Coffee House The Spectator Blog From: 2012
2012, the best year ever: Coffee House highlights
2012 has been a superb year: Spectator readers already know that after reading our leading article which detailed the evidence for 2012 being the greatest year in the history of… Continue reading
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François Hollande: Ed Miliband’s embarrassing friend
Time was when Ed Miliband had plenty to say about François Hollande. When the new French President celebrated his victory in May, the Labour leader praised Hollande for his ‘determination… Continue reading
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A new EU membership for Britain: second-class or sensible?
Becoming a ‘second-class’ member of the European Union doesn’t sound awfully appealing on first glance at today’s Times story. But the ‘associate membership’ being considered by the Union of European… Continue reading
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The formidable female politicians of the year
Audits of the last year are a blessing to journalists: a postmortem of the gainers and losers of 2012 are a useful means of covering for the fact that there’s… Continue reading
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Realism and optimism: David Cameron’s New Year message
David Cameron’s New Year message is a rather sober one, but it’s not downbeat. The theme is ‘realism and optimism’ and the Tory leader’s aim is to demonstrate to voters… Continue reading
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Why should MPs stay put in the Palace of Westminster?
Tristram Hunt paints a bleak picture of the state the Palace of Westminster is in for Spectator readers this week as he draws parallels between the crumbling parliament building in… Continue reading
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The genius of William Rees-Mogg
At my first-ever Tory party conference, I saw William Rees-Mogg leave a reception and chased him down the corridor like a groupie. I asked him if he had any tips:… Continue reading
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The RSPCA’s private prosecutions, and the cost to the public purse
In this week’s Spectator, Melissa Kite spends the day with the Heythrop Hunt – David Cameron’s local hunt, and a hunt that has recently been fined £4,000 for hunting outside of the… Continue reading
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When will we able to have a mature conversation about the health service?
Nigel Lawson described the NHS as the closest thing to a national religion that this country has. The NHS is certainly like a national religion to the extent that it… Continue reading
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Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg make their new year pitch to voters
According to a spuriously scientific study, today is the day when festive excess gets the better of us, with one in two Brits opting to stay on the sofa with… Continue reading
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Austerity hits home in the North East of England
Have you personally suffered from George Osborne’s spending cuts? Your answer depends largely on where you live. I’ve witnessed both over the past few days. This Christmas, I’m enjoying my first prolonged… Continue reading
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Hunting with the Heythrop
In this week’s issue of The Spectator, Melissa Kite joins David Cameron’s local hunt, the Heythrop, to find out what its members think of its recent drubbing in the courts… Continue reading
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Gove to Treasury: let schools borrow!
For all the good intention of Michael Gove’s school reforms, there have been only a few dozen new schools so far. When I interviewed him for The Spectator earlier this… Continue reading
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The winter fuel payment silliness continues
On the subject of welfare, while the Lords debates whether a disabled person who can walk further than the length of a cricket pitch is allowed help with their transport… Continue reading
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Government could face another welfare rebellion in the Lords
Remember those rebellions in the Lords on welfare earlier this year? Well, the fight hasn’t disappeared entirely from the Upper Chamber. Secondary legislation filling in the detail of the Welfare… Continue reading
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David Cameron needn’t fear renegotiating Britain’s relationship with the EU
Nick Clegg has made a not-so-startling intervention in the debate about Britain’s relationship with Europe today, warning that Britain must avoid selling itself short in a renegotiation. His interview with… Continue reading
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‘One Pound Fish’ singer deported
Everything you need to know about the fallen state of our political and cultural capital is captured by the story of Muhammad Nazir. A Pakistani immigrant who came here to… Continue reading
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High Court judge: Gay marriage is ‘wrong policy’
Sir Paul Coleridge’s intervention in today’s Times (£) on gay marriage has ensured the debate won’t go quiet after various angry Christmas Day sermons. The High Court Judge tells the… Continue reading
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Washing up is therapeutic and dishwashers are socialist
It’s Boxing Day. Your kitchen worktops are groaning under piles of plates, roasting dishes, pans and champagne glasses. If you’re struggling to persuade anyone in your house to fill the… Continue reading
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Michael Gove: why I won’t allow profit-seeking schools (yet).
Why aren’t there more free schools? Halfway through this coalition government and we have just 72; we’d need 400 opening a year simply to keep pace with population growth. When… Continue reading
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