Colm Tóibín began his writing career as a journalist. Although he wrote his first novel, The South, in 1986, it took him a further four years to find a publisher. Since that seminal moment, Tóibín has delivered five other novels; two books of short stories; two plays, as well as several works of non-fiction. He
Here’s the full transcript of this morning’s Today programme interview with George Osborne: Evan Davis: If you believe in using the tax system to cut the incomes of those at the top and in using the welfare system to hand money to the poor, then yesterday’s budget was probably not for you. The Chancellor hinted
What was really in George Osborne’s Budget? Last night we held an event, in association with Aberdeen Asset Management, to discuss just that. Click here for a free pdf copy of the briefing paper produced for the event.
A new world flavour to Shelf Life this week, as the novelist Sean Thomas Russell joins us from Vancouver. He has been getting to grips with Shakespeare — an attempt, perhaps, to escape the pervasive influence of Bill O’Reilly. His latest novel, A Ship of War, is published in Britain next week. 1) What are
George Osborne’s plans for more tax transparency have been widely interpreted as a political masterstroke. People will be horrified to learn the cost of servicing Britain’s national debt, or paying our welfare bill, goes the argument. The move will create downward pressure on public spending, driven by the public itself — a classic example of
…here are some posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the weekend: Fraser Nelson provides an insight into the man behind the Budget and asks if Lansley’s time is finally running out. James Forsyth examines Osborne’s logic behind local pay rates and reports on Downing St’s plans to boost construction. Peter Hoskin asks why Balls attacked Brown
