There’s an article in The Guardian today on Sir Simon Rattle, conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, that’s well worth reading. The thesis of the piece is: “What Rattle is attempting is a musical form of multiculturalism, in which the orchestra’s brilliance lies not so much in their competence in one repertoire, but how the musicians
I spent the first half of today at Gordon Brown’s leadership launch and then Frank Johnson’s memorial service. One was a magnificent, vibrant showcasing of a man’s national reach, achievement, intellect and wide support, a glittering gathering. The other was a sombre assembly of the bereft, gloomy and sepulchral. But, then, such events never were
Will be the unfortunate flunky whose placement of the autocue guaranteed that Brown’s face was partially obscured as he launched his leadership bid.
Matthew d’Ancona and Tim Montgomerie of Conservative Home debate what the Tories can–and should–learn from Blair. Read Matt’s opener here, Tim’s response here and the second round. Tim The trouble with “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime” is that it embodies the worst of Blair: the Vickie Pollard aspect of New Labour, which
Matthew d’Ancona and Tim Montgomerie of Conservative Home debate what the Tories can–and should–learn from Blair. Read Matt’s opener here. Tim Anarcho-syndicalism? Well, that’s what some of the wilder Tory rhetoric about dismantling the state resembles. But moving swiftly on…. On crime: hug-a-hoodie was a disaster. In my view, no party can be too tough
Thanks Matt and for suggesting this exchange. But what’s this reference to “anarcho-syndicalism”? Have you been to the Oliver Letwin school of political communication? I agree with nearly all of what you write – particularly the fact that Conservatives cannot rely upon unhappiness with Labour to guarantee victory. At the moment the Tories aren’t really
The Spectator’s theatre critic Lloyd Evans has done a very funny review of Blair’s performance for us. Do give it a read.
Blair has achieved what all successful British Prime Ministers achieve: he has changed both his own party and the opposition. David Cameron would not exist politically without Tony Blair, in the same way that Blair would not without Thatcher. Yet there’s no single achievement of the Blair years that transcends everything else—which is why it is
Dogs bark, cats miaow, Blair gives superb speeches. His latest farewell remarks were no exception, and there were a few misty eyes here in 22 Old Queen Street. Not mine, I’m afraid to say. Fat lot of good his speeches have done of us over the years. But here’s what I made of his remarks. This
Richard Perle, neo-con policy intellectual, sends in his thoughts on Blair and British ingratitude: I’m sorry to see him go as I was sorry to see the departures of Thatcher and Reagan before him. Conviction politicians, all. It may be a while before you get another–they’re rare on both sides of the Atlantic. Its ironic
The stage was set for a high-energy celebration this afternoon. There was clapping, music, and a woman in black and white dancing near the podium. But by the standards of this most theatrical of public speakers, the Prime Minister’s farewell address today was personal and pensive. Compared to the shouted list of Labour’s achievements that
We’ll have lots more coming up on Coffee House today. Highlights include a review of Blair’s performance by The Spectator’s theatre critic Lloyd Evans and a debate on what the Tories can—and should—learn from Blair between our editor Matthew d’Ancona and Tim Montgomerie of Conservative Home that will be going online after 4PM.. So, stay
Tony Blair possessed many of the qualities of a good – perhaps even great – Prime Minister. He was clever, brave and held deep convictions. My complaint against him – which amounted to a fundamental and continual criticism of his ten-year premiership – was that his convictions were not those of a social democrat. He
Andrew Roberts is nothing less than the jewel in the crown of the Daily Mail, and he has written a very funny piece for that paper about what the world would be like if Britain still ruled America. According to Andrew, it would be a much happier place than it is today. There would have
Fabulous piece by P.J. O’Rourke on Adam Smith as inventor of the web. “I wonder if the know-it-alls at Wikipedia realize that the Internet was fully described and completely understood more than 200 years ago by Adam Smith, founder of free market economics. And Smith, I’m almost certain, knew less about computers than I do
Isabella Blow passed away on Monday morning and took with her much of what made London a fashion capital. She was original and funny and the antithesis of Philip Green – London’s new and unlikely face of fashion. She was interested in the people who made and wore clothes beautifully – she wasn’t interested in
‘Radically pragmatic, rather than dogmatic’, is the way Oliver Letwin, Conservative head of policy, described the new Tory approach this week. Speaking at Policy Exchange, Letwin was hoping to ‘rebut’ critics who say they’ve not seen much in the way of substance since David Cameron became leader of the party eighteen months ago. Joking that
Today’s Sun has the scoop on the choreography behind Blair’s resignation as Labour leader. Apparently, he’ll travel up to Sedgefield and announce his departure in an “emotional resignation speech” at noon. I share Matt’s view that it will be a spectacular performance. Remember how his conference speech did leave them wanting more. He ended that
If, like me, you’re trying to get your head round the radical changes in the online world – and the revolution usually called “Web 2.0” – then check out Seth Godin’s post on the battle between longer and shorter content. Godin is one of the world’ great marketing gurus, which probably sells him short, as
Nicolas Sarkozy was taken in by a phone prankster claiming to be the Canadian PM on Sunday night. No damage done, though. Sarkozy said nothing controversial, merely some boiler plate about being a “big fan of Canada and our bilateral relations are excellent.” The line that eventually tipped him off wasn’t exactly subtle: “Since you
