Coffee House The Spectator Blog
Why David Cameron can’t copy Harold Wilson on EU renegotiation
It’s at times like this I’m glad I’m not a Europhile. I imagine that Lord Lawson’s article in today’s Times is causing Brussels-lovers up and down the land a number… Continue reading
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Defending the Right Union
The Scottish Tories look like supporting more devolution. Cue predictable apoplexy from some. Devolution was a terrible mistake, slopes are slippery, beaches should be fought on and ditches died in.… Continue reading
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European debate returns to Tory MP vs Tory MP
One of the inevitable consequences of Lord Lawson’s announcement that he’d vote ‘No’ in an EU referendum is that the ideological divides over Europe in the Tory party are starting… Continue reading
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Tonight: Charles Moore in conversation with Andrew Neil
You know something is going right with the world when Charles Moore’s biography of Margaret Thatcher is Number 1 in the Guardian bookshop. Little wonder: even if you’re no fan… Continue reading
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Lord Lawson doubts David Cameron’s EU power
The most damaging element of Lord Lawson’s intervention on Europe in today’s Times is not so much his decision that the facts have changed and that he would vote to… Continue reading
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Ministers made a poor use of Parliament on press regulation
The government’s decision to delay signing off the Royal Charter for press regulation was initially heralded as a dramatic change of heart, before being re-sold by those involved in the… Continue reading
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Government caution makes Help to Buy warning all the more worrying
The introduction of the Help to Buy scheme was the only very small bone of contention in this year’s successful Budget (successful politically, that is, in that no-one talks about… Continue reading
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The Tory party holds its nerve – for now
The dust is settling from the County Council elections and, crucially, the Tory party seems to have stayed steady. Yes, David Davis has had a pop at the number of… Continue reading
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The coalition should have extended anonymity on rape cases
No one can ever recover from being wrongly accused of sexual assault, which is why I welcomed the government’s plan to ‘extend anonymity in rape cases to defendants‘. Turns out… Continue reading
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Valium’s 50th birthday: little to celebrate
A recent report published by the charity MIND – which paints a troubling, and important portrait of Britons driven to alcohol, cigarettes and prescription medication to differing extents by the… Continue reading
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David Davis and the Tories’ class war
To the relief of Conservative Campaign Headquarters, relatively few Tory MPs have taken the opportunity of the County Council election results to sound off. The most prominent exception to this… Continue reading
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Local elections 2013: in numbers
335: total councillors lost by the Tories 291: seats gained by Labour 124: losses sustained by the Lib Dems 139: seats gained by UKIP 147 UKIP council seats after today’s results 10… Continue reading
80 Comments![Arts Montage14[1]](http://cdn2.spectator.co.uk/files/2013/05/Arts-Montage141-140x91.jpg)
Spectator Play: what’s worth – or not worth – watching, listening to or going to this weekend
I’m So Excited is the latest offering from Pedro Almodóvar who, Deborah Ross says, she would usually love. But is I’m So Excited quite so, well, exciting? The trailer, which… Continue reading
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The backbench Tory plot to get a referendum bill into the Commons – and the row that will surely follow
John Baron and Conservative backbench colleagues have been out and about insisting that today’s results underline the need for legislation in this parliament for a referendum on Britain’s membership of… Continue reading
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Tory MP suggests Nigel Farage takes Nick Clegg’s place in 2015 debates
Today’s results for UKIP have re-opened the question of whether Nigel Farage should join the three political leaders in the live TV election debates in 2015. David Cameron’s allies are… Continue reading
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English patriotism is one of the overlooked reasons for UKIP’s rise
What can account for UKIP’s remarkable surge in support in these elections? The conventional wisdom is that UKIP is now the ‘go to’ party for protest voters. Angry over Europe… Continue reading
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David Cameron: ‘It’s no good insulting a political party that people have chosen to vote for’
As we revealed on Coffee House earlier, David Cameron has now distanced himself from the ‘fruitcake’ characterisation of UKIP that he’s employed in the past. Here’s what he said: Cameron:… Continue reading
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Sources tell Coffee House Cameron will mark an end to ‘fruitcakes’ name-calling
We could see a further tightening of the reconciliatory line that the Tories seem to be adopting on UKIP when the PM gives his response to the local elections later… Continue reading
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Local elections 2013: results livefeed
This is a live feed of the local election results as they come in. You can read analysis and reaction on Coffee House. All the councils have now declared. The… Continue reading
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Lib Dems try to avoid their own local election jitters
The dominant narrative in the build-up to these local elections has been all about UKIp vs the Tories, with a bit of angst about Labour’s southern mission thrown in. The… Continue reading
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