Coffee House The Spectator Blog
Will Brown dare not go to the country?
Bumped into Baroness Peta Buscombe at the bar in the Imperial Hotel last night – Peta is the CEO of the Advertising Association. She told me that last week she… Continue reading
2 CommentsWhy did Gordon change his Iraq timetable?
So Gordon Brown, having brought forward his trip to Iraq, says that more than 1,000 troops will be home by Christmas. Is this the same Gordon Brown who said at… Continue reading
3 CommentsGeorge puts me in my place
By the way I know that last post was very self-centred of me so I want to reassure Coffee House that lots of people up here are putting me in… Continue reading
1 CommentGeorge Osborne’s conference diary
Woke up to blanket coverage. Seems the speech went down well.
3 CommentsSecurity Risk
Blackpool. Tuesday morning. Windy. Been here for 24 hours now, and why are there quite so many policemen? It’s not as if the Tories are in power. They are probably… Continue reading
0 CommentsGood signs for the Tories
Politicians like to talk about ‘non-electoral milestones’—the big symbols, endorsements and Clause 4 moments that pave the way for a party’s return to power. But what about the much smaller… Continue reading
1 CommentBack in the game
I was surprised to see Andy Coulson, George Eustice et al at the packed (and hot) Telegraph party last night with big smiles. Seeing today’s papers, I see why. This… Continue reading
0 CommentsTories upbeat in Blackpool
The mood at the conference has switched from despair to optimism. I traced it to Osborne’s speech but Emily Maitlis reckons it turned about midday. Anyway it was still buzzing… Continue reading
0 CommentsWill the non doms squeak under the Osborne squeeze?
Team Osborne (regular, if anonymous Coffee House visitors) call to take issue with my earlier blog. I am not right to say non doms will pay more than 50% tax… Continue reading
8 CommentsThe social perils of conference
Fans of Larry David’s deeply wonderful US comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm will be familiar with the social angst of the "Stop-and-Chat". This is Larry’s description of the social obligation… Continue reading
1 CommentGordon lends the Tories a helping hand
This is such a good week. Commentators have said that Gordon has taunted us into announcing policies that we would have preferred to leave until later in the electoral cycle,… Continue reading
2 CommentsTamzin needs some wellies
Been everywhere and can’t find designer wellies. Am getting desperate. Does anyone reading this have any idea where I can get them? They don’t need to be leopard patterned. In… Continue reading
5 CommentsIt is all set up for Dave
For a party facing certain defeat at the next election, these Tories are strikingly upbeat. Osborne’s speech has put lead in their pencil, they sense—to use a phrase—that the über… Continue reading
2 CommentsCan the Tories learn to run before Brown runs to the country?
The psychology of this conference is like no other I’ve experienced. Having mastered walking, the Cameron Conservative Party believed it had a couple of years in which to get on… Continue reading
7 CommentsOsborne explains who the uber mods are
Steve Richards has just asked Osborne what he meant by "über modernisers" in his interview with me last week. Here’s his answer. "Some people who had urged modernisation on the… Continue reading
1 CommentOsborne and the non doms
I’m sitting in a George Osborne fringe event, where he’s being given the Parky treatment by Steve Richards from the Indy. He’s discussing his new tax on the non domiciles:… Continue reading
1 CommentWhat I would do if I were Gordon
Everyone is very upbeat this morning, despite the fact that I have yet to speak to anyone who got to bed before three am. There is a real buzz that… Continue reading
1 CommentBoris by the book
Unlike the Labour conference, there is a bookshop here in Blackpool (what does that tell you?) and I have found a gem: The Little Book of Boris. It’s one of… Continue reading
0 CommentsBlackpool truce holds
All those waiting for the latest instalment in the great grammar schools row are going to have to wait a little longer. The rumours that Graham Brady, the frontbencher who… Continue reading
1 CommentGordon tries to rain on Dave’s parade
There are certain gentleman’s conventions that govern British politics. One is that party leaders do not trash each other while overseas. Another is that, while one of the main parties… Continue reading
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