The Tories win a conference poll bounce
Labour lead reduced from 12 points to seven following Cameron's speech. As I've noted before, the party conferences are among the few political events that can have a visible effect on the polls (the...
View Article“In retrospect, it was a fool's paradise – the band playing oblivious to the...
Business quote of the day. In retrospect, it was a fool's paradise – the band playing oblivious to the dangers ahead Lord Turner, head of the Financial Services Authority, criticises the City of 2009...
View ArticleFive questions answered on the British Gas price hike
Just in time for winter.British gas has announced they are going to raise their prices just in time for winter. We answer five questions on their latest price hike. By how much are they raising their...
View ArticleWould Newcastle have to pay back £4bn if its Wonga sponsorship was a loan?
Interest is tricky.When Wonga announced their intention to sponsor Newcastle United FC, it generated no small amount of opprobrium. Despite the company's best attempts to generate a positive image for...
View ArticleAndrew Mitchell's future hangs in the balance
Chief Whip will be told to "come clean" when he meets West Midlands police officers today. Three weeks after the news of Andrew Mitchell's run-in with the police first broke, the controversy shows no...
View ArticleNobel Peace Prize awarded to the EU
Not quite as weird as it seems. But still pretty weird.The 2012 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the European Union. The decision is not as bizarre as one might think. There is a precedent for...
View ArticleWhy the European Union does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize
Others deserve credit for "60 years of peace" in EuropeSo the 2012 Nobel peace prize does not go to any worthy individual or tireless campaigning organisation. It instead goes to the European Union....
View ArticleFriday Arts Diary
Our cultural picks for the week ahead. Art Moniker Art Fair, Village Underground, EC2A 3PQ, 11-14 October Now in its third year, Moniker Art Fair has become a highlight of London's autumnal art week....
View ArticleThe Tories can learn from Teddy Roosevelt's "popular conservatism"
By confronting corporate monopolies and vested interests, the Tories can win over ordinary voters. It's election season in the States. British politicians, often keen students of US politics, are...
View ArticleThe paradox of giving 16 year olds the vote
Why trust adolescents with the vote, if we won't trust them with a penknife?It looks as though 16 and 17 year olds in Scotland (or at any rate some of them) will be able to vote in the Independence...
View ArticleClegg backs plans to limit housing benefit for under-25s
Deputy PM contradicts Simon Hughes and says "savings" can be made. On last night's edition of Question Time, Simon Hughes declared that the Lib Dems were opposed to plans to abolish housing benefit for...
View ArticleAmazon launches yet another loss-leader, but what is its plan?
The Kindle Owners Lending Library will sell a lot of Kindles – but Kindles don't make money.Amazon's Kindle Owners' Lending Library (KOLL) is expanding to the UK later this month, according to...
View ArticleThe Nobel decision was a brave defence of the European project
The Peace Prize was a reminder that the EU has been a force for good and remains a bulwark against further suffering.The committee responsible for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize is a close-knit...
View ArticleMcLaren’s £49 million “spy-gate” fine declared tax write-off by tribunal
Formula One team McLaren scores tax verdict victory over HMRC.The McLaren Formula One team has successfully argued that a record £49 million fine incurred for “spying” on rivals Ferrari in 2007 should...
View ArticleTesla wants to roll out a massive solar charging network
Game changer for electric vehicles?Last month, US electric car manufacturer Tesla shot up a few places on the list of things keeping oil executives up at night. The company unveiled the first stage of...
View ArticleWhat Samsung and Special-K taught us about social capital this week
The week's social media lessons.This week's do's and don'ts: Tech giants, do follow Samsung's lead and reward cheeky requests from loyal customers with priceless one-of-a-kind freebies. It makes you...
View ArticleA new America gives Obama hope
US voters are more socially liberal and increasingly concerned with "fairness", rather than simply "freedom". Think America is all about guns, cultural conservatism and brittle religion? Think again....
View Article60 per cent of FTT revenues would come from Britain (even if we "opted out")
An interesting note from Ernst & Young's ITEM club outlook has been going around today. It's from way back in February, but I can't find anything that contradicts it since: The European Commission...
View ArticleNina was brutalised by her rapists, and then French justice assaulted her again
For six months, a pack of boys told Nina to turn up at certain times to be raped. Yesterday, the harshest sentence given to her attackers was a year in jail, and several defendants were acquitted. How...
View ArticleWho gets asked to “stop and account” and why?
Being mistaken for a pickpocket on the London Underground gives Sunder Katwala an insight into the changing practices of policing.As I reached the top of the stairs at Embankment tube station, heading...
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