Denis MacShane



Profile:


Full name: Denis MacShane, MP (born: Denis Matyjaszek)

Area of interest: Foreign affairs, Europe, Politics, France

Journals: The Guardian, et al

Email: [mailto:macshaned@parliament.uk macshaned@parliament.uk]

Website: Denis Macshane.com

Blog: Comment is free...

Agent/contacts: Ask Aristotle

Network:



Biography:
Education: St Benedict's School, Ealing; Merton College, Oxford: MA; Birkbeck, University of London: PhD International Economics

Career: BBC reporter, 1969/77; NUJ president, 1978/79; International Metalworkers' Federation policy director, 1980/92; European Policy Institute director, 1992/94

see Wikipedia info Current position/role: regular contributor to The Guardian


 * also writes/has written for: The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times, The Observer

Other activities: Member of Parliament
 * Rotherham's MP 1994-; Foreign Office PPS, 1997/2001; junior Foreign Office minister, 2001/02; minister for Europe, 2002/2005

Disclosures: Changes to the Register of Members' Interests (TheyWorkForYou.com)

Viewpoints/Insight:
 * The Guardian: Jackie Ashley meets Denis MacShane, a Europe minister with an arresting turn of phrase 24th November 2003
 * The Independent: The 'Big Cheese Englishman' who believes the Eurosceptics' arguments are full of holes Marie Woolf, 31st May 2004
 * The Independent: Denis MacShane: Why I am an unashamed enthusiast for Europe 21st March 2007

Film/TV/Radio: IMDb

Controversy/Criticism: Argument following description of President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela as a 'ranting, populist demagogue' at the time of the Venezuuelan coup attempt, see:
 * The Guardian: Cheering on democracy's overthrow:The putsch against Venezuela's elected leader failed - this time Isabel Hilton, 16th April 2002
 * MediaLens.org: Exchange with MP Denis MacShane Re: Venezuela

Awards/Honours:

Other: Romantically involved with columnist and author Joan Smith



Books & Debate:
Latest work: The new anti-semitism: the globalisation of the oldest hatred OCLC231883964, 2008
 * Solidarity: Poland's independent trade union OCLC 8386376, 1981
 * François Mitterrand, a political odyssey OCLC 9082835, 1982
 * Power!: Black workers, their unions and the struggle for freedom in South Africa OCLC 12354139 with Martin Plaut and David Ward, 1984
 * French lessons for Labour: the Labour Party OCLC15551496, 1986
 * Friendly fire whitewash : how the Coventry Fusilier Lee Thompson was killed in the Gulf War and why the Government covers up the truth OCLC27013295, 1992
 * International labour and the origins of the Cold War OCLC24431277, 1992
 * Heath OCLC70672738, 2006

Speaking/Appearances:

Current debate: 

Articles:

 * Blair: a good choice for president - A new president could help the EU out of a rut – if the post is created and Tony Blair does apply, he deserves support - The Guardian, 16th July 2009
 * This bill is going to reduce us all in the Commons to poodles - The party leaders have crossed a Rubicon in giving up vital powers - The Independent, 9th July 2009
 * Labour's big ideas - In its most serious thinking about politics for two decades, Labour is coming up with some bold, and exciting, new proposals - The Guradian, 7th July 2009
 * Ten lessons for the left from Europe - Developments such as a rise in racism, the collapse of faith in the left and the recession have changed the political landscape - The Guardian, 8th June 2009
 * Can Alan Johnson deliver for Labour? - Alan Johnson's loyalty, effectiveness and sheer niceness will make him a formidable home secretary - The Daily Telegraph, 8th June 2009
 * End the cant and save Bill Cash for the nation - My heart sank when I read that Bill Cash, the doyen of anti-Europeans in the Commons, had been fingered in the MPs' expenses row - The Independent, 31st May 2009
 * We need reform now, an election later - A clean-up of our parliamentary system is long overdue – but it is not beyond repair - The Guardian, 26th May 2009
 * Michael Martin, your time is up - You are not alone to blame. But you must now declare your intention not to seek a third term - The Guardian, 17th May 2009
 * Lord Tebbit's act of mutiny - His advice to vote against his own party in the European election is an attempt to force the Conservatives to the right - The Guardian, 12th May 2009
 * The Tories' sole offer is anti-Brownism - Labour could do with a period of silence from the Brown bashers; they should be out campaigning, not fuelling divisive headlines - The Guardian, 4th May 2009
 * Battered Brown, bashing on and on, is not ready to quit - Is it over-and-out time for Gordon Brown? The signs are bad - The Independent, 3rd may 2009
 * What did the UN walkout achieve? - Some say the action played into Ahmadinejad's hands, but it was a necessary reminder that this forum is not a podium for hatred - The Guardian, 23rd April 2009
 * Goodbye Cool Britannia, hello Tous à Londres - We should stop putting London down. Even the French have realised it's the place to be - The Guardian, 18th April 2009
 * Now is not the time to disconnect - There are no made-in-Britain answers to a world event that is threatening to inflict lasting damage on the British economy - The Guardian, 24th March 2009
 * Review: A Life: The Autobiography of Simone Veil'' - A Frenchwoman and feminist nonpareil - The Guardian, 22nd March 2009
 * Yes to a new manifesto, no to PR - There's not much to disagree with among Guardian writers' ideas for Labour – but proportional representation is not the way to go - The Guardian, 18th March 2009
 * The writing is on the synagogue wall - World depressions lead to a rise in anti-Semitism. All over Europe, the evidence is around us - The Times, 16th February 2009
 * In search of a European book culture - How does one create a book prize at the European level? - The Independent, 13th February 2009
 * Show us the money - The battle on tax dodgers should begin with lifting the lid on the secrecy of money ownership - The Guardian, 11th February 2009
 * Return of the toffs - It's bad form to discuss the Tory shadow cabinet's wealth – but now that German conservatives are going posh, will that change? - The Guardian, 10th February 2009
 * There is a European solution to this made-in-Europe problem - The refinery dispute illustrates British xenophobia and Labour's ineffectiveness. But the Party of European Socialists has a plan - The Guardian, 2nd February 2009
 * A Labour welcome for Ken Clarke - The europhile's return will only highlight the bankrupt isolationist nature of current Tory international thinking - The Guardian, 19th February 2009
 * Booted out of Georgia - The Kremlin's expulsion of the OSCE mission shows that a solemn agreement signed by the Russian president is worthless - The Guardian, 28th December 2008
 * Damian Green and the missing ‘no’ - From the Conservatives to the police to the Home Office, the players in this saga should have known when to say ‘no’ - The Guardian, 8th December 2008
 * Heads should roll for arresting Damian Green - Forget the sanctimonious cant. The assault by counter-terrorism police on the sanctuary of Parliament is a major interference in Britain's system of democracy - The Sunday Telegraph, 30th November 2008
 * Europe’s right finds excuses for the Kremlin - For much of the post-1945 era it was axiomatic that Europe’s centre-right parties were hostile to Russia - Financial Times, 26th November 2008
 * What Britain can learn from the US - Campaigning for Barack Obama ahead of Tuesday's historic election, there are some valuable lessons for UK politicians - The Guardian, 3rd November 2009
 * Keep xenophobia at bay - Britain is the most internationally open of EU nation states. We create new barriers at our peril - The Guardian, 21st October 2008
 * Get real - The big bail-out is under way. Let's scotch some of the myths surrounding the crisis - The Guardian, 8th October 2008
 * The Tories are foreign-policy lightweights - Cameron's Conservatives have cobbled together a reactionary set of measures which would weaken the UK's standing abroad - The Guardian, 1st October 2008
 * Review: What Next? Surviving the 21st Century, by Chris Patten - The Independent, 26th September 2008
 * Brown's speech: Powerful stuff - Rather than pandering to the 1980s left, the prime minister took the fight to the Tories - The Guardian, 23rd September 2008
 * With comrades like these - If trade union leaders indulge in destructive rhetoric, they will only have themselves to blame if Labour loses the next election - The Guardian, 7th September 2008
 * The mood has darkened across the whole of Europe - The Independent, Wednesday, 20th August 2008
 * Shoulder to shoulder against Russia - We cannot remain deaf to cries for help from countries threatened by Moscow. To do so would be to repeat Chamberlain's mistake - Guardian.co, Monday, 16th August 2008
 * Labour has refound its mojo - David Miliband has shown that some in the party are now focusing on what Labour must do best: fight the Tories - Guardian.co, Wednesday, 30th July 2008
 * What the transatlantic union can do - Unite, formed from British and US unions, has the potential to make a real difference – if it brings together more than just its top-level members - Guardian.co, Wednesday, 2nd July 2008
 * Undignified Mandy-bashing - Abusing a high civil servant is no way to convince voters that European leaders are serious about making the EU work - Guardian.co, Friday, 20th June 2008
 * Europe needs to speak with one voice - The Independent, Friday, 20th June 2008
 * Hooray for the Irish - The Irish vote has helpfully shifted some important issues on the EU into the open, but where does it leave Britain? - 16th June 2008
 * Europe is not going away - The people's decision will cause a mild headache. But things have not changed greatly - The Times, 14th June 2008
 * The kindest cut - Gordon Brown must bite the bullet and cut taxes for people on low and middle incomes. It's not neoliberalism - it's social justice - Guardian.co, 28th May 2008
 * Time for business to stop whingeing about its burdens - The Observer, 11th May 2008
 * The former Europe Minister urges the Lib-Dem leader to reject tribal politics - The Guardian, 23rd December 2007
 * Blair isn't to blame for Islamist terror - The Guardian, 11th November 2007
 * What Gordon Brown could learn from this old communist - The Guardian, 21st October
 * The New Anti-Semitism - Washington Post, 4th September 2007
 * UK can have two best friends - Financial Times, 16th August 2007
 * I will vote against my party and for democracy - The Daily Telegraph, 13th February 2007



Links:

 * TheyWorkForYou.com: Denis MacShane MP
 * Wikipedia bio