The task ahead Sir: Am I alone in finding the Tories’ pre-election triumphalism nauseating (Finkelstein et al, 26 September)? When I last walked past my local constituency association, the grubby frontage still had the old logo. Tony Blair at least built a modern political party. David Cameron hasn’t even begun to build a dynamic political
Five travel writers journey far and wide to find the world’s last unexplored wildernesses Patagonia Lucinda Baring Arriving in Patagonia, the region spanning Argentina and Chile at the southernmost tip of South America, I really felt I’d reached the end of the earth. The journey is an epic but rewarding one – this was the
Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk this week. Fraser Nelson can’t believe the lines Labour MPs are coming out with, and says it’s game over for Labour in Brighton. James Forsyth says that getting shirty with the media won’t do Labour any favours, and sees Brown’s speech fall flat in Brighton. Peter
The latest issue of the Spectator is released today. If you are a subscriber you can view it here. If you have not subscribed, but would like to view this week’s content, you can subscribe online now. Three articles from the latest issue are available for free online to all website users: Fraser Nelson interviews
The Spectator/Threadneedle Parliamentarian of the Year Awards are fast approaching. As we did last year, we are inviting you to nominate a reader’s representative. This should be the elected official who you believe has best pursued the noble art of politics, putting the public interest ahead of everything else, especially expenses. All you have to
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 revisits the BNP conundrum, and profiles Labour’s choice to take on Nick Griffin. James Forsyth examines Labour’s latest dividing line, and says the Tories are planning operation tumbleweed. Peter Hoskin wonders if Alan Johnson’s feeling a little more confident, and catches
The Bishops of England and Wales have excelled themselves in their efforts to promote the Church of England’s ‘Back to Church’ day (this Sunday). The Bishops of England and Wales have excelled themselves in their efforts to promote the Church of England’s ‘Back to Church’ day (this Sunday). The Bishop of Sheffield has recorded a
The Labour party typically disembowels itself after an election defeat, but this time it hasn’t waited to be beaten. The Labour party typically disembowels itself after an election defeat, but this time it hasn’t waited to be beaten. The party which gathers in Brighton next week is already at war, and many of its brightest
Money down the Tube Sir: Andrew Gilligan’s assessment (‘Chucking millions down the Tube’, 19 September) that for much of the public sector ‘the spending of money has become an end in itself’ is a timely one. Increased investment in public services is both the No. 1 thing Gordon Brown believes he can offer the country
Here at The Spectator, we take no pleasure in the misfortunes of others. Here at The Spectator, we take no pleasure in the misfortunes of others. Watching a once great political party flounder in this undignified manner is almost as painful to us as it must be to them. So in the spirit of comradely
Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week Fraser Nelson argues that the BBC and mainstream political parties need to think very carefully about how they will handle Nick Griffin on Question Time. James Forsyth sees the Lib Dems’ incoherence embodied in Nick Clegg, and says that the Tories are
Last week’s magazine is now available across the website and can be viewed without a subscription. There is a selection of articles below to get you started. If you would like immediate access to tomorrow’s magazine and have yet to subscribe, you can do so here. Alasdair Murray reviews the week in politics. Boris Johnson
15:00: Clegg opens up by praising the tenacity of British soldiers’ in Afghanistan and damns the government’s record on defence. 15:17: “I want to be PM because I have spent half a lifetime imaging what a better society would look like and I want to spend the next half making it happen” – listing prejudice,
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 examines the budget’s bombshells, and illustrates why Vince Cable is not too sexy for his party. James Forsyth says there’s another entry in the Blair and Brown saga, and argues that the Iranian opposition mocks Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric. Peter Hoskin wonders if
Clever culling Sir: As the chairman from 1995 to 2000 of the government’s biggest and most worthwhile quango, the Environment Agency for England and Wales, I would like to make two comments on Dennis Sewell’s article (‘Cameron must cull the quangos’, 5 September). Sewell seems to think that the Nolan Principles introduced by John Major’s
The news that union members at the TUC Congress are eager to ban high heels in the workplace, for health and safety reasons, confirms a number of our long-held theories. First, that dreaming up health and safety hazards is more of a hobby than a job for union officials. Rather than focus on real risks,
As a rule of thumb, it is wise to ignore anything said at any summit beginning with the letter G. When Harold Wilson went to the G6 summit in 1975 there was a point: there had just been an oil crisis so Britain, France, West Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States got together to
Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week Fraser Nelson asks why the high-priests of climate change alarmism fear debate, and wonders if it wise for the Tories to be more angry about the public finances. James Forsyth thinks Vince Cable doesn’t receive anywhere near enough scrutiny, and sees Peter