Some Brownies with your coffee?
With Boris again laying into Gordon Brown, CoffeeHousers should remember to have their say on the latter’s most misleading statements. What tops your list of Brownies?
Politics
Read about the latest UK political news, views and analysis.
Monday
The Chancellor’s lucky break
Alistair Darling really should send Mohamed al-Fayed a thank you note. Fayed’s testimony is bound to bump Northern Rock off at least the front pages of the tabloids tomorrow. Perhaps this knowledge explains why Darling produced a calmer and more confident performance in the Commons today than many of us expected he would. The most effective speeches came from Vince Cable and Ken Clarke. Cable took a well deserved victory lap and landed as many hits on George Osborne as Darling; Cable is clearly keen to keep ownership of this issue. While Clarke pointed out in his typical saloon bar style just what a distorting effect on the market the
Polls are closed
The polls have now closed and counting has begun. There have been shootings in Hyderabad and bomb blasts elsewhere, the latest murder tally for Monday can be viewed on the Geo TV website ; reporters are saying there is an “average number of killings for Pakistan”. Next door, Delhi is in a state of alert as India fears a fallout across the border. If Musharraf’s PML(Q) party manages to pull off a majority with its chief ally the MQM, there could be widespread agitation by the supporters of the main opposition parties the PPP and the PML(N). There have already been public meetings between Nawaz Sharif of the PML(N)
Far from secure
Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling have just delivered an absurd medley of deceptions, unwarranted boasts and blame-shifting. Their Northern Rock press conference in brief: everything’s the fault of global forces, and we can be happy that Brown’s “long-term decisions” will stave off the worst of it all. There’s plenty of material there for the Spectator’s Brownies campaign. The worst part, though, was Brown’s claim that “the reputation of London [as a financial centre] is secure”. In truth, there are few scenarios which will dissuade foreign investment more than the forced nationalisation of a bank. When you factor in the Chancellor’s track record – the misguided capital gains and non-dom tax proposals, and the attacks on executive wages – then it’s clear that this Government has massively undermined business confidence in the
How bad is it Darling?
The Prime Minister and his puppet Chancellor are currently facing the press and engaging in furious damage limitation. After that, the Chancellor will have to make a statement to the House where he can expect to be mocked by George Osborne and dissected by Vince Cable, who is the only politician to come out of the Northern Rock affair with his reputation enhanced. This is not quite a Black Wednesday moment but it is a huge blow to the government’s record for economic competence. In many ways, nationalising Northern Rock was the easy bit. The government now has a whole bunch of problems on its hands; John Redwood has a
Sifting through the Northern Wreckage
Perhaps, the greatest political danger for the government from yesterday’s nationalisation of Northern Rock is that it fits so neatly into the narrative of a government that is incapable of making a decision. On The Today Programme this morning, Alistair Darling was repeatedly pressed on the question of why this step was not taken earlier and had no adequate answer. Darling’s performance this morning revealed just how vulnerable the government is over Northern Rock. The Chancellor could not parry the charge that allowing then bank to continue doing business even now it is nationalised is unfair competition. Anatole Kaletsky rips into this decision in The Times today: “To use nationalisation
Sunday
The nationalisation of Northern Rock
The BBC are reporting that Northern Rock is to be nationalised. The move comes after Richard Branson’s overtures to the beleaguered company were rejected. It’s yet another case of Government dithering, and one of the most monumental yet. This was true back in January – when the Chancellor had allegedly found a private sector solution to the saga – but it’s even more marked now. Darling has reached this end by the most circuitous route possible, and the calls for him to lose his job must only be amplified. But worse than the dithering is the fact that even further liability will be heaped upon the taxpayer. If we had
Are the Tories doing well enough?
Even David Cameron’s most enthusiastic backers in the 2005 leadership contest might have thought it unrealistic to imagine that after a little over two years in the job he would have opened up a nine point lead over Labour. But despite having done this, Cameron is still plagued by the question of whether the Tories should be further ahead. Certainly, the Tories haven’t batted Labour out of the game and they are doing nowhere near as well as Tony Blair was in the mid-1990s. However, as Andrew Rawnsley reminds us in The Observer this morning, that was an exceptional time. Rawnsley, though, thinks that the Tories can not become the
Saturday
Is Labour not doing the business any more?
New Labour’s relationship with business is at a low ebb. As George Parker argues in the FT this morning, the changes to capital gains tax and the whole non-dom business have alienated many—something the Tories are eagerly exploiting. But Labour’s problems go beyond policy here. Business had no fear that Tony Blair intended to make the pips squeak, he seemed entirely simpatico with their get rich agenda. Equally, Ed Balls fitted in well with City types who respected his intellect and proximity to power. Now, the City feels it doesn’t have a champion anymore. Kitty Usher, the City Minister, is on maternity leave with her job parcelled out to other
Britain just got Weller: meet the Jam Generation
What do David Cameron, David Miliband, Nick Clegg, Yvette Cooper, Michael Gove and (just about) George Osborne have in common? They are part of the Jam Generation: a powerful cross-party phenomenon laying the foundations of our political futures. The soundtrack to their formative years is Paul Weller’s tuneful, raucous songs of the 1980s: ‘The public gets what the public wants/ But I don’t get what this society wants/ I’m going underground . . .’ Now they are at, or near, the top of politics: two party leaders and the foreign secretary are sons of the Weller years. So are the fast risers in Gordon Brown’s latest Cabinet reshuffle. Some, like
A morning cigar and a glass of wine with Sir John
At 84, John Mortimer is still thrilled by his latest theatrical success, appalled by the cult of ‘health and fitness’ and sorry that the Labour party he loved has vanished. At 84, John Mortimer is still thrilled by his latest theatrical success, appalled by the cult of ‘health and fitness’ and sorry that the Labour party he loved has vanished. By Lloyd Evans The pubs in Paddington open at 8 a.m. It was a glorious winter’s morning and though I was tempted I decided against a pick-me-up. I was on my way to interview John Mortimer, the socialist bon viveur who famously enjoys a glass of champagne at sunrise, and
Trying to work out what David Cameron really thinks, I had a strange sense of déjà vu
He is the longest serving of our major party leaders. He could be Prime Minister next year. He has had publicity that many a politician would kill for. Yet how many voters can answer a simple question — what does David Cameron really think? That is what I have been trying to do for a documentary on BBC Radio 4. My producer Martin Rosenbaum and I have spoken to those who know Cameron best — his friends, his colleagues and a few of those who he’s crossed over the years. Eighteen months ago we made a programme which asked the same question about the man who then looked set to
Friday
Come off it, Ken
At yesterday’s green hustings, Ken Livingstone said that by 2010 the Thames would be the cleanest river flowing through any capital city and that people would be swimming in it. I’m not qualified to say if he has any chance of meeting the first part of this pledge but I’ll go for a dip myself if the second part comes true. Hat Tip: Dizzy
Dithering Tories?
I wrote earlier that the George Osborne’s approach to tax cuts may “reduce to a tortoise-hare debate”. By characterising the Tories as “ditherers” over tax, Ben Chu of Open House feeds ammo to those on Team Hare: “The Conservative leadership attacks Gordon Brown for being a “ditherer” and ordering endless reviews to put off making decisions. But the Tories are not averse to such delaying tactics themselves. Today the shadow chancellor George Osborne has established a review of taxation policy to be headed by the Tory grandee Lord Howe. But what about the Conservative economic policy review from John Redwood which last summer proposed, in the words of its author, “a tax cut by
Osborne on tax
Following William Hague’s excellent speech there last week, George Osborne has today delivered an important address on tax reform at Policy Exchange. The key component was a cogent defence of the Tories’ current pledge to match Labour spending plans: “Now the Labour Government have been forced by their own profligacy to adopt plans for the coming three years that halve the growth rate of government spending from 4% to 2.1%. They too will be sharing the proceeds of growth. Not through choice but by necessity. We do have a choice. We can either: stick with our long term course; stick with the commitment I made to spending growth of 2.1% for the
Clegg’s dilemma
Lib Dem frontbencher David Heath has confirmed that he will vote against the Lib Dem whip and for a referendum on the EU Constitution. Nick Clegg now faces a difficult choice. He can sack Heath and show that he will not back down from enforcing party discipline. However, this approach would highlight the Lib Dem’s breach of their manifesto promise to support a popular vote on the EU Constitution. Or, he can let Heath get away with defying the party line and create a precedent that will wreak havoc on party discipline. Two factors are likely to make up Clegg’s mind. First, whether the Lib Dems can succeed in getting
Thursday
Desperately Seeking a Tartan Sarko?
One of the most kenspeckled British political anecdotes of the last half century recounts the occasion when it was said of Herbert Morrison that he was “his own worst enemy”, his great rival Ernie Bevin was quick to interject: “Not while I’m alive, he ain’t!”. So when, courtesy of Art Goldhammer, I read that Pierre Lellouche, a conservative member of the UMP from Paris, had condemned the French right in these terms: “La droite française, malgré la magie sarkozyenne à l’UMP, serait-elle redevenue, Sarkozy parti à l’Elysée, la plus bête et la plus lâche du monde”, se demande le député de Paris. my immediate thought was, no, that ain’t possible.
The myth of progress, Victoria
Foreign Policy on a splendid Greek sex scandal: Now, it’s Greece’s turn, and it may be the most fascinating one yet. Here’s the story: A young woman slept with the general secretary of the culture ministry in the hopes of obtaining a permanent job (judging by his photo, left, that had to be the only reason). When he didn’t follow through, she recorded her encounters with him on a DVD, allegedly to blackmail him, and ended up taking it to the press. Most journalists wouldn’t work with her, but a copy of the DVD somehow found its way to the prime minister’s office. Once the official being blackmailed got wind of
Poll boost for Musharraf’s rivals
I’ve mentioned before that election polls don’t happen nearly as often in Pakistan as they do in America. Then, like the London buses…. This week the US-based International Republican Institute, which conducted a poll across all four Pakistani provinces over ten days in January 2008, found the PPP leading, with 50% of those sampled saying they would vote for it; Nawaz Sharif’s PML (N) party achieved 22% of the votes; and the pro-Musharraf PML (Q) trailed in third with 14%. There has been a perception by those in power that Pakistanis can have the wool pulled over their eyes. The poll finds this isn’t true. 79% would feel that rigging had occurred if
Where there’s a will, there’s a way (around Parliamentary regulations)
James wrote earlier on plans to make MPs formally declare any family members who work for them. But, if the New Statesman’s Kevin Maguire is right, the new measures may be to little avail. The reason? Well, the MPs have a cunning plan: “Wife swapping is the name of the game, swinging the new earner. A snitch of unimpeachable integrity, a distinguished public servant no less, overheard a huddle of MPs trading partners behind the Speaker’s chair. Discretion prevents my snout naming names, but the cunning plan is to survive the collapse of Del Boy Conway’s family business by employing each other’s spouses. Now “Big Mick” Martin is apprised of what’s been going on
