…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
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 reports on MPs getting away with everything they can, and sets out the Margaret Moran doctrine. James Forsyth picks up on another blow to the Budget’s credibility, and suggests that the Tories are also tainted by the expenses revelations. Peter Hoskin
Taxing questions Sir: Fraser Nelson writes (‘A tale of two Gordons’, 2 May) that internal Treasury documents justify the 50p tax rate on the basis that ‘Karl Marx’s progressive tax structure was designed so that the tax burden was heaviest on those who were most able to contribute’. Certainly, Labour spokespersons daily repeat this cosy
We did not need to be told to keep calm and carry on — that seems to be our instinctive, collective British reaction to crises. In the case of swine flu, as with bird flu, (or even Spanish flu) the public has reacted with commendable common sense. There has been no mass absenteeism from work, no
The Prime Minister’s epic catalogue of early summer mishaps, mistakes and misjudgments lengthens by the day: if he is not making a fool of himself on YouTube, he is misreading the mood of the Commons on MPs’ expenses, or posing in front of swastikas. But, as wretched as they are, these incidents pale into insignificance
…here are some of the posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the bank holiday weekend: Fraser Nelson marks the 30th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher becoming Prime Minister, and reports on Hazel Blear’s intervention. James Forsyth notes three things keeping Gordon Brown down, and says that Harriet Harman’s friends may be doing the PM a favour. 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
Broken pledges Sir: Labour has lost all credibility, having broken a clear manifesto pledge not to raise taxes but then doing so. It is the second pledge that it has failed to honour, the first being its failure to hold a referendum on the EU constitution. If directors of a company break clear pledges made
The Spectator guide to grammar schools 2009 Your guide to using the tables An independent education can, and often does, lead to a head start in life for those fortunate enough to experience it. For parents, grandparents and others involved, it is a big decision. From prep to sixth form, an independent school education for
The Spectator guide to independent schools 2009 Your guide to using the tables An independent education can, and often does, lead to a head start in life for those fortunate enough to experience it. For parents, grandparents and others involved, it is a big decision. From prep to sixth form, an independent school education for
The Spectator guide to independent schools 2009 Your guide to using the tables An independent education can, and often does, lead to a head start in life for those fortunate enough to experience it. For parents, grandparents and others involved, it is a big decision. From prep to sixth form, an independent school education for
‘In 1918, half a million Americans died. The projections are that this time, the virus will kill one million Americans.’ These were the words of the President’s chief health adviser, as he warned about the dangers of swine flu. But he wasn’t speaking this week. The year was 1976, the President was Ford, and the
Thirty years ago this Sunday, Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister with a Commons majority of 43. In the 11 years that followed, she took an economic basket case, the sick man of Europe, an offshore banana republic, and transformed it: inflation was curbed, penal tax ended, the unions tamed, and Britain’s confidence on the
Here are some of the posts made on Spectator.co.uk over the past week: Fraser Nelson watches Gordon Brown play politics over troop numbers, and sets out why we need a proper debate on 50p tax. James Forsyth says that the Gurkha victory is a victory for the House, and wonders what the Tories’ policy on
The Oxford Despoiler, by Gary Dexter Twisted Wing, by Ruth Newman Windows on the Moon, by Alan Brownjohn The Oxford Despoiler is a collection of eight stories introducing Henry St Liver, a Victorian detective, and his biographer and assistant, Olive Salter. Henry is tall and lean, with a lofty bearing but the habits of the