Behind the pack Sir: Melissa Kite (‘Labour’s Iron Lady’, 21 January) writes an excellent article examining the pros and cons of Yvette Cooper’s suitability for leadership of the Labour party. She is quite wrong, however, to state categorically that ‘Cooper’s intelligence is beyond doubt’. Cooper’s academic ability may be so described but, dear oh dear,
Lords spiritual The bishops in the House of Lords, who led a successful rebellion against plans for a benefits cap this week, are a remarkable survival of Lords reform. — While most hereditary peers lost the right to sit in the Lords as part of the House of Lords Act 1999, the number of bishops
Home The government was defeated in the Lords by 252 to 237 on an amendment by the Rt Rev John Packer, Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, to the Welfare Reform Bill, removing child benefit from the proposed welfare cap of £26,000 a year per household. Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, said in the Commons that
Last week, the Islamist group Boko Haram launched a horrific attack, bombing five Nigerian police stations and killing 186 in one day. What started as a campaign targeting Christians in the north has now grown into a crisis that threatens to overwhelm the Nigerian government — and the church leaders who appealed for foreign assistance
To mark Holocaust Memorial Day, here’s a piece Sam Schulman wrote for The Spectator 12 years ago, on his fear that ‘Holocaustology’ will create a new form of anti-Semitism. Did six million die for this?, Sam Schulman, 1 January 2000 The Holocaust dominated the moral imagination of the 20th century. Before the rise of Hitler,
Here are some posts made on Spectator.co.uk during the past week: Fraser Nelson tells Tristram Hunt that capitalism is just what Britain does, and says Osborne owes Darling an apology. James Forsyth thinks the Tories will be delighted to see the battle over the benefit cap prolonged, and says Alex Salmond’s strategy is both subtle
…here are some posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the weekend: Fraser Nelson introduces the new Coffee House app. James Forsyth says that Labour’s confusion is the Tories’ advantage, and questions the abortion providers that are planning to advertise on TV. Peter Hoskin observes the Lib Dems differentiating all over the place, and reports on Andrew
