Are Britain and Germany heading for an almightily clash over the future of the EU? In this week’s Spectator, Christopher Caldwell argues that Angela Merkel has had enough of Britain’s position and is out to give David Cameron a kicking over Britain’s lack of solidarity with her nation. On the latest View from 22 podcast,
This time tomorrow, the country will be flocking to the polls to select their first ever police commissioners. Or at least some of them will. Turnout has long predicted to be low, but the latest analysis by Sky’s psephologist Michael Trasher suggests it will come in between 15 and 20 per cent. Such a figure would
Just when you thought the BBC had no more scandals, Guido Fawkes has revealed what the Beeb tried very hard to cover up: the 28 mysterious individuals who have been informing its climate change reporting policy. As a state-funded broadcaster, the BBC has a duty to provide balance. It rejected this on its environmental coverage after
While the BBC struggles to deal with its recent bout of self-proclaimed ‘shoddy journalism’, there’s another ethical scandal simmering away. The simple question of ‘who decides how the BBC covers climate change’ has a rather complicated answer. In 2006, the BBC Trust held a seminar entitled ‘Climate Change – the Challenge to Broadcasting’. As m’colleague James Delingpole has written at
David Cameron knows that a third runway at Heathrow would be one of the most controversial and significant outcomes of his premiership, which is why he has kicked the decision into the long grass with the Davies Review. Thanks to ever spiralling passenger numbers and the bulging state of our existing airports, both London and the South
Is there something underwhelming about Obama’s reelection? In this week’s cover feature, John O’Sullivan discusses impact of changing demographics of the America electorate and the challenges this poses for the Republicans in 2016. On the latest View from 22 podcast, the Spectator’s assistant editor Freddy Gray and political editor James Forsyth explain why the American
Over the past two weeks, the government has been desperately trying to harden its position on the European Union to match public opinion. David Cameron has been rather bullish with his plans to opt out for 130 EU law-and-order measures and the veto threat over the budget, despite being outfoxed by both Labour and his
What effect would any form of statutory regulation have on the press in this country? In this week’s cover feature, Nick Cohen writes that if the Leveson Inquiry recommends strong measures to curtail the press, they will not be practical thanks to the constant evolution of the media industry. On this week’s View from 22 podcast,
The Spectator hosted a packed-out debate last night on the motion — ‘George Osborne isn’t working: we need a Plan B’ — and you can now hear the outcome for yourself. As Isabel reported earlier, it was an evening of intense discussion and disagreement, so we have recorded the entire evening for you to listen at your leisure. The
Have elected police commissioners become the new political piñata? This week, the upcoming elections have taken a battering most notably from former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair. In an interview with Sky News, Blair irresponsibly encouraged the public to boycott the elections, citing his concerns over centralising police power in a single individual —
I’m delighted to launch today a brand new app for the Spectator on the iPad. We’ve redesigned the whole app from scratch to provide an easier, clearer and more elegant way to read the magazine digitally. Every Thursday morning, the latest issue will be automatically delivered straight to your tablet before it even hits the
What is going to happen next with the BBC Jimmy Salvile saga? In this week’s magazine cover, Rod Liddle blames institutional problems within the organisation and predicts there will be plenty of buck-passing to come. Fraser Nelson says in this week’s View from 22 podcast that although he sympathises with the decision the BBC took,
Finally, some good news for the government – the public seems unconcerned by its recent difficulties. In spite of plebgate and George Osborne’s train ticket dominating this weekend’s papers, polling out today shows the Conservatives have managed to reverse their voting share decline in the wake of their party conference. The Populus/Times poll places the Tories
Class is back with a vengeance, and not just thanks to the Andrew Mitchell saga. Today’s newspapers are chock full of stories across the news spectrum linked back to class. The Mail, for example, has declared all-out war on the government, with a splash of ‘Who do you they think they are?’ — a front page
Has Barack Obama rediscovered his magic powers just in time to take him back to the White House? In this week’s magazine cover, Harold Evans writes that the 2012 election has been disastrous for the Democratic Party but incumbent president has may have woken up just in time. On this week’s View from 22 podcast, two Spectator writers
Earlier today, I spoke to some politicians and commentators for their take on David Cameron’s speech. Now it’s Coffee House’s turn. The Spectator team have gathered in Birmingham this afternoon for a special podcast to discuss both the Prime Minister’s speech and the Conservative conference overall: The View from 22 – 10 October 2012. Length 15:48
David Cameron appears to have done a successful job of reinvigorating his party and bringing it together once more. The Spectator team in Birmingham are gathering for a View from 22 podcast later today but for now, we’ve spoken to politicians and media commentators to gauge their view on the Prime Minister’s speech today: Chris
‘We will only improve the environment if we improve the economy.’ Owen Paterson demonstrated the government’s new environmental mantra at a Policy Exchange fringe event this evening, discussing how we can build a sustainable green economy. The new Environment Secretary said that he will only pursue technologies that will make a positive contribution to the
Conservatives need to become more effective at winning marginal seats if they have any hope of gaining a majority at the next general election. But what exactly does the party need to do if they wish to improve on their 2010 performance? This was the question posed at a ConservativeHome fringe event this evening, where
Your tireless Coffee House baristas have been busy since our last update to Spectator Blogs just over two months ago. This time, we have revamped the cogs behind the magazine side of this website. If we are doing our job properly, the only thing you’ll notice is that it’s much easier to use. Our archive easier to
