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
We’ve just uploaded the content from the special, Christmas double issue of the magazine. Here are some of the many highlights: Rod Liddle laments the state of festive health and safety. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor delves into the language of the Christian story. Matthew d’Ancona talks to Lily Allen about celebrity culture, growing up and her
Here are some of the posts made over the weekend on Spectator.co.uk: Lisa Hilton says there are no more puffs in Paris. Fraser Nelson reports on an election with the X Factor. James Forsyth wonders about a poll puzzle, and asks the £250,000 quuestion. Peter Hoskin asks: if taxpayers’ money is to be spent in clunking
Silence over Mumbai Sir: If Britain is still a safe haven for Lashkar-e-Taiba and Deobandi sympathisers (‘The global force behind Mumbai’s agony in our midst’, 6 December), this must place a big question mark on the government’s policy of dealing with home-grown terrorism. The current policy seems to rest on two assumptions: namely that home-grown
It is one of the oddities of politics that a Labour government can sometimes get away with announcing policies which, had they come from the mouth of a Conservative minister, would have provoked howls of anger. So it is with welfare reform. Whenever Mrs Thatcher’s government proposed to make benefit claimants actually do something for
Here are some of the posts made over the past week on Spectator.co.uk: Fraser Nelson reveals the true extent of Britain’s debt, and says the government is squeezing the poor through Northern Rock. James Forsyth outlines the case for merit pay, and wonders whether Peter Mandelson is an idoelogical Blairite. Peter Hoskin stresses the importance
Last night, The Spectator and Barclays Wealth held a launch party for the online Spectator Book Club. We’ve uploaded photos of that event, which you can see here. Or click here to access the Book Club itself.