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
So madly introspective and self-obsessed has Labour become that it seems almost impolite to intrude upon its private agonies. Yet since the party is still notionally governing the nation it is our duty to knock on the door, and ask what all the tears and shouting are about. The conduct of the government since the
A selection of posts made this week on Spectator.co.uk: Fraser Nelson wonders whether Alex Salmond is the real threat for Labour, and laments Gordon Brown’s reverse Midas touch. James Forsyth says the numbers don’t add up for David Miliband, and gives his take on the Foreign Secretary’s infamous Guardian op-ed. Peter Hoskin reports on a
We’ve had a few technical problems today, so here are some Coffee House posts that you may have missed: Fraser Nelson wonders whether Alex Salmond is Labour’s biggest threat, and give his thoughts on the Labour leadership struggle. James Forsyth outlines the the internal turmoil that Labour can expect should Brown be ousted, and analyses David Miliband’s op-ed in
…here are some of the posts made over the weekend on Spectator.co.uk: Rory Sutherland says it’s out with the flash and in with the smiles to curb speeding on our roads. James Forsyth tips Alan Johnson as the main threat to the Tories, and claims that Cameron wants us to think that the torch has
Sensible scares Sir: To be fair to the scaremongers (Another Voice, 19 July), at least some of the scares mentioned by Matthew Parris (al-Qa’eda, HIV) seem less frightening in retrospect not because they were always insubstantial but because the threats were taken seriously and action was taken to counter them. If the fuss over the
The wonder of the National Curriculum Tests marking scandal is that it has taken a decade for the inadequacies of the school exam system to become widely known. As Liz Brocklehurst, a former exam marker, reveals in this issue (see page 21), the exam system has been in crisis since being politicised in David Blunkett’s
Here are some of the posts made this week on Spectator.co.uk: Chris Grayling wants your questions. George Osborne answers your questions. Fraser Nelson reports on the SNP’s stunning victory in the Glasgow East by-election, and claims that the West needs to solve the Pakistan problem. James Forsyth says Ed Balls should take responsibility for the Sat fiasco, and spells out how reform-minded Labour MPs can establish a
Is Darling his own man? Join the debate over at Trading Floor.
…here are some posts made over the weekend on Spectator.co.uk: Matthew d’Ancona claims that the latest Batman film is brilliantly dark. Fraser Nelson presents a guide to Glasgow East, and highlights new statistics which show that four out of every five drug addicts are on welfare. James Forsyth suggests that Brown will take a pounding during the summer