Published in The Observer (August 26th, 2013) No Place to Call Home: Inside the Real Lives of Gypsies & Travellers by Katharine Quarmby (Oneworld) Noah Burton was a […]
Economics / Policy / Politics / Transport
Forget the nostalgia for British Rail – our trains are better than ever
Published in The Guardian (August 16th, 2013) There is a weary predictability to the political choreography. Once again, it’s revealed, commuter rail fares are rising above the rate […]
Africa / Aid / Immigration / Nigeria / Policy / Politics
Britain’s pathetic response to the rise of a global power
Published in The Guardian (August 9th, 2013) Despite their military name, it is hard to see how an eight-strong delegation from Nigeria’s branch of the Boys’ Brigade posed […]
Policy / Politics / Whitehall
The civil service: a monster in Whitehall
Published in The Guardian (July 16th, 2013) Britain has a bad habit of deluding itself over its institutions. We proclaim the National Health Service to be the envy […]
Health / Policy
Worshipping the NHS costs lives
Published in The Independent on Sunday (23rd June, 2013) Imagine if an airline crashed 10 planes each year, killing 3,000 passengers in avoidable accidents. After its most disturbing […]
Disability / Health / Policy
The NHS is killing disabled people
Published in The Guardian (May 22nd, 2013) My daughter was ill at the weekend. Just a heavy cold; but when your child has profound and multiple learning disabilities, […]
Immigration / Policy / Politics
A Queen’s speech ruined by absurd anti-immigration measures
Published in The Guardian (May 8th, 2013) There is something reassuringly Ruritanian about the rituals associated with the Queen’s speech, from those flunkies in gold-trimmed finery to the […]
Health / Policy
A helpline in crisis and doctors who refuse to put patients’ interests above their own
Published in The Daily Mail (May 6th, 2013) For weeks there have been many stories emerging of patients left hanging on the phone, fearful or in pain; urgent […]
Policy / Race
Christians, Muslims and the reality of religious persecution
Published in The Guardian (April 22nd, 2013) It is hard not to laugh. Three Christians are taking a landmark legal case to the European Court of Human Rights […]
Arts / Books / Immigration / Policy
Frightened by foreign bodies
Published in The Observer (14th April, 2013) The British Dream by David Goodhart (Atlantic); The Diversity Illusion by Ed West (Gibson Square) A couple of years ago I […]