‘Sleaze has been the dominant factor throughout,’ declared the opposition, ‘and sleaze has been the end issue. Nothing better encapsulates what people think of this government. Sleaze will be one of the things that brings this government down.’ The opposition in question was New Labour and the government was Conservative. A decade on, with poetic
Nick Robinson has a great little story about when Gordon Brown’s photo shoot with the fashion photographer David Bailey. My favourite story of the week comes from the studios of David Bailey where the daddy of all photographers was taking pictures of the PM for the magazine GQ. “Do you use ever use digital instead
Bob Kagan, one of the smartest and most influential American foreign policy thinkers, has a compelling piece on how to deal with Iran in the Washington Post. Here’s how he starts: “Regardless of what one thinks about the National Intelligence Estimate’s conclusion that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003 — and there is
New world order Sir: Poor old Irwin Stelzer is stuck in an Atlantico-centric world in which the main debate is still about choosing between Europe and America and deciding which side of the Atlantic Ocean is top dog (‘The Special Relationship is between Washington and Brussels’, 24 November). When will Washington, or Brussels, grasp that
As prophecies go, it had none of the ritual majesty of the Sybil of Cumae’s pronouncements, none of the blood-chilling qualities of Cassandra. But it has, in its own way, come to pass nonetheless. Jonathan Powell, the chief of staff to Tony Blair, once told our former editor that Gordon Brown’s political career would be
Build on the past Sir: Simon Thurley (‘Britain is being demolished’, 17 November) calls us to think again before politicians, short-term financiers and architects repeat all the mistakes we made after the war. I well remember as a student in the 1950s being exhorted by duffle-coated and starry-eyed tutors to ‘change the face of Britain’.
It must come as something of a relief to Peter Mandelson that when Labour sources now refer to ‘the Peter Problem’ they mean Peter Hain, the beleaguered Work and Pensions Secretary. Mr Mandelson’s conduct came to be seen by many as an emblem of all that was wrong with the Blair era. The Hain saga,
Just as some remote tribesmen fear that cameras and mirrors have the power to steal their souls, so the people of the modern world have come to fear that computers have the power to misuse and misdirect their most private data. Identity theft is a potent nightmare of the digital age, and it is with
The Threadneedle/Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year Awards Last Thursday the 24th annual Threadneedle/Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year lunch was held in front of a roomful of the great and good at Claridges, and — this being the first ever live ‘vodcast’ award ceremony — in front of thousands of web-watchers worldwide as well. Matthew d’Ancona,
You can listen to this week’s Spectator / Intelligence Squared debate on whether Britain needs Trident via this link—speakers include Baroness Helena Kennedy and Sir Malcolm Rifkind. We also have video of the Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year Awards, click here if you would like to the watch the ceremony.
From 6:45 PM Spectator.co.uk will be broadcasting the latest Spectator / Intelligence Squared debate on whether or not Britain needs its Trident nuclear weapons system. Speakers include Baroness Helena Kennedy, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the SNP spokesman Angus Robertson and Times columnist Oliver Kamm. The event will be chaired by Jonathan Freedland of the Guardian. Listen
Lord of works Sir: Your profile of Lord Malloch-Brown was grossly unfair (‘Labour’s lord of the perks’, 10 November). I have known him since 1979 when, at the age of 26, he built and ran the Khao I Dang refugee camp in Thailand. Over 100,000 Cambodian refugees had reason to be very grateful for his
The Prime Minister’s speech on foreign policy at the Mansion House this week was a classic instance of reassurance rhetoric: his intention to soothe Atlanticists on both sides of the ocean, worried by the studied distance Mr Brown adopted at Camp David in July and the mixed signals sent by his ministerial team. Tribute was
Deborah Devonshire The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (Profile Books, £9.99) is small, short, cheap and perfect. It is a gem among the dross, without a wasted word. It conjures a picture so skilfully that whenever I see the Derbyshire County Library van in the village I see Norman and his employer inside discussing their
The Spectator Threadneedle politician of the year is George Osborne and the parliamentarian of the year is Alex Salmond. A full list of winners is available here. Full video of the event is available below.
We have just posted the text of the remarks that Matthew d’Ancona delivered at the Spectator Threadneedle Parliamentarian of the Year awards earlier today, We’ll also have video of the whole event available shortly.
Newcomer of the year: Nick Clegg Inquisitor of the year: Michael Conarty Peer of the year: Baroness Thatcher Speech of the year: William Hague Resignation of the year: Tony Blair Minister to Watch: Liam Byrne Marathon Man of the year: Ian Paisley Campaigner of the year: Iain Duncan Smith Parliamentarian of the year: Alex Salmond
George Osborne, The Spectator politician of the year
If you want to watch today’s event live click here. The awards ceremony from Claridge’s Hotel in London will be broadcast live with welcome speech from 1-1:10pm and 1:50-2:30 pm. The awards will be presented by last year’s winner John Reid and hosted by Matthew d’Ancona, editor of the Spectator. To watch click here.
The Spectator Threadneedle politician of the year is George Osborne and the parliamentarian of the year is Alex Salmond. A full list of winners is available here. Full video of the event will be available shortly at Spectator.co.uk