Published in The Independent on Sunday (August 18th, 2013) As rivers of blood flowed in Egypt this week, the frightening crisis in a wounded nation turned even more […]
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 […]
Politics
Think how good the House of Lords could be
Published in The Independent (August 3rd, 2013) There are few things British leaders love to do more than lecture the rest of the world on democracy, emboldened by […]
Politics
Watch out for this politician in a dog collar
Published in The Independent on Sunday (July 28th, 2013) Once again, the Church of England was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The Archbishop of Canterbury […]
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 […]
Africa / Egypt / Politics
Some protests suit Blair more than others
Published in The Independent (July 9th, 2013) There was always something Tiggerish about Tony Blair, with that irrepressible ability to overcome setbacks unabashed and bounce back unconstrained by […]
Aid / Ethiopia / Politics
This is not about ending world hunger. It is a political stunt
Published in The Independent (June 19th, 2013) The broadcasters fell for it, of course. Those colourful images of a “flotilla” of two longboats sailing near the venue of […]
Economics / Politics
Is a clandestine world government meeting in Watford?
Published in The Daily Mail (June 6th, 2013) Even though it’s the birthplace of a Spice Girl, a former Gladiators champion and the Tory chairman Grant Shapps, nothing […]
Arts / Books / Politics
A politician with real class
Published in the Daily Mail (May 10th, 2013) This Boy: A Memoir of a Childhood by Alan Johnson (Bantam) When Alan Johnson was seven, his mother was in […]
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 […]
Aid / Politics
Corrupt, ineffective and hypocritical: Britain should give less aid, not more
Published in The Independent (May 2nd, 2013) When Jacob Zuma, the president of South Africa, decided to give his family house in Nkandla a makeover, he did so […]