Alex Massie is Scotland Editor of The Spectator.
Anthony Wells sifts through IPSOS Mori’s latest poll: For David Cameron, 30% of people like both him and his party, 39% like neither. 17% like Cameron but not his party, 7% like the Conservatives but not Cameron. Hence, in total Cameron is liked by 47% of people (down 6 since before the election) and the
Well, this is another fine mess. You can do two sensible things with control orders: abolish them or keep ’em. The government has boldly tried to find a third way: keeping them but giving them a new name so people think that there’s been some real change. In general there has not. If you were
Most entertaining, this Gerry Adams business. He may deny that he is now the Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead but if he ain’t then he hasn’t resigned as an MP. And if he is a paid officer of the Crown he would seem to be playing fast and loose with the Irish constitution. This
Sad news. Charlie Louvin has died. Here’s his New York Times obituary. And here he is with his brother Ira reminding us just why these Alabama boys were one of the great double acts in the history of American music.
Last year I suggested that the State of the Union speech was an unexpectedly important moment for Barack Obama. Except in as much as it was needed to steady Democratic nerves frayed by Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts, I don’t think this was true. In part that’s because I can’t remember anything about it and
Hey ho, it’s the State of the Union speech tonight and as usual there’s no shortage of advice for President Obama. Via Steve Benen, here’s Ruy Teixeira: Make no mistake: a more effective government is the public’s priority, not a smaller government. In a survey I helped conduct for the Center for American Progress’s Doing
Bagehot has a properly righteous post lambasting teachers who complain that it’s too difficult to teach their charges to read and write and count properly. A week later, a BBC Radio 4 phone-in programme, Any Answers, featured a pair of state school teachers, both with 30 years of experience, again pouring scorn on the dangerously
This is quite extraordinary. And in its way, rather fine. The contrast between this trailer and the reality of Tim Pawlenty’s brand of blandish midwestern competence is itself entertaining. This suggests he’ll run a campaign blending Top Gun with Independence Day plus the soundtrack of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Which, of
Well, the government would have done better to read Fraser’s response to the fall in GDP before they went and blamed much of the 0.5% decrease on the inclement weather. Cue “Wrong kind of snow” jokes everywhere. And, frankly, Tories would be laughing all the way to the nearest TV studio had Gordon Brown ever
At least in retrospect the Haughey era of GUBU governance had a certain measure of baroque absurdity which provided some amount of perverse entertainment. Mind you, that also followed a period of reckless mismanagement of the public finances. I think it was sometimes said on Wall Street that any time there came a cataclysm you
By happy coincidence Barack Obama delivers the annual State of the Union address on Burns night this year. As usual we are being told that there will be no “laundry list” of policy recommendations and, as usual, we’re likely to hear a laundry list of policy recommendations. This being so, what better platform could there
Oh dear. That is to say, three cheers for this comedy post by the New Statesman’s Laurie Penny. It turns out there is scarcely any limit to David Cameron’s deviousness. I mean, consider all this: Over the next two and a half years, a full calendar of bread and circuses has been scheduled to keep
Tony Blair’s reappearance at the pointless Chilcot Inquiry – pointless because it won’t change anyone’s mind about anything or have any meaningful impact upon future policy – has at least permitted an interesting revision of the historical record. Rod Liddle sums this up in his typical pithy style: The more you read, the more you
There’s a sad lack of Gram Parsons footage on Youtube. And what there is isn’t of the greatest visual or audio quality. But we must make do with what we have and so here it is, the Streets of Baltimore in glorious black and white and filled with that old-time feeling… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjsL1OTHv7U
An interesting story on local government reform in the Daily Mail: Nick Clegg is demanding councils be given the power to impose a massive range of new local taxes. Among the levies he suggests are for fuel, alcohol, office parking, landfill and even speeding. But the Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister is being blocked by
As you know, I’m not much of a Fianna Fail fan. But if there’s any Irish institution that outperforms the ghastliness of the Soldiers of Destiny it’s the Catholic Church. Here’s the latest reminder of that: A letter to Ireland’s Roman Catholic bishops has been revealed by the broadcaster RTE that contradicts the Vatican’s frequent
William Hague is in Australia and the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary has been tweeting bits and pieces about his visit: In Sydney for the AUKMIN discussions with our Australian counterparts. UK-Australia relationship going from strength to strength. Heading back to Sydney for events at British Chamber of Commerce, British Council and a big speech on
Jesus would weep: Former Vice President Dick Cheney . . . said President Obama is likely to be a one-term president because his policies are unpopular with the public. “His overall approach to expanding the size of government, expanding the deficit, and giving more and more authority and power to the government over the private sector,” Mr.
It’s natural for David Cameron and the rest of the Downing Street team to assume he is. There’s a kind of confirmation bias at work since he’s the man tasked with running the government’s communications operation and if he weren’t the best man for the job someone else would be doing it. Nevertheless, this stuff
Amidst the usual stiff competition this week’s palm for Most Abject Commentary goes to Sir Simon Jenkins for this truly miserable column on the aftermath and implications of the shootings in Tucson. It’s not entirely clear what Jenkins is trying to say but since he writes that “Freedom can only flourish in a climate of