Alex Massie is Scotland Editor of The Spectator.
Perhaps the only thing odder than the enthusiasm — found only in some small part of the Tory party — for Prime Minister Osborne is the Conservative belief in Prime Minister Boris. Where this odd faith comes from, no man can quite say. But it exists and I suppose, like other quackery, is good fun
Ed Miliband’s speech last week, in which he grappled with questions of Britishness, identity and Unionism, was a worthy effort. By which you will grasp that it was also, in the end, not quite good enough. The Labour leader spoke as though he had only recently appreciated — or had brought to his attention —
I commend Fraser’s most recent post on our part-time Chancellor of the Exchequer. But even my flabber was gasted (or my gast flabbered) by this paragraph: Being Chancellor in a recession is a very tough job. Osborne’s predecessors are amazed at the time he has to spend politicking across departments. I’m told that he is
Political stocks can go down as well as up. Shares in Alex Salmond are hardly slumping right now but they’re off their peak and flat-lining. The market is becalmed. Perhaps the launch of the independence referendum campaign will reinvigorate the First Minister but it also carries the risk – unavoidable for sure, but still a
Can’t republicans do better than this? If keeping quiet and cutting ribbons is all we can expect of our head of state then perhaps we can agree she’s done well — but surely we can expect more. As a national figurehead and leading public figure the queen has utterly failed to do anything of note
In Washington, as Andrew Sullivan reminds us, a gaffe is when a politician inadvertently blurts out what they actually believe. It is always occasion for equal measures of embarrassment and entertainment. So, no, Barack Obama’s reference to a “Polish death camp” was not a gaffe. Worse than that, it was a blunder. Not of malice
I see that, following Andy Coulson’s detention as part of a police investigation into perjury at the Tommy Sheridan, er, perjury trial, Tom Watson MP is up to his old tricks. To wit: After the detention of Coulson, Tom Watson MP reiterated his claim that Sheridan’s perjury conviction was “unsound”. He said: “Tommy Sheridan was
May God protect me from my friends. That, I suggest, should be George Osborne’s reaction to Ben Brogan’s Telegraph column this morning. As best I can tell, it’s supposed to be a supportive piece, reflecting on the Chancellor’s efforts to rediscover his mojo in the aftermath of his justifiably poorly-received budget. If so, then, with
Another of the grand old men of country and bluegrass music has picked his last. Doc Watson has died, aged 89. Here he is with Earl Scruggs at Doc’s place some years back. And here he is more recently singing Amazing Grace:
So the government is appeasing pie-eaters today. And caravan owners. In one sense this is unsurprising since increasing taxes on items perceived to be enjoyed chiefly by the working-class is rarely a popular move and, in terms of presentation, especially awkward for a government most of whose ministers are from wealthy backgrounds. Nevertheless, this u-turn
Fulminating against the government’s economic policies, the Observer complained recently that: For a generation, business and finance, cheered on by US neoconservatives and free market fundamentalists, have argued that the less capitalism is governed, regulated and shaped by the state, the better it works. Markets do everything best – managing business and systemic risk, innovating,
This week the SNP will launch their campaign for Scottish independence. Or, rather, it’s the official beginning of what they term the ‘Yes’ campaign. Prefacing this, Joan McAlpine uses her column in the Daily Record to list ten reasons why Scots should endorse independence. It is an interesting list, not least because McAlpine, who is
Mike Tomasky enters the Veepstakes with a variation on a well-worn theme: Will Barack Obama replace Joe Biden with Hillary Clinton? This is a Question To Which The Answer Is No. To be fair Tomasky, whose piece is supported by a single shoogly opinion poll showing Romney leading Obama amongst women voters, all but admits
Or, rather, why do children from poorer backgrounds do so much better in London than they do in other parts of England? That’s a question Chris Cook asks, almost as an afterthought, at the conclusion of a post that, to my untrained eye, makes a good case for ignoring much of the attractive* nostalgia for
Apparently the Labour leadership is considering making a commitment to hold an In or Out referendum on British membership of the EU sometime in the next parliament. Guido says this would be “opportunistic, calculated and brilliant”. Well, he would say that wouldn’t he? He would, I think, quite like to see Britain leave the EU. Of
The death of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the only person convicted for their part in the Lockerbie Bombing, is a matter of some relief. It marks the end of one part of an affair from which few of the protagonists graduate with credit. As this is Lockerbie, however, you can expect the conspiracy fires to burn
When the Possum made it to the stage he was pretty good. Here he is at the Opry some time in the late 90s crooning away with Tennessee Whiskey.
Joe Klein complains that the Republican nominee is being beastly to the press. Mitt Romney is clearly a candidate terrified by his own mouth. What other explanation for his campaign’s extreme efforts to prevent reporters from asking him questions? I know that there isn’t much public sympathy for journalistic whining – including my own occasional,
There are times when the SNP’s attempts to persuade us that there are no regrettable consequences to Scottish independence cross the line between worthy and absurd. The future of shipbuilding on the Clyde is one such case. According to the nationalists the suggestion that the Royal Navy (or what is left of it) might be less
Watching Andy Coulson answer the Leveson inquiry’s questions with a dead bat yesterday, the likes of Robert Shrimsley and Tim Montgomerie tweeted that viewing Coulson testify was akin to watching Chris Tavaré bat. Those of you who remember Tavaré will appreciate that this was not meant altogether kindly. This will not do. I concede that