William Rees-Mogg was Editor of The Times from 1967-81 and was made a life peer in 1988. He writes weekly for The Times en-uk Tue, 30 Oct 2007 15:37:29 GMT Copyright 2007 Times Newspapers Ltd. custserv@timesonline.co.uk http://www.timesonline.co.uk Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:18:24 GMT Newspapers 144 21 http://www.timesonline.co.uk http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,116979,00.gif William Rees-Mogg Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-15T07:53:52Z Polls are much more useful as a guide to real political support than by-elections, but by-elections can have greater impact. The latest opinion poll, taken by ICM for The Independent on Sunday, gives Labour 25 per cent, the Conservatives 39 per cent and the Liberal Democrats 17. That is only a single poll, a snapshot of public opinion, but it is much more reliable as an indicator than Labour’s victory in the Glasgow North East by-election. William Rees-Mogg Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-16T11:59:36Z Last week the price of gold rose to $1,100, the highest ever recorded. Gold is still an important measure of the world economy. The theory of the 19th-century gold standard was that gold was $“real money” in the same way as landed property was “real estate”. All types of paper money are capable of being created by banks or governments, so the supply is potentially unlimited. It was observed that gold holds its purchasing power over centuries, whereas paper money tends to depreciate towards the value of zero. William Rees-Mogg Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-16T11:59:42Z Who is going to lead Europe? Who is going to lead Britain? The latest opinion polls have not improved the dismal outlook for the Labour Party. In yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph, an ITN poll put the Conservatives 17 points ahead with 42 per cent, Labour second, with 25 per cent, and the Liberal Democrats third, with 21 per cent. William Rees-Mogg Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-02T01:06:52Z This has been a year full of anniversaries, not all of them celebrated. In the history of the British Empire, 1759 was “the year of victories”, including Wolfe’s scaling of the heights of Quebec, with Pitt the Elder the strategic genius behind it. The British are now somewhat embarrassed by having had an empire, so there have been few celebrations of the 250th anniversary of that decisive year.