Published by The Guardian (3rd May, 2014) Two weeks ago I stood and watched as three groups of heavily armed men in military uniforms entered a police station […]
Drugs / Policy
How legal highs could be brought down to Earth
Published by The Guardian (26th April, 2014) Just down the road from my house are shops that demonstrate the absurdity of our drug laws. The shelves are filled […]
Arts / Politics
Does Britain really need a ministry of culture?
Published by The Guardian (11th April, 2014) So farewell then, Maria Miller, the minister who made more of a splash with her drawn-out departure than she managed to […]
Europe / Russia / Ukraine
Don’t fall for Putin’s lie
Published by The Guardian (1st April, 2014) Vladimir Putin has won plaudits at home and brushed aside censure abroad with his brazen theft of Crimea. His few supporters […]
Europe / Russia / Ukraine
Crimea’s referendum was a sham display of democracy
Published in The Guardian (17th March, 2014) Almost before they had cleared up the vodka bottles in Lenin Square, scene of the party to celebrate Crimea’s reunification with […]
Politics
The dark horse candidate to succeed Cameron
Published in The Independent (February 19th, 2014) Slowly but surely, discreet campaigns to succeed David Cameron as Tory party leader are slipping through the gears. There is little […]
Immigration / Politics
The joke’s not on Nigel Farage. It’s on the rest of us
Published in The Guardian (January 29th, 2014) It has been a bad few days for Ukip. First, one of the party’s councillors said that flooding was God’s revenge […]
Economics / Housing / Policy / Technology
Why battle to save sickly shops on the high street when we need homes?
Published in The Guardian (17th January, 2014) It has become a January ritual: the nation’s retailers reporting one after another how they performed over the crucial Christmas period. […]
Aid / Economics
Bill Gates preaches the aid gospel, but is he just a hypocrite?
Published in The Guardian (January 6th, 2014) He made his name as a sharp-elbowed businessman who rode the technology revolution with such style. But these days he is […]
Policy / Politics
The tide is turning against homophobia
Published in The Guardian (December 27th, 2013) In Uganda, two people who have sex could end up serving life sentences in prison if they happen to be the […]
Immigration / Policy / Politics
End this gutter debate about Britain’s immigration policy
Published in The Guardian (November 30th, 2013) It’s been a depressing week for British politics as it takes another sordid step into the stinking gutter of xenophobia. It […]
Politics
Tories would do well to read those deleted speeches
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 […]