A fraught journey through exile, family and religion May 12, 2010 NOMAD BY AYAAN HIRSI ALI Simon & Schuster, £12.99 **** AYAAN Hirsi Ali is one of the political world’s most direct speakers – if not its most direct. Even the most controversial commentators balk at using her kind of polarising terminology and crystalline rhetoric. In part this is because 40-year old Ali, who works at [...]
VEXED IN THE CITY May 12, 2010 Can I ask my colleague about his home life? DEAR VEXED: There’s a colleague I work really closely with on a number of projects. We get along well, but our relationship is strictly professional. Recently I’ve noticed him being really distracted, and I overheard him having a bitter argument with his wife on the phone. [...]
A blooming good way to eat for springtime May 12, 2010 LOTS of us have aspirations of turning our gardens into allotments and impressing dinner party guests with all manner of home-grown delicacies. Since that requires time, effort, good soil, advantageous sunlight and – at the very least – a garden, not many of us actually manage it. But a form of garden produce requiring a [...]
OUT OF OFFICE May 12, 2010 MONTE CARLO OR BUST If you’re a deep pocketed Formula 1 fan but thought you’d missed the chance to get to Monaco for the Grand Prix this weekend, think again. Monte Carlo’s Metropole Hotel, including the Joel Robuchon restaurant with its perfectly-placed terrace for watching the race, still has availability. A three night package, leaving [...]
Meet the new PM May 11, 2010 DAVID CAMERON seized the reins of power last night, becoming the first Tory Prime Minister to cross the threshold of Number 10 in thirteen years. Flanked by wife Samantha outside Downing Street, Cameron addressed the country and announced he was inviting the Liberal Democrats into a “full and proper” coalition government. There were none of [...]
Cameron warns UK of tough times ahead May 11, 2010 ADDRESSING the country from the steps of Downing Street last night, David Cameron sounded every inch a one nation Conservative. There was none of the promise and hope that characterised Tony Blair’s first utterances as Prime Minister. Instead he offered Britain two things: a warning and a promise. “This is going to be hard and [...]
Prime Minister, your task will be truly immense May 11, 2010 WHEN Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979, she quoted St Francis of Assisi on the steps of 10 Downing Street; after Tony Blair triumphed in 1997, he was greeted by Labour Party workers waving union jacks and a great wave of public optimism. David Cameron’s victory speech yesterday was far more somber and humble, [...]
WHO’S NEW IN THE COALITION GOVERNMENT? May 11, 2010 VINCE CABLE Former Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable will be gifted his dream job at the Treasury, working as number two to chancellor George Osborne. The popular big-beast of Nick Clegg’s party has long been recognised as vital to the Lib Dem machine. He has been outspoken on bankers and sceptical about spending cuts. [...]
Osborne and Hague secure top jobs in new government May 11, 2010 GEORGE Osborne was last night confirmed as chancellor of the exchequer and William Hague as foreign secretary in the new Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government – securing top jobs for the men who brokered the eventual deal. The decision leaves the two men in the positions they held in recent years in opposition, and scotched widespread [...]
Deputy PM Nick Clegg promises a new type of politics May 11, 2010 NEW deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg last night implored his core supporters not to lose faith in his party after it made a pact to take David Cameron into Downing Street. He said his party had “overwhelmingly” accepted his recommendation to form a coalition with the Tories. The parties have, he claimed, come together “for [...]
