The big Tory gamble
The Tories have really messed up, says Anatole Kaletsky. How can we explain this sudden throwback to the economic policies of the 1980s, that may well be remembered as the second-longest suicide note in history, after Labour's 1983 manifesto under Michael Foot? Their analogies between household and government budgets are totally misleading, as any textbook of Keynesian economics explains. The essential message can be summarised thus: if an entire nation decides to cut spending and increase saving at the same time, the result is not an increase in saving but an increase in unemployment. The government must spend and borrow more to keep the economy afloat. Anatole Kaletsky The Times
Full article: Cameron may drown in his clear blue water 
The Tories have recovered their sense of direction, says Iain Martin. They must now be guided less by tactical obsessions and more by the party's values and, yes, the conservative moral compass. For there is more at stake than is apparent. Markets, and the idea that robust private enterprise is the best means of recovery, are under attack in what is becoming a global culture war against capitalism. This is manifesting itself in a slide into corporatism, most obviously in moves to bail out the failing US car industry. The Tories have chosen their ground: that the country must live within its means, and that private enterprise should be prioritised over excessive government interference. Iain Martin Daily Telegraph
Full article: David Cameron's U-turn on spending pledge shows there is an alternative to Labour
Brown and the poor
Mr Brown Christmas give-away is not simply a licence for the poor to go mad at Argos, writes Mary Riddell. It's a recognition, according to a Brown ally, that the PM is still focused on a "fair" Britain in which people fulfil their potential. Pious as that may sound, Mr Cameron risks achieving precisely the opposite. If the economy were left unboosted and public spending drastically curbed, the consequences would ripple through society. Do people want rising crime, and rocketing unemployment? Forget the economic jargon. A decent country is one that offers chances to the underprivileged. Mary Riddell Daily Telegraph
Full article: UK must choose economy of David Cameron or Gordon Brown. But will it help Arron?
Try it, Charles
So the British people are going to get a President after all, says Johann Hari. He will "speak for the nation and to the nation". He will rule over us with his "knowledge and contacts and unique ability." He has just announced - via his biographer, Jonathan Dimbleby - that he intends to be a "political" King. This is the best news we Republicans have had for years - and finally throws up a vision of how the rusty British monarchy will fall. Let him spew his ignorant babble from his many golden palaces. Charles Windsor will - in an unprecedented moment of efficiency - lead us at last into the Republic of Great Britain. Johann Hari The Independent
Full article: Charles as President? Not in my name
Will Self: Charles wants it both ways
The Chinese model
Is China in possession of the economic high ground? asks Timothy Garton Ash. The big debate going on in Hong Kong is how a Chinese society combines the efficiency of a market economy, tapping a native entrepreneurial spirit comparable to America's, with some degree of equity, social cohesion or even "harmony". But Hong Kongers are also far too familiar with all the weaknesses of the Chinese system, as experienced by their mainland relatives and friends - the inequality, the corruption, the insecurity and, yes, the inefficiency - to fall for any simplistic notion of a shining Chinese model. Timothy Garton Ash The Guardian
Full article: Here, you can feel the power shift. But we all wrestle with the same problems
BBC's cock-up
I am no cultural conservative, says Joan Bakewell: I am perhaps the only broadcaster to have discussed the erect penis while actually surveying one naked - him, not me - in the studio. But it is not cultural conservatism to want to discourage the progressive coarsening of our comedy shows and reality programmes. There is censorship; but there is also judgment. It is part of that public service remit to acknowledge that some things are simply too offensive to too many people. Television is about more than entertainment. It is part of the weave of cultural life; the essence of what it means to live in Britain is to have the kind of television we have. Joan Bakewell The Guardian
Full article: Enough excuses. The BBC must confront its moral crisis
No to Thatcherism
The Tories require a Clause 4 moment. They need to break with the economic logic of neo-Thatcherism, censure it as an approach that has only served the interests of the top 10 per cent and stand behind their nascent alternative: a conservatism that inveighs against monopoly interests and restores markets, power and wealth to all parts of the community. Philip Blond The Guardian
Full article: Thatcher is back
Be realistic
As long as there is a demand for commercial sex, supply will spring up to service it. Increasing the force of law is not going to stop men from visiting prostitutes, but it will make them more wary of being caught. Prostitution will retreat underground. Leading article The Independent
Full article: There are better ways to protect trafficked women
Clinging to nurse
The message Gordon Brown will tacitly but relentlessly feed us between now and the next election is 'You've Never Had It So Bad'. So long as Gordon is perceived as the nurse and Mr Cameron as the something worse, his popularity will rise. Matthew Norman The Independent
Full article: Cameron can't afford mistakes. But nor can he play it safe
BNP useful?
Some might argue that every society could do with a legitimate far-right group to channel the activities of those who hate foreigners. Some may ask, doesn't every good country need a Nazi party? Just so long as it has absolutely no influence and does absolutely nothing is my answer. David Aaronovitch The Times
Full article: The BNP can never make itself respectable
Failed schools
In its heart of hearts, the Government knows that comprehensives are not the answer - hence its drive for academy schools which are, in another guise, the Conservative grant-maintained schools Labour scrapped when it came to power. Leader Daily Telegraph
Full article: Ofsted schools report: Remove ideology and education will recover
No bite
The Tories lack the appetite, the attack, the cutlery and the sheer cannibalistic vigour to eat Brown live on TV. They seem unprepared. This recession wasn't unexpected. How were they planning to deal with it? They weren't. They just expected it to destroy the Prime Minister (and they still do). Simon Carr The Independent
Full article: Grumpy and toothless: the Conservative front bench
Posts
