The Spectator

Just in case you missed them… | 14 May 2012

…here are some of the posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the weekend: James Forsyth asks if Greece is running out of German sympathy and reports Cameron is looking to his early leadership days for inspiration. Peter Hoskin examines Philip Hammond’s attempt to speak out. Sebastian Payne wonders if the Tories will ever find friends in the North and

Letters | 12 May 2012

Pollygarchy Sir: It was with a rising sense of disbelief that I read Polly Toynbee’s review of Ferdinand Mount’s The New Few (Books, 5 May). There’s an oligarchy in this country all right, but what Ms Toynbee fails to realise is that she is a member. For every overpaid plutocrat, there are any number of

Barometer | 12 May 2012

Before the Golden Dawn A neo-Nazi party called the Golden Dawn won 7 per cent of the vote in the Greek elections. The party denies being inspired by the Nazis, even though its flag bears a resemblance to the Swastika. Its name, however, may be inspired by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, an

Portrait of the week | 12 May 2012

Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, declared that he would ‘focus on what matters’ after the Conservatives’ poor showing in the local elections brought accusations that pursuit by the coalition of such aims as gay marriage and reform of the House of Lords was alienating voters. On the eve of the Queen’s Speech he appeared

Fewer laws, more action

This government has run out of good ideas; that was what the Queen’s speech told us this week. When the coalition was formed, it united behind a genuinely bold agenda: school reform, welfare reform, health reform and deficit elimination. Where has the boldness gone? The coalition’s courage has vanished, as has its sense of purpose

From the archives: the coalition is born

It is two years to the day since David Cameron first entered 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister. To mark the occasion, here’s James Forsyth’s cover story from the time on the deal that put him there: Can this marriage of convenience work?, James Forsyth, 15 May 2010 ‘It is not the prize. It is