Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week. Fraser Nelson introduces the new look Spectator. James Forsyth asks who is behind Nick Boles’ proposed Tory-Liberal pact, and wonders if the polls are telling the story of the Labour leadership. Peter Hoskin says that Nick Clegg is getting forceful on welfare
Last night, the Spectator hosted a debate on the future of arts funding. Panellists included Ed Vaizey, Ben Bradshaw and Matthew Taylor of the RSA. CoffeeHousers can read Lloyd Evans’ web-exclusive review here.
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 ponders what it is to be British. James Forsyth asks if anyone wants AV on its own merits, and reckons that there is a communication gap No.10 needs to fill. David Blackburn examines the case for Britain’s EU budget rebate, and
Outfoxing the ban Sir: Your editorial (‘Fox news’, 4 September) rightly welcomes Tony Blair’s admission that the Hunting Act was ‘a fatal mistake’ as does everyone who hunts, although there is a certain frustration that he missed the clear opportunity to adopt compromise proposals that were available to him right up to the end of
Nearly six million people began to receive letters from HM Revenue & Customs telling them they had paid the wrong amount of tax. About £2 billion has been underpaid, at an average of £1,380 per person, and £1.8 billion overpaid, averaging £420 per person. Connaught, the social housing maintenance company, which employs 10,000 people, went
One subject about which we hope pupils will always be taught is the Blitz, which began in London 70 years ago this week. The ‘spirit of the Blitz’ may have been over-romanticised, but it is right that the brave determination with which Britons faced the aerial assault remains a source of national pride. But British
A small revolution was announced by the Education Secretary this week, undramatic in itself but one which promises to end Labour’s practice of eroding academic standards in order to make the statistics look good. A small revolution was announced by the Education Secretary this week, undramatic in itself but one which promises to end Labour’s
Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week. James Forsyth charts the coalition’s shifting horizons, and notes the coalition’s vulnerability on crime. Peter Hoskin says that Alan Johnson has been caught in the Coulson crossfire, and recalls Stephen Green’s double-dip warnings. David Blackburn watches the vice chancellors scupper Vince, and
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. James Forsyth welcomes Michael Gove’s introduction of the international baccalaureate, and says that David Miliband is still trying to escape the Blairite box. Peter Hoskin ponders Cameron and Clegg’s response to the AV rebels, and believes Nick Clegg’s problems are surmountable. Reform’s Patrick
U and Pre-U Sir: I am, as a student approaching the A2 year, sick with envy at the small number of my friends lucky enough to be currently taking the Pre-University course. Not only did John Witheridge (‘An answer to the A-level debate — and Gary Lineker’, 28 August) succinctly describe the previous year of
Mr Tony Blair, the former prime minister, published his political memoir, A Journey, in which he said that Mr Gordon Brown drove him to drink, but not an ‘excessively excessive’ amount: ‘The curse of Gordon was to make these people co-conspirators, not free-range thinkers. Mr Tony Blair, the former prime minister, published his political memoir,
Perhaps the most surprising part of Tony Blair’s memoirs is the passage in which he reveals one of his deepest regrets: it’s not Iraq, but the fox-hunting ban. Blair now says that the 2005 reform was ‘a fatal mistake’ and even admits to having been swayed by a metropolitan bias against country dwellers. ‘I started
What is it about international organisations that makes them so impervious to criticism? If the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were a British ministry or quango, it is inconceivable that its chairman, Rajendra Pachauri, would still be in his post. The IPCC’s reports, which have been accepted by governments around the world as a
Here are some of the posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the past week: Fraser Nelson says that Tony Blair is aiming to become a freelance statesman. James Forsyth highlights the biggest threat to the coalition, and reports on cricket’s dilemma. Peter Hoskin says that Blair wants Labour to be more like the coalition, and argues
This week, for one week only, we are making this week’s magazine available to non-subscribers online, courtesy of Saab 95 Saloon. Click here to access the best written magazine in the English language, featuring Fraser Nelson’s and Bruce Anderson’s verdicts on the Blair memoirs, Ed Smith and Roger Alton on cricket’s latest betting scandal,
…here are some of the posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the bank holiday weekend: Fraser Nelson wonders who governs Britain, and asks whether Labour will boldly go with ‘Red Ed’. Peter Hoskin says that we’re just seeing Same Labour, and watches Alistair Darling exhume Cameron’s Big Mistake. David Blackburn has some bad news for Ken
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
Use the force Sir: The problem with Alasdair Palmer’s argument against police reform (‘The coalition’s police reforms will fail’, 21 August) is that it merely echoed Gordon Brown’s mantra for the last ten years. According to this view, what matters most is how much money is spent on public services. The more we spend on