Politicians, like novelists, are obsessed by posterity. Practitioners of the here and now — tomorrow’s headline, the latest poll, the next electoral hurdle — they nurse secret and often vainglorious hopes that their greatest plaudits will come in the future. Before New Labour swept to power in 1997, senior Blairites used to joke about the
Here are some of the posts made over the past week on Spectator.co.uk: Fraser Nelson reports for Americano from the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. He gives his take on Sarah Palin’s speech here, and on John McCain’s speech here. Also on Americano, James Forsyth suggests that McCain has to sell himself as a reformer.
Comments haven’t been working across the site since yesterday evening. We’ve got the techies working on it, so hopefully the problem will be fixed soon. Apologies to everyone who may have made a comment overnight, or who would like to submit one now. We can’t be sure, yet, whether we’ll be able to salvage the
Have Labour become the new nasty party? Ross Clark certainly thinks so, and he outlines his reasons why in this week’s Spectator cover piece. You can read his article here, but – as a taster of what to expect – here’s an extract: “It used to be backbench Tory MPs who made up the ‘hang
We did it, not the state Sir: I am not a social historian but surely Liam Byrne fatally undermines his whole argument when he praises the founding of various organisations and movements 150 years ago to deal with the ‘huge change which swept millions from the countryside to the cities’ (‘Give us back our Big
Demoralised Labour backbenchers, watching helplessly as their government disintegrates and the prospect of electoral humiliation looms, have at last found a cause to which they can rally: higher taxes on the ‘super-rich’, both private and corporate. In the first of those categories, the target is anyone with an annual income of £250,000 or more. In
Here are some of the posts made over the bank holiday weekend on Spectator.co.uk: A Coffee House poll asks whether the Tories should pledge to cut public spending. Fraser Nelson says it’s getting harder for first-time buyers, and claims a big state means a spying state. James Forsyth picks up on how an MI5 report
Spectator readers respond to recent articles Bombast in Beijing Sir: David Tang is right (Diary, 16 August) that Zhang Yimou, the choreographer of the Olympic ceremony, produced ‘maniacal… bombast…’. Mr Tang suggested Pyongyang as a model. But years ago Mr Zhang told me that he could get his films on screen in China, where they
When R.A. Butler, quoting Bismarck, described politics as the ‘art of the possible’, he was spelling out the pragmatist’s creed. Yet, if nothing else, Barack Obama’s rise to become the Democrats’ candidate for the White House shows that ‘the possible’ can still be extraordinary. Only four years ago, Obama was a mere state senator in
Dominic Grieve wants your questions Fraser Nelson outlines Brown’s Bubble, and describes Boris’s gift to Labour. James Forsyth wonders who the PM’s siding with in the Brown-Miliband dispute, and reports on another poor poll for Labour. Peter Hoskin reflects on the lessons of history, and gives his take on the latest economic growth figures. Brian Cullen
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: James Forsyth on who Putin is and the retreating Gordon Brown Americano on why Obama shouldn’t choose a foreign policy expert as VP nominee and how McCain has found another gear.
Credit where credit’s due Sir: I’m not sure if my colleague Bob Marshall-Andrews is happy to be seen as some kind of showbiz personality (‘I’m not an ambassador for New Labour’, 9 August). However wrong Bob was, in my view, in strenuously opposing allied military action which ended ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, he has undoubtedly
Russia’s actions in the past week should not have taken anyone by surprise. The fact that they did illustrates just how gravely in denial the free world now is about the threats that it faces. Before 9/11, all too few people could imagine a terrorist attack on a Western city killing thousands — even though
Here are Eric Pickles’s answers to the questions posed by Coffee Housers: Victoria Street “Devolving power downwards from Westminster doesn’t mean that the blame can always be devolved downwards. Are you prepared for the inevitable slew of critical media that is an inevitable result of letting go the reins? Can you resist the temptation to
The Spectator magazine has recorded its highest-ever sales. The audited ABC average circulation for the first half of this year was almost 77,000 — a weekly average of 76,952 to be exact — the highest ever sale in the magazine’s 180-year history and the 12th consecutive half-year increase. Circulation is now 5% up on the first
…here are some of the posts made over the weekend on Spectator.co.uk: Tim Hedges, in the first ever Sunday Essay, explores the state of Italy today. Kaz Mochlinski looks beyond the façade in his eyewitness analysis of the Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing. Peter Hoskin reveals what Polly Toynbee doesn’t get, and wonders whether Gordon
Part-time heroes Sir: I noted with interest the article about ‘lazy firemen’ (‘Britain’s firefighters are underworked and inflexible’, 26 July). I am Lincolnshire’s Chief Fire Officer with more than 35 years’ service, and though there was much truth in what Leo McKinstry said, what he failed to address was the progress made by many fire
For many people, watching the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics will be like trying to enjoy a party above the din of police cars taking away uninvited guests. However much you turn up the music, you can still hear the sirens: the oppressed of Tibet and other rebellious provinces, the silenced dissidents, the Western
Here are some of the posts made this week on Spectator.co.uk… Eric Pickles wants your questions. Chris Grayling answers your questions. Spectator staff suggest some good summer reads. Kaz Mochlinski previews the Olympic Games. Henrietta Bredin reveals the most ineffectual phrase in current misuse. Matthew D’Ancona claims that al-Qaeda are winning, and says that the