimulus” measures have “saved 500,000 jobs” during the recession. According to the Mail on Sunday, Darling has told
The al-Megrahi story has rolled on for two weeks, and CoffeeHousers have probably had more than their fill; but every morning brings new revelations that undermine the government’s position further. Today, the Sunday Times reports that Gordon Brown, having been in favour of such a deal initially, vetoed the proposal that Libya pay compensation to
So, via Iain Dale, the News of the World has a story claiming that: Britain was facing the likelihood of an increased terror threat last night — after America’s CIA chiefs threatened to stop sharing vital intelligence with us following the Lockerbie bomber’s release. The Americans have already warned British intelligence services that sending
This quote from a retired aide to General Petraeus about the British performance in Basra is, as Alex Massie says, devastating: “The British failure in Basra was not due to the conduct of British troops, which was exemplary. It was, rather, a failure by senior British civilian and military leaders to understand the political dynamics
A new book on John Howard’s government, by the veteran Australian politcal journalist Paul Kelly, has a nice account of the Australian PM’s first encounter with Tony Blair: “At one point John Howard, trying to be clever, asked Tony Blair: ‘What are you going to do with the Thatcher legacy?’ Blair paused, he sat up
One question that arises from the publication the Lockerbie documents is why Jack Straw suddenly decided against excluding al-Megrahi from the PTA? Straw justified his change of heart on the grounds of “overwhelming national interests”, though trade and commercial interests were not a contributing factor in that calculation, a point he reiterated last weekend. But,
Andrew Grice has an interesting column in the Independent today laying out Number 10’s plans for an autumn fightback. The six-step strategy is as follows: “1. Labour will focus on the policy choice between the two main parties because the Tories are more vulnerable on policy than their current opinion poll lead suggests. The Tories
Scott Brown #6 of Scotland celebrates after scoring the opening goal, with team mates Kenny Miller and Darren Fletcher during the 2010 World Cup Qualifier match beteween Scotland and Macedonia at Hampden Park. Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images. Oh dear. Scotland won a football match today. Ordinarily this is occasion for huzzahs and trebles all
So here it is. After rumblings that Brown is prepared to set out spending cuts – rather than hiding them away in he small print of the Budget – Alastair Darling confirms the new strategy in an interview with the Times. He doesn’t actually use the word “cuts”, but it amounts to that: “‘As there
There was a fascinating piece from Martin Kettle in the Guardian today. The headline was slightly laboured but encapsulated the argument well: “An October revolt is plotted. Brown’s head is not safe yet”. Kettle wears his Blairite loyalties on his sleeve, so it’s pretty easy to see where he is getting his ministerial briefings from.
Brown’s delivery may have been beyond sepulchral, but the content was encouraging. He laid out how Afghan stability is being bolstered by the increased activity and competence of Afghan security forces, the replacement of the heroin crop with wheat, an intensification of government in rural hinterlands and by arresting urban corruption. At least there now
Nick Clegg’s statement today on Afghanistan strongly suggests to me that by the time of the next election the Lib Dems will be for withdrawal from Afghanistan. Clegg told the BBC that: “I think there’s a tipping point where we have to ask ourselves whether we can do this job properly, and if we can’t
Tim Montgomerie reports that a senior source at CCHQ has said that John Bercow will not stand as an official Conservative candidate at the general election, and therefore party members will not be required to vote for him. So, will they be for or against Bercow? Councillor Netta Glover, the Buckingham Association’s deputy chairman
Remember that New Statesman article about Obama calling Cameron a “lightweight”? Well, the Journalist Closest to Obama, Richard Wolffe, has a different take. Here’s what he told the Today programme this morning, courtesy of the ever-alert Andrew Sparrow: “He had a strong impression, a strong reaction, to both Cameron and Brown. It was right at
With the resignation of Eric Joyce as PPS to the Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth, the question of why Britain is part of the NATO-led Afghan mission has taken on new force. No doubt the Prime Minister will explain what he sees as the reasons when he speaks at IISS later today. But just because Gordon
Who really freed the Lockerbie bomber? The question cannot be answered by deliberately looking in the wrong place. And for the fortnight since Kenny MacAskill, Scotland’s Justice Secretary, announced Mr Megrahi’s release that is what journalists have been doing, obsessively. Reporting with the pack mentality that often misdirects them, British newspapers have tried to prove
This morning’s political firecracker comes courtesy of Martin Kettle in the Guardian, who claims that a group of Labour figures are moving to oust Brown in October: “An active network of MPs and peers now exists, involving some names you might expect, but also others – including big ones – whose participation would surprise you.
Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk this week. James Forsyth believes that the government’s handling of the al-Megrahi affair was colossally incompetent, and suggests that a live election debate might be a lifeline for Mr Brown. Peter Hoskin argues that Brown’s fightback is marred by negative stories, and sees some evidence that
I don’t know very much about Japan, but I hope we’ll hear more from Miyuki Hatoyama, the new Prime Minister’s wife. Japan’s new first lady is enlivening the nation’s grey-suited world of politics with colourful claims that she met a UFO in a dream and was whisked away to Venus. Miyuki Hatoyama, 66, the charismatic
This tale from Ted Kennedy’s autobiography, to be posthumously published later this month, is classic Reagan and an illustration of what made him such an able politician: ‘The senator said it had been difficult to get Reagan to focus on policy matters. He described a meeting with him that he and other senators had sought
Golly. Looks like Barack Obama is taking his campaign of intimidation to a whole new level. In a recent interview with student reporter, Damon Weaver, President Obama announced that on September 8 — the first day of school for many children across America — he will deliver a national address directly to students on the
The journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee describe their experiences in North Korea in an article in the Times. I urge Coffee Housers to read it, but I was struck by the story that brought them to the Tumen River. ‘We wanted to raise awareness about the harsh reality facing North Korean defectors who, because
Here we go again, folks! It’s Plot Against Gordon time again. And so soon after the last one too! According to Martin Kettle, Labour’s conspirators are contemplating an October move against the Prime Minister. Well, we’ll see. Maybe this one will be different and actually come to something. Basically, however, the parliamentary Labour party’s relationship
In a move that is sure to overshadow the Prime Minister’s speech on Afghanistan tomorrow, Eric Joyce, a former army office, has tonight resigned as PPS to the Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth. In his resignation letter, published on the Channel 4 website, Joyce says that the public would “appreciate more direct approach by politicians” to
Looking at the OECD’s latest economic forecast it seems that the UK—unlike the US and the Euro-Zone–will not return to growth by the end of this year. (Although, one can’t help but wonder if Brown will start heralding zero percent growth in the fourth growth). Indeed, the OECD projects that the UK economy will shrink