The Spectator

Barometer | 19 September 2012

Turning Bac Michael Gove has called his replacement for GCSE the ‘English Baccalaureate’. But the Baccalaureate’s origins are at odds with some of Mr Gove’s views on education. — The philosophy behind the International Baccalaureate (IB) was laid out in a booklet entitled Techniques d’education pour la paix: existent elles? written for Unesco by Marie

Sacked minister spills the reshuffle beans

In tomorrow’s Spectator, an anonymous former minister recounts their experiences of David Cameron’s reshuffle. They describe the walk in to see the Prime Minister – through the back entrance where the cameras cannot see ministers arrive – and the way the Prime Minister tries to placate them by explaining that there are ‘303 someone elses’

Portrait of the week | 13 September 2012

Home George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said the autumn statement would be on 5 December, and commentators said he would confront the dwindling chance of meeting debt targets set for 2015. Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, said the government would set up a ‘business bank’ to lend to companies. The Commons Public Accounts

Letters | 13 September 2012

For richer, for poorer? Sir: Liza Mundy (‘The richer sex’, 8 September) concludes that ‘history has shown that human beings are above all adaptable’, and should therefore adapt to women earning more than men. Her article appears to be mostly about women who are already married and I think this is probably true of married

Barometer | 13 September 2012

The start of the tape Business secretary Vince Cable announced another crackdown on red tape. But where did red tape come from? It seems to have been a product of the Holy Roman Empire. — Spanish officials in the reign of Charles V (1516-56) would tie up documents relating to issues which had to be