Andrew Neil 
Andrew Neil’s eulogy for Sir Alastair Burnet
A memorial service was held today for Sir Alastair Burnet at St Martins-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square. Hundreds of family, friends and colleagues from the worlds of politics, print journalism, broadcasting… Continue reading
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Sir Alastair Burnet, 1928-2012
It is with much sadness and regret that I have been asked by family and friends to announce the death of Sir Alastair Burnet. He passed away peacefully in the… Continue reading
10 CommentsThe full story on NHS spending
I make no apologies for returning to government spending on health. The Tory promise in the election to ring-fence health spending and increase it in real terms every year even… Continue reading
10 CommentsWhy work experience matters more than ever
In my recent BBC2 documentary, Posh & Posher, I explained how networking and contacts played a crucial role in giving those with the right connections an early leg up in… Continue reading
35 CommentsBrown let the dogs out
When you keep a kennel of attack dogs then I guess you can’t entirely claim ignorance or absence of responsibility when one of them bites several passers by. That explains… Continue reading
20 CommentsThe shape of things to come
Today the Daily Politics stages the battle of the bloggers — on the New Labour left, Dolly Draper, on the libertarian right, Guido Fawkes — and we do so on… Continue reading
43 CommentsToday’s surprise inflation figures have strengthened Darling’s hand as he tries to prevent another stimulus
In the current unprecedented economic circumstances, politicians and policy-makers are having to learn as they go. So are economic commentators. It was widely predicted by economists in the City and… Continue reading
18 CommentsThoughts from abroad, with two days to go…
…and assuming an Obama victory. If McCain wins expect very different thoughts on Wednesday morning! 1) That part of the world which does not include the USA is pretty much… Continue reading
14 CommentsCoffee House exclusive: What the Russians want in return for bailing out Iceland
Near-bankrupt Iceland’s €4bn ($5.43bn) loan from Russia is still not a done deal. Iceland’s central bank Governor David Oddsson says that talks are still "ongoing" but that any aid from… Continue reading
24 CommentsThe post-conference landscape
The party conference season is over and we’re back to business as usual — except that in the current financial and economic turmoil, political business is anything but normal. … Continue reading
9 CommentsExclusive: Martha Stewart banned from Britain! Her loss — or ours?
I was scheduled to have dinner with Martha Stewart, America’s very own domestic goddess, in London next week — but not any more. She was due to arrive for an… Continue reading
32 CommentsWill Gordon shed a tear for his old grammar school?
When Gordon Brown entered Downing Street for the first time as Prime Minister he talked about the excellence of the education he received at Kirkcaldy High School in Fife. He… Continue reading
25 CommentsRaising taxes on those who work hard for little money could be the end of Labour
Coffee Housers will soon be piling in with their own take on Alistair Darling’s performance on BBC1′s Andrew Marr Show this morning — he seemed to accept the abolition of… Continue reading
24 CommentsBinge borrowers
The TV pundits still don’t seem to grasp the enormity of the Chancellor’s borrowing binge to come, all the more significant because of the borrowing binge we’ve already had. The… Continue reading
5 CommentsBut what would the Tories do?
Cameron is making an effective attack on Darling and his non-Budget. He is rightly concentrating on the government’s consistent and substantial underestimating of budget deficits. But if the deficits are… Continue reading
5 CommentsNot much to say, Darling
He’s sat down already! So much for the spin that he would speak for an hour. He barely had enough for half an hour and eked that out to 50… Continue reading
0 CommentsA do nothing Budget
We’re already into padding … a penny here, a penny there on various pet spending projects (schools, apprentices) which have already underperformed despite the billions thrown at them … and… Continue reading
0 CommentsBorrow, borrow and borrow again
The bottom line of this budget so far: lower growth and higher borrowing … indeed higher borrowing for as far as the eye can see. There is not a surplus… Continue reading
1 CommentEuropean inaction
Consider the response of America and Europe to the current financial turmoil. In Washington, the US Federal Reserve slashes interest rates by 75 basis points and the Bush administration proposes… Continue reading
9 CommentsWhat London should learn from New York
New York’s famed zero-tolerance approach to crime continues to work its magic. This year murders are on track to fall below 500 for the first time since reliable records began… Continue reading
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