Bernie Sanders’s quixotic tilt at the White House needed an upset in the Nevada Caucuses tonight. But Hillary Clinton won. Now the Former First Lady, after a wobbly few weeks, is very much back in what Americans call the catbird seat. Sanders’s populist success has been staggering, but he has never quite threatened to destroy
Your latest challenge was to compose a Valentine’s triolet. A famous example of the triolet is Frances Cornford’s catty ‘To a Fat Lady seen from the Train’ (‘O fat white woman whom nobody loves/ Why do you walk through the field in gloves’), but it was that ace trioleteer Wendy Cope’s rather more charming ‘Valentine’
Three things give momentum to a campaign for a presidential nomination in the USA and power it to victory: Expectations. Expectations. Expectations. The only truly memorable moment of Bill Clinton’s 1992 Democratic victory was his New Hampshire primary loss: where his second-place finish surprised the political establishment and lent him the ‘comeback kid’ moniker than
At Cabinet this morning, every minister spoke in strict order of Cabinet seniority. This meant that Michael Gove was the first person to make the case for Out. I’m told that his argument to Cabinet was essentially the same as the hugely powerful statement he put out afterwards, which you can read in full here.
For weeks now I have been wrestling with the most difficult decision of my political life. But taking difficult decisions is what politicians are paid to do. No-one is forced to stand for Parliament, no-one is compelled to become a minister. If you take on those roles, which are great privileges, you also take on
As expected, David Cameron has just confirmed that the EU referendum will be on Thursday 23 June. The Prime Minister confirmed – again – in his statement in Downing Street that he will be recommending an ‘In’ vote. The Prime Minister’s statement was largely a reprise of his key themes from last night. He said that
David Cameron’s two hour Cabinet meeting is now over, and the campaign has now started. His Cabinet members are now free to back (or oppose) Brexit, here is a list of who’s saying what. Out camp Michael Gove: The Justice Secretary is to back Out. Entering No.10 he informed reporters that he would be making
As ministers roll into No10 in front of the cameras, reporters have noticed the absence of one Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. It turns out that the Prime Minister has convened a meeting of the normal Cabinet, rather than a ‘political Cabinet.’ A minor distinction, but it does mean no Boris Johnson – who is a
Sajid Javid will campaign for Britain to stay in the EU. The Business Secretary’s decision is a blow to the Leave camp which had been hopefully of recruiting him; Javid had spoken in the past of how he was ‘not afraid’ of Britain leaving the EU as it ‘would open up opportunities’. Senior figures on
For David Cameron, the only upside to such a late agreement on his deal is that news didn’t break in time for most of the first editions of the newspapers – do they cannot dump on him from quite such a height as they did last time (see picture at the bottom). But still, they’re
The Cabinet convenes this morning at 10am with, at least, six of those present set to back Out. The most intriguing of these Outers is Michael Gove. Gove is exceptionally close to Cameron and Osborne both politically and personally. He is one of the intellectual driving forces behind the Tory modernising project. But he is
[audioplayer src=”http://rss.acast.com/viewfrom22/spectatorpodcastspecial-davidcameronseudeal/media.mp3″ title=”David Cameron seals the EU deal – but is it any good? Isabel Hardman, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson discuss” startat=18] Listen [/audioplayer] David Cameron has sealed an EU deal in Brussels – but is it any good? The Prime Minister said the renegotiation gives Britain ‘special status’ in the EU. Donald Tusk said
The advocates of Brexit like to paint an optimistic picture of a post-EU Britain as an active, globally engaged power. ‘Who has the parochial mindset here,’ asks Dan Hannan, ‘those who want a global role of the United Kingdom, or those who think that our role must be mediated by Federica Mogherini, the EU’s Foreign
[audioplayer src=”http://rss.acast.com/viewfrom22/spectatorpodcastspecial-davidcameronseudeal/media.mp3″ title=”David Cameron seals the EU deal – but is it any good? Isabel Hardman, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson discuss” startat=18] Listen [/audioplayer] So in the end, David Cameron’s attempt to renegotiate Britain’s EU membership served to remind us of the case for leaving: the EU is designed in such a way that almost no sensible
[audioplayer src=”http://rss.acast.com/viewfrom22/spectatorpodcastspecial-davidcameronseudeal/media.mp3″ title=”Isabel Hardman, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson discuss the EU deal” startat=18] Listen [/audioplayer] What a choice our poor old country faces. There’s widespread support amongst voters across Europe (but not leading politicians) for a fundamental EU reform programme, but our Government never seriously considered leading on this front. Yet the Government so
[audioplayer src=”http://rss.acast.com/viewfrom22/spectatorpodcastspecial-davidcameronseudeal/media.mp3″ title=”Isabel Hardman, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson discuss the EU deal” startat=18] Listen [/audioplayer] A deal has finally been struck amongst EU leaders in an agreement hailed by David Cameron as giving ‘special status’ to Britain. Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, the Prime Minister said: ‘Within the last hour I have
[audioplayer src=”http://rss.acast.com/viewfrom22/spectatorpodcastspecial-davidcameronseudeal/media.mp3″ title=”Isabel Hardman, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson discuss the EU deal” startat=18] Listen [/audioplayer] Finally. In the past few minutes, EU leaders have reached a deal on David Cameron’s renegotiation of Britain’s relationship with Europe which gives the UK ‘special status’ in the EU. As is now traditional, Donald Tusk’s Twitter feed is first
Back in 2009 Damian McBride had to step down from his role as Gordon Brown’s advisor after leaked emails revealed that he had been part of a proposed sex smear campaign against the Tories. The emails showed that McBride was embroiled in a plot to damage the reputations of senior Tories with smears relating to
David Cameron had hoped to agree a deal today, return from Brussels this evening, hold a special Cabinet meeting and then start the referendum campaign. So much for that. We have news from the European Council summit, and it’s not about the eating arrangements, apparently (though for those on the edge of their seats about what
[audioplayer src=”http://rss.acast.com/viewfrom22/spectatorpodcastspecial-davidcameronseudeal/media.mp3″ title=”Isabel Hardman, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson discuss the EU deal” startat=18] Listen [/audioplayer] As the EU Council meeting in Brussels drags on and on, the chances of a Cabinet meeting this evening are receding. But based on discussions I’ve had, the Cameron circle now seem pretty much resigned to losing Michael Gove