This will Occupy Boris

A few months ago I hosted a debate at my think tank with one of the key Tahrir Square leaders. After his talk about Egypt, he warned the audience: the protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak were not just an Egyptian or Middle Eastern phenomena; it could – and, he said, would – spread to the West. For the youth of today, he argued, feel disempowered, empoverished and betrayed.

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Matthew Lynn

Where is Rachel Reeves?

As protests spread from New York to London and other European capitals, it seems that Egyptian protester may have been right. Today’s efforts to occupy the London stock exchange failed but protesters remain on the grounds of St Paul’s Cathedral. Whatever happens in the next days, protests like these are likely to appear, disappear and appear again. For the government it will create pressure to advance banking reforms, cap bonuses and sound tough on the City.