Labour’s Leadership : the Brothers Do Battle

Posted on: 26 August 2010

It is a risky and foolhardy thing to call the result of an election before the voters have even cast their ballots. It could well be that in the election for the new leader of the Labour Party, Diane Abbott, Ed Balls or Andy Burnham will surprise us all. But the polls have consistently suggested tha… Read Full Article …

Blair’s Largesse: Genuine Gift or ‘Blood Money’?

Posted on: 17 August 2010

When someone gives away a large amount of money it can seem churlish to question the motive. But when the giver is Tony Blair, scepticism – even cynicism – about what he may be up to is pretty much inevitable.The former prime minister has announced this week that he will be giving away t… Read Full Article …

A ‘Choppy Recovery’ : What Risk of Capsizing?

Posted on: 12 August 2010

Rather like waiting for the pronouncements of the oracle at Delphi, the modern world waits upon the pronouncements of central bankers to learn what fate has in store for it. In Britain, the Governor of the Bank of England reads the runes every three months and this week Mervyn King has issued his la… Read Full Article …

Council Houses : Should They Be For Life?

Posted on: 05 August 2010

It may be August but there is no sign of the pace of government slacking. David Cameron and his ministers have come into power with the clear view that they need to get on with things. That, they say, is the lesson of both the Thatcher and Blair governments: if you want to be radical, there isn&rsqu… Read Full Article …

‘Humble’ Britain : Should It Be?

Posted on: 28 July 2010

What pose should Britain strike in the modern world? Should it be that of the self-confident, powerful, ancient nation that once ruled the world and still expects everyone else to sit up and take notice of it? Or should it be more humble, adopting the attitude of a country at last reconciled to the … Read Full Article …

Britain and America : A New Relationship?

Posted on: 21 July 2010

On his first visit to Washington as Prime Minister, David Cameron has tried to redefine Britain’s relationship with the United States. For decades it has been dubbed a ‘special relationship’, but more, perhaps, by the British than the Americans. As a result, we on this side of the … Read Full Article …

NHS: Does It Need Reorganising Again?

Posted on: 13 July 2010

Rather like Tony Blair before he became prime minister, David Cameron had much more to say about education than health in the run-up to the election. He’d got a plan for freeing up schools from local authority control and giving parents the power to set up their own schools. The education worl… Read Full Article …

Afghanistan : Cameron’s Foreign Headache

Posted on: 07 July 2010

The state of the economy and Britain’s huge government deficit were always going to be the main preoccupation of the new prime minister after May’s general election. But ever since he took office, David Cameron has faced another problem, just as intractable: what to do about Britain&rsqu… Read Full Article …

Cuts : Welfare or Spending

Posted on: 28 June 2010

Nearly a week on from the Budget and it is already clear what the government’s political strategy is for making the massive proposed cuts in public spending. It wants us to choose. It’s asking us: should the axe fall on public services or on welfare benefits? In the end, of course, both… Read Full Article …

Osborne’s Budget : Kill or Cure?

Posted on: 24 June 2010

No one disputes it was bold. No one disputes the effects will be savage. The question left hanging after George Osborne’s Budget is whether the gamble the coalition government has taken will pay off both for the economy and for the government itself or whether it will bring disaster to both. A… Read Full Article …