Fraser Nelson is a Times columnist and a former editor of The Spectator.
Where would the Liberal Democrats be without the insinuation that the rich are let off lightly by the tax system? But I would like to let CoffeeHousers in on what seems to be a secret. The richest 10% actually stump up the majority (53%) of tax collected in Britain. And the richest 1% stump up
As David Cameron prepares to speak, I would like to helpfully outline five components behind the mess we see today. 1. Bungling central bankers: As I blogged earlier, the Bank of England refused to support banks with the zero-penalty lending rates offered in every other major world economy. There’s a strong case for such discipline, but
There is just one consolation for Sir Menzies Campbell as he prepares for his second and probably last conference as Liberal Democrat leader: they will not come after him in Brighton. It is too late, now, to knife the leader. Gordon Brown could call an election at any moment, and there is no time for
The Zac-Gummer boomerang, thrown in December 2005, has hit Cameron in the face today. The Quality of Life group policy report is overflowing with guff. Take their headline plan to add VAT on short-haul flights. Has it occurred to either of them that VAT is reclaimed by anyone on business trips, so this would only
William Hague has just given a non-committal response to the “mixed results” of the American troop surge. I’d rather have liked him to say something like this (adapted from the Giuliani article I mentioned earlier) In Vietnam, just as in Iraq today, America fought a war with the wrong strategy for several years. And then,
I have to admit: last week was a bad one to take off. Plenty happened in Britain, which I’m digesting now (what was Mercer playing at?). But for what it’s worth, here are a few observations from my week in New York… 1. Rudy Giuliani’s campaign is more advanced and heavyweight then is appreciated this side
I have a bit of good news for James (and Iain Dale). Zac won’t be listened to. I understand that of the six policy review groups, the favourites of the Cameroon leadership are the social justice and competitiveness report (by IDS and John Redwood respectively). The others are not considered to have much meat in
Greetings from Sweden, where the newspapers today report that huge demand for Chinese has now made it one of the top three languages taught in schools here. Sweden has the voucher system, so the curriculum responds to parental demand rather than ministerial diktat. Imagine that. In Britain, just 4,000 of our 3.3 million state pupils
Brown has handled the crises well, but let’s not forget he is to blame for many of them There has been something almost Biblical about the challenges which Gordon Brown has had to contend with since moving into 10 Downing Street. It started with the curiously unseasonal weather, which plunged London into darkness one July
Sir Tom Cowie is always great value for journalists. When I was a business hack, I would call him up when reporting the annual results of Cowie Plc, the car company he founded (but, by then, had retired from). He would obligingly denounce its management, thus sprucing up my story. “Sir Tom Cowie attacks Cowie
After Quentin Davies defected to Labour, Ed Balls hinted that there would be more to come. Well, one is about to be announced. Are you sitting down? It is none other than David Anstee, 26, former vice chair of the Rhondda Conservative party. Here are the words his new friends have written for him: “Like
Gordon Brown will not holiday abroad this summer. Not for him the allure of a Tuscan palace or the sunbeds of Sharm el-Sheikh. The Prime Minister has instead created perfect happiness inside his home in Fife: a room wired up to the 10 Downing Street computer system where he can monitor the government he now
We have a winner in our competition to say, in a sentence, why a normal voter would wish for a Conservative victory. It shows what a fix Cameron is in that so few Tory-supporting people could come up with a good reason for him to be Prime Minister. There were some hilariously cruel suggestions, but
I was struck by the fact James plucked out of that Newsweek article – that “every second child in London is born to an immigrant mother.” Could it really be true? Silly question –Newsweek is known for its accuracy, and originality. The data is in Table 9.2 of this Office of National Statistics Excel file
“I really want the Conservatives to win the next election because…” A few CoffeeHousers have offered some endings to the above sentence, and I’d like to offer the bribe of a bottle of champagne for the best entry. One rule (sorry, Tiberius) it can’t just be “because Brown is a villain” etc – it has to
It is horrible to imagine. It would be a tragedy, for party and country. Even contemplating it seems lurid and, given recent events, deeply mischievous. It is certainly not something for loyal Tories to discuss in public. But, in their darker moments, few Conservative politicians will have not asked themselves the question in the past
As Matt suggested, I’m getting some stick from Tories here in the Commons – mainly ones who have just seen today’s Spectator cover (Peter Brooke’s brilliant cartoon of Cameron about to be run over a bus) and asking if I’ve gone all Brutus. Quite the reverse. I merely sought to dangle regicidal Tories over the
It was almost like David Cameron was being bullied by the Commons today. When he stood up, all MPs cheered – the kind of sarcastic cheer they normally reserve for Ming Campbell. When he mentioned the floods and “people in this country are discussing this issue” an almighty laugh went up saying “what would you
Beneath the dynamic surface, Brown is dismantling Blair’s public service reforms When ministerial limousines line Great Smith Street in Westminster it is normally a sign that the Cinnamon Club is doing brisk trade. This upmarket Indian restaurant has become so popular with MPs that it has wired up a division bell in its foyer to
Ben Brogan reports that George Bridges, David Cameron’s former campaign manager, has quit, It is a loss, he’s a great guy and had a hell of a tough job. Being in charge of campaigning for Scotland and the north is like being made head of the Saudi Arabian division of Guinness. I gather his departure