The Prime Minister can best beat Miliband by proposing a positive vision of what Britain should be.
In my ToryDiary of earlier today about Andrew Mitchell case, and the failure of Operation Alice to report a year after it was set up, a long list of articles is enclosed supporting the MP. Some of them are very fine, all of them make good points, and we're going to make it Mitchell Is […]
It is a year today since Operation Alice, the investigation by the Met into the Andrew Mitchell affair, was launched: 30 police officers were apparently put on the case. Yet it has failed to produce a report: 12 months is apparently insufficient time to probe an incident lasting some 45 seconds. Here are some more […]
Now that both parties are fighting to take credit for the coalition's achievements, rather than seeking to blame each other for its impact, it seems an opportune moment to ask: who is winning the Coalition? Do the Lib Dems or the Conservatives enjoy more success in Government? Let's tot it up, match by match, across […]
We may sometimes regret the anonymity of modern life, but would we really have it any other way? To be able to conduct our private business in public spaces is a privilege that most people throughout most of history could not have imagined. In our own day, it is only the famous – or infamous […]
By Mark WallaceFollow Mark on Twitter The David Miranda story has proved rather confusing – and not just because the constant use of "Miranda" to refer to the case conjures up images of Miranda Hart prat-falling her way through airport security. As with any Glenn Greenwald scoop, the picture is not as simple as it was first […]
By Mark WallaceFollow Mark on Twitter. The primary responsibility of the police is not to solve crimes or catch criminals – it is to prevent crime happening in the first place. However they do it, it is a role that must be fulfilled. The alternative is a society which is cowed by criminals, which is inevitably mired […]
Back in June, the Deep End featured an article about Google 'Glass' – a lightweight computer which you wear like a pair of glasses. Among various other features, Glass enables you to covertly record everything you can see and hear as you go about your business (or as stick your nose into somebody else’s). In […]
Wouldya just look at that graph above? It shows the vertiginous increase in our prison population since 1990. Back then, there were about 44,975 crims locked away in English and Welsh prisons. Last year, it was 86,634. And that means a lot of extra spending. As I pointed out in an article for the Times (£) on Wednesday, a year-long […]
Warning to readers – today’s post is about the sordid reality of prostitution, not the airbrushed fantasy depicted in some parts of the media. When a new brothel opened near the German city of Stuttgart in 2009, this – according Spiegel Online – is how the management advertised the venue: “‘Sex with all women as […]
By Harry PhibbsFollow Harry on Twitter Two years ago rioting broke out in London and then in other parts of the country. It started in Tottenham and at the time the Labour MP David Lammy was commended for his non-partisan approach. He strongly condemned the rioters and said there were no excuses – while Ken Livingstone […]
By Mark WallaceFollow Mark on Twitter. The news that the British Crime Survey has found crime levels at the lowest level since records began more than 30 years ago has been greeted with near-universal acclaim in today's papers. It's good news in itself – protecting citizens against crime is an essential duty of any government. But this […]
Has the backlash against the bankers gone too far? Perhaps, but given the sheer number and variety of banking scandals, it’s a wonder they’ve got off so lightly. In an essay for the London Review of Books, John Lancaster’s theory is that because the scandals have come so thick and fast, we haven’t been able […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. "Well done, Mrs May," says the Express this morning. "Well done, Mrs May," echoes the Mail. (Or perhaps it's the other way round.) "The best Home Secretary in years, declares the Sun. The Times (£) is more restrained: "Abu Qatada’s scrupulously legal expulsion shows the vitality of democratic values," […]
Are they for or against the EU, foreign aid, military action in Syria, immigration, global warming, capital punishment and abortion?