As today’s FT reports, Jack Straw is leading the charge to reform the House of Lords. Under his plans, most of the existing members would be ejected from their red leather seats and replaced with around 400 elected “senators”. The theoretical benefits of an elected second chamber are plain to see – greater accountability, no more cash-for-honours worries
Mike Smithson makes a good observation over at Political Betting. The detailed results from that recent YouGov poll show that some 41 percent of Brian Paddick’s supporters would choose Boris as their second preference. Only 34 percent would pick Ken. It’s a finding which goes completely against previous assumptions about where Lib Dem voters would gravitate towards.
Iain Martin’s article for the Telegraph today is well worth a read. In it he’s praiseful of Project Cameron, but throws in a substantial caveat – that the Tories aren’t saying much on the economy. The silence on matters fiscal was typified by Cameron’s performance in PMQs yesterday. Brown accused him then of not having
Iain Martin highlights it over at Three Line Whip, and rightly so – Jeff Randall’s hatchet job on Alan Greenspan is essential reading. Not only does it flag up Greenspan’s role in our current financial difficulties, but it also contains this great quote from Michael Bloomberg: “The economic uncertainty our two countries [America and Britain] face today is beginning
4 months overdue, Gordon Brown today outlined a new national security strategy. Was it worth the wait? Not particularly. It’s little more than a collection of proposals that we knew about already, combined with some loose “direction of travel”-type thinking (e.g. that Britain will “seek agreement on tougher controls aimed at reducing weapons and preventing
Gordon Brown’s got an article in today’s Sun. Its message? That we shouldn’t worry about the economy, because he’s got his hand on the fiscal tiller. Again, then, our Prime Minister is peddling the untruth that his Government – and, prior to that, his Chancellorship – have done nothing to expose us to the credit
Do check out this excellently-researched blog post from the think-tank Open Europe. It details their finding that, as of yesterday, the pound has fallen by more over Brown’s premiership than it did on Black Wednesday. And there could be worse to come. As Open Europe put it: “If the current trend continues the pound will
Just a reminder that Nick Clegg has offered to answer questions from CoffeeHousers. Register your questions in the comments section to this post. And early next week we’ll pick the best ones and pose them to the Lib Dem leader. There are even CoffeeHouse t-shirts on offer…
The two articles by the Labour MPs Jon Trickett and Charles Clarke in today’s Guardian are well-worth reading. Both are deeply pessimistic about the party’s prospects (perhaps indicative of the wider mood in the Labour camp), although they outline different ways to stem the rot. For Trickett, the Government needs to depart from the Blairism that it’s
Asian markets rallied this morning, most likely in expectation of an emergency rate cut from the US Federal Reserve. After the falls of yesterday, many commentators predict that Western markets will also stabilise today. Any respite, though, will only be temporary. The major indicators still make for gloomy reading, and fears remain that other US banks
With Philip Hammond suggesting that the Conservatives won’t cut taxes until a second term in government, there’s a lot of great reading material on the Tory tax debate in today’s papers and across the political blogosphere. The Telegraph’s Janet Daley is among the commentators who want the Tories to be bolder on tax. Here are
The credit crunch took its deepest bite into the US economy over the weekend, as the major investment bank Bear Stearns collapsed under the strain of massive debts. Shares that were worth $30 each on Friday were last night bought by JP Morgan for $2. In effect, it’s the American Northern Rock, and it places
David Cameron’s given his speech at the Conservative Spring Forum. I haven’t got access to a television at the moment, so I don’t know what his delivery was like – (can any CoffeeHousers fill us in?) – but the content certainly reads well. As Fraser said yesterday, the big theme is family. So plenty of
There’s a punchy interview with Jonathan Powell – Tony Blair’s former chief of staff, and a key figure in the Irish peace process – in today’s Guardian. He’s quite candid about the Blair years – suggesting, for instance, that New Labour didn’t govern boldly enough because it was too scared about losing power. But his
As the Tories descend on Gateshead, two polls will be giving them food for thought. The first is one of party members conducted by ConservativeHome. It’s worth flicking through all the results, but here’s the headline finding: 79 percent of members want the Tories to stop matching Labour spending targets, and use the money to fund tax cuts
Yet another job for our former Prime Minister. And this one’s all about saving the world. In an interview with today’s Guardian, Tony Blair reveals that he’ll lead an international team which will press countries to cut their carbon emissions. Specifically, he wants to prepare a blueprint for cutting emissions by 50 percent by 2050
Nick Clegg has kindly agreed to a Q&A session with Coffee House. Obviously, he’ll be providing the answers. But – as for the questions – that’s where you come in. Post your questions for Clegg in the comments sections below. And, in a week-or-so’s time, we’ll pick out the best ten – be they high-minded
Guido’s put together some great footage of David Cameron taking on Ed Balls in the Budget debate yesterday. Here it is, for the benefit of CoffeeHousers:
The consensus in today’s papers? That yesterday’s Budget was unexciting. No surprises. No radical policy ideas. A “safe Budget”, according to the FT. Or just plain “dull”, as the Guardian less-charitably puts it. Many concentrate on the booze price hikes, with the Times calling it the “hangover Budget”. And there’s some consternation at defence spending and business
I’ve just been talking Budget with Andrew Haldenby, the director of Reform (read their contribution to Coffee House’s Budget coverage here). Like most of us, he’s incensed by the level of Government borrowing – particularly as it increases the burden on future taxpayers, a.k.a. today’s “IPOD Generation”. But he’s a little more optimistic about public
