George Osborne
Emma Thompson’s wrong, and not just about the EU
At first glance, Emma Thompson’s intervention in the Brexit debate earlier this week didn’t make much sense. Asked at the…
How is it where you live? A tale of two nations and a message for George
Upbeat or downbeat? I asked last month whether the mood where you live is energised by enterprise or demoralised by…
Portrait of the week
Home Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, prepared a paper on the four areas of concern between Britain…
Through the roof
When David Cameron said this week that he is worried his children would not be able to afford to buy…
Cameron’s great escape
An interview with the Prime Minister
After the Black Friday flop, shops can get back to what they do best
The high street flopperoo that was ‘Black Friday’ may have something to do with terrorism fears, or even the downturn…
The spending cuts Osborne flatly refused to make
The Autumn Statement on 25 November had long been circled in Downing Street diaries as the season’s defining political moment.…
The ringfence cycle
By now, George Osborne had hoped to have completed his austerity programme. Instead, he finds himself making what is, still,…
Portrait of the week
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, outlined four changes he sought in Britain’s membership of the EU. He wanted to…
Cameron’s Syrian stew
David Cameron doesn’t do regret. It is not in his nature to sit and fret about decisions that he has…
The Spectator’s notes
It is good to learn that the current management of the V&A want to reverse their predecessors’ lack of interest…
Portrait of the week
Home The all-party Foreign Affairs Committee urged David Cameron, the Prime Minister, not to press ahead with a Commons vote…
Lords of misrule
A few days after the general election, I bumped into one of David Cameron’s longest-standing political allies, one of those…
Portrait of the week
Home After it was twice defeated in the Lords on its plans to reduce working tax credits, the government announced…
The human factor
Just over 30 years ago, Margaret Thatcher’s government decided to look at local government finance. A young aide, John Redwood,…
Could George Osborne come out for the Out campaign?
Westminster may have been guilty of ignoring the Scottish referendum until the last minute, but no one can accuse it…
The spectre haunting George Osborne
Rather more attention was paid last week to the strange position of George Osborne’s feet than to the dark shape…
Britain should not mistake its allies for friends
It would be hard to dream up a more absurd piece of political satire than an agency of the British…
Charles Moore’s Notes: Diane the Posh Goddess and Osborne’s mania
When I arrived at Cambridge in 1975, a nervous freshman, I remember walking with a friend past Newnham and being…
The Tories are still anxious to reach out. And that’s a very good sign
Post-election party conferences usually follow a standard pattern. The winning party slaps itself on the back while the losers fret…
Is it all over for Boris?
His leadership challenge is dwindling while Osborne’s star rises
Portrait of the week
Home In a speech at the Shanghai stock exchange, George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced a feasibility study…
The great British kowtow
Cameron and Osborne have a very clear China policy: do whatever China wants
Corbyn puts the EU referendum on a knife edge
No one watching Jeremy Corbyn walk around the Palace of Westminster would imagine that he had just won the Labour…
The Living Wage is nifty politics – but let’s see more help for small business too
What is George Osborne’s Living Wage? Is it a ploy to shift cost from the taxpayer to the employer by…
