Now the Tories have nabbed David Freud from the Government, they have the perfect opportunity to recast the welfare debate for the recession years. As Alex Barker pointed out in an excellent blog post for the FT yesterday, they certainly need to. After all, recent findings suggest that the Freud-prescribed workfare measures aren’t working quite as well
I imagine CCHQ will have a ‘headless chicken’ folder, containing examples of where Brown’s numerous schemes to bolster the economy aren’t having the desired effect. If so, it should certainly include a copy of the FT’s study into the Government’s loan guarantee scheme for small businesses. Here’s how the FT introduces it: “Only about £12m
I wrote earlier that the papers are stuffed with bad news for Gordon Brown. The same’s true for taxpayers, especially in light of the CBI’s latest set of economic forecasts. They have GDP shrinking by 3.3 percent this year, and unemployment rising above 3 million in 2010. Which adds up to a lower tax revenue
Is the bad news stacked against Gordon Brown reaching some kind of critical mass? The newspapers today are absolutely stuffed with stories about banks, bankers and bonuses that are either embarrassing or downright ruinous for the PM. And, to top it all off, Trevor Kavanagh begins his Sun column asking why Brown hasn’t resigned after
When you step back and think about it, it’s really quite astonishing how fast and how emphatically Brown has fallen since his minor ‘bounce’ in the autumn. Sure, he was always going to struggle as the recession bit deeper and deeper. But to so swiftly get to this point – where all news is bad
Given the wave-making nature of the ComRes poll earlier, it’s worth pointing out the YouGov poll for tomorrow’s Sunday Times. Rather than a eye-catching increase in Lib Dem support, it records a 2 point fall for Clegg, Cable et al. Here are the headline numbers: Conservatives — 44 percent (up 1 percentage point) Labour —
John Rentoul promised us a wave-making ComRes / IoS poll, and he wasn’t lying. The figures he revealed earlier show a 6 point climb in Lib Dem support, putting them within three points of Labour, who record their worst showing since last September. The Tories have fallen back slightly, too, but their lead over Labour
Those early election rumours just won’t go away. Here’s Peter Oborne writing in the Mail today about the decision to publish this year’s Budget on 22 April: “But there is another, more intriguing reason for the delay. Gordon Brown, acting on the advice of Peter Mandelson, wants to keep open the option of a General
Just to flag up Martin’s latest blog post, in which he details Downing Street’s reponse to his ‘apology DVD’ scoop. Well worth reading, particularly as it features a (typically) less-than-charming text message from Damian McBride…
Remember those PFI projects which were doomed to collapse because the banks are no longer willing to stump up the cash for them? Well, an article in today’s Times suggests that Alistair Darling is going to raid the public purse to ensure they’re completed: “A multibillion-pound rescue of building programmes involving schools, hospitals and motorways
What to make of the state’s refusal to allow Geert Wilders into the UK yesterday? The issues involved are so fundamental that my take on them is almost instinctive: of course he should have been allowed into the country, and the excuse that a private screening of his film Fitna in the Lords is a
Given that today’s the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, I’ve just delved into the Spectator’s archives to see what we said about the great man on the occasion of his death in April 1882. I’ve typed out the whole obituary below for the benefit of CoffeeHousers and for the sake of posterity: By the death of Charles Darwin, which
As an addendum to Fraser’s interview with Alan Johnson in the latest issue of the mag, it’s worth flagging up this exchange between George Osborne and Alistair Darling in the Commons earlier. Osborne picks up on Johnson’s claim that we’ve got to be prepared for two more years of recession: Mr. Osborne: Either the Chancellor knew what was going
There’s an intrgiuing sub-plot brewing over yesterday’s ONS statistical release, covered in grand detail by the Times today. Apparently, ministers are “fizzing with anger” about the publication of numbers showing how many UK jobs go to immigrants, and feel that the ONS chief, Karen Dunnell, is trying to inflame political tensions in the aftermath of
So, Our Dear Leader’s studying tapes of Barack Obama to find out just how to say sorry. We still may never hear an actual apology, but at least he’s doing his homework. Here at Coffee House, we figured we should help him out. So this, CoffeeHousers, is your mission… Write out a script for Brown’s
Stay tuned for live coverage of PMQs from 1200 onwards. 1203: A breaking news item worth mentioning: Gordon Brown’s buddy, James Crosby, has resigned his role at the FSA. 1204: Here’s Brown now. He faces a question on Crosby, and responds: “It’s right that James Crosby resigned his role.” 1205: Cameron now. “They can even
A fascinating double page spread in today’s Times, setting out the Government’s plans to get help unemployed white-collar workers get back into work. Apparently, ministers are worried that job centres just won’t be able to deal with the swathe of former bankers, solicitors and accountants that will be passing through their doors, and the idea is to
So far as Brown is concerned, the biggest problem with this grilling of the bankers is that it will rebound, dangerously, on to him. Despite the Government’s best efforts to pass the buck (see Alistair Darling’s article in the Indy today), there’s plenty of room for them to be embarrassed by the associations, friendships and working partnerships that the
The Treasury Select Committee’s evidence session with the bankers (which you can watch live here) makes for great soap opera. We’ve had contrition, grim confessions, audacious defences, and denial after denial after denial. John McFall kicked off the whole thing saying that he wants to discover “what went wrong”. For me, it brought to mind Paul
A poll to delight the Tories in today’s Times. The Populus effort has them on 42 percent (down 1 percentage point on last month); Labour on 28 percent (down 5); and the Lib Dems on 19 percent (up 3). That matches Labour’s total in two other recent polls, and suggests they’re starting to plumb similar