30,000 new jobs by 2015: that is the glittering prediction made by the government as it announces the creation of more enterprise zones this morning. 11 zones* have been identified in total, tailored to foster the expansion of hi-tech manufacturing industries away from London and the M4 corridor. Enterprise zones certainly have their critics –
The word flying around Westminster this evening is that the government is going to announce a fresh package to stimulate growth tomorrow. In line with recent reports, the expectation is that new enterprise zones will be unveiled. Enterprise zones are, of course, the linchpin of the chancellor’s current strategy, offering generous tax breaks for start-up industries,
The phone hacking saga has burst back to life this afternoon, with the publication of a letter by Clive Goodman that contradicts much of the evidence given by News International Executives to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee. Goodman’s letter (which you can read here) , apparently written on 2 March 2007, states that phone
This morning’s papers have been replete with rumours about Nick Cleg engineering some sort of official investigation into the riots, having brokered a deal between the government and Ed Miliband. Clegg has just delivered his post-riots speech. He ruled out a public inquiry (presumably on grounds of cost), but revealed that Whitehall is “tendering a
Cometh the hour, cometh Nick Clegg. The Independent reports that the Deputy Prime Minister is to announce that first-time offenders convicted of looting but not given custodial sentences will be forced to do community service in the very streets that they ransacked. The government hopes to ensure that community sentences are robust, inculcating a sense
Iain Duncan Smith has made two notable media appearances today and his comments will reveal how the government’s plan to fight gangs and lawlessness will unfold. He has just told Sky News that cuts to local youth programmes should be revisited. If the government reverses some of these decisions, it might satisfy the need for a positive
Watch her lips: no Eurobonds. Angela Merkel’s Finance, Minister Wolfgang Schauble has told Der Spiegel: “I rule out Eurobonds for as long as member states conduct their own financial policies and we need different rates of interest in order that there are possible incentives and sanctions to enforce fiscal solidity.” Merkel’s government is making its
George Osborne has taken to the pages of the FT this morning, warning that the global economy is in torpor thanks to a ‘serious malaise’ on the part of politicians. His worries are well founded. Growth is anaemic in Britain and flat in France. Today brings news of fresh disasters louring on the horizon. The
Tristram Hunt reviews his parliamentary colleague Kwasi Kwarteng’s book, Ghosts of Empire. ‘Ghosts of Empire marks a return to traditional, Tory scepticism shorn of ideology and purpose. There is little rhyme or rhythm to this history; it is a tale of chaps doings things and then other things happening, mostly to foreigners. Which is both
August is supposed to be a languorous month, but fevered economic worries have dispelled the illusion of ease. Eurozone finance ministers will meet tomorrow to discuss the single currency, again. The luxurious coffee tables at the summit venue will be sullied by an article authored by global finance ministers, including George Osborne, who insist that the
The law and order debate has come full circle: the coalition is going to be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. David Cameron’s promise that crime and anti-social behaviour will receive “zero-tolerance” recalls the rhetoric and politics of the Major and Blair years, an indication that, despite the annual celebration at
It’s strange to think that Nicolas Sarkozy was once regarded as a Eurosceptic. At the end of France’s tenure as EU President in December 2008, Sarkozy told MEPs that “it would be a mistake to want to build Europe against the nation states”, adding that he was opposed to “European fundamentalism”. How times have changed.
Has the sheen come off BoJo? The question is echoing around some virtual corridors in Westminster this weekend. The Mayor of London was caught off guard by the recent riots and his initial decision to remain en vacances made him look aloof and remote, a sense that grew during his disastrous walkabout in Clapham. Then
Internationally renowned policeman Bill Bratton has agreed to advise the government on how to defeat gang culture. Bratton’s role is not official, but he will arrive for duty in the autumn nonetheless. The former LA police chief has already offered a diagnosis of Britain’s problems. In an interview with the Telegraph, he says that hoodlums
Theodore Dalrymple has an article in this week’s issue of magazine (non-subscribers can buy the Spectator from just £1 an issue), on the nihilism of the young. Roy Kerridge came to very similar conclusions during the Brixton riots of 1981. Here’s what he made of them: A day in Brixton, Roy Kerridge, The Spectator, 18
Theresa May has banned an EDL march in Telford tomorrow, although the organisation will be allowed into the town to conduct a static demonstration. May has been a hive of hyperactivity since she returned from holiday, and this is yet another example of the government making a decisive gesture to amend for its perceived earlier
You have to hand it to the Eurocracy: it is nothing if not determined. The recent horrors on the stock market have concentrated minds in Brussels and across continental capitals. The headline news is that France, Italy, Spain and Belgium have placed a temporary ban on short-selling, but that’s just one counter-measure that has been
“Busy?” I asked a friend who’s training as a criminal barrister. “You could say that.” Magistrates’ courts have sat through a second straight night. “I finished at five,” said my friend. “Back in court at 8.” The courts are determined to deliver what David Cameron described as “the full force of the law.” These are
This afternoon’s parliamentary debate touched on the sociological issues that may have inspired the recent looting. Naturally, there are plenty of competing views on the subject, but I bring your attention to Harriet Sergeant’s, which she has expressed in the latest issue of the Spectator. Sergeant has conducted extensive investigations into the teenage gangs in London,
The police received a savaging in parliament earlier. I lost count of the number of MPs who relayed their constituents’ anger about riot police who stood by as buildings burned. Cameron’s defence – that the police response had been inadequate to adapt to a new threat posed by crime facilitated by social networking – did not allay the