Published in The Guardian (November 15th, 2013) Lynton Crosby, the hard-nosed Australian strategist being paid £500,ooo to ensure the Conservatives win the next election, has a phrase regularly heard […]
Politics
Miliband has given Cameron a golden opportunity
Published in The Guardian (September 26th, 2013) There is consensus on one thing about Ed Miliband’s party conference speech: he has made a significant lurch to the left. He […]
Europe / Politics / Russia
Forget diplomacy: this was the stroppy summit
Published in The Mail on Sunday (September 8th, 2013) Welcome to the stroppy summit. Held in one of Europe’s most spectacular cities, it was designed to discuss the […]
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 […]
Health / Policy / Politics
The man they couldn’t hang
Published in The Independent on Sunday (31st March, 2013) When the National Health Service rose like a merciful phoenix from the wreckage of a war-torn nation, its founder […]
Politics
Is this the dawn of a new coalition?
Published in The Mail on Sunday (March 17th, 2013) Picture the scene as Nick Clegg strides purposefully to the podium in the Downing Street rose garden. With the […]
Aid / Health / Policy / Politics / Social care
Overseas aid: an indefensible ringfence
Published in The Guardian (March 14th, 2013) One of the first rules of opposition is to avoid rash promises that can come back to throttle you in government. […]
Politics
What is the point of Tories posing as Ukip Lite?
Published in The Independent (March 2nd, 2013) Eastleigh was a humiliation for the Tories. It was so disastrous that party spokespeople were not even pretending there were silver […]
Afghanistan / Africa / Aid / Mali / Politics / World
Save lives Mr Cameron, but don’t imagine you need to save Africa
Published in The Independent (February 2nd, 2013) This week, the Prime Minister went to Africa.Struggling to achieve anything at home thanks to the shaky state of her coalition, […]
Economics
Tax, transparency and a titanic fight for power
Published in The Independent (January 26th, 2013) Davos is a rather absurd jamboree– so important to those who attend it and so irrelevant to the rest of the […]