Coffee House The Spectator Blog
Restoring the compact between the military and society
One of the things that has been strained to an intolerable extent since 9/11 is the compact between the British people, represented by their government, and the armed forces. We… Continue reading
7 CommentsWhose memoirs would you most like to read?
Michael White has a fun post up on which political memoirs really were worth the advances that their publishers paid for them. Which raises the question of which politician’s autobiography… Continue reading
0 CommentsGovernment spends like a WAG on a shopping trip
If you want an example of how government comes up with ways to waste our money, just consider the story in The Sun today of ‘The WAG’s Guide to Travel’… Continue reading
1 CommentA good man returns to the fold
Of all the characters in the cash for honours scandal, only one was unfairly maligned: John McTernan, Blair’s last political secretary. He was in No 10 but not of No… Continue reading
4 CommentsThe FCO fritters away money like a WAG
If you want an example of how government comes up with ways to waste our money, just consider the story in The Sun today of ‘The WAG’s Guide to Travel’… Continue reading
0 CommentsTime to prune back the quangos
Trevor Kavanagh’s column in The Sun today contains one of those facts that makes you stop and re-read the sentence to make sure you’ve understood it correctly. Kavanagh calculates that,… Continue reading
7 CommentsCameron comes out fighting
David Cameron sounded the right note in his back-to-school interview on the Today programme this morning. As Fraser has so consistently called upon him to do, the Tory leader put… Continue reading
6 Comments42% of people don’t feel it is safe to go out at night
This YouGov poll in the Daily Mirror makes for depressing reading. 42% of people don’t believe that it is safe to go out at night, while 11% don’t ever feel… Continue reading
1 CommentLib Dems not inclined to support a referendum
One of the key things to watch in the European referendum debate is the position of the Liberal Democrats; their support for a vote last time round was crucial to… Continue reading
2 Comments2012 will leave the wrong kind of sporting legacy
We’re always being told that bringing the Olympics to London will turn us into a nation of athletes, getting us all off the couch and onto the running track. But… Continue reading
1 CommentWill Prezza spill the beans?
John Prescott is getting £300,000 for his memoirs which will be called Prezza: Pulling No Punches and ghosted by Hunter Davies. Davies, having worked on the Wayne Rooney and Paul… Continue reading
3 CommentsW. F. Deedes, 1 June 1913 – 17 August 2007. RIP.
Dear Bill. It is impossible to think of any other journalist – let alone a former editor of the Daily Telegraph — whose death would have made the lead on BBC… Continue reading
2 CommentsMcCain: "Life is not 24"
This John McCain interview with John Stewart demonstrates why it would be foolish to dismiss his presidential chances just yet. Watch from about two thirds of the way in and… Continue reading
0 CommentsCutting to the chase
A few things that bug me about this whole tax-cutting debate… 1) Even Lord Forsyth’s suggestion of £21 billion worth of cuts is a tiny sum when you remember Brown… Continue reading
14 CommentsThe suffering sub-primes
Now that the Fed has introduced a temporary reduction in interest rates, and my selfish fear has subsided, I’ve become obsessed with the debt-ridden or bankrupt souls that we now… Continue reading
1 CommentAt last, some good news for Bush
The news that Jenna Bush, the president’s daughter, is engaged and likely to get married long before the family leaves the White House raises some delicious questions of both protocol… Continue reading
1 CommentTaxing Cameroon consistency
James is right that the Tories are not ‘lurching to the Right’. There’s nothing intrinsically ‘rightwing’ about examining the case for tax cuts: if there were, why would Gordon Brown… Continue reading
6 CommentsWhy there’s little difference between Hillary and Rudy
It’s not possible to be neutral about Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York and now a Republican presidential candidate. You either love him or hate him. The novelist Kevin… Continue reading
1 CommentAre the Tories really lurching to the right?
Ever since John Redwood’s proposals first began to be floated, the Tories have been accused of lurching to the right. On the Today Programme this morning, Alistair Darling predictably accused… Continue reading
5 CommentsName that book
Today’s papers report that Tony Blair is hoping to pocket £8 million for writing his memoirs. Sadly for the Tories, the book is years away from publication and so won’t… Continue reading
12 Comments