What ungrateful ducks
From Sir Peter Viggers’s statement on his failed attempt to put a floating duck island on expenses: “it was never liked by the ducks and is now in storage.” Hat tip: Conservative Home
James Forsyth
James Forsyth is former political editor of The Spectator.
Saturday
Flint tells Brown, don’t sack Blears
Hazel Blears flipping her second home several times is one of the worst cases uncovered by the Telegraph. But her actions are really no worse than those of Geoff Hoon. Yet, it is Blears who has copped most of the flak from the media. Gordon Brown hasn’t helped her case by describing her actions as
Friday
What to do about Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq
This video of David Kilcullen, the author of this week’s cover story and the world’s greatest expert on counter-insurgency, in conversation with George Packer about Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq is well worth watching
Navigation errors
Oh come on! Paul Waugh, whose blog is normally excellent, is fuming about the Tory MP for Clwyd West claiming for a sat-nav. He asks: “…does any self-respecting MP really need a satnav to find their way around their constituency? Isn’t it an admission that they are a bit disconnected from their voters?” This is
This disdain is a result of far more than expenses
One thing that the new Speaker must remember is that the expenses scandal has hardened—not created—the public’s contempt for Parliament. As Camilla Cavendish writes today, “one of the reasons public anger goes a lot deeper than Sir Peter Viggers’s duck pond is because we feel we can no longer change our laws by voting out
Thursday
Three down today, more to come tomorrow
The expenses saga shows no sign of coming to an end. Today saw three departures from political life. The Tory Sir Peter Viggers is leaving Parliament at the next election to spend more time with his duck pond. Ben Chapman, a Labour MP, who over claimed on his mortgage is stepping down. And the Lib
Same time, same place but so very different
From Bret Stephens’ review of Edmund Morgan’s latest book: in Philadelphia in 1787, Mr. Morgan uncovers one more instance of witch hunting, this one barely remembered, concerning an old woman named Korbmacher who died soon after being brutalized by a mob. Not much else is known about the incident, but Mr. Morgan is struck that
Talent needs a seat
The expenses scandal has already created three vacancies in extremely safe Tory seats, and the word is that there could a dozen or so more before this is all over. The temptation for the Tories will be to opt for the safety first approach and fill these seats with solid but unexceptional local candidates. But
Wednesday
Will Cable be able to resist?
There is still something magnificent about a Times editorial. Few other forms of British journalism carry with them the same weight, the same gravity, as a leader from the Thunderer. So, I wonder if Vince Cable hesitated this morning as he read today’s calling for him to be the next Speaker. Cable is not a
Mandy on the move?
Sue Cameron’s notebook in the FT is a treasure trove of mini-scoops; few journalists are anywhere near as well connected in Whitehall—as opposed to Westminster—as she is. Today’s is no exception. Cameron reports that ‘Lord Mandelson, the business secretary, has let it be known he wants to jump ship to the Foreign Office’. Moving Mandelson
Tuesday
So much for the idea that Mohammed Siddique Khan was radicalised by Afghanistan or Iraq
From the Intelligence and Security Committee’s review of the Intelligence on the London Terrorist Attacks of 7 July 2005: This photograph was taken from CCTV footage from a surveillance operation of an “outward bound” expedition in January 2001 attended by 40 individuals. The police and MI5 showed pictures of the attendees to their sources and
Douglas Hogg will not stand at the next election
It’s all go in Westminster today. News has just broken that Douglas Hogg, the man with the moat, will stand down at the next election.
Paul Waugh: Martin to resign
Paul Waugh reports that Michael Martin will resign at 2.30. More soon.
Cameron must speak up on the Speaker
To date, David Cameron has played the expenses crisis skilfully. The polls show that the public have seen Cameron as being decisive and Brown as dithering. But this morning on the Today programme, Cameron tied himself in knots talking about the Speaker’s position. Cameron, obviously, doesn’t feel that it is constitutionally right for him to
Monday
A guide to happiness
This month’s Atlantic has a fascinating piece on a longitudinal study of Harvard graduates that began in the late 1930s. It followed 268 ‘well-adjusted’ male students and was meant to discover what made people live long and prosper. The idea behind it was to act as a corrective to the fact that medicine spends its
What Cameron should do now
Here at Coffee House we are of the view that Cameron should call for the Speaker to go. But Cameron seems steadfast in his view that it is not constitutionally proper for him to do so. But there is surely nothing to prevent him from urging the government to allow time for the Carswell motion
Speaker’s statement live blog
Martin starts off with an apology to the British public. Within 48 hours, Martin will sum the party leaders together with the Commons Committee to thrash out a deal on the second home allowance and other matters. Martin wants a moratorium on expenses claim. Martin refuses to engage when asked if Carswell’s motion of no
May Test series have to end
While we wait for the Speaker’s statement at 3.30, maybe Coffee Housers will indulge me in a rant about how the ECB are harming Test cricket. The May Test matches the ECB keep scheduling just have to stop. They are devaluing Test cricket. Normally, England comprehensively winning a series having lost the previous one between
A combustive mix
With the expenses scandal so dominating the news, it is easy to forget that there are other stories going on. Today’s New York Times fronts with a piece on how Pakistan is even now increasing its nuclear arsenal; proof that the Pakistani state still hasn’t switched its priorities from an arms race with India to
Dragging the Speaker from the chair
Today will be a day of parliamentary drama. A Speaker hasn’t been removed from the chair for more than 300 years so no one knows precisely how the effort to oust Michael Martin is going to proceed. We can expect Martin’s statement to both contain a timetable for reform and to announce that he will