Phoney war Sir: I was sorry to see that Con Coughlin (‘Agent Brown’s new plan to smash terror’, 26 January) has now joined the likes of poor William Shawcross on the pottier side of paranoia in asserting that the occasional acts of Islamist terrorism in the United Kingdom over recent years mean that ‘we are
Here are some brute facts: the Conservative party still has fewer seats than Michael Foot won in the 1983 general election. To win an overall majority in the House of Commons, David Cameron requires a national swing of 7.1 per cent (compared to the 5.3 per cent achieved by Margaret Thatcher in 1979). For all
John McCain has won Florida and is now the overwhelming favourite to win the Republican nomination. McCain has been further boosted by the news that Rudy Giuliani will likely endorse him in the next day or two. More on McCain’s victory at Americano.
Have a heart Sir: I was longing to disagree with Rod Liddle that organ donation should continue to depend upon a positive act to opt into the programme (‘Hands off my organs’, 19 January). However, Mr Brown’s plans include New Labour’s usual targets and tick-boxes. This means that hospitals would be allocated funding according to
Since the words ‘credit crunch’ entered the public lexicon last summer, many politicians and pundits on both sides of the Atlantic have maintained a state of blithe denial about the economic danger signals that were increasingly apparent. But this week, amid worldwide stock-market turbulence, some painful truths have been confirmed. In Washington, the Federal Reserve
Last night, The Spectator and Intelligence Squared hosted a debate on whether it would be better to bomb Iran than let it develop nuclear weapons. The speakers for the motion included the former CIA Middle East specialist Reuel Marc Gerecht and the political scientists Emanuele Ottolenghi and Bruno Tertrais. Sir Richard Dalton, the former British
Last night, The Spectator and Intelligence Squared hosted a debate on whether it would be better to bomb Iran than let it develop nuclear weapons. The speakers for the motion included the former CIA Middle East specialist Reuel Marc Gerecht and the political scientists Emanuele Ottolenghi and Bruno Tertrais. Sir Richard Dalton, the former British
The Spectator / Intelligence Sqared debate “Its better to bomb Iran than risk Iran getting the bomb” begins at 18:45 tonight. Speakers include: Reuel Marc Gerecht, Emanuele Ottolenghi, Bruno Tertrais, Sir Richard Dalton, Professor Ali Ansari and Simon Jenkins. The debate is chaired by Richard Lindley. To listen to live coverage of the debate please
Too cosy with the KGB Sir: Denis MacShane (‘Welcome to the Vlad and Dave show’, 12 January) is right to imply that the attitude of the Conservative party to the Russian KGB state is reminiscent of the attitude of the same party to Germany in 1938. Only about a year ago the Russian services brought
For once, PMQs is not the main attraction on a Wednesday. The hot ticket today is Welsh Questions where Peter Hain faces the House for the first time since his latest funding troubles hit the headlines. Westminster watchers are intrigued to see how, Hain who is not beloved by his fellow MPs, is treated by
If you haven’t already, do go and take a look at CentreRight.com which launched today. Brought to you by the team behind the essential Conservative Home, its aim is to be a hub for the conservative movement in Britain. The contributors list is stellar and includes such name as Jill Kirby, Liam Fox, Stephan Shakespeare,
Forgotten Army Syndrome Sir: Boris Johnson is to be praised for his intention to honour the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan (‘How, as mayor, I would help our brave troops’, 15–29 December). Unfortunately, I believe he is up against Forgotten Army Syndrome. Burma, during the second world war, was an undeserved victim of this syndrome
In an interview with The Spectator last September, Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton’s chief strategist, advanced the following paradoxical political principle: ‘What we have tried to do is make sure people understand that you need experience to bring about change.’ To translate: in order to usher in the new, it helps to be old — or
In last week’s issue the ISBN for A New Waste Land by Michael Horowitz was incorrect. The correct ISBN is 9780902689268.
We’ve just posted a piece that is well worth reading by Martin Vander Weyer on whether ‘City spivs’ are responsible for the current economic turbulence. You can read it here.
For the answers to the Impossible Quiz, click here.
It was the Gordon and Alistair show today, rather than the Brown press conference. And Darling did far more than the intro. He jumped into answer questions, with his message – that HMS Britain was built by Labour to weather a world economic storm. He detailed meetings with world leaders, as if to try and
As in Iowa, you can’t help but notice the enthusiasm gap between Republicans and Democrats. This morning Obama drew 3,000 people and no one seemed to mind the event starting an hour late or that a large chunk of the audience had to be located in an overflow room. The majority of the crowd were
Hoggartian paradox The result has been the Hoggartian paradox of programmes that managed to be both, in Simon’s words, ‘scaringly revealing’ and largely covering ‘old and well-travelled ground’. Hoggartian paradox The result has been the Hoggartian paradox of programmes that managed to be both, in Simon’s words, ‘scaringly revealing’ and largely covering ‘old and well-travelled
For the answers to the Impossible Quiz, click here. For the answers to the Impossible Quiz, click here.