Iain Duncan Smith
New immigration figures
The Conservative wing of this government is on a quest to reduce net migration to, in the words of David Cameron, the “tens of thousands from the hundreds of thousands”. Liberal… Continue reading
27 CommentsHuman rights wrangle
A set-to has broken out this morning over the Human Rights Act. David Cameron has declared that he is going to fight the Human Rights Act and its interpretation. Cameron… Continue reading
57 CommentsBlair on the riots
Tony Blair has dropped in to write an article on the social context to the recent riots. It’s insightful, especially as a testament of his failings in government. At the… Continue reading
36 CommentsWEB EXCLUSIVE: Full-length interview with IDS
I have interviewed Iain Duncan Smith for tomorrow’s Spectator. In print, space is always tight and we kept it to 1,500 words. One of the beauties of online is that… Continue reading
28 CommentsEXCLUSIVE: IDS on British jobs
Last week, George Osborne boasted that Britain has the second-fastest job creation in the G7. In tomorrow’s Spectator, we disclose official figures showing that 154 per cent of the employment increase can… Continue reading
48 CommentsIDS and the renewal of society
Iain Duncan Smith has made two notable media appearances today and his comments will reveal how the government’s plan to fight gangs and lawlessness will unfold. He has just told Sky News… Continue reading
18 Comments“Zero tolerance”
The law and order debate has come full circle: the coalition is going to be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. David Cameron’s promise that crime… Continue reading
39 CommentsThe scale of IDS’ task
This afternoon’s parliamentary debate touched on the sociological issues that may have inspired the recent looting. Naturally, there are plenty of competing views on the subject, but I bring your… Continue reading
30 CommentsCooper takes on the coalition from the right
What an intriguing interview Yvette Cooper gave to Sky’s Dermot Murnaghan show this morning — and not just because she was standing, ruffled and incongruous, in a field somewhere. I… Continue reading
59 CommentsIDS’ great expectations
There is no rest for IDS. Yesterday he was in Madrid talking about youth unemployment and immigration and today he turns his attention to child poverty. Of all life’s accidents,… Continue reading
17 CommentsWhy IDS is right raise the link between immigration and worklessness
Before everyone gets too excited, Iain Duncan Smith is not saying in his speech today that immigration is a bad thing in itself. But he is saying that it has… Continue reading
33 CommentsImmigration is so much more than an electoral issue
Further to Daniel’s piece about declining immigration in Europe, it is worth highlighting this passage from Iain Martin’s column in the Mail: ‘But once in Downing Street, Cameron was confronted… Continue reading
51 CommentsOsborne’s valuable weapon
Paul Waugh is tweeting that Number 10 is stressing that, pace this morning’s front pages and Lord Freud’s comments yesterday, the benefit cap remains. This is not surprising: the benefit… Continue reading
12 CommentsThe welfare revolution will require much time and effort
Forget Balls, today brings one of the most significant moments in the life of the coalition so far: the launch of its Work Programme. The name may be commonplace but,… Continue reading
15 CommentsHow the coalition hopes to fix Britain’s economic dysfunction
The largest welfare-to-work programme on the planet is launched today by Chris Grayling and Iain Duncan Smith. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that the future of this… Continue reading
21 CommentsWho is the coalition’s tough guy?
Next week the Prime Minister will make his much-awaited law-and-order speech. This should, under normal circumstances, be the third or fourth such speech by a Tory leader who’s been in… Continue reading
18 CommentsSoftly, softly
As I argued this morning, the Rowan Williams furore will be sustained if the government over-reacts. So far, so softly from Downing Street: ministers and prominent MPs have been across… Continue reading
29 CommentsEd Balls opens a new front in the same old way
There are plenty of pressing issues at the moment, but two in particular stand out: the cost of living and youth unemployment. Ed Balls lost no time in latching onto… Continue reading
37 CommentsNo rights without responsibility
The most recent official statistics show that 5.4 million adults and 1.9 million children live in the UK’s 3.9 million workless households. Through the Universal Credit, the coalition is taking… Continue reading
18 CommentsThe Coffee House A-Z of the Coalition: G-M
Here are letters G to M in our alphabetical guide to the Coalition’s first year. A-F were covered here. G is for Gaffes The coalition, happily, has not endured anything… Continue reading
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