He's said it before, I know: this stuff about Scottish fiscal powers, not least in an interview I conducted with the Prime Minister back in February. I recall that interview, in Kirkcaldy, for a couple of other reasons. Mr Brown, understandably keen to bolster his colleague, forecast then that Wendy Alexander would be a "great" leader of Scottish Labour. And, immediately after talking to me, the PM headed for Starks Park hoping to join the ...

The credit crunch won't end till US house prices start to rise again, and that could take 18 months, says the chief executive of HBOS, the UK's leading mortgage provider. In his first ever broadcast interview, Andy Hornby - whose bank owns the Halifax and Bank of Scotland - says British banks will continue to suffer serious difficulties lending to homeowners and companies until they can once again raise significant sums on wholesale financial markets. ...

Stamp duty scrapped for a half of all home purchases. Subsidised mortgage for poor new buyers. State help if you run into trouble with the payments. Will today's recipe be enough to get the housing market moving again? This morning the Treasury are being very very careful not to make that claim. They know that the level of interest rates, the availability of mortgages, the rate of unemployment and economic confidence knocked so recently by ...

I have recently been given the happy news that Charteris are sending me to the PDC in LA. I'm very excited. I had to miss the PDC in 2005 but was there in 2003 and I found it very worthwhile. Benjamin Goeltz will also be going from Charteris. I was hoping to be at the same hotel as the Red Gate chaps, but sadly it was sold out so we will be at the Millenium ...

Probably the best things that can be said about the increase in the stamp duty threshold are: 1) that it removes the uncertainty about the costs of buying a property which has been a blight on the housing market (as if another one were needed) since the chancellor's notorious Today programme interview earlier in the summer; 2) that it will help beleaguered housebuilders rebuild their profit margins, since some will simply increase their selling prices ...

alan_james_dean posted a photo:

alan_james_dean posted a photo:

Here's the reaction from the heartland. And this from the unconvinced. I have to say, from my vantage point next to the DC delegation, my overall impression was that the audience in the hall were disappointed. The whisper uttered by a strong man can work in a big hall but he seemed rather engulfed and hemmed in. He was never in control. The biggest cheers were for Sarah Palin, but what does this say about ...

The Prime Minister may believe he's waving a loaded weapon when urging the power companies to cough up and help those finding it difficult to pay their energy bills. But what they can see in those nail-chewed fingers is a loaded banana - and they don't feel terribly intimidated by it. Or to put it another way, they don't believe that there's the faintest chance that he can levy a windfall tax on them. And ...

I wonder if the USA has found its Margaret Thatcher. Strident and self confident - immensely grating on those who do not like her, but immensely pleasing to those who do. I still think Sarah Palin could disappear in a puff of smoke - but if she is strong, really strong this is what awaits. The Thatcher likeness is striking to British commentators - and supporters of the Iron Lady see similarities in the treatment ...

Google changes its licence agreement for its new browser after initially claiming rights to anything its users posted or sent.

Well, if Labour does go down to a disastrous defeat at the next election, Charles Clarke will be able to sport a T shirt (XL, of course) with the slogan "Don't blame me. I did warn you". He has brought into public in full technicolour the private conversations which have been had amongst senior Labour figures for many months. The conversations, I believe, go something along these lines : CLARKE : You do realise, don't ...

Briefly, it looked as though questions about Gordon Brown's leadership had been put on hold. Not any more. The former Home Secretary Charles Clarke has written an article for this week's New Statesman which will re-open them. Labour, he writes, is "destined to disaster" and "utter destruction at the next general election" unless it changes course. His article denies that there is any "Blairite plot" against Gordon Brown before adding, menacingly, that "There is, however, ...

I agree with those who say she is not the new Eagleton: ditching her would destroy McCain's campaign. It is interesting to get the take of party insiders who are not natural backers of Sarah Palin though, and I sat down with Carly Fiorina, one of McCain's senior advisors and strongest surrogates. Here it is: In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for ...

Shark attacks go up when ice-cream sales rise. Why?

When it comes to choosing a husband, women tend to pick men who resemble their dad, a study shows.