The next few days will serve up plenty of reminders that this country does not have a written constitution. As the plotters decide how best to move against the Prime Minister, they will not be operating within any defined framework of rules to select a head of government. Rather, they will be muddling through. There
Matthew d’Ancona highlights Alan Johnson’s act of self-preservation, and says that the end has come for Gordon Brown. Fraser Nelson reveals why James Purnell resigned, and gives his take on John Hutton’s resignation. James Forsyth says that the left needs to come to the aid of Labour, and claims that David Miliband has lost the
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 – provided 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 fisks Gordon Brown’s interview with Andrew Marr. James Forsyth wonders whether the Labour press will decide Brown has to go, and gives his take on David Cameron’s mortgage. Peter Hoskin reveals how to kill – rather than save – a premiership,
Time to talk it out Sir: The EU is certainly one important cause of parliament’s loss of self-respect, but you fail to mention (Leading article, 23 May) what is now the main cause of the malaise: in 1997 the Blair government introduced the routine timetabling of primary legislation, and did so with the connivance of
Next Thursday, voters in the UK’s 12 European constituencies, 27 shire counties and seven unitary authorities will go to the polls in the most extraordinary circumstances. There is, as Martin Vander Weyer argues on page 25, no shortage of local issues to exercise us in the county council elections, just as the unratified Lisbon Treaty
Here are some of the posts made over the past week on Spectator.co.uk: Fraser Nelson highlights the numbers which undermine the Budget deceit, and sets out the choice David Cameron faces now that we’re over the cliff. James Forsyth outlines the grim international situation, and wonders whether Labour will dump Gordon Brown. Peter Hoskin gives
Here are some of the posts made over the bank holiday weekend on Spectator.co.uk: Fraser Nelson picks up on some damaging revelations for the Government, and reveals that Andrew MacKay is to step down. James Forsyth says that David Cameron has diagnosed the problem, and wonders whether Gordon Brown will bring David Blunkett back. Peter
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 – provided 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
We’re taking your questions for Theresa May until around 1900 this evening, at which point we’ll select the best five or so and put them to the shadow work and pensions secretary. To submit a question, please click here.
Black as he is painted Sir: Taki is a wonderful man but his lament about Conrad Black (High Life, 16 May) cannot pass uncorrected. Conrad Black’s defence did not suffer because he was forced to rely on ‘friendly Canadian lawyers’. One lawyer, Eddie Greenspan, is Toronto’s top fraud defendant, while the second lawyer, Ed Genson,
If the first rule of success is to follow a failure, then the 157th Speaker of the House of Commons, whoever he or she may be, is off to a good start. Michael Martin was everything a Speaker should not be: partial, too deferential to the executive and an opponent of transparency. His alleged comment
The appearance this week of Ida, our lemur-like, 47-million-year-old ancestor, is a bright spot in an otherwise troubled world. Ida is being hailed as the original embryonic primate from which today’s great array of monkeys, apes and ultimately human beings sprang. Ida was six months old when she died and has been perfectly preserved in
CoffeeHousers pick Frank Field as their choice to be the next Speaker. Fraser Nelson sets out the power of celebrity candidates, and is left unimpressed by Gordon Brown’s press conference. James Forsyth says that talent needs a seat, and wonders whether Vince Cable will be able to resist the tempation to run for the Speakership.
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 – provided 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 posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the weekend: Fraser Nelson reveals how Norway won the Eurovision song contest Blair-style, and suggests how David Cameron could expose the long tail of waste. James Forsyth analyses the latest opinion poll findings, and reports on the growing movement against the Speaker. Peter Hoskin tracks Gordon Brown’s
A charted course Sir: Charles Moore has lost his bearings and entered ‘terra incognita’ in his recent exploration of the Royal Geographical Society’s remit and work in the 21st century (The Spectator’s Notes, 9 May). To be clear, the society stays true, today as over its 170-year history, to its founding charter to ‘advance geographical
This week, the nation beholds Parliament with a collective contempt unrivalled in living memory. We need a modern-day Trollope to do justice to this wave of revulsion, triggered by the remarkable revelations in the Telegraph. Gilbert Burnet, the great ecclesiastical and political historian of his time, wrote of the corrupt MPs elected in 1710 that
At a moment of such alarming disconnection between the political class and the electorate, it is cheering to be reminded that not every part of our constitution is faltering, or at odds with the grain of public opinion. On Tuesday, the Prince of Wales addressed the Royal Institute of British Architects, 25 years after his
Here are some of the posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the past week: Matthew d’Ancona thinks that David Cameron has proved himself over the expenses scandal, and suggests that Lord Tebbit is speaking for the electorate as a whole. Fraser Nelson watches Gordon Brown resort to bully tactics, and sets out the significance of Andrew