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
Just to remind you that… We’re running a Q&A with Eric Pickles. Go here to submit your questions. And we’ll be posting our first Sunday Essay this weekend. For more information on how you can submit an essay for consideration, click here.
This week’s CoffeeHousers’ Wall is here. Head over there to have your say on the week’s events and to let us know what you’d like to see on Coffee House.
We’ve just updated the Spectator summer reading list with recommendations from Liz Anderson and Henrietta Bredin. You can see the full list here.
In this week’s magazine, Rod Liddle provides a brilliantly acerbic take on the Government’s green agenda. Here’s the bottom line: “The truth is, I suspect, that you can ‘prove’ almost any old rubbish to be environmentally sound or otherwise — the science is so inexact and so open to manipulation. This isn’t an excuse for
This week’s CoffeeHousers’ Wall is here. Head over there to have your say on the week’s events, and to let us know what you’d like to see on Coffee House.
Here are the July monthly traffic figures for Spectator.co.uk: Unique Users — 197,403 Page Views — 1,886,333 These figures represent an impressive year of growth across the site, and include your favourites: Coffee House, Melanie Phillips’ blog, Stephen Pollard’s blog, Clive Davis’s blog and, of course, the weekly magazine content. Thank you to all of our users
…here are some of the posts made over the weekend on Spectator.co.uk: Daniel Korski says that Britain needs to support a European defence initiative. Fraser Nelson points out that curbing drinking by taxing alcopops isn’t as straightforward as it looks, and suggests that Blair should have stopped Brown from getting to No10. Peter Hoskin
On Colombian ‘democracy’ Sir: Tristan Garel-Jones’s article misrepresents Justice for Colombia’s work by implying a common agenda with the Farc (‘The day I was kidnapped’, 12 July). JFC works to defend human rights in Colombia. We were the only British organisation to campaign for the release of Ingrid Betancourt. Last year we brought over Ingrid’s