This morning Michael Gove gave a speech at the London Academy of Excellence on improving ‘bog standard’ state schools. Here’s what he said:- listen to ‘Michael Gove’s speech on improving ‘bog standard’ schools’ on Audioboo
‘They’ll only eat food the government wants to ban.’
‘Ugh! Have you seen the number of cats on the internet?’
‘Oh great — now nobody’s going to believe this happened.’
‘Opposites attract.’
‘It’s a general rule of thumb for this part of London — if you can’t read the “for sale” sign you can’t afford the house.’
‘You’ve been smoking, haven’t you? Your clothes reek of fresh air.’
Saatchi vs Taki duel
‘I want you to be open and honest and to not leave any hairs on the couch.’
‘Some viewers may find the following scenes disturbing…’
‘Shall I be Mother Superior?’
[audioplayer src=’http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/TheViewFrom22_30_January_2014_v4.mp3′ title=’Douglas Carswell MP explain why he now agrees with this article’ startat=518] Listen [/audioplayer]Things could scarcely be going better for the Conservatives. Every week seems to bring more news of the recovery. High street tills are ringing, employment is at an all-time high and Britain’s economy is growing faster than that of any
The battle over aid Sir: Why Nations Fail, the book rightly lauded in The Spectator (‘Why aid fails’, 25 January), is one of the inspirations for many of the changes this government has made in international development policy. Those changes can best be described as driving value for money through the system, tackling conflict and
The political life of Walter Mitty Nigel Farage attacked the ‘Walter Mittys’ in his own party. A few of the many uses of James Thurber’s daydreaming character in politics: — In 2003 Tony Blair’s official spokesman Tom Kelly described the late government weapons scientist Dr David Kelly as a Walter Mitty. He was later forced
Home Britain’s gross domestic product grew by 1.9 per cent last year, the most since 2007, according to the Office for National Statistics. The last quarter’s growth was 0.7 per cent, a little less than the 0.8 per cent of the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2013, construction actually declined by 0.3 per cent,
