Alistair Darling
Ukip officially excluded from Scottish referendum campaign
Tonight, the ‘cross-party’ Better Together referendum campaign will have their London launch. At an event in the heart of Westminster the begging bowl will go round, and a rallying call… Continue reading
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David Cameron’s Legacy? Preserving the Union or presiding over the Break-Up of Britain
Politics is at least partially a matter of perspective. The same object can look very different depending upon the angle from which it is viewed. Which brings me to Brother… Continue reading
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‘Would you like to replace Ed Balls?’ The question Alistair Darling won’t answer
Ed Balls is a good street fighter, but not a very loveable one. The polls suggest he is perhaps the least popular figure in frontline politics. His manner too abrasive… Continue reading
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Fisking the coalition’s deficit-reduction boast
‘We have reduced the deficit by a quarter in just two years’ — the coalition’s mid-term review. True. But when Gordon Brown proposed to do precisely the same in Labour’s… Continue reading
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The Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year Awards
The Spectator’s Parliamentarian of the Year awards are being held this afternoon at the Savoy Hotel. In total 14 awards were presented by Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education,… Continue reading
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The View from 22 – Battle of the Chancellors special
The Spectator hosted a packed-out debate last night on the motion — ‘George Osborne isn’t working: we need a Plan B’ — and you can now hear the outcome for yourself. As Isabel… Continue reading
10 CommentsI Think Paul Krugman is Mistaken - Spectator Blogs
The great sage – once described to me by someone who attended a (highly) derivative speech he made on the Scottish economy as Woody Allen with statistics and no jokes… Continue reading
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Darling: Osborne has given up on growth
‘Unless you do something now it will be years before we recover.’ This morning those words come from former chancellor Alistair Darling in an open letter to George Osborne, but… Continue reading
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Lawson: I would not have U-turned
I’m presenting Radio Four’s Week in Westminster tomorrow at 11am and discuss George Osborne’s U-turn with former chancellors Alistair Darling and Nigel Lawson (the latter pictured above when editor of… Continue reading
6 Comments A solid, unspectacular start
Tomorrow, the Spectator and six guest speakers (including Kelvin MacKenzie, Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Margo MacDonald) will debate the question, ‘Is it time to let Scotland go?’. You can find… Continue reading
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Balls wants you to trust him
It’s only ten days or so since Ed Balls was last quizzed by Andrew Neil, but there he was rehashing many of the same lines on the Sunday Politics today.… Continue reading
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Labour’s plan would have cost us our AAA rating
For Ed Balls this morning, there is only one conclusion to be drawn from the news about our credit rating: ‘A change of course is needed.’ But to what? Balls… Continue reading
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Moody’s puts UK’s AAA rating on negative outlook
‘It’s now clear that Britain’s economic reputation is on the line at the next general election, another reason for bringing the date forward and having that election now … For… Continue reading
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Osborne owes Darling an apology
Britain’s national debt rose to over £1 trillion last month, and will never return below this threshold. George Osborne is increasing net debt by 61.5 per cent in real terms… Continue reading
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Miliband beats Miliband in the polls
Ed Miliband’s poll ratings are going from bad to disastrous at the moment. Last week his YouGov approval rating dropped to its worst ever, with just 20 per cent of… Continue reading
26 CommentsOsborne has made the right choice — but it’s not without its costs
Today, George Osborne had a choice. Growth prospects have evaporated, and tax revenues along with it. Should he reopen the 2010 Spending Review and cut the spending totals? Or stick… Continue reading
23 CommentsWrestling over cuts
Britain’s economic debate has been reduced to WWE-style wrestling, where two figures adopt semi-comic personas and have at each other for the entertainment of the crowd — while not doing… Continue reading
12 CommentsHammond fills Fox’s shoes
It’s official: Philip Hammond is the new Defence Secretary and it’s a wise choice. The tough work: making the cuts, axing Nimrod, leaving the east coast undefended etc.: has been… Continue reading
18 CommentsOsborne lays out his support for Vickers
George Osborne made a firm statement on the Vickers report this afternoon; if he felt uneasy about the proposed abolition of his seat or Natalie Rowe’s latest sally against him it… Continue reading
10 CommentsCameron Dorries exchange the most memorable moment of a quiet PMQs
The first PMQs of the new parliamentary term was a bit of a damp squib. Ed Miliband avoided the issue of the economy, presumably because he feared being hit by… Continue reading
30 Comments