All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
Just following up my post of yesterday evening, it’s worth pointing out the story in today’s FT that Alistair Darling is going to throw small businesses a “credit lifeline” in next week’s PBR. This was actually one of the aims of the multi-£billion bank bailout. But – as that doesn’t seem to be having the desired
Most debates about what the Tories should do are split between what’s right, and what would go down well to win elections. I believe that strong parties start with the former, and work up a way of converting it to the latter. This is why I disagree with James. Refusing to match Labour on health
It was a subdued David Cameron we saw in PMQs today, which is understandable after last week. He’ll need all the arrows he can get in George Osborne’s quiver next Monday. The aim is to make the economy a real issue, hence he went on case studies of businesses denied credit – details later released
Courtesy of the essential Politics Home, here’s footage of the leader exchanges from today’s PMQs:
Weighing up the prospects of a snap election, Jonathan Freedland makes a pertinent point in today’s Guardian: “But what happens when the immediate mood of crisis passes, and voters ask whether Brown’s frenetic activity actually made any difference? If the answer is not much, he’ll be finished. Yet success might not help, either. Voters could
Nuff said, methinks. Vouchers and proper school choice programmes aren’t the only answer, of course, but it’s simple decency to extend to the working class opportunities taken for granted by the middle-class, including, of course, many teachers themselves. More details on the chart here.
I’m a sucker for any story headlined “Where Did the Libertarian Party Go Wrong?” and sure enough Brian Doherty’s Reason article is a fun read. I particularly liked his opening line: From the outset, Bob Barr’s Libertarian run for the presidency was fraught with great expectations. The biggest problems for the LP? Apart, that is,
A few weeks ago, George Osborne warned that excessive government borrowing would make it harder for the Bank of England to cut interest rates. Labour responded by calling him “out of his depth”. Now, we see from the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting that the Bank held off from a deeper cut in
Looking back on PMQs – and reading Iain Martin’s deft analysis – it really was quite striking how both opposition leaders decided to major on the same issue: namely, that the banking bailout isn’t yet meeting one of Brown’s key aims for it and freeing up credit for small businesses. It’s a potentially fruitful line
Welcome to this week’s Coffee House PMQs live blog. As always, things will kick off at 1200. It’s expected that the party leader exchanges will centre on the economy – particularly in light of the CBI’s prediction that unemployment will hit 2.9 million, and the Tories’ announcement on public spending yesterday. Don’t bet against hearing
The Tories would far rather fight an election in 2010 than early next year. By 2010, reality will have caught up with Gordon Brown. But the best way for the Tories to avoid a poll next year is to talk about it endlessly. Brown Central is aware that they cannot go through another bout of
The clunking fist will be swinging for David Cameron today at PMQs. Gordon Brown will see yesterday’s Tory decision not to pledge to match Labour’s spending plans for 2010-11 as his chance to paint them as both clueless and heartless. David Cameron should reply to Brown’s inevitable tirade about ‘Tory cuts’ with something along these
The Independent’s Hamish McRae – who’s been on the money more often than most commentators during this downturn – today outlines the reasons to be wary of a Government spending boom in the PBR. They’re worth quoting in full: “The first is international. Trust is vital and there is a danger of a systemic loss
Ewen MacAskill reports that Hillary is indeed going to be Obama’s Secretary of State. His report in the Guardian is entirely unsourced however – which is interesting because MacAskill is not a reckless reporter by any means. Even so, Josh Marshall says he doesn’t believe anything any British paper publishes about American politics. My old
Cameron’s announcement today grows more radical the more you study it. I was struck that he didn’t vow to protect health and education spending in 2010/11, as the party has in the past. In my “how to cut £40 billion” guide, my chief recommendation was freezing NHS spending to give the system time to digest
Yvette Cooper doesn’t like Cameron’s announcement that he’d spend less than the £680bn Brown intends to in 2010/11. “Unlike the Conservatives, we refuse to abandon people in tough times. The British economy needs a shot in the arm, not a slap in the face.” Except giving people their money back in tough times – as
Is the Tory right secretly gunning for Cameron? Rachel Sylvester today raises this prospect, and you can take as read this reflects thinking at a senior level within the Cameroons. This bodes ill and suggests someone is worrying that “the Wicked Tory Right are coming for Dave, that explains all the criticism of George, let’s fight them” rather
David Frum is leaving National Review to set up a new online venture called NewMajority.com which will launch once Obama takes the oath of office in January. Frum explains himself here: Over the past three years, I have been engaged in some intense rethinking of my own conservatism. My fundamental political principles remain the same
I’m pleased to see that Jack Shafer is calling the New York Post’s sudden admiration for President-elect Barack Obama a fine example of the time-honoured tabloid tradition of the Reverse Ferret. (See TDL here and here for more on the importance of ferrets to tabloid newspapers). But there’s nothing terribly surprising here: Obama is enormously
It won’t get as much attention as it should because of today’s announcement on spending by the Tories, but Michael Gove’s speech this evening pledging to allow state schools to choose alternative exams to GCSEs and A-Levels is important. It offers a way away from the race to bottom in examination standards that has so
Just to flag up a little task I’ve set myself over at the Spectator Book Club. The plan is for me to read a book each week, and review and discuss it on the site’s discussion board. The first book will be Tom Bower’s biography of Gordon Brown, and the thread for it – along with more
The Standard’s Paul Waugh blogs on how Labour might outflank the Tories on spending cuts, in rhetoric if not in deed: “Downing Street has just revealed that Yvette Cooper led a Cabinet discussion on the post-Gershon efficiency review – and made plain that the Chancellor will next week suggest that he wants to go beyond
One of the underappreciated factors in Obama’s success is that his campaign was not based in the Washington area. This meant there were fewer journalists around, fewer bits of gossip were picked up in bars and restaurants and those who moved to Chicago to work for the campaign were focused on getting Obama elected and
Courtesy of Political Betting, the headline figures from the latest MORI poll: Conservatives — 40 percent (down 5) Labour — 37 percent (up 7) Lib Dems — 12 percent (down two) Opinion polls have been varying wildly over the past couple of weeks, so it will be interesting to see if – and how –
Today’s news that the Tories will no longer pledge to match Labour’s spending plans will, I’m sure, be welcomed by CoffeeHousers. The word on the street is that there will be more announcements coming soon that will indicate a more robust Tory approach on the economy. But it is worth noting that it is also confirmation of
This from George Osborne, speaking on the Beeb just now: “Spending restraint under Conservatives, tax rises under Labour” This bluntly effective message – that Brown’s tax-cuts-now translate to tax-rises-in-future – is perhaps that best chance the Tories have to set the economic narrative. Hat-tip: Politics Home
I wrote earlier that David Cameron needed to do more to to outline how the Tories will respond to the fiscal and economic downturn. He just has. In a keynote speech, the Tory leader announced that his party will ditch their commitment to match Labour spending plans for 2010/11. The emphasis now, as he put
David Brooks has a typically masterful column in the New York Times this morning on the social consequences of recessions. His warning about the possible impact on people’s perceptions of democracy and the market system in developing countries are particularly worth paying attention to. But it was this statistic about the US that jumped out
There’s a punchy op-ed from David Cameron in today’s Guardian, centred around this three-pronged attack on Brown’s borrowing binge: “But excessive borrowing, adding to permanent national debt, to cut taxes or boost spending is the wrong approach. There are three reasons for this. The first is that we simply cannot afford it. We’re already mired
My friend James Forsyth asks a daring question: “Will Peter Mandelson end up a National Treasure?” A crazy notion, you may feel, but not an impossible one! Now, of course, in many respects Mandeslon is a dreadful character, but whereas, say, Alastair Campbell is a mere thuggish bully, Mandelson is a subtler operator who enlivens,
One of Gordon Brown’s favourite tricks is claiming he’s pursuing a particular agenda at the behest of a person/organisation above party politics. Hence those endless reviews: Stern on climate change, Wanless on health, Barker on housing – all with parameters set so tight that they were programmed to come out with what Brown thought. I’ll
Here are some of the posts made over the weekend on Spectator.co.uk: Complete footage of the Spectator / Threadneedle Parliamentarian awards has been uploaded here. Fraser Nelson says that Gordon Brown thinks the truth is hell. James Forsyth warns David Cameron against shifting George Osborne, and suggests that a constitutional monarch should be seen and
Spotted at Edinburgh airport recently. Just in case, like, you weren’t sure how to use a staircase.
I don’t know. You go away for an internet-free weekend and everything seems more or less normal. You return and discover that there’s much talk that Hillary Clinton could be the next US Secretary of State. Blimey! Andrew is, I think, depressed by this but concludes that shoving Hillary over to Foggy Bottom means she