Selective facts Sir: Matt Ridley’s article on Darwin’s vision (‘Natural selection explains everything’, 10 January) omits one simple but very important fact, namely that Darwin did not originate natural selection. How do we know? Simple — both he and Alfred Russel Wallace gave the credit to Patrick Matthew and Charles Wells. Darwin even described Matthew’s
It is human nature that some of the most red-blooded capitalists, who during the good times used to froth at the mouth at the thought of any kind of public expenditure, are among those now shouting loudest for help from the taxpayer. The most vociferous criticism of Lord Mandelson’s plan to guarantee loans for small
Here are some of the posts made over the past week on Spectator.co.uk: Matthew d’Ancona recommends Frost/Nixon and offers CoffeeHousers a chance to see it for free. Fraser Nelson says that Heathrow should be improved before it’s expanded, and applauds the Tories for making debt a human issue. James Forsyth finds no wealth of talent in
We’ve just uploaded some culture picks from The Spectator’s arts editor, Liz Anderson. You can read them by clicking here, or by following the link on the left-hand side of the page.
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 over the weekend on Spectator.co.uk: Fraser Nelson observes that Obama’s stimulus looks nothing like Brown’s – whatever our PM might say. James Forsyth says school reforms will bring real social mobility, and outlines the West Bank model. Peter Hoskin wonders whether Cameron is a born-again waste cutter, and
A coherent story Sir: Douglas Murray says (‘Studying Islam made me an atheist’, 3 January) that what killed the Bible was not Darwin but ‘German biblical criticism… the scholarship on lost texts, discoveries of added-to texts and edited texts’. It’s a pity he didn’t pursue his investigation further and discover that those dated theories proposed
Even with the sharp political mind of Peter Mandelson on his team, it is possible that Gordon Brown failed to foresee one political consequence of his scheme to borrow and spend his way out of the recession. How can the government complain about tax cuts proposed by the opposition when the government has itself abandoned
Here are some of the posts made over the past week on Spectator.co.uk: Fraser Nelson highlights the topicality of Atlas Shrugged, and asks what options remain after rate cuts. James Forsyth remarks on the idiocy of the ECB, and outlines the politics of printing money. Peter Hoskin wonders how low we can go, and reports
Here are some articles from Spectator.co.uk that you may have missed over the Christmas and New Year break: Andrew Lambirth previews some of the best exhibitions in the year ahead. Douglas Murray writes that studying Islam has made him an atheist. Fraser Nelson says that David Cameron needs a robust economic policy that will stand
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 articles made over the weekend on Spectator.co.uk: Fraser Nelson highlights another Brown job James Forsyth picks up on Father Brown’s double-standard, and reports on rumours of talks between Labour and the Lib Dems. Peter Hoskin wonders whether there’ll be a second bailout, and observes Brown smiling for the camera. Melanie
Labour’s carrot and stick Sir: The Spectator is right (Leading article, 13 December) to call not just for ‘benefit claimants actually to do something for their handouts’, but for a significant increase in the income tax threshold. There is little sense — or fairness — in trying to push people off benefits and into work
Barack Obama got to the heart of the matter in July when he visited Sderot in Israel, a town in range of Hamas missiles. ‘If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep,’ Mr Obama said, ‘I’m going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect
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 over the weekend on Spectator.co.uk: CoffeeHousers have a New Year’s resolution for David Cameron. Fraser Nelson looks ahead to 2009, and outlines why VAT cuts help the poorest least. James Forsyth comments on a testing year for South African democracy, and states that free speech doesn’t require giving
Here are some of the posts made over the weekend on Spectator.co.uk: Fraser Nelson says that Brown may wait until 2010 to call an election. James Forsyth says that Brown should go early for Labour’s sake but he won’t, and reports on Bob Quick’s comments about the Conservatives. Peter Hoskin highlights some of the latest
Why did Gatland resign? Sir: The uproar over the strange case of Maria Gatland McGuire seems almost incomprehensible from a Belfast perspective. At the beginning of December she was compelled to resign as the cabinet member for education on Croydon council when it was revealed that she was also Maria McGuire, who famously was involved
‘What’s Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, and not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in ’em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you? If I could work my will… every
Here are some of the posts made over the past week on Spectator.co.uk: Theresa May responds to CoffeeHousers’ Questions. Spectator staff select some of their favourite political speeches. Fraser Nelson reviews Nick Clegg’s first year as leader of the Lib Dems, and raises questions about David Cameron’s public spending plans. James Forsyth reveals that the George Osborne general