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…here are some of the posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the weekend. Andrew Neil explains why work experience matters more than ever. Fraser Nelson wonders what will happen next in Egypt, and predicts an imminent and lasting spat between Britain and the EU. James Forsyth discloses details of the coalition’s coming bank deal, and charts
President Obama’s new budget proposal is an interesting moment as Obama is now admitting that the time for fiscal stimulus has passed and that cuts needs to be made. As one administration official tells The New York Times, “The debate in Washington is not whether to cut or to spend… The question is how we
Of all the broadcast hours devoted to the Big Society, only one discussion has made me think that the whole thing is not completely doomed. Channel4’s 10 O’Clock Live show, staged last Thursday. It’s up on YouTube now (34 mins in). The comedian David Mitchell kicked off. “The clearest thing anyone can say about Big
Public sector pensions are grossly unfair. At a time when private sector pensions have collapsed, not least because of Gordon Brown’s infamous pensions raid on private pensions, public sector pensions have continued to be unreformed. The coalition was quick to recognise that this must change. And by appointing former Labour Cabinet Minister John Hutton to
Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers’ Wall. For those who haven’t come across the Wall before, it’s a post we put up each Monday, on which – providing your writing isn’t libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency – you’ll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section. There is no
The FT’s Alex Barker has a sweet little scoop. David Davis is having a knees-up for all 234 of his comrades in the prisoner voting debate. Here’s the invitation: It’s been a while since newspapers and the public commended parliament, so why not throw a ‘little party’. True, normal service will be resumed if Mark
One of the questions that most fascinates Westminster is what would make Vince Cable walk out of the coalition Cabinet. Cable might be a diminished figure and have lost standing on the Lib Dem left by pushing through the tuition fees hike, but his departure would still shift the tectonic plates of politics. As James
It did not take David Cameron long to realise that there were three parties in his coalition. A few months into government, the Prime Minister worked out that only half of the policies he was enacting came from the shared agenda drawn up when the Tories and LibDems got together. The other half comes from
Last week Steve Hilton set up a war room in Downing Street. In daily meetings, Hilton plotted the ‘big society’ fight-back that started today with Cameron’s op-ed in The Observer. Hilton, who is predominant in Downing Street at the moment, knows that Cameron will never u-turn on the big society. It is what the Prime
In my recent BBC2 documentary, Posh & Posher, I explained how networking and contacts played a crucial role in giving those with the right connections an early leg up in their careers. Internships and work experience are proving increasingly crucial to opening doors and opportunities in later life. Many have expressed the view that the best
To conclude our ‘True Grit Week’, we’ve asked our favourite Country and Western aficionado, our colleague Alex Massie, to compose a special C&W playlist. Hickory Wind – The ByrdsThe Byrds were never better than during the spell Gram Parsons was present. Sweetheart of the Rodeo is a near-faultless album and ‘Hickory Wind’ perhaps its standout
It’s written in print: the Big Society has become the “big society”. David Cameron has responded to criticism of his flagship agenda by downgrading it from a proper noun to a compound adjective. He makes no attempt to define “big society”; rather, Cameron suggests that the term is descriptive of the impulses he hopes to encourage. He writes in
The most interesting question in politics right now is, to my mind, what does David Cameron really think about how his premiership is going? Does he subscribe to the view that the coalition is getting the big things right and that the numerous u-turns that Fraser referred to in his post really don’t matter that
Ken Clarke’s political career has had the resilience of a cockroach, but even he now seems to be cracking. Tim Montgomerie has shot a vicious broadside at Clarke’s dated politics in today’s Mail. And Clarke, for his part, has given an interview to the Telegraph, where he gives a convincing impression of a man completely out of touch. Clarke
In a few weeks, the World Bank will issue its Development Report, a document of canonical importance to the DfiDs of the world. But the recent events in Egypt will make it useful reading for laymen too. The reason: it shows empirically – having looked at hundreds conflicts in hundred of countries – that young
The fall of the Mubarak regime marks the end of an inglorious chapter in the history of the West. The decision to back a dictator in Egypt in exchange for stability has proved to be as flawed strategically as it was morally. The challenge for the West now is to get itself on the right
Mubarak’s exit has had a predictably seismic effect on Arab Street. Protests are spreading in Algeria; Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are braced for dissent. Follow it all on al-Jazeera. In the meantime, here’s what the world’s papers make of it. The New York Times‘ Anthony Shadid considers the way ahead. Haaretz’s Benny Neuberger considers
The world is full of jubilation this morning, and I wish I could join in. Perhaps we are indeed witnessing Egypt on its way to democracy, thereby inspiring a similar wave of uprisings in the Arab world. It’s not hard to be mesmerised by the prospect of the Arabs rejecting the dictators foisted on them by the West in
Yesterday, parliament asserted its supremacy before the European Court of Human Rights. As Ross Clark explains, it has been a long time coming. The Final Indignity, 10th November 2001 by Ross Clark It wasn’t so long ago that the very mention of the words ‘European Convention on Human Rights’ in conservative circles was enough to
Restoring individual liberty has long been a Liberal Democrat aspiration. Nick Clegg has pursued the cause in government; with mixed results it must be said, particularly on control orders. But Clegg is unperturbed and today he is introducing the Freedom Bill. He previews its contents with a typically clear piece in today’s Telegraph. The measures
Michael Gove has won on the substance in the judicial reviews of his decisions on Building Schools for the Future. The judge has rejected the claim that Gove acted irrationally and found that he has the authority to make the decisions he did. There will have to be reviews of six of the decisions because
Here is a selection of posts made at Spectator.co.uk over the past week. Fraser Nelson witnesses the first bout of Osborne versus Balls, and worries that Mervyn King’s credibility is faltering. James Forsyth unpicks Lord Oakeshott’s exit, and praises Project Merlin. Peter Hoskin reveals the doubts that remain over al-Megrahi, and explains why the government
Well, well, well, how the worm turns. I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the post I wrote some hours ago. Again, it’s worth noting that this is just the end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end. The Pessimists may yet be proved right but this, at last, is a day for the
It looks like the most almighty mess. The government’s communications are tongued-tied, the Big Society is flightless and the reform agenda is being neutered by inertia. The political will has been met by the administrative won’t. But, despite the gloom, the government should pay heed to Corporal Jones: don’t panic. The slow progress of public
The Davis Straw motion on keeping the ban on prisoner votes has just passed by 234 votes to 22. It is a crushing victory on what was a very good turnout given that both front benches were not voting. The 22 against the motion were a bunch of Liberal Democrats plus the Ulster MP Lady
The resignation last night of Lord Oakeshott, the Liberal Democrat’s Treasury spokesmen in the Lords, over his criticisms of Project Merlin is more important than it might appear. Despite not being a coalition minister, Oakeshott is one of the bigger figures in the Liberal Democrats and is extremely close to Vince Cable, who skis with
Twitter has exploded at the news that former Labour MP Jim Devine has been found guilty on two counts of false accounting, and is likely follow to David Chaytor to the slammer – another argument against votes for lags. Sentence will be passed in four weeks As James Kirkup wrote at the time of Chaytor’s
More so than other parties, the Liberal Democrats depend on their grassroots’ presence in local government. The foot soldiers’ importance has increased as the party’s polling strength wanes. So, Nick Clegg will be aghast that 88 leading Liberal Democrats have written to the Times (£) to castigate the government’s ‘front-loaded’ cuts to local government. Tuition
Project Merlin? Really? Never mind the detail of the plan to “deal with” the banks and their bonuses, my first reaction was to wonder if some Treasury chap with a sense of humour has been reading* Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy recently. Source Merlin, you will recall, peddles product Witchcraft to the Circus and nearly succeeds
James’s column in this week’s edition of the magazine (subscribe!) is characteristically excellent but it has produced one odd response already. Tim Montgomerie worries that it might be harder to pass “unpopular legislation” if the British electoral system is changed from First Past the Post to the Alternative Vote. Like other opponents of AV, Tim
Despite today’s ruptures, Hosni Mubarak has vowed to stay on until there can be an ordered transfer of power. His defiance will sound familiar to western ears: a lame duck politician determined to cling to the final vestiges of office. But, of course, in Egypt, Mubarak’s intransigence poses far more serious questions. It is
Seventeen Days that Shook the World? Not so fast, my friend! Hosni Mubarak’s speech this evening was many things but it wasn’t much of a resignation statement. Mostly, it was a nationalist plea for Middle Egypt’s sympathy vote. Presenting himself as father of the nation – including his “children” gathered in Tahrir Square and in
Reports from Tahrir Square are very confused. There is a firm body of opinion who doubt the ‘tough cookie’ Mubarak would have stood aside. Many suspect that today’s announcements are a ruse designed to strengthen his position. As Richard Ottaway put it, ‘Ill believe it when I see it.’ Meanwhile, others report the Mubarak has
Following the jury’s decision in the Jim Devine case, Eric Ilsley has been sentenced to 12 months in jail having pleaded guilty to charges of false accounting. As I wrote this morning, prison sentences for expenses offenders are both appropriate and constructive. They dictate that parliament should conduct itself with dignity and probity; and