Steve Hilton - not easy to work with Sir Jeremy Heywood isn't often heard in public, but his importance cannot be overstated. As Cabinet Secretary to a coalition government, he exercises considerable influence over Britain's governance. That role, and the work of the civil servants who work for him, is the subject of much unease among a certain sort of Conservative. The Tory critics of the mandarin class regard officials as obstructive, unhelpful, idle and undemocratic. They repeatedly rail against what they see as the Whitehall machine's attempts to thwart the will of the elected government. Few railed as noisily or passionately as Steve Hilton, the Prime Minister's director of implementation, now on sabbatical. Before he left for California, Mr Hilton made a final set ... Continue reading →
Last month, David Cameron snapped at Dennis Skinner, telling the veteran Labour heckler to start drawing his pension. The exchange struck many as a bit graceless, and fed the idea of Mr Cameron as angry and snappy. Does Mr Cameron worry about that image? In the Commons, he's just done the unthinkable and apologised to Mr Skinner. "My last response to him was a bit more sharp than it should have been and I hope he will accept my apologies," the PM said, causing no little surprise in the chamber Continue reading →
Enlarge image Greek Euro Exit Kostas Tsironis/Bloomberg A customer withdraws cash from an ATM operated by the National Bank of Greece SA in Athens. A customer withdraws cash from an ATM operated by the National Bank of Greece SA in Athens. Photographer: Kostas Tsironis/Bloomberg Greece may have only a 46-hour window of opportunity should it need to plot a route out of the euro. That’s how much time the country’s leaders would probably have to enact any departure from the single currency while global markets are largely closed, from the end of trading in New York on a Friday to Monday’s market opening in Wellington, New Zealand, based on a synthesis of euro-exit scenarios from 21 economists, analysts and academics. Over the two days, leaders ... Continue reading →
