For sixty years, the Munich Security Conference has traditionally been the forum for international decision-makers and experts to discuss security challenges. Whereas the World Economic Forum at Davos discusses climate change and diversity, the Munich Security Conference discusses nuclear security and global conflict hotspots. The focus is usually on German and European responses to global and regional challenges. German strategic policy is a mess; wrong about Russia for years, and slow on weapons. Yet next month the German elite will hold its famous conference attempting to tackle the big geopolitical questions with a straight face. With Scholz in a ridiculous foreign policy mess, Germany’s leadership is lost on foreign policy.
Scholz has been craven on Ukraine. Even today as Britain sends Challenger tanks he will only send Leopards if the US (which has done more than anyone) sends Abrams. While the organisers are not publicly calling it an antidote to the Munich Security Conference, the London Defence Conference clearly aims to be. An invitation-only two days in London at Bush House, King’s College London – for leaders, policymakers, boffins, military and media-types. The insurgent British alternative Conference launching today is being chaired by Lord Salisbury and run by Iain Martin. Britain is the biggest military power in Western Europe – an event of this kind makes sense.
Iain Martin’s Earth Day wisdom…
“I’m for conservation, rewilding, cleaner air and a reduction in pollution. But not for a state-run, centralised mission stretching over decades and involving trillions of pounds that brooks no dissent. Considering what we know about the capacity of our governments, and the fallible judgment of those involved, how likely is it to work out well? On that we should all be sceptical.”
In tonight’s LIVE with LITTLEWOOD we’ll be discussing:
- It’s all kicked off: What should free marketeers make of the Super League saga?
- Greener pastures: Can we achieve a 78 per cent reduction in emissions by 2035?
- Smoke and mirrors: Is furlough masking the true state of our labour market?
Host Mark Littlewood will be joined tonight by Reaction Editor Iain Martin, The Spectator’s Kate Andrews, The Times Science Editor Tom Whipple, political commentator Benedict Spence and IEA Fellow Professor Len Shackleton.
JOIN US FROM 6PM HERE
It’s a year since Boris Johnson first entered Downing Street.
He’s won an election, steered Brexit and had a brush with death. He’s also shut down the nation and faced criticism over aspects of the government’s handling of the pandemic.
Tonight’s Live with Littlewood puts Boris under the spotlight.
Join host Mark Littlewood as he and a stellar panel of broadcasters, journalists, commentators and think tankers discuss Boris: Hero or Zero?
They’ll also turn their attentions to the mounting tensions between East and West. Are Russian agents acting with impunity in the UK? And will this push us ever closer to a new cold war?
And – assuming they’re allowed – they’ll discuss cancel culture. Is it the new freedom of expression – or a threat to free speech?
Taking part in tonight’s free-rolling programme are Times columnist Iain Martin, talkRADIO’s Mike Graham, award-winning author and comedian Leo Kearse and the Spectator’s China reporter Cindy Yu.
They’ll be joined by City AM’s Rachel Cunliffe, ConservativeHome’s Mark Wallace, political journalist Benedict Spence, John O’Connell of the Taxpayers’ Alliance and IEA author and historian Dr. Stephen Davies.
JOIN IN THE DEBATE – LIVE at 6.00 p.m. – HERE or on YouTube.
James Chapman’s painful live-tweeted breakdown is the subject of growing concerns among his friends in Westminster. It is not hard to understand why Chapman is anguished. He was being eased out of the Daily Mail pol-ed role when he took up Osborne’s offer to spin for him. That’s the source of his surprisingly vicious animus against Dacre. He haughtily told everyone on the way out of Northcliffe House that he would be in No. 10 in due course, lording it over them when Osborne ascended to the premiership. Things did not quite work out that way.
For some time after Osborne’s sacking he was in limbo, eventually taking the role with David Davis at DExEU for which he was so unsuited. He then became a partner at lobbyists Bell Pottinger, his ability as a lobbyist counselling clients specifically on Brexit may be a little hindered by his very public and frequent meltdowns where he has attacked almost all the people clients might hope he had some influence with; government ministers, newspaper editors, not to mention influential journalists who write about his clients. His Trumpish tweets are not a conventional method of communication for usually discreet lobbyists. Never mind his publicly stated plans to set up a new party and stand for it at a by-election. Clients might see that as compromising his counsel and judgement just a teensy weensy bit.
On Facebook and Instagram there have been grim late night posts – subsequently deleted. Chapman was escorted out of parliament a few weeks ago after a particularly drunken episode. He has abused those who have tried to reason with him. All this has been an open secret in SW1 for weeks. His shouty crackers performance on the Today Programme brought it all into the open for the wider public. He has also to some extent gone public himself with his hundreds of round-the-clock tweets. Today he has flipped out with David Davis when only recently he told everyone he was on good terms with him. He’s demanded an emergency recall of parliament and challenged the PM to a public debate in Parliament Square, last week he claimed cabinet members were on the verge of defecting to his party. He’s called for Brexit-supporting publications to be shut down. He sometimes asks people like JK Rowling and Hillary Clinton to follow him on Twitter so he can directly message them. His tweets suggest that in his mind he thinks he is Britain’s answer to Macron leading his own party, “The Democrats”. We’ll pass over the naked Instagram selfies. In all this he is being egged on by idiots on Twitter, every bit of praise and support feeding into his mania.
Some former colleagues are going public, most are keeping their counsel private:
Colleagues been asked to go easy on @jameschappers as he’s ‘not well.’ I know he will turn on me, but it’s time someone stood up to this.
— Isabel Oakeshott (@IsabelOakeshott) August 15, 2017
Not just media/jurnos – MPs too are being asked to stand back for same reason. His friends need to step up more to help him and his family https://t.co/5nLmpEFSaA
— Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) August 15, 2017
To @jameschappers James, you are a lovely, decent and kind man and SO many are worried about you. Please, give your phone to your wife xxx
— Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) August 15, 2017
Sorry I can’t stand back any longer and watch someone I’ve known and liked for 12 years have a breakdown on Twitter Someone closer, HELP HIM
— Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) August 15, 2017
If you are in Greece and you see the great @jameschappers please take his phone away.
— Iain Martin (@iainmartin1) August 11, 2017
Honestly who cares? I bet you have Farage’s number too. James do yourself a favour, try and not tweet for 24 hours, your friends are worried https://t.co/6KvbaGLXob
— George Trefgarne (@GeorgeTrefgarne) August 15, 2017
Many, many Remainers are in James’ mentions as well telling him to take a break from Twitter for his own sake. Sadly James can only see conspiracy:
Message to @conservatives: your efforts to get my friends to tell me to call off the dogs and “take a holiday” are futile #thedemocrats
— James Chapman (@jameschappers) August 15, 2017
These fears would explain why David Davis stopped short of kicking him too hard this morning. It’s sad to watch.
Tim Montgomerie’s column for today’s Times is his last. Montie says he’s off to set up a new project after nearly four years at the paper, good luck to him. MediaGuido understands he will be replaced by Iain Martin, another sensible Brexiteer whose Reaction website has published some of the more thoughtful Brexit-related punditry. Iain will be writing a weekly column starting next week. An important hire especially now the paper is losing Tim. Most of the Times’ other comment writers are zombie metropolitan columnists spouting increasingly irrelevant punditry…
