Oliver Letwin
No 10′s outreach programme mustn’t leave underused MPs scratching their heads
David Cameron is really trying to reach out to his party at the moment. The announcements of a policy board of MPs and a policy chief who is also an… Continue reading
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Maria Miller and Oliver Letwin’s perfect press regulation
There was a curious meeting of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee this morning. The MPs took evidence from Oliver Letwin and Maria Miller, and then from Harriet Harman,… Continue reading
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What Works: The government’s NICE new idea
This afternoon, Danny Alexander and Oliver Letwin launched something so sensible it’s astonishing governments haven’t been doing it before. They’re actually going to use evidence to determine which policies work.… Continue reading
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Leveson Royal Charter plan remains uncharted territory
Strong words in the Lords today about the media and the government’s stance on Leveson, but what are the discussions like between the three parties behind the scenes? Though they… Continue reading
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How Oliver Letwin lost his Kyoto bet with Nigel Lawson
Not that anyone has noticed, but the Kyoto Protocol expired on 31 December, with carbon emissions up by 58pc over 1990 levels – instead the 5pc cut the signatories envisaged.… Continue reading
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What will the coalition do next?
We are now closer to the 2015 election than the 2010 one. We also expected by now to have the coalition’s mid-term review, the document that will set out its… Continue reading
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Lib Dem conference: Danny Alexander and Oliver Letwin get cosy
The big joke at the Social Market Foundation and TUC fringe this evening was that two of the panelists could have delivered one another’s speeches. Those panelists were Oliver Letwin… Continue reading
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Michael Fallon takes on health and safety
The government is keeping up its new, frantic pace on the economy today by announcing that it wants to scrap half of all existing red tape and that the overwhelming… Continue reading
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Letwin fails to consult about the consultation on consultations
Oliver Letwin’s decision to launch a consultation on reducing the amount of time that government has to spend on consultations has sparked controversy in Whitehall. Sticklers for procedure are complaining, in a… Continue reading
14 CommentsThe pathology of the politician
With ministers behaving particularly oddly, we thought CoffeeHousers would enjoy Matthew Parris’ Spectator column from May, in which he explains the weirdness that afflicts politicians. Politicians are not normal people. They… Continue reading
21 CommentsMinisters behaving oddly
It’s a rum deal being a Global Networker. This morning’s Times reports (£) that Adam Werritty has received nearly £200,000 in donations from clients who appear to have employed Werritty… Continue reading
28 CommentsOsborne and tax cuts
“Top Conservative despairs of Cameron growth plan,” says The Times’ front page today. While The Daily Telegraph’s reads: “No tax cuts before the next election, says Osborne”. The two stories… Continue reading
26 CommentsHague has been vindicated on the euro
The Foreign Secretary finds himself in the rather unique position today of trying to deal with the consequences of a crisis that he largely predicted. In May 1998, William Hague… Continue reading
39 CommentsOur politicians need to look beyond Europe
In Britain, public sector strikes always bring with them the whiff of national decline. They are a reminder of a time when the country was becoming less and less competitive… Continue reading
24 CommentsThe hunt for Hague’s mojo
All hands to the Defence Select Committee this afternoon, for questions about the nation’s security apparatus. Of course, most onlookers were not remotely interested in the answers. For them, this… Continue reading
11 CommentsBritain’s coming crunch with Europe
It did not take David Cameron long to realise that there were three parties in his coalition. A few months into government, the Prime Minister worked out that only half… Continue reading
91 CommentsSurmountable problems for Nick Clegg
Curious times, getting curiouser, for Nick Clegg. The Lib Dem leader might have thought that bringing his party into government would ensure him a triumphant reception at their conference in… Continue reading
8 CommentsMessage to the Tories: Grow Up About the New Labour Era
I have been deeply disappointed by Tory negative campaigning in the past few days. The Cameroon coup was inspired, in part, by Tony Blair, so to decry 13 years of… Continue reading
26 CommentsCome out, come out wherever you are
Chris Grayling, the Shadow Home Secretary and former attack dog, seems to have been cast into outer darkness. As with Oliver Letwin’s disappearing act in the 2001, Labour is toasting… Continue reading
37 CommentsLetwin gets to the point
Oliver Letwin is often mocked for putting things in over-complicated language, for talking about ‘a shift in the theory of the State from a provision-based paradigm to a framework-based paradigm’.… Continue reading
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