Salon.com > David Cameron

Paul Krugman’s right: Austerity kills

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:45:00 +0000

“I will never forgive them,” wrote 13-year-old Kieran McArdle to the Daily Record, a national newspaper based in Glasgow. “I won’t be able to come to terms with my dad’s death until I get justice for him.”

Kieran’s father, 57-year-old Brian, had worked as a security guard in Lanarkshire, near Glasgow. The day after Christmas 2011, Brian had a stroke, which left him paralyzed on his left side, blind in one eye, and unable to speak. He could no longer continue working to support his family, so he signed up for disability income from the British government.

That government, in the hands of Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron since the 2010 elections, would prove no friend to the McArdles. Cameron claimed that hundreds of thousands of Britons were cheating the government’s disability system. The Department for Work and Pensions begged to differ. It estimated that less than 1 percent of disability benefit funds went to people who were not genuinely disabled.

Still, Cameron proceeded to cut billions of pounds from welfare benefits including support for the disabled. To try to meet Cameron’s targets, the Department for Work and Pensions hired Atos, a private French “systems integration” firm. Atos billed the government £400 million to carry out medical evaluations of people receiving disability benefits.

Hilary Mantel defends calling Kate Middleton a “shop-window mannequin”

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 13:55:00 +0000

Two-time Man Booker Prize-winning author Hilary Mantel has defended comments she made in which she called the Duchess of Cambridge a "a jointed doll on which certain rags are hung" and "a shop-window mannequin, with no personality of her own." Though the comments were framed within a larger lecture around the media's portrayal of Royal figures, the quotes sparked outrage across England, causing even Prime Minister David Cameron to call Mantel "completely misguided."

But the Henry VIII-era historical fiction writer recently told BBC Radio 3's Night Waves program that "I have absolutely nothing to apologize for," explaining that her lecture was about the media's simplistic perception of Middleton and other Royals -- not their actual personalities. "My lecture and the subsequent essay was actually supportive of the Royal Family and when I used those words about the Duchess of Cambridge, I was describing the perception of her which has been set up in the tabloid press," she said. "My whole theme was the way we maltreat royal persons, making them one superhuman, and yet less than human."

Instead, Mantel said, "I do think that the Duchess of Cambridge is an intelligent young woman who, if she cares to read my essay, will see that I meant nothing but good to her."

"It was a matter of taking the words completely out of context -- twisting the context -- and setting me up as a hate figure," she said. "I have absolutely no regrets. What I said was crystal clear."

Hilary Mantel receives literary prize at Oxford

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 19:29:00 +0000

The novels "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up the Bodies" both already won Booker Prizes, but there's about to be another trophy bestowed upon Hilary Mantel.

The novelist is to receive the Bodley Medal at the Oxford Literary Festival; previous recipients, honored for their services to literature and communications, include Seamus Heaney and P. D. James.

The old-school honor from Britain's top university comes as Mantel faces criticism for her iconoclastic views. Her piece in the current issue of the London Review of Books describes Kate Middleton as a "shop-window mannequin," and critics including Prime Minister David Cameron stopped reading before Mantel expressed sympathy for Middleton and urged the nation to allow its Duchess independence.

With the honor from Oxford -- though those shouting her down might wish otherwise -- Mantel seems yet more entrenched as part of the British cultural landscape.

David Cameron defies Smiths ex-guitarist, Johnny Marr

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:09:00 +0000

The British prime minister is on a tear: First, he has gone after Hilary Mantel for her comments about Kate Middleton. Now, David Cameron has made a vow to defy Smiths ex-guitarist Johnny Marr, who has "banned" the Tory from listening to music by the Smiths, reports BBC News.

In a story that recalls Paul Ryan's uninvited and unrequited declaration of love for Rage Against the Machine (and, for that matter, Chris Christie's obsession with Bruce Springsteen), the prime minister is a longtime fan of the new wave band — who split in the 1980s, and are perhaps best known for their songs "How Soon Is Now" and "Heaven Knows (I'm Miserable Now) — and has said so on many occasions. Marr has voiced his disgust, telling the BBC that this is "not allowed." But Cameron, who was on a visit to India, declared he'd "go on and listen,"anyway. In 2006, Cameron chose the Smiths song "This Charming Man" on Desert Island Discs.

Hilary Mantel under attack for calling Kate Middleton a “shop-window mannequin”

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 14:35:00 +0000

Hilary Mantel, who has won the prestigious Man Booker Prize twice for her fictionalized retellings of life in the court of Henry VIII, is this week attracting attention for a different royal scandal: her scathing critique of the English media darling, Kate Middleton. Mantel, who last year was asked to "name a famous person and choose a book to give them," expounded on the question in a speech republished in The London Review of Books, pairing the Duchess of Cambridge with "Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution." This, the reader quickly realizes, is not meant to be a compliment:

"It’s not that I think we’re heading for a revolution. It’s rather that I saw Kate becoming a jointed doll on which certain rags are hung. In those days she was a shop-window mannequin, with no personality of her own, entirely defined by what she wore. These days she is a mother-to-be, and draped in another set of threadbare attributions. Once she gets over being sick, the press will find that she is radiant. They will find that this young woman’s life until now was nothing, her only point and purpose being to give birth."

Is Justin Bieber a Tory?

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:18:00 +0000

The Tories have auctioned an exclusive meeting with Justin Bieber to raise money for their party, without informing the pop star of their plans, according to the Daily Mail. A wealthy financier scored the backstage passes for £10,000 ($15,638) for four teenage girls to go backstage to have a meet-and-greet with the pop star in March, at London's O2 arena. The tickets were donated by Universal Music UK, Bieber's British record label.

The auction took place at the Conservative party's annual fundraiser, the very exclusive, glitzy Black and White Party — hosted at the Hurlingham Club in Fulham, West London — and rakes in hundreds of thousands of pounds every year. The Conservatives are eager to overstuff David Cameron's coffers because he has to run an aggressive campaign in the next two years to secure the majority, which he failed to do during his run in 2010.

U.K. legalizes same-sex marriage

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 19:29:00 +0000

British Parliament passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage Tuesday.

Prime Minister David Cameron and other senior British officials threw their support behind a gay marriage bill ahead of a key Parliament vote on the divisive topic.

The bill enables same-sex couples to get married in both civil and religious ceremonies, provided that the religious institution consents. The proposals have divided opinion among members of Cameron's Conservative Party and dozens of them are expected to vote against the bill later Tuesday.

In a last-minute statement, Cameron -- who did not attend the debate -- said passing the bill is "an important step forward" for Britain.

"I am a strong believer in marriage. It helps people commit to each other and I think it is right that gay people should be able to get married too," he said. "This is, yes, about equality. But it is also about making our society stronger."

Despite stronger-than-expected opposition within the Conservative ranks, the bill is expected to pass with support from most lawmakers in the left-leaning Labour Party and Liberal Democrats party.

Britain faces triple-dip recession

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 18:26:00 +0000

LONDON (AP) — Britain's economy contracted by a worse-than-expected 0.3 percent in the last three months of 2012, raising the possibility that it might fall back into recession for the third time since the global financial crisis.

The Office for National Statistics said Friday that there was no growth in the nation's big services industry while output of production industries fell by 1.8 percent, including a 1.5 percent drop in manufacturing.

Britain emerged from a nine-month recession in the third quarter, when GDP grew by 0.9 percent. But if the economy shrinks again in the first quarter of 2013, it will be officially back in a technical recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.

"Today's numbers have greatly increased the risk of a new recession and a downgrading of the U.K.'s AAA credit rating," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at financial data company Markit.

All three of the big rating agencies — Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch — have placed Britain's rating on negative watch.

The latest figure was worse than the market consensus of a contraction of 0.1 percent, and came just two days after the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund said it was time for the government to reassess its focus on spending cuts.

8 shocking takeaways from the UK media ethics inquiry

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 21:00:00 +0000

  LONDON, UK — A staid courtroom may seem a world away from the glamour of Tinseltown, but in many ways Britain's Leveson inquiry into media ethics was not unlike a Hollywood blockbuster.

Commissioned by Prime Minister David Cameron in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal at the Rupert Murdoch-owned News of the World tabloid, the independent judicial probe by Lord Justice Sir Brian Leveson had a multi-million dollar budget and an all-star cast with performances from the likes of Hugh Grant and Sienna Miller.

The investigation delivered its findings on Nov. 29. As with most modern movies, it was too long, featuring 378 separate testimonies. But it had a riveting plot with startling revelations about the pervasive influence of Britain's press, and witness performances that ranged from tear-jerking to hilarious.

Ultimately, just like the latest movie releases, it failed to deliver what it promised. Its inconclusive ending left audiences feeling dissatisfied and opened up the depressing possibility of a sequel.

Cameron: Grant Assad safe passage to end conflict

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:14:00 +0000

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — British Prime Minister David Cameron suggested Tuesday that Syria's president Bashar Assad could be allowed safe passage out of the country if that option would guarantee an end to the nation's civil war.

In an interview with Al Arabiya television, Cameron said the international community should consider anything "to get that man out of the country and to have a safe transition in Syria."

"I am certainly not offering him an exit plan to Britain, but if he wants to leave, he could leave, that could be arranged," Cameron said, speaking in Abu Dhabi on the second day of a three-day tour of the Gulf and Middle East.

Activists say that since Syria's unrest began in March 2011, more than 36,000 people have been killed. The conflict is now stuck in a military stalemate, which rebel fighters blame on a lack of strategic weapons, such as anti-aircraft missiles.

"Of course, I would favor him facing the full force of international law and justice for what he's done," Cameron said, before he arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for talks with King Abdullah.

In London, diplomats said Cameron was not suggesting Assad could escape potential international prosecution if he were to be granted passage out of Syria.

World leader speeches you missed

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 21:19:00 +0000

A slide show of General Assembly addresses that didn't make the headlines

Must-see morning clip: Cameron’s citizenship

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 11:44:00 +0000

On The Late Show with David Letterman, UK Prime Minister David Cameron had some trouble answering Letterman's "dumb American questions" about British things like "Rule Britannia" and the Magna Carta.

"That is bad, I have ended my career on your show tonight," Cameron said.

David Cameron said bad things about Romney, says Harvey Weinstein

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 17:41:00 +0000

Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein told the BBC the following in a radio interview:

I witnessed prime minister saying to a group of people, myself included, that Mitt Romney had that unique distinction of uniting all of England against him with his various remarks. On behalf of my love of England, I have to support the president [Barack Obama] who is anything but making faux pas.

Cameron was last seen contributing to the #romneyshambles meme during Romney's whirlwind international gaffe tour. Romney said he thought London might not be ready for this year's Summer Olympics and the prime minister replied, "Of course it's easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere."

David Cameron’s fun American vacation marred by more phone-hacking arrests

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:55:00 +0000

Insecure countries are known to lock up unsavory elements when international guests are expected, so it should not have been a terrible shock to see that the U.K.'s Metropolitan Police had arrested former News Corp. executive Rebekah Brooks and her horse-training husband, Charlie, yesterday, a few short months before the opening ceremonies of the London Olympic Games. The Brookses are now, apparently, back on the streets, having made bail.

The Brookses were arrested, along with four others, "on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice." This was the second time Rebekah Brooks, the former editor of the Sun and the now-shuttered News of the World, had been arrested -- the last time it was for conspiring to intercept communications, or "phone hacking" -- and this arrest suggests that News International's extensive efforts to cover up their unethical practices may end up damaging the company just as much as the unethical practices did.