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Nick Boles

Zac Goldsmith is leading a group of rebel MPs on homeowners' development rights. Picture: Getty

Planning ‘love-in’ fails to rouse good feelings

16 April 2013 9:06

So it doesn’t look as though last night’s ‘love-in’ that I reported went particularly well. Cheryl Gillan described planning minister Nick Boles last night as ‘completely unmoveable’. Meanwhile, Zac Goldsmith,… Continue reading

34 Comments
Nick Boles

Exclusive: Nick Boles to get roasting from No 10 over ‘rotten campaign’ comments

13 March 2013 17:04

Nick Boles is getting a roasting in Number 10 tonight for his comments in The Times about the Eastleigh by-election, I understand. There was considerable disquiet about the interview, in… Continue reading

22 Comments
Planning minister Nick Boles says we need to protect housing from the pressure of new migrants.

Planning Minister: Govt must be tough on new migrants to protect housing from more pressure

12 February 2013 9:30

MPs’ concerns about how many Bulgarian and Romanian migrants might come to this country when transitional controls are lifted aren’t going away any time soon, by the looks of things.… Continue reading

79 Comments
Homebuilders Barratt Homes Record Year On Year Profits Of 159%

Housing: the south's difficulty is the north's opportunity - Spectator Blogs

10 January 2013 18:44

Three cheers for Isabel’s post on the difficulties Nick Boles faces in pushing through his plans to make is slightly easier to build houses in Britain. I would add only… Continue reading

11 Comments
If Nick Boles wants to succeed in his mission for more homes, he's going to have to overcome some major obstacles. Picture: Getty

Nick Boles is ballsy, but his planning push faces some big blockages

10 January 2013 18:18

Nick Boles is to be applauded and rewarded for being so ballsy on housing need. It is heartening to read the minister describing current housing shortage as ‘immoral’ and a… Continue reading

58 Comments
Nick Boles gave evidence to the Communities and Local Government Select Committee yesterday. Picture: Getty

Nick Boles attempts to soothe planning critics

13 December 2012 12:00

Planning Minister Nick Boles admitted yesterday that he did not believe his controversial suggestion for Britain to build homes on two million acres of countryside should be put into practice.… Continue reading

29 Comments
Conservative MP Greg Barker has said that wind farms are ‘wonderful’ and ‘majestic’, and that they have become a ‘tourist attraction.’ Image: Getty

Why are Conservative MPs so intent on wrecking our countryside?

4 December 2012 12:37

Last week we had Nick Boles extolling the virtues of concreting over what green space we still have in order to tackle an alleged housing shortage. And now, in today’s… Continue reading

31 Comments
Nick Boles

Bold Boles’ planning push is a key example of ‘spreading privilege’

28 November 2012 23:35

Nick Boles has just put in a fierce performance on Newsnight over his controversial remarks on planning. Amusingly, the minister’s remarks aren’t a million miles away from Nick Clegg’s slightly… Continue reading

103 Comments
Nick Boles

Nick Boles: Where the Tories were wrong on modernisation

8 November 2012 17:39

Few people have been more important to Tory modernisation than Nick Boles. He co-founded Policy Exchange, the think tank that has developed most of its policy ideas, and has been… Continue reading

17 Comments
Spectator Cover Art

The View from 22 – Barack Obama’s hollow victory and remodernising the Tories

8 November 2012 9:46

Is there something underwhelming about Obama’s reelection? In this week’s cover feature, John O’Sullivan discusses impact of changing demographics of the America electorate and the challenges this poses for the… Continue reading

17 Comments
Planning Minister Nick Boles at the IPPR fringe event this evening.

Conservative conference: Nick Boles says Labour’s immigration policy contributed to housing failure

7 October 2012 19:20

Nick Boles started his first fringe as a minister this evening by saying that after years of trying to make controversial points at party conference events, he wasn’t going to… Continue reading

19 Comments
Nick Boles

How the Cameron project caught up with economic reality

7 September 2012 21:07

The modernising, Cameron agenda was conceived in times of plenty. It was underpinned by a belief that there would be healthy growth, the proceeds of which could be shared. Since… Continue reading

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Modernisation 2.0

30 January 2012 19:01

One of the flaws of Tory modernisation was that it was never interested enough in pounds and pence. Social issues, the environment and public service reform were what the modernisers… Continue reading

28 Comments

Planning to ruin Lansley’s party

2 April 2011 12:56

How can Nick Clegg recover from defeat in the AV referendum? Andrew Grice considers the question in his column and reveals that Clegg is not too bothered about AV: his sight… Continue reading

15 Comments

Boles beats his old drum

3 January 2011 19:33

To accompany Fraser’s suggestion that Cameron and Clegg are planning a merger, it is notable that the ubiquitous Nick Boles has renewed his calls for a formal pact. Previously, Boles averred that… Continue reading

17 Comments

Boles: the coalition is David Miliband’s natural home

13 October 2010 18:02

Nick Boles is fast becoming ubiquitous. He wrote an article for this morning’s Guardian, urging Labour’s wounded Blairites to join the coalition, where ‘there is room for everyone inspired by… Continue reading

30 Comments

Boles’ immigration revolution

30 September 2010 12:16

Nick Boles’ Which Way’s Up? is gaining a quiet cult following in Westminster, and John Redwood has unearthed Boles’ radical approach to immigration. Boles dissents from the view that happiness… Continue reading

36 Comments

The tensions undermining a pact

14 September 2010 20:17

The announcement, yesterday, of Nick Boles’ proposal for a Lib-Con electoral pact conveniently coincided with the opening of an election court hearing into a particularly unpleasant battle between former Labour… Continue reading

3 Comments

Who is behind Nick Boles’ proposed electoral pact?

13 September 2010 11:03

Nick Boles’ proposed electoral pact (£) between the coalition partners would have a clear benefit for the Conservatives, it would make a deal between Labour and the Liberal Democrats after… Continue reading

13 Comments