One of my favourite jokes is that recessions aren't what they used to be. Call this a recession? You should have been around in the Seventies - inflation at 22%, mortgage rates at 15%, a pay policy which limited increases to £7 a week, a top rate of income tax of 87% - and all this before government finances collapsed and the IMF rescuers demanded a seriously tough austerity programme.... more
City Comment: Archie Norman, ITV chairman and one-time Tory MP, says the economic crisis is greater than the one inherited by Mrs Thatcher in 1979 - but just as she had to deal with union leaders, bankers must be dealt with now
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Obituary: Such is the importance of character to the English sensibility that the death of Michael Foot will be lamented more deeply and sincerely than that of more substantial politicians of his age... more
David Cameron claims the Tories' narrowing poll lead is a 'good thing' because it will make the general election more interesting and boost turnout... more
Sign of the times. As other firms in prestigious City buildings have shrunk their floorspace amid redundancy programmes, recruitment firm Kennedy Pearce is expanding... more
Broken society? What broken society? With no less insouciance than the sun-kissed Jim Callaghan in January 1979 denying that there was “mounting chaos”, New Labour refuses to accept that Britain is in the grip of what David Cameron aptly calls “social recession”... more
News that William Hill have suspended betting on Luiz Felipe Scolari's future at Chelsea following a rush of bets he's the next Premier League manager for the chop is not at all surprising... more
Labour is battling to avoid the humiliation of a lost deposit in the Henley by-election landing on Gordon Brown's first anniversary as Prime Minister... more
The by-election defeat in Crewe reflects the PM's deep unpopularity. But the economic woes now afflicting him will worsen as commodity prices continue to rise
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Forget the Commons - London's finest restaurants are where all of the real political scheming takes place, as former Labour minister Gerald Kaufman reveals.... more
Exclusive: After high-profile allegations this season, Charlton's manager is pleased the issue is now being addressed but says the authorities still have plenty of work to do
Tonight:
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