Peter Hoskin

Introducing the new Spectator Book Club

Peter Hoskin celebrates The Spectator’s rich literary tradition and welcomes bibliophiles across the world to a new online home The Spectator offices at 22 Old Queen Street are a bibliophile’s paradise. Books are, quite simply, everywhere: in bookcases; on top of filing cabinets; on the floor; and in the recesses where fireplaces should be. The

Introducing the revamped Spectator Book Club

Just to flag-up the The Spectator’s revamped, online Book Club – which you can access here.  Plenty of stuff there that bibliophilic CoffeeHousers may find interesting – including Book of the Month recommendations (this month: Jonathan Littell’s The Kindly Ones); a massive, well-sorted review archive; and a discussion board.  Would be great to see some

A neat little video

I’ve just got round to watching, somewhat belatedly, this footage of William Hague reviewing his own PMQs performance. It’s a bit more detailed than the post-match analysis that Cameron gave at the end of this video last year, and a cracking example of a politician engaging purposefully with the internet to give the public a

PMQs live blog | 4 March 2009

With Brown in America, David Cameron on compassionate leave, and Nick Clegg looking after his newborn son, it’s a Harman-Hague-Cable match in PMQs today.  Expect a subdued affair, although there could be some sparks over Harman’s comments about Fred Goodwin’s pension.  Stay tuned for live Coffee House coverage from 1200.  You can watch proceedings here.

You know things are getting really bad for Brown when…

…Cabinet ministers would rather be in opposition than in his government.  This from Alice Miles in today’s Times: “Can the country really bear another 14 months of this? Not even ministers are sure they can endure it: one member of the Cabinet told me recently that, despite the hell of being in opposition, he could

A humble rift

So, it seems that Alistair Darling wasn’t speaking on message when he called for some “humility” from government yesterday.  The Mail reports that Brown was left “fuming” by Darling’s intervention, and there’s much talk of a rift between the PM and his Chancellor.  Brown’s since tried to paper over the cracks, telling Nick Robinson that

Spelman guilty of “inadvertent breaches”

As ConservativeHome reports, the official investigation into ‘Nannygate’ has found Caroline Spelman guilty of “inadvertent breaches” of Commons rules.  The “inadvertent” bit means she’ll keep her job in the shadow cabinet, but Paul Waugh writes that she’ll have to repay £9,600 of expenses that she used to pay her nanny.  Much like the Brown decision

Is Brown’s global mission dehumanising him?

Over at The Bright Stuff, Martin flags up this passage in Rachel Sylvester’s excellent Times column today:  During one recent conference call involving Ed Balls and Lord Mandelson (Mr Brown’s new core team who have regular strategy meetings) the Prime Minister was pressed repeatedly to deal with a list of specific issues but kept turning

Tragedy on the streets of Lahore

Grim echoes of the Mumbai atrocities this morning, as the news came in that a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team had been attacked in Lahore.  Once again, it seems that the perpertrators are a Pakistani terrorist organisation, perhaps even the same Lashkar-e-Taibar; once again, the attack is being described as “well organised”; and,

Is Darling paving the way for some “humility” from Brown?

Hm.  I was quite surprised by Alistair Darling’s interview with the Telegraph this morning.  To my ear, Government rhetoric has been hardening over the past few weeks; the same old soundbites about “Tory cuts” and “Problems which started in America” used ever more defiantly.  But here we have a softening of approach, and – although

Brown’s Mandy dilemma

Oh dear.  You feel it had to happen sometime, and here it is: news that Labour MPs are calling on Gordon Brown to “rein in” Peter Mandelson.  Predictably, it’s over the continuing Royal Mail row; something that, as it happens, Mandy’s on the right side of.   So far as Brown’s concerned, increased hostility towards

It’s the fundamentals, stupid

Nestled among all the coverage of Brown’s meeting with Obama, and of Harman’s denunciation of Fred Goodwin, is this story in the FT: “The government’s flagship £10bn business lending guarantee scheme, due to come into force on Monday, is weeks behind schedule. The delay will fuel business and union concerns about the pace of government

Brown gets mad with Harman – but will he get even?

Last we heard, Brown wasn’t convinced that Harriet Harman was positioning herself to succeed him as Labour leader.  But this Mail on Sunday story paints a different picture, claiming that he’s actually threatened to sack her for her “disloyalty”.  Here’s a key snippet: “The Mail on Sunday understands that the Prime Minister’s anger boiled over

Krohn 2032?

I doubt even Rod Liddle was as precocious as this aged 13: [Footage of thirteen-year-old Jonathan Krohn addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington DC yesterday] Hat-tip: Paul Waugh

Why have Mandelson and Clarke been kept apart?

Reading Bagehot a couple of weeks ago, on the prospects for a televisual clash between Ken Clarke and Peter Mandelson, it struck me how the dynamics of the situation have changed.  Despite the drooling anticipation of numerous political observers, both Labour and the Tories have seemed reluctant to put their two business frontbenchers up against

Labour to hire Sir Alan for mayoral bid?

Much ado round Westminster about Andrew Gilligan’s claim that Labour, through their London director, have approached business-supremo-cum-TV-personality Alan Sugar to run as their candidate for London Mayor in 2012.  As Paul Waugh reveals, Labour are denying it all – but the story still makes a lot of sense.  After all, Sugar is high-profile; popular with the

Mandelson struggles to pull the media strings

There’s an air of desperation about Peter Mandelson’s article in the Wall Street Journal today.  The notion that the UK’s uniquely well-placed to deal with the downturn seems to have been jettisoned – Mandy gives the excuse that “the U.K. has taken an early hit from a credit crunch that began with a serious failure

Yet another broadside against Brown’s economic management

For the third day in a row, the head of a prominent independent body has given Gordon Brown a kicking.  After Lord Turner’s attack on Brown’s regulatory system, and Mervyn King’s comments yesterday, Steven Bundred, the chief executive of the Audit Commission, today laments our massive public debt.  His article in the Times (headline: ‘Our