Remember the general hoo-haa when Gordon Brown accidentally referred to a “global depression” in PMQs last week? Well, now Ed Balls has surpassed His Master’s Slip-up, and by some distance. Here’s what the Schools Minister told Labour’s Yorkshire conference at the weekend: “The economy is going to define our politics in Britain in the next
Do take the time to read through the Independent’s Q&A with Ken Clarke today. Beyond his classic answer to the question “What was your biggest mistake as Chancellor of the Exchequer?” (clue: it involves malt whisky), the most noteworthy thing is how ably he dodges the numerous, inevitable, “split” questions. There’s the stock reponse of “I have no
Forgive me for being exasperated, but Team Dave’s latest Big Announcement is just plain exasperating. An Economic Recovery Committee to – and I quote the press release – “review and analyse the economic situation”; “discuss immediate policy proposals to deal with the current crisis”; and “coordinate strategy for the long term reconstruction of Britain’s economy”? Now,
However hard he tries, and however much taxpayers’ cash he throws at the problem, Gordon Brown just can’t seem to get credit flowing to UK businesses. Here are details of two surveys, released today, from today’s FT: Conferederation of British Industry survey: “While 63 per cent of businesses who had sought new credit said its
To be honest, I don’t often stray into the Sunday Times Travel supplement, so I’m not sure whether their ‘Holiday Money’ table – setting out the exchange rates between Sterling and a host of foreign currencies, as well as the position they were in a year ago – is a regular inclusion or not. But
A fun take on the Brown-Sarkozy spat from the ConservativeHome team: Click here to go to the ConservativeHome discussion page.
Andrew Grice sets the rumour mill a-whirling with this blog post suggesting that David Cameron might ennoble Michael Howard and draft him into the Cabinet, should the Tories win the next election. It certainly sounds plausible enough. After all, Howard has been a key figure in Cameron’s career; he’s had experience of government already; and has
The Flight 1549 story – the emergency landing into the Hudson river on 15 January – will never cease to amaze me. And now the FAA releases audio tapes of the event that make it even more astonishing. They’re compelling listening, and I’ve embedded them below for CoffeeHousers to tune into on this weary Friday
A thought-provoking article from Martin Kettle in today’s Guardian. He makes the point that the worsening economy, and a heavy defeat for Labour in this year’s European elections, could encourage calls for a national government. But he also mentions the moments when Team Brown might expect to claw back some ground on the Tories: “The
So Blair – who decidedly does “do God” now – got to President Obama before Brown did. Here’s footage of the occasion:
One of the more perplexing puzzles of the credit crunch is the issue of bankers’ bonuses. On the one hand, those failing banks that are being propped up by the taxpayer need to hang on to their best staff so they don’t collapse completely. Awarding bonuses helps them to do that. But, on the other,
As John points out, there are numerous questions over the alleged American threat to withdraw intelligence cooperation should the UK release evidence about the treatment of Binyan Mohamed at Guantanamo Bay. But whatever the doubts, and however forceful the denials, the situtation is still potentially damaging for the US and UK governments – especially in
Ben Brogan picks up on an interview with Charles Clarke in tomorrow’s New Statesman in which the former Home Secretary claims Tony Blair wanted him to be Labour leader. Here’ s the key passage from the interview: “[Blair] had a great plan, apparently, that he wanted me to be foreign secretary because he thought that if I had been foreign
On top of our poll, we also put the question “Do you support the wildcat strikers?” to various friends of Coffee House. Here are some of their responses: Matthew Parris Businesses importing labour into recession-hit places need tact. An offshore barge filled with foreign workers was not unlawful but it was inflammatory. There’s something to be said for ministers
The Coffee House poll on the wildcat strikes closed at 10pm yesterday. Here are the final results: Question 1: Do you agree with the workers who have walked out in protest at the subcontracting of work to foreign companies and their workers? Yes: 53.4 percent No: 35.6 percent I don’t know enough about the details
Here’s a new poll of marginal constituencies by YouGov / Channel 4. On the whole, I guess the Tories will be pleased with it. They’re 7 points ahead of Labour (up 2 from a poll in October), and Cameron has a hefty lead on the question of who’s the best leader for the future. But there are some below-headline findings
Stay tuned from 1200 for live coverage of PMQs. 1204: And we’re off. First question from Karen Buck, on rising fuel bills. Asks Brown what further steps he will take to protect pensioners during the winter. An opportunity for Brown to mention the Winter Fuel Allowance 1206: Here’s Cameron. Leads by aksing whether a “retreat
Even now a reconciliatory deal looks hopeful, the Lindsey oil refinery remains a political minefield. Putting aside the question of how the proposed solution of giving around half of the 200 disputed jobs to British workers sits with EU law, the goverment will be worried that all this sets a dangerous precedent. There’s a sense
Our ‘Do you support the strikers?’ poll closes at 10pm this evening. If you want to register your vote before then, do so by clicking here. At the moment, the voting stands as follows… Question 1: Do you agree with the workers who have walked out in protest at the subcontracting of work to foreign
Niall Ferguson’s article in today’s FT may concentrate on the case of US banks, but it contains much food for thought for UK policymakers. Here are a few key paragraphs: “The US could end up running a deficit of more than 10 per cent of gross domestic product this year (adding the cost of the