James Forsyth is former political editor of The Spectator.
Barack Obama’s decision to nominate Jon Huntsman as the US ambassador to China is classic Obama. Huntsman is the Republican governor of Utah and was widely expected to make a run for his party’s nomination in 2012. Unlike a lot of other Republican politicians Huntsman has kept his eye on the general electorate rather than
One thought one had heard it all when it came to the folly of Donald Rumsfeld’s second stint at the Pentagon. But it is jaw-dropping to see these cover sheets for intelligence briefings that Rumsfeld gave President Bush. They come with Biblical quotes attached to martial images. Just imagine the reaction if these had leaked
Niall Ferguson has a typically sharply-argued piece in the New York Times Magazine disputing the idea that the current financial crisis was caused by deregulation. Here’s the nub of his argument: “The reality is that crises are more often caused by bad regulation than by deregulation. For one thing, both the international rules governing bank-capital
The future of the Speaker dominates the Sunday papers. The Mail on Sunday reports that Michael Martin will announce that he will quit at the next election in an attempt to save his position. The Sunday Times has an interview with a former staff member, admittedly one who left under a cloud, who alleges that
There are two new polls out tonight and both show that the two main parties are suffering as the expenses scandal drags on. ComRes for the Independent on Sunday has both Labour and the Tories down five, putting Labour on 21 and the Tories on 40. BPIX for the Mail on Sunday has the two
The New Yorker has a fascinating essay this week on self-control in children and the role it plays in their life chances. The story starts with a Stanford academic who experimented on whether children when left alone with a sweet of their choice would delay eating it in exchange for being allowed to eat two
Britain’s most popular political leader has been involved in a dodgy property deal with a fraudster. Britain’s most popular political leader has been involved in a dodgy property deal with a fraudster. On the same day that the politician bought his new home for £165,000 under the asking price, a regular campaign contributor purchased (via
Iain Martin reports that Monday is a key day for the effort to remove the Speaker. Today, the mood seems to have hardened against Michael Martin—I haven’t spoken to anyone who thinks that his position is tenable. Over at Comment Central, various Times writers have nominated who they would pick as Speaker. On the question
A few weeks ago, David Brooks lavished praise on David Cameron. Brooks argued that Cameron’s approach was just how the Republican should combat Obama. Brooks summed up the Cameron approach as, “I’m going to be the society party and going to make you the state party.” Many around Westminster said that Brooks had summed up
In an intriguing development, the story has just broken that William Hague is to give up his outside interests. Paul Waugh reports that Hague will give them all up, including the after dinner speeches, by September. Hague’s move suggests that Cameron is going to order his shadow Cabinet to give up all their second jobs.
The issue of who is the Speaker of the House of Commons should not be a party political issue. But there is no way the Commons can begin to put its house in order and begin the urgent task of restoring the public’s trust in it as long as Michael Martin remains in office. He
This country has a proud anti-fascist tradition. No country has done more to defeat fascism than Britain. So, it would be saddening and shaming if this country, the mother of all parliaments, was to send fascists to sit in the European Parliament. Indeed, I even hear that Griffin, the leader of the BNP, will head
Labour has fallen to its lowest ever opinion poll rating in a YouGov poll for The Sun. On the general election question, the Tories were at 41 down two from the last YouGov poll, Labour on 22 down five and the Lib Dems up one on 19. The Sun calculates that this would deliver the
Up until now, there’s been safety in numbers for those MPs caught up in this scandal. If, for example, the revelations about Alistair Darling had come out on their own, I suspect, they would have placed his career in jeopardy. But now, what Fraser calls, ‘the punishment momentum’ is building; two thirds of the Conservative
‘If you ain’t a swing, you don’t mean a thing’ is sadly an adage that British political parties live by. Come the next election, the parties will concentrate their efforts on the battleground street and ignore their own safe seats and those of the other parties. This targeting leaves most voters feeling ignored. The disillusionment
Barack Obama has made clamping down on tax havens one of his key talking points. It is easy to see why he has taken this approach which enables him to sound both populist and patriotic. On the stump, Obama liked to joke that a building in the Cayman Islands that was the registered home of
Nick Robinson reports that the parties are still banging out the details of an agreement on expenses. Robinson reports that “What remains at issue is that Labour wants a cap on the amount that can be spent on mortgage interest payments and the Lib Dems are arguing that MPs should repay any gain they make
One of the key questions as to how the expenses scandal will play out politically, is how it affects the Liberal Democrats. The Telegraph have just posted the teaser for their story tomorrow, here’s the key paragraph: “Expenses claims submitted by 12 Liberal Democrats, from senior spokesmen to a number of back benchers, will be
One of the things that makes me angriest about the whole expenses scandal is that our politicians have conspired to reduce their standing at a time when the country is in economic crisis and the global situation is becoming increasingly precarious. Yesterday, Robert Gates, Obama’s Secretary of Defense who is a holdover from the Bush
David Miliband has given a provocative interview to the Evening Standard’s Anne McElvoy. Here’s how he replied when McElvoy asked him if he was up for another tilt at the leadership: “I really won’t go there. I rule nothing in and nothing out and it’s invidious, where we are now, to talk about it.” He’s