Having it so good Lord Young was forced to resign as an adviser to David Cameron after claiming that people in Britain ‘had never had it so good’. The phrase is associated with Harold Macmillan, who used it in 1957, but he was echoing the 1952 US presidential election slogan of the Democrat Adlai Stevenson:
Royally remote Sir: Perhaps Charles Moore’s concerns that the university education of Prince William and his future queen (The Spectator’s Notes, 20 November) could undermine national morale are unfounded. Reflection on my time as a St Andrews undergraduate 30 years ago has jogged memories of a surreal existence in a beautiful, remote seaside town, full
On 2 July 2008 we published an article entitled “Just look what came crawling out” which alleged that at a protest at the celebration in London of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel, Mohammad Sawalha had referred to Jews in Britian as “evil/noxious”. We now accept that Mr Sawalha made
Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week The Spectator welcomes Nick Cohen as its latest guest blogger. The Spectator Book Blog congratulates 2 old friends of the magazine on their appointment to the Booker Prize judging panel. Fraser Nelson praises Michael Gove’s education white paper, and analyses the political
The Spectator is delighted to welcome Nick Cohen as our new guest blogger. You can read Nick’s first post here and his blog can be found at new.spectator.co.uk/nickcohen. He needs no introduction, but Cohen is a columnist of both the Observer and Standpoint magazine. He has also written numerous books, including What’s Left?, which was shortlisted for
Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers’ Wall. For those who haven’t come across the Wall before, it’s a post we put up each Monday, on which – providing your writing isn’t libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency – you’ll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section. There is no
…here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the weekend. Fraser Nelson heralds the death knell of the Euro. James Forsyth notes that Pakistan has rejected US pleas to extend the drone attacks, and draws comparison between Sarah Palin and Gordon Brown. David Blackburn says that Labour’s terror u-turn makes it no less
Trouble with stags In addition to next year’s royal wedding, Prince William will have to organise the royal stag party. William got into trouble in 2008 for flying a Chinook helicopter from Lincolnshire to his cousin Peter Phillips’s stag party on the Isle of Wight — at a cost of £8,716 to the public purse.
Reasons to stay Sir: While I agree with much of Fraser Nelson’s analysis on the impact of higher taxes on total tax revenue (‘Osborne’s tax exiles’, 13 November), he misses one key aspect of the Chancellor’s tax reforms: the extension of entrepreneurs’ relief on capital gains tax from £1 million to £5 million. In September
The royal family has a gift for laying on a wedding just when the nation’s spirits most need lifting. The Queen’s marriage to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947 helped to rejuvenate a nation exhausted by war and demoralised by rationing. The wedding of Princess Anne to Mark Phillips in 1973 aroused extraordinary excitement in
Home The engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton was announced. The Prince proposed last month in Kenya and gave his fiancée the engagement ring belonging to his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. The wedding is to take place next year. Britain must ‘sort out’ its economy if it wants to ‘carry weight in
Philip Hensher The English novel I liked best this year was Martin Amis’s The Pregnant Widow (Cape, £18.99) — humane, rueful and wonderfully resourceful in its wit. Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom (Fourth Estate, £20) was simply a marvel of technique, observation and sympathy. At the other end of the artistic spectrum, Lydia Davis’s Collected Stories (Hamish
Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week. Fraser Nelson wonders if Cameron was being more than wryly ironic when ribbing Ian Gilmour. James Forsyth notes that Tuesday was a very good day to bury bad news, and says that Tim Farron is one to watch and not just for
Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers’ Wall. For those who haven’t come across the Wall before, it’s a post we put up each Monday, on which – providing your writing isn’t libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency – you’ll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section. There is no
…here are some of the posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the weekend: Fraser Nelson says that IDS is showing how arguments are won. James Forsyth reports on Prince William’s visit to Afghanistan, and gives his take on David Laws’ account of the coalition negotiations.. Peter Hoskin wonders what happened to Labour’s economic message, and reports
Vulgar debate Sir: I have to disagree with Theodore Dalrymple on his always jaundiced view of England and the English (‘Common people’, 6 November). I work in a tourist area of Sydney and find the English/British the least offensive of any of the overseas visitors. They are also the most attractive, especially the young backpackers
Various political attempts to institute a national British day have failed, perhaps because Britain already has one. It is Armistice Day, and it is marked not by the waving of flags, or by the recitation of a national creed, but by keeping a silence in memory of those who sacrificed their lives for our country.
Radical cheek Phil Woolas, the first MP for 99 years to have his election to Parliament overturned, has fewer supporters than the Radical MP John Wilkes, who managed to have his election overturned four times in the Middlesex election fiasco of 1768. —Wilkes was first barred from the House of Commons in 1763 after going
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, visited China with four Cabinet ministers and 43 business leaders. He said he hoped for ‘greater political opening’ in the country. A £750 million order for Rolls-Royce engines and a £45 million order for pigs were announced during the trip. A Special Immigration Appeals Commission upheld an appeal by
