By Peter HoskinFollow Peter on Twitter Ed Balls’s article for PoliticsHome is a grand piece of political positioning. Labour have already gone down the road of attacking the Coalition for excessive benefit cuts, but they also don’t want to appear too lenient on welfare themselves; and so the shadow chancellor offers a policy that caters to […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. Ed Miliband has often attacked the Government's policies on the NHS, accusing the current administration of either making cuts, or delivering a worse service than Mr Miliband implies Labour would have been delivering had they remained in government. His attacks have often been undermined by Labour's record on the […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Actress Helen Flanagan met Ed Miliband at an awards event last night and has just Tweeted her fellow jungle celebrity Nadine Dorries with this…
In 1995, a well-respected, economic historian called Donald McCloskey stunned the sedate world of economic history by becoming a well-respected, economic historian called Deirdre McCloskey. One might assume that the political beliefs of a transsexual academic would incline to the left. But, in fact, McCloskey must count as one of the finest free market advocates […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Over on ToryDiary I list ten key findings from Lord Ashcroft's latest poll of more than 8,000 voters. On today's Comment pages Lord Ashcroft overviews the overall message of his poll – focusing on the strategic choice facing Ed Miliband – should he choose to be a hawk or […]
Earlier this year, the historian and public intellectual, Arthur Attarian, died aged 95. A dedicated anti-communist, he never properly renounced his support for the fascist regimes of pre- and post-war Europe – though he did distance himself from their worst excesses. Despite the controversy surrounding his political beliefs, Attarian's great historical works were praised by critics […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter The only referendum on Europe that's ever taken place in Britain has been held under a Labour Government. But Harold Wilson held it not from high motives, such as believing that voters should have a day, but from a lower one: his party was split on the Common Market, […]
By Peter HoskinFollow Peter on Twitter Sometimes it feels as through the Channel has narrowed, and Continental Europe has crept all the way to Westminster. This is one of those times. With David Cameron set to enter EU Budget negotiations, ahead of a speech on Britain’s relationship with Europe, and after UKIP’s prominent showing in the […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. Labour will be able to introduce three new Members of Parliament when the House next meets. The party won three by-elections on Thursday, in Manchester Central, Corby and Cardiff South and Penarth. Will they bring some expert wisdom to Parliament? Perhaps they leave behind distinguished careers? Have any of […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter To mark Ed Miliband's decision to join the TUC's anti-cuts march tomorrow it's worth noting who is sponsoring the Labour leader as he walks alongside the spend-like-there's-no-tomorrow union leaders… This fun table comes from a new Conservative Party website that reminds people of Labour's record in office, Labour's dependence […]
The pundits have spoken: David Cameron gave a good speech; and, last week, Ed Miliband gave a good speech; and, the week before that, Nick Clegg gave a good speech (well, no one actually remembers what Nick Clegg said, but it can’t have been that bad otherwise we would’ve done). So, everyone’s a winner. But, […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Reflecting on Ed Miliband's speech to the Labour Conference here's a punch-in-the-face paragraph from Matthew Parris' column in today's Times (£): "In a speech of 7,369 words lasting an hour and seven minutes, none of the following words appeared even once: individual, enterprise, freedom, liberty … not one mention. […]
By Peter HoskinFollow Peter on Twitter Labour’s five-day jamboree ends today. There will be a closing speech by Harriet Harman at lunchtime, as well as some prior talks, before everyone leaves Manchester to the Greatest Football Team in the World, and decamps to their constituencies and to London. So apologies if this quick list of the […]
Dan Hodges is one the best, and certainly one of the most honest, Labour bloggers. He is also a dissident, a self-described “Blairite cuckoo in the Miliband nest”. It reflects well on the Conservative Party that talented bloggers who deviate from the official line – like Mr Timothy Montgomerie, to snatch a name randomly from […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. Ed Miliband finished delivering his big conference speech a short while ago. It was nicely delivered (impressively, Miliband spoke for more than an hour without notes), felt strong and purposeful, and had a positive message of solidarity: “One Nation”. Indeed, Miliband said “One Nation” countless times, determined to drill […]