Good relations Sir: Timothy Garton Ash writes (‘I was the man from Spekta’, 7 November) that Britain had a good name in central Europe. Perhaps the British Council played some small part in that. Uniquely in communist countries, the Council in Poland worked independently of the embassy, and with the encouragement of many Polish academics
Marcus Berkmann I tend to read non-fiction for review or research and fiction to keep me sane. This year I have rarely been more than two books away from another Georges Simenon. I started late last year with three old Maigrets I found on a shelf (fortunately my own), then progressed to the romans durs,
Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week. Fraser Nelson says the city expects George Osborne to do his duty, and explains why Harriet Harman is the parliamentarian of the year. James Forsyth charts one of the worst weeks in Gordon Brown’s political career, and argues that Brown is in
As promised, here is the video footage from yesterday’s awards ceremony at Claridge’s. Politicians, journalists, legendary broadcasters and the Spectator’s most prestigious writers attended. You can watch Fraser Nelson’s speech and each of the winners’ acceptance speeches, including James Purnell’s very dry observation that his career has nose-dived ever since this magazine started to back him. Anyway,
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. Five articles from the latest issue are available for free online to all website users: A week after
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 sees Brown’s Tobin tax proposal for what it is – rank desperation. James Forsyth welcomes a healthy policy development, and ponders a question of dates. David Blackburn thinks that Gordon Brown is scorching the earth beneath him, and says that there
It is a shame that Gordon Brown said in parliament that he ‘saved the world’ when he meant to say ‘saved the banks’, because the latter proposition is the more preposterous. It is a shame that Gordon Brown said in parliament that he ‘saved the world’ when he meant to say ‘saved the banks’, because
David Cameron has been a Conservative long enough to know defeat when he sees it. After years of bribing, cajoling and bullying, the European Union has won. It will soon have the powers it asked for when drawing up its constitution five years ago. It has ignored the ‘no’ votes in France and the Netherlands,
Mr David Cameron, the leader of the opposition, had to explain why a ‘cast iron guarantee’ by the Conservatives to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty would no longer be possible, now it had been ratified. Mr David Cameron, the leader of the opposition, had to explain why a ‘cast iron guarantee’ by the
Self-destructive policies Sir: Congratulations to Melanie Phillips (‘The clash of uncivilisations’, 24 October) for exposing the hypocrisy and appeasement at the heart of the out-of-touch, politically correct liberal establishment, particularly among the media and mainstream politicians. New Labour’s self-destructive policies of open borders and multiculturalism are an explosive cocktail, which seem designed to undermine British
Here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week. Fraser Nelson knows that Brussels fears only one thing. James Forsyth says that Cameron hasn’t broken a pledge on Europe, and expects the return of the Tory Euro-wars if Cameron cannot deliver his European reforms. David Blackburn argues that public contempt for
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. Five articles from the latest issue are available for free online to all website users: Walking the corridors
16:05: So, how does Cameron intend to make British law supreme? 16:06: We cannot hold a referendum to stop this treaty any more than we can stop the sun rising in the morning. And now Cameron lets rip. He points out that the betrayal was Blair’s and Brown’s, ably supported by the LibDems. The Conservatives
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 argues that the press will make a mountain out of each of Lord Ashcroft’s actions unless he clarifies his tax status, and believes that Theresa Villiers is the ideal candidate to sell the Tories’ arguments in Europe. Daniel Korski celebrates Flemming
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The cow has had it too easy for too long. For years we humans have been jetting across the world, guiltily clutching complimentary snacks, shamed by the feeling that every minute of our flight was damaging our planet’s fragile climate. Our bovine friends, meanwhile, have been openly flatulent, emitting devastating global warming gases without fear
The perfect political U-turn is so subtle that it goes almost entirely unnoticed, as David Cameron demonstrated this week. He realised, well before the press, that a full-scale revolt was brewing in the Conservative party over his ill-conceived plan for all-women shortlists. So he abandoned the plan on Tuesday, but he did so using the
Mr Gordon Brown is prepared to campaign actively for Mr Tony Blair, whom he replaced as Prime Minister, to be the first permanent president of the European Council of the European Union, Downing Street said. Mr David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, had said earlier that Mr Blair would be a good candidate because ‘we need