Daniel Finkelstein



Profile:
Full name: Daniel Finkelstein (OBE)

Area of interest: Politics and the Media

Journals/Organisation: The Times | The Jewish Chronicle

Email: [mailto:daniel.finkelstein@thetimes.co.uk daniel.finkelstein@thetimes.co.uk]

Personal website:

Website: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/columnists/danielfinkelstein

Blog: Comment Central - Daniel Finkelstein's rolling guide to the web

Representation:

Networks: http://twitter.com/#!/dannythefink



Biography:
About: Daniel Finkelstein is a weekly columnist and Chief Leader Writer of The Times. His blog, Comment Central, is a personal round up of the best political opinion on the web. Before joining the paper in 2001, he was adviser to both Prime Minister John Major and Conservative leader William Hague

Education: London School of Economics; also trained as a computer systems analyst

Career: In politics, stood as an SDP candidate in the 1987 elections; Edited Connexion, first UK newspaper to cover internet and data communications, 1990/92; three years as Director of free market think tank the Social Market Foundation; Secretary to the Shadow Cabinet and adviser to the Leader of the Opposition, William Hague and before that the Prime Minister, John Major, 1995/2001; Conservative parliamentary candidate in Harrow West, 2001; written for The Guardian, The Observer, The Independent

Current position/role: Columnist and Chief Leader Writer


 * also writes/written for:

Other roles/Main role:

Other activities:

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight: Probably has more knowledge about the inner workings of the Conservative Party than any other journalist. Former adviser to Prime Minister John Major and Conservative leader William Hague

Broadcast media: Appearances on BBC's Have I Got News For You; radio broadcasts on historical subjects; a member of the Newsnight political "panel of experts" during the 2008 economic crisis

Video:

Controversy/Criticism:

Awards/Honours:
 * OBE (in John Major's resignation honours list), 1997
 * Orwell prize for journalism, 2001
 * Columnist of the Year, 2003
 * Editorial Intelligence Comment Awards: Political Commentator of the Year, 2011

Scoops:

Other: Grandson of Alfred Weiner, founder of the Wiener Library - see article: The test that David Irving set me: do I really believe in the power of truth?



Books & Debate:


Latest work:

Speaking/Appearances:

Debate: 

The Times:
Column name:

Remit/Info: Politics and the Media

Section: Features

Role: Comment editor

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:daniel.finkelstein@thetimes.co.uk daniel.finkelstein@thetimes.co.uk]

Website: The Times / Daniel Finkelstein

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Wednesday

Regularity: Weekly

Column format:

Average length: 1000 words



Articles: 2016

 * Here’s my little secret about the Great War - Each time we hold another event to mark the centenary of the First World War, it raises the question: was this a just and necessary war? - 2nd July
 * If you think Boris is a shoo-in, think again - While the Brexit golden boy has much going for him, history suggests Tory favourites often fall at the final hurdle - 29th June
 * Nothing adds up on Leave’s fantasy island - To survive post-Brexit we’d need more immigration and lower pay. Do Out supporters really know what they’re backing? - 22nd June
 * Murdered PM shows just how far we’ve come - Notebook - 18th June
 * Let’s face it, the EU rescued us from failure - Would Britain risk joining if it wasn’t a member? No chance. That doesn’t change the fact we’ve had a 40-year success story - 15th June
 * Wanted: a big movie star to play me on screen - Notebook - 11th June
 * Ali could sting like a poisonous extremist - The champion was capable of great humanity, but he couldn’t see that racial integration was a goal worth striving for - 8th June
 * Europe’s battle scars should bind us together - Peace is precious and fragile, and to take it for granted is complacent. It’s rightly at the heart of the Brexit debate - 1st June
 * We must open up the Supreme Court club - The court created a decade ago has acquired serious powers but the public know next to nothing about who runs it - 25th May
 * The voter is always right. Even when he’s wrong - Notebook - 21st May
 * Destroyed by false accusations of child abuse - If we’re not careful, our certainty about tackling the legacy of Savile will simply create thousands of new victims - 18th May
 * The likes of Bella the cat put me in a right flap - Notebook - 13th May
 * The most reliable polls are at the end of a phone - If you think the EU referendum looks neck and neck, you’re probably wrong. Much depends on the kind of polling that’s been used - 11th May
 * Labour’s crisis stems from the West-hating left - Today’s arguments about antisemitism are tangled up in the wider belief that America is the predominant world evil - 4th May
 * Lessons that Leicester can teach us about life - The improbable success of an unfashionable football club finds an echo in the Cuban missile crisis half a century ago - 27th April
 * Paying anyone £14m to run a company is absurd - BP thinks it is paying the going rate for its chief executive but CEO salaries across the country are wildly out of control - 20th April
 * There must be no escape for rapists of war - The world is slowly waking up to the disaster of sexual assault as a weapon of conflict. The truth cannot stay hidden - 13th April
 * Let’s quibble about those men on the Moon - Notebook - 8th April
 * Trying to silence Obama over Brexit is absurd - America’s postwar protection of Europe makes it not only the president’s right to speak out, but his responsibility - 6th April
 * Are you sure you want the facts about Europe? - Undecided voters say they could make up their minds if they had unbiased information. If only it were that simple - 30th March
 * What the poor need most is jobs not welfare - IDS was wrong to see the budget as inherently unfair. Boosting business and cutting tax helps the less well-off too - 23rd March
 * Give this farcical party trick a miss, Jeremy - The Labour leader should ignore Commons convention today and focus more on his shadow chancellor’s bizarre plans - 16th March
 * Moaning about Project Fear is plain bonkers - If you keep repeating your opponent’s message you just reinforce it in voters’ minds, making them even more risk-averse - 9th March
 * Voters still like poshness in their politicians - We keep hearing that the electorate is in revolt against the elite, but in fact it depends how educated the voters are - 2nd March
 * Boris isn’t out for himself, he’s just deluded - Shared sovereignty is our only possible future and it’s a mistake to think a Leave vote will simply get us a better EU deal - 25th February
 * Why business leaders make lousy politicians - Trump and Co don’t understand that you can’t behave like a CEO when running a country. Politics is about compromise - 17th February
 * Police are pandering to court of public opinion - When spin matters more than justice and officers care little for the innocent lives blighted, something is badly amiss - 11th February
 * Breaking up is hard but might just save Labour - If moderates want to halt the lurch to the left they must be prepared to follow in the footsteps of the Gang of Four - 27th January
 * It’s right to chisel away at Rhodes’ reputation - Memorials to controversial figures should never be torn down, but students are right to want their flaws highlighted - 20th January
 * Rock’s great rebel owed it all to capitalism - David Bowie showed us that, far from being polar opposites, western consumerism and creativity go hand-in-hand - 13th January
 * Comrade Corbyn doesn’t believe in parliament - Labour’s leader follows the views of Ralph Miliband, who argued that socialism relies more on grassroots than on MPs - 6th January



Articles: 2015

 * How do you solve a problem like Boris? - Cameron’s conundrum over what to do with the London mayor could be solved by making him foreign secretary - 16th December
 * Siding with Assad would be a catastrophe - We have no choice but to support the moderates in Syria. A Shia victory would be a gain for Putin and the ayatollahs - 9th December
 * Corbyn’s trouble is he’s not left wing enough - The Labour leader’s compromise over today’s Syria vote will have dismayed his party’s membership – a fatal thing to do - 2nd December
 * If you’re anti-austerity, you can’t do 2 plus 2 = 4 - Osborne is right to remind us of the economic facts of life but his protection of pensioners gives the young a raw deal - 25th November
 * Ukip is eating away at the heart of Labour - Election number-crunching shows how Labour is losing its working-class base, while Cameron’s centrist strategy is paying off - 18th November
 * Moderate doctors must defeat the militants - Threatening patients’ wellbeing for the sake of overtime pay is typical of the BMA’s cynical rabble-rousing behaviour - 11th November
 * Are these seriously your views, Mr Bennett? - To approve of Jeremy Corbyn and to tear into the Tories for being ‘ideological’ shows inconsistency, if not worse - 4th November
 * Breaking the law didn’t win votes for women - It was moderate, law-abiding suffragists and male MPs — not militant suffragettes — who did most to secure victory - 21st October
 * There is no alternative to capitalism, comrade - John McDonnell has ignored the lesson the late Lord Howe taught Labour forty years ago - you can’t buck the market - 14th October
 * Things are going to get bloody from now on - From tax credits to airport runways, problems loom for the Conservatives just when things were looking rosy - 7th October
 * Bad news for Labour: you’re stuck with him - Those who imagine they can replace Corbyn don’t understand the party and don’t know the lessons of history - 30th September
 * Here’s what we really think about migrants - This country has a proud tradition of welcoming refugees. But in return, they have to live by Britain’s liberal values - 23rd September
 * Meet the anti-imperialist ‘friends’ of Corbyn - The Labour leader’s sympathies lie with those he sees as suffering under the capitalist oppression of the US and Britain - 16th September
 * This suicide law will not turn us into killers - Anyone helping a loved one to die faces a potentially traumatic police investigation. You can’t treat the innocent like that - 9th September
 * Europe can survive only if it splits in two - Cameron must push for the troubled eurozone to become a superstate and the UK to be part of a looser trading bloc - 2nd September
 * When does anti-zionism become antisemitic? - Those who want to wipe Israel off the map would trigger a human disaster as bad as any prejudice against Jews - 26th August
 * Softly softly catchee Labour supporters - If Corbyn wins, Cameron should leave the aggressive attacks to the Blairites and float above the fray as Mr Moderate - 19th August
 * The suburbs are what makes Britain great - Bourgeois life is too easy a target for satire. In a world of hunger and war there’s no need to get angry about shopping - 12th August
 * Corbyn cheats are both stupid and wrong - Tories who dishonestly vote in the Labour leadership poll risk reviving the left and making the country harder to govern - 22nd July
 * As Greece shows, threats will get you nowhere - In his EU negotiations the prime minister is more likely to win concessions by trustworthy and generous behaviour - 15th July
 * Left and right are dead in our social revolution - Labour and the Conservatives used to rely on a blue or white-collar vote but education has liberalised our thinking - 1st July
 * We’ll never know why the polls were wrong - The science may be beyond us, but that’s no reason to take the extreme step of banning surveys before an election - 24th June
 * Blatter is gone but Blatterism is here to stay - The disgraced Fifa president, like US president Lyndon Johnson, personifies a way of doing business that’s hard to stamp out - 3rd June
 * RIP Liberal Democrats. It’s all over for you - With no money, no power and no prospects, Farron and co should pack up and join other parties to fight for liberalism - 27th May
 * ‘Shy Tories’ are not really shy . . . or Tory - Cameron won because he persuaded the sensible, silent majority (who don’t give a fig for politics) that he’s on their side - 13th May
 * Politics will be poorer if Clegg is kicked out - Deputy PM could pay a high price for his broken promise on tuition fees. In fact, he was brave . . . and he was right - 22nd April
 * The Abramovich theory of national success - More money tends to lead to more progress, whether you’re in a football league or the league of nations - 15th April
 * Labour hasn’t got a monopoly on compassion - Martin Freeman is the latest celebrity to claim wrongly that the left has cornered the market in human decency - 8th April
 * Cameron needs to convert the Yes Yes Nos - John Major won over doubting voters just in time to win the 1992 election. Can his successor pull off the same trick? - 1st April
 * Tell every PM: ten years and that’s your lot - Thatcher and Blair proved no prime minister can, or should, go on and on. So let’s limit them to two terms in power - 25th March
 * Osborne’s box of tricks won’t decide the election - Yes, it’s a big day for the chancellor and the Tories. Yet history tells us the budget won’t count for much come May 7 - 18th March
 * 71 days to go and Ed has no campaign in sight - If you’re up against an opponent with a strong economic record, you need a strong alternative theme. Labour is still looking - 25th February
 * The cartoonists are right to fight blasphemy - Charlie Hebdo and friends may not be to your taste but they have a duty to challenge pernicious, self-perpetuating laws - 18th February
 * Why a U-turn can be the greatest moral act - Although it looked like cowardice, Martin Luther King’s decision to turn back at Selma paved the way for voting rights - 11th February
 * Don’t let minor parties hold us to ransom - A government propped up by ad hoc votes from Ukip would be a disaster. Only a coalition can offer us true stability - 4th February
 * Let’s face it, Churchill was often a disaster - . . . yet he had the genius to recognise that the threat from Hitler would lead to the end of western civilisation - 28th January
 * Here’s why we all have reason to be fearful - It was not just antisemitism that spawned the concentration camps. It was disdain for politicians and the rule of law - 21st January
 * Cameron is right to chicken out of debates - Ukip’s new status as a major party gives it more influence – and is an even better reason to deny it a platform - 14th January
 * This tale of two cities will doom Labour - Mario Cuomo’s speech about inequality 30 years ago could be delivered by Ed Miliband today – with the same result - 7th January



Articles: 2014

 * Thank you for your highly original idea . . . - I spend far too long replying to emails. Perhaps some standardised replies might save time and trouble on both sides - 31st December
 * Labour’s 60-year fault line is opening up again - John Freeman, who died last week, quit the Attlee government because he wanted to put NHS spending above all else - 24th December
 * Ukip hasn’t got the monopoly on fruitcakes - As membership of political parties dwindles, the danger grows that the weird and the wacky will gain more influence - 17th December
 * Judges are getting too big for their books - The decision to overturn Chris Grayling’s ban on prisoner reading material is wrong. MPs are there to decide that - 10th December
 * Good riddance to Gordon the incredible sulk - Why is it so hard to find something good to say about the former prime minister as he ends his Westminster career? - 3rd December
 * Honesty is the last thing Ukippers want - Nothing Cameron can say on taxes or immigration is likely to sway Farage’s sceptical and disillusioned supporters - 26th November
 * They didn’t listen to him then. They must now - Far from being hapless, John Major was a tough, skilful, underrated leader. His party ignores him again at its peril - 18th November
 * Ed will survive. A dead economist says so - People in public life are driven by incentives – and ditching the Labour leader is too risky for most potential plotters - 11th November
 * This gargantuan inquiry will fail the victims - The child abuse investigation is an impossibly large task. Whoever takes it on must break it up into smaller pieces - 5th November
 * Chasing the grey vote could kill the Tories - The Conservatives are in danger of listening to the wrong voters. The future belongs to the young and socially liberal - 22nd October
 * Chamberlain’s spirit still stalks the Tories - A wariness of war is turning 70 years of foreign policy on its head and could yet trip up Cameron in the Middle East - 15th October
 * The protest party’s over for chastened Clegg - As outsiders the Lib Dems promised a new politics. They couldn’t deliver and now Ukip is occupying their old territory - 8th October
 * Ukip is doomed to be the dead parrot party - Nigel Farage’s followers are making a terrible mistake by harking back to a failed past. The future belongs to the centre - 1st October
 * This chicanery would badly damage Cameron - The prime minister must avoid the temptation of linking English devolution with the firm promise made to Scotland - 24th September
 * If Scots file for divorce, we’ll need a good lawyer - Cameron and Miliband would find it hard to hammer out a deal with Salmond. Another referendum would do the job - 17th September
 * Go on, Carswell, tell ’em what you really think - The Tory defector believes our changing politics makes radical change easier. He should ask his voters if they agree - 3rd September
 * The man who is leading the march of machines - Notebook - 30th August
 * And the winner of the next election is . . . - You don’t need a bunch of expert forecasters to tell you who’s heading for No 10. Just follow my do-it-yourself guide - 27th August
 * Human rights are not a joke. They are vital - Stories about deportations or prisoner votes can sound outrageous, but we must stick with our Human Rights Act - 20th August
 * Once again Israel finds it has no alternative - The Gaza offensive has been a humanitarian and diplomatic catastrophe – but the other options were insupportable - 13th August
 * Blairism worked – but we can’t go back to it - The famous ‘third way’ was possible because there was money in the kitty. Now, 20 years on, Labour must reinvent itself - 23rd July
 * Hague’s two faces are the two faces of Toryism - Cameron’s moves expose the tension between partisan, traditional Conservatism and its pragmatic, open-minded opposite - 16th July
 * How hysteria can cheat us all out of justice - Fear lies behind some of the worst miscarriages of justice. In the current climate, are we in danger of forgetting that? - 9th July
 * Do we really need MPs now we have Twitter? - Politics, like the legal profession, could soon be turned upside down. Westminster must embrace change or be doomed - 2nd July
 * Cameron will pay a price for hiring Coulson - The former spin-doctor’s conviction for phone hacking will reinforce voters’ prejudices about the political class - 25th June
 * Don’t shoot the adviser. Ed’s the one to blame - Whether it’s about policy or holding up The Sun, the party leader makes the decisions and should take the flak - 18th June
 * Juncker: the embodiment of outdated ideas - The prime minister is right to oppose a man who stands for a baleful combination of bureaucracy and aloofness - 11th June
 * Cities make us happy: more power to them - If we want places such as Manchester and Cambridge to thrive, they need more control over their own destiny - 4th June
 * Robbie and Mozart have a lesson for Labour - Plant the right issue at the front of voters’ minds and victory is yours. History suggests Ed Miliband has got it wrong - 21st May
 * The man who won a Nobel prize for parking - From crime to tuition fees, countless aspects of our lives are influenced by the late economist Gary Becker - 14th May
 * My contender for the stupid socialist award - If Thomas Piketty thinks that today’s capitalism has failed, he needs to explain what he is going to replace it with - 7th May
 * Cyril Smith and the ghost of politics future - The corrupt control of local institutions by a powerful celebrity politician could make a comeback in our times - 30th April
 * Sacking David Moyes made no sense at all - You cannot judge a manager over a mere nine months – and you shouldn’t judge an organisation by its leader anyway - 23rd April
 * The political class is losing, not gaining, power - Technological and social change now expose corrupt relations between MPs and the media that were once so common - 9th April
 * Wipe off that smile. The worst is yet to come - The deep cuts that Britain still requires should take us, in 2018, to where we were in 1997 – when our problems began - 26th March
 * I’ve learnt from my mistakes, or so I thought - Notebook - 22nd March
 * The Budget is just a gimmick. So let’s ditch it - Tinkering with taxes every few months may play to the crowd but it’s a disaster for business and prosperity - 19th March
 * After Yalta, we can’t betray Ukraine yet again - The people are crying out for freedom. We have a duty to respond to their plea, not be cowed by Putin’s aggression - 12th March
 * The IRA had an amnesty. British soldiers didn’t - If ‘on the runs’ can escape prosecution there has to be legislation that the Bloody Sunday troops will avoid it too - 5th March
 * Cameron would be mad to rule out coalition - Politicians cannot ignore the verdict of voters by refusing to work with other parties in the event of a hung parliament - 26th February
 * We’re in a mess. We must know who to blame - Response to the floods and the Ofsted row both show that public appointments should be more political, not less - 19th February
 * These bundles of charges pose a real danger - William Roache was cleared, but gathering similar allegations into one prosecution will bring miscarriages of justice - 12th February
 * The long, withdrawing roar of trade unionism - Once a power in the land the union movement still dominates the public sector - but for how much longer? - 6th February
 * The long, withdrawing roar of trade unionism - Once a power in the land the union movement still dominates the public sector - but for how much longer? - 5th February
 * One tax rise too far and suddenly . . . crash! - Labour thinks it can increase tax on wealth creators without consequence. Eventually it will reach a tipping point - 29th January
 * Dave and Nick, time to prepare your divorce papers - The coalition must run right up to the election, but there is a danger of civil war unless a strategy is put in place - 22nd January
 * A separate NHS tax would rein in spending - We can’t go on pouring more and more into healthcare. Voters must be made aware of the real cost - 7th January



Articles: 2013

 * Do we really want the State to run politics? - If taxpayers fund parties it won’t be long before quangoes control what politicians can say and do - 18th December
 * Don’t wallow in victimhood. Rise above it - Figures such as Sharansky and Mandela understood that saying ‘it’s tough being me’ is self-destructive - 11th December
 * His human failings are what made him special - Who knew that the great man was stingy with his restaurant tips? - 7th December
 * Capitalism turns greed into prosperity - He didn’t express it perfectly but Boris Johnson sees how all of us benefit from free enterprise - 4th December
 * A pressing issue: my gift search continues - Notebook - 30th November
 * Do the right thing and you win elections - It’s not small ideas or mudslinging that woos voters. A new book proves the power of real accomplishments - 27th November
 * Oh, what is the gift that never keeps on giving? - Notebook - 23rd November
 * A new generation of politicians is coming - Kennedy’s political generation shared values and experiences. So did Clinton’s. Age can trump ideology - 20th November
 * Who killed Yassir Arafat? We need to know - Palestinian investigators insist that Israel murdered their former leader but an inside job is also possible - 13th November
 * Machines are becoming cheaper than labour - Introducing a ‘living wage’ will mean low-paid workers are replaced by increasingly specialist computers - 6th November
 * Whatever Ed says, his big idea won’t work - Whether the energy price freeze is a good idea or not, the public don’t believe in the man proposing it - 23rd October
 * Never empower people who hate freedom - Restrictions on free speech nearly always spread, becoming tools of the intolerant and the illiberal - 16th October
 * Has someone got to this conspiracy theorist? - Norman Baker can’t suddenly put aside his David Kelly belief - 12th October
 * I’m afraid we’re just as sadistic as we feared - Pioneers of social psychology clearly proved our dark side, but now experiments need to be more robust - 9th October
 * My glasses tell me everything about you - Notebook - 5th October
 * Hands up who’s paying for the free lunches - Not just lunches: frozen fuel duties, tax allowances and more. Fine, but let’s pay off our huge debts first - 2nd October
 * Voters remember what politicians forget - You can’t tinker with a party’s image. It takes years, if not longer, to change the way people think - 25th September
 * We need to talk about Y**s. Sorry, can’t say it - Notebook - 21st September
 * These local restaurants are simply peerless . . . - Notebook - 14th September
 * How to bring brains together – at top speed - When Manchester to Nottingham, say, is like a Tube ride away, we will gain huge economic advantages -11th September
 * ‘Lessons from Iraq’ are not lessons at all - When it comes to Syria we cannot look back to 2003 and be certain what the endgame should be - 4th September
 * The only choice: lose – or lose in a different way - Notebook: Roy Jenkins once observed that at moments of crisis, people are to be found in characteristic poses - 31st August
 * What happens in Syria will not stay in Syria - If Assad is allowed to cross Obama’s red line without consequence, America is giving a green light to other evils - 28th August
 * Even now, we still don’t understand the riots - Was this moral breakdown on a local scale or a national one? Is Britain broken? We need to know – but we don’t - 7th August
 * The Big Society lives on in Welby’s Wonga plan - Campaigns on internet porn and corporate tax-dodging show that moral persuasion can make a difference - 31st July
 * Why New York survived but Detroit is dying - Britain should heed the lessons of how one city shook off its disastrous legacy but another has refused to - 24th July
 * Arab Spring? No, more of a temper tantrum - These uprisings are mostly incoherent protests by young people. Only when they are older will democracy thrive - 17th July
 * Lovely. Bank holidays in memory of politicians - Notebook - 13th July
 * It’s unavoidable: we need a directly elected PM - The party system is crumbling. More primaries and less biddable politicians will lead to a constitutional revolution - 10th July
 * Work being flushed away? Go for a leak - Journalists will report everything in a leaked document just because it’s leaked - 6th July
 * Most gay people still fear a knock at the door - Millions are persecuted for being homosexual. The pursuit of global equality is still one of the great civil rights causes - 3rd July
 * A gift that turned back the pages of history - Notebook: a childhood gift; Anne Frank; the right name for the job - 29th June
 * Osborne must stick to his Scalextric model - Any politician can talk big, but successful ministers don’t always speed to the finish line. They plot a steady course - 26th June
 * Arise, Sir Ringo. You redefined our culture - Notebook: a glaring omission in the honours list - 22nd June
 * We must never forget our debt to America - Ahead of Barack Obama’s speech in Berlin we should remember that the US made the choice to protect Europe - 19th June
 * Labour’s great surrender on public spending - By accepting Osborne’s spending plans it’s clear that all the main parties will have to make dramatic cuts - 12th June
 * An audience with ... well, I can’t be quite sure - Notebook: if I can’t believe The Audience’s depiction of Major, can I trust its depiction of the Queen? - 8th June
 * They’ve all discovered the economic big idea - Industrial policy is back in vogue, but will its new incarnation succeed where earlier attempts to stop decline failed?
 * Why I’m ducking out of the Scottish debate - Instinctively I’m sceptical of separation but politically there’s an advantage in Labour-voting Scotland leaving - 22nd May
 * Which part of your manifesto is for real? - Politicians will be pressed to say which of their promises are non-negotiable in the event of another coalition - 15th May
 * Cameron needs a big-tent Conservatism - Defectors to Nigel Farage came mostly from older voters. Cameron needs to attract the young and the aspiring - 8th May
 * I hate Abu Qatada too – but the law’s the law - Do we seriously want the Home Secretary to ignore the pesky courts and just shove this man on a plane? - 1st May
 * A dangerous road runs from Boston to Syria - Chechens in the past and anti-Assad rebels today have accepted help from extremists when the West looked away - 24th April
 * Today we bury the last prime minister of WWII - Margaret Thatcher’s world view was formed by the fight against Hitler. Now her generation has finally left the stage - 17th April
 * The selfish Left, not Thatcher, divided us - In the 20 years before her time in office, the nation endured far more conflict than in the 20 years after it - 10th April
 * North Korean missile crisis? Remember Cuba - It’s easy to dismiss Pyongyang’s threats as empty rhetoric. Postwar history should teach us to take the noise seriously - 3rd April
 * It’s pro-immigrant to control our borders - Failing to limit numbers threatens the special culture that makes people want to move to Britain in the first place - 29th March
 * No turning back. And no rabbits from hats - The Chancellor cannot afford any bold or tricksy stunts when deficit reduction is the only course to pursue - 21st March
 * There’s only one solution to the PM’s dilemma - How do you appease rebels and yet pursue policies they oppose? Appeal to swing voters – and show you are a winner - 13th March
 * Honey, I don’t know how to bring up the kids - Whether you’re a strict parent or a liberal one, it’s all a bit of a guess. There’s no real evidence to say what works - 6th March
 * The Lib Dems are not a serious national party - Forget who said what to whom. Nick Clegg has failed to lead his MPs away from interest-group politics - 27th February
 * Real Conservatives cut spending before taxes - Bold Budget measures being urged on the Chancellor will lose money in the short term. Ask Margaret Thatcher - 20th February
 * I’m Jewish, so the next Pope matters to me - Secularists want us to see the Catholic Church as monstrous or irrelevant. They are wrong. It is a great civilising force - 13th February
 * It’s human to dread change and fear loss - Good conservatives understand the value of tradition, but know when to welcome gay marriage or shopping malls - 6th February
 * Lessons from the Holocaust? Try these two - The Jews have learnt all about Man’s inhumanity to Man. But also that you cannot rely on others to keep you safe - 30th January
 * Obama is far better at hope than at audacity - Torrents of elegant words are not enough. Great speeches and great leaders require big, challenging ideas - 24th January
 * Obama is far better at hope than at audacity - Torrents of elegant words are not enough. Great speeches and great leaders require big, challenging ideas - 23rd January
 * Whitehall at war? Mandy understood why - Public servants have private interests, just like the rest of us. They’ll only change if we make it worth their while - 16th January
 * Cameron holds the aces. He should sit tight - In the struggle between Europhiles, Eurosceptics and Europhobes, the middle ground is stronger than people think - 9th January



Articles: 2012

 * That’s quite enough fruitcake, let’s move on - Dismissing UKIP voters as ‘loonies’ will only alienate them further. The Tories need a more subtle approach - 26th December
 * The dead can’t enter a plea of not guilty - Cyril Smith may have been a monster. But until we have reliable evidence we must not rush to judgment - 12th December
 * That big deficit is a bogey: avoid at all costs - Today the Chancellor must make the public appreciate that the gain from making cuts is worth the pain - 5th December
 * Don’t sack the manager. Think of Ken Clarke - After ten years of poring over football statistics, I have learnt five essential lessons about politics and life - 28th November
 * This system is a farce. Pay MPs a flat rate - Recent accusations of fiddling expenses are quite unjustified. Our parliamentary servants deserve better than this - 21st November
 * Wild, dangerous paranoia has no place here - Tom Watson has voiced child abuse accusations that must be looked into. But in others he has gone way too far - 14th November
 * US democracy is a shambles – let’s copy it - This election was an expensive disappointment, but it had lessons for us on free speech and campaign funding - 7th November
 * Blame Nixon & Co for today’s deadlocked US - The outrageous campaigning of 1972 set the tone for partisan politics, which now hobbles every President - 24th October
 * It was celebrity power that fixed it for Jim - Savile’s fame protected him from scrutiny by the media. We must not allow regulation to do the same today - 18th October
 * Colonoscopy: the way to see today’s politics - In the same way patients forget pain, voters forget the bad times if the economy improves before an election - 10th October
 * Buy one political promise . . . get one free! - We trust our supermarkets. But a special offer like ‘Labour will make Britain one nation’ turns us all into cynics - 3rd October
 * Let’s stop this annual patter of tiny cliques - Party conferences skew politics towards a shrinking pool of activists and away from mainstream voters - 26th September
 * If we don’t cut the deficit now, when will we? - Politics is about seizing the moment. If the Government loosens its fiscal policy it will never tighten it again - 19th September
 * If Romney risks nothing he will win nothing - The Republican challenger must channel the spirit of Teddy Roosevelt if he is to win over crucial swing voters - 12th September
 * Obstacles removed. Now get on and govern - By moving a few big beasts and tweaking the lower ranks, Cameron has created a team more in his own image - 5th September
 * The centre has to hold. There’s no alternative - Enough of the grumbling. Both sides have to remember that they can reap huge advantages from coalition - 29th August
 * Once in a while just go for it, hell for leather - Moderation is fine for every day, but for one-off moments adopt an uncompromising, Steve Jobs approach - 8th August
 * The Olympics let us wave the flag for Britain - Many of us thought the Games would be a fiasco. But their success shows that we really are a can-do country - 1st August
 * Our ignorance is gaining mass. Embrace it - We funded the Higgs boson without understanding it. This should be our blueprint for testing policy ideas - 18th July
 * Lib Dems head for their baseball bat moment - Nick Clegg’s threat to bring down the coalition over Lords reform would lead to an electoral thumping - 11th July
 * This politico has a lesson for ‘the real world’ - Let me offer the banking industry a little advice: this disaster won’t go away until you face some hard truths - 4th July
 * People can take the pain if they share the gain - Despite what Bogey said, we tend not to regret our toughest decisions. So austerity could still be a vote-winner - 27th June
 * Shutting the gate 40 years after Nixon bolted - Even in the UK we are still feeling the aftershock of the Watergate scandal. It changed politics for ever - 20th June
 * If you want out, don’t demand a vote too soon - A referendum is inevitable. But until we know where Europe is going it’s impossible to decide ‘yes’ or ‘no’ - 13th June
 * Our last chance to show faith in politicians - All attempts to lure voters into polling booths have failed. We can’t let elections for police chiefs go the same way - 30th May
 * Football’s ridiculous. And unfair. But it’s such fun - The money sloshing around the sport is part of what makes it so compelling. ‘Financial fair play’? Nonsense - 23rd May
 * It’s OK to be a scoundrel if you get stuff done - A monumental biography of LBJ shows how voters will tolerate corruption as long as their lives are improved - 16th May
 * We can’t afford public revolts against debt - People in Europe are refusing to pay their country’s bills. And that could threaten our very democracies - 9th May 2012
 * No majority, no money: that’s the bottom line - Ignore all the chatter about why the Government is in trouble. Just remember the basic weakness of its position - 2nd May 2012
 * Judges can’t pretend they are outside politics - The law evolves with public opinion. So our laws should be made here by people who live in the same moral climate - 25th April 2012
 * Don’t confuse a bad week with a big problem - In politics, like sport, good and bad results come in clusters. The Tories’ current travails are more fundamental - 4th April 2012
 * Too much party money? Not enough, I’d say - We don’t want more rules about dodgy donors. What candidates of all shades need is cash to make their pitch - 28th March 2012
 * It may look like a tax cut but it’s just a trick - The Chancellor has set his course and will stick to it. So don’t be fooled – any giveaways will have to be paid for - 21st March 2012
 * This is the age of the ‘Start the War’ march - The Kony 2012 campaign is easy to mock, but it shows that there is no longer such a thing as a faraway country - 14th March 2012
 * What we’ll miss in Steve Hilton’s gap year - Big Society, free schools and elected mayors can be traced back to a man in a New York restaurant. Now he too has gone - 7th March 2012
 * The anger is right. It doesn’t make cuts wrong - When you tighten up benefits, there will be painful injustices. But we cannot afford our old welfare system - 29th February 2012
 * Angela + Nicolas: it’s not a marriage of equals - Germany’s position as the dominant power in Europe conflicts with its aspirations – and with France’s pride - 22nd February 2012
 * It’s easy to mock religion, but then what? - Even those of us who doubt the existence of God can find wisdom and comfort in observing the rituals of faith - 15th February 2012
 * There’s only half an answer to high pay: growth - Nobody shouted about bonuses during the boom. Don’t scare off private business and risk delaying recovery - 8th February 2012
 * Britain must complete its US Revolution - A supreme court and presidential-style prime ministers. Now elected mayors will take us closer to our US destination - 1st February 2012
 * Newt may not win, but he has winning ideas - Gingrich is no small-state Republican. He is one for muscular government – and we may see that over here soon - 25th January 2012
 * Ed is not for U-turning. He’s for O-turning - So you think Labour has now reversed its policy and accepted the Tories’ spending cuts? Oh no it hasn’t - 18th January 2012
 * Thatcher was not just strong. She was right - Resolute leaders are fine but only if their judgment is sound. On the really big issues the Iron Lady was spot on - 11th January 2012
 * My (pretty) confident forecast for 2012 is . . . - . . . the coalition will remain intact. The parties have trapped themselves in this marriage, whether they like it or not - 4th January 2012



Articles: 2011

 * Hitch was wrong. Liberty depends on stability - The late writer understood that telling the truth was paramount. But he never quite faced his own political past - 21st December 2011
 * We’ve been isolated for 20 years. Get used to it - David Cameron’s veto on Europe is the logical consequence of Britain’s decision to opt out of the euro - 14th December 2011
 * MPs, not children, need gambling lessons - If voters are faced simply with yet more cuts at the next election, they may chance it and go with the other side - 7th December 2011
 * Yeah, whatever. But how will it affect my life? - Most voters won’t even have noticed the Autumn Statement. But they’ll notice how it hits their own pocket - 30th November 2011
 * This is the man who could make Obama toast - Some Republicans may be a joke, but don’t dismiss Mitt Romney. He could make life difficult for our coalition - 23rd November 2011
 * Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. Europe must choose - There are more risks for the EU as a ‘beautiful’ integrated system like Apple than as an untidy alliance like Microsoft - 16th November 2011
 * We’re as angry with welfare cheats as bankers - Labour is strong on the greedy rich but will have to raise its game on crime, immigration and benefit fraud - 9th November 2011
 * ''Soon it will be mainstream to say "leave the EU"' - Greece has made stark the choices facing Europe — and now questioning the whole project is not a fringe position - 2nd November 2011
 * No triumph over Schalit, just more sorrow - This deal is true to the spirit of Israel but sends the wrong message: that capturing Israelis is the route to success - 19th October 2011
 * This isn’t Fox: the Movie. It’s messy, real life - The PM cannot simply fire his Defence Secretary, even if it means breaking the first rule of politics: to be in control - 12th October 2011
 * Hang on, Mr Cameron, we put you in charge - The PM must resolve the tension between his personal passion, the Big Society, and the public demand for leadership - 5th October 2011
 * Ed can do nothing about his two fatal flaws - Labour supporters have a dilemma. They have to back their leader, but they can’t afford to tell him to be himself - 28th September 2011
 * For the Lib Dems there’s no turning back - The party has failed to grasp the obvious truth that being in government has changed them for ever - 21st September 2011
 * Fairer for voter numbers. Worse for the voters - The electoral bias against the Tories may be corrected, but with it will come grandstanding and polarisation - 14th September 2011
 * Peace and freedom: the blessings of capitalism - The great ideologies dispossessed my father. It was democracy that let him live and die in safety and contentment - 7th September 2011
 * result is irrelevant. We were right to attack'' - Having an exit strategy from Libya was nothing like as important as the urgent need to save huge numbers of lives - 24th August 2011
 * says Bratton has nothing to teach us?'' - The man is revered in America, and for good reason. Britain should examine his three-part policing revolution - 17th August 2011
 * us a nudge and we’ll behave ourselves'' - If people are subtly persuaded to act more honestly or helpfully, it’s not only the Treasury that will be better off - 27th July 2011
 * is one big media player. It’s not Murdoch'' - Controlling the press was yesterday’s task. We get our news from the internet and TV — which means the BBC - 20th July 2011
 * the readers wot won it, not the press'' - The power of newspapers is exaggerated. Wise politicians realise that voters matter more than editors - 13th July 2011
 * leftwingers support this inheritance plan?'' - The Dilnot report has been welcomed across the political divide, even though it protects the assets of the rich - 6th July 2011
 * the coalition thinks it’ll beat the unions?'' - Public sentiment can switch sides during strikes. The Government could find itself fighting for survival - 29th June 2011
 * Lib Dems and their eccentric heritage'' - Doggedness in the face of crisis was typical of the Liberals. And that’s why this coalition is unlikely to collapse - 23rd June 2011
 * can we win? It’s the social values, stupid'' - Cameron and now Miliband see what Clinton saw: voters won’t put up with people getting something for nothing - 15th June 2011
 * steamroller please, and more politician'' - Andrew Lansley’s NHS reforms will only work if he has the subtlety to keep the big players and the public onside - 1st June 2011
 * holiday snaps are for folks at home'' - As he poses with the Queen and David Cameron, the President is firmly focused on the re-election battle ahead - 25th May 2011
 * Brown is the last man to run the IMF'' - The former Prime Minister would use his position to undermine the Government. Why should it let him? - 18th May 2011
 * cheerio to those of you in Yesminster'' - Thursday’s council results were genuinely staggering. The so-called progressive majority has been routed - 11th May 2011
 * a catastrophe (but do the Lib Dems know?)'' - The party is suffering from an identity crisis. There is only one responsible course for Nick Clegg to take - 4th May 2011
 * we hand supreme power to this man?'' - Jonathan Sumption is a brilliant Supreme Court candidate. So we need to know his views on privacy and free speech - 27th April 2011
 * is won or lost in the playground'' - The problem isn’t one of numbers but of speed. If too many migrants arrive at once, integration is impossible - 20th April 2011
 * the world dials 999 it prays America picks up the phone'' - Was Obama dithering over Libya? I certainly hope so. The alternative is too frightening to contemplate - 6th April 2011
 * and Miliband. Spot the difference'' - How dare the Labour leader compare the march against cuts to the struggles against apartheid or for civil rights - 30th March 2011
 * is political chess, not a quick magic trick'' - George Osborne has always played the long game. And in this Budget his eyes are fixed on the 2015 election - 24th March 2011
 * want my vote to count. But not this much'' - We are hearing the wrong arguments about AV. But should a fourth preference have the same value as a first? - 16th March 2011
 * LSE scandal is intellectual, not financial'' - Academics did not flatter the Gaddafis for money but because they believed in their ideas. And that’s worse - 9th March 2011
 * man not afraid to tell Cameron the truth'' - The new Tory director of strategy is a ruthless moderniser who will put what voters want at the heart of policy - 2nd March 2011
 * the hour, cometh the foreign policy'' - The Middle East revolutions will teach us a lot about David Cameron. And they will teach him a lot about himself - 23rd February 2011
 * marriage – such a conservative idea'' - Party support for this proposal would not just amend past failings. It would chime with core Tory values - 16th February 2011
 * must silence the shouters. No debate'' - MPs’ boorish behaviour in the Commons is rude and unnecessary. The Prime Minister must take a lead in ending it - 9th February 2011
 * East peace will only come with liberty'' - Land is not the key to the peace process. But the fight for democracy on the streets of Egypt could be - 2nd February 2011
 * the deficit alone won’t bring victory'' - Having a credible message in place for 2015 is far more important for the Tories than how they communicate it - 26th January 2011
 * rent: one anti-war flat, superb views'' - I’m sorry, but the protesters’ encampment in Parliament Square pretends to be democratic when it plainly isn’t - 19th January 2011
 * mustn’t give in to the Tory grumblers'' - The disaffected Right has focused its wrath on the EU Bill – but its arguments are absurd or baffling - 12th January 2011
 * AV vote: it’s going to change everything'' - Whichever way it goes, the referendum on the alternative vote will be the landmark political event of the year - 5th January 2011



Articles: 2010

 * by real politics, Saint Vince is over'' - The only future for the Lib Dems is as part of government. Clegg knows it and now Cable must learn it too - 22nd December 2010
 * and Nicey, a recipe for Tory disaster'' - If the Lib Dems get the credit for being the coalition’s moderating force, it will be fatal for Conservative prospects - 15th December 2010
 * can’t escape the tuition fee hurricane'' - Like storm insurance in Florida, a university education costs what it costs — and someone has to pay it - 8th December 2010
 * Canute, we can’t turn back the WikiTide'' - The history of the human race shows that information will always spread as power shifts from group to group - 1st December 2010
 * are you calling the squeezed middle?'' - It’s maddening. Pundits and politicians keep confusing the middle classes with people on median incomes - 24th November 2010
 * is heroic, but not always enough'' - While Aung San Suu Kyi follows in a noble tradition, let’s not pretend it would work against Hitler or Saddam - 17th November 2010
 * went too far – but so have the judges'' - The judgment in the Oldham case means that the person you think you have elected could be thrown out - 10th November 2010
 * must learn from the real Jack Kennedy'' - JFK was no liberal: he was successful because he embraced the Centre. Today’s president must do the same - 3rd November 2010
 * deficit is your fault. And mine. All of us'' - Don’t just blame Gordon Brown or the bankers. The responsibility must be shared – and so must the clearing up - 20th October 2010
 * the Tories are now the party of fairness'' - The itch to reciprocate is hardwired in all of us. The Conservatives are trying to draw on this new understanding - 13th October 2010
 * new Thatcherites hit trouble on the right'' - The Chancellor is a true One Nation Tory. But spreading the pain of cuts is causing unexpected tensions - 6th October 2010
 * you don’t like the voters, they won’t like you'' - Ed Miliband needs to win back the centre ground, but he won’t succeed unless he knows what makes it tick - 29th September 2010
 * don’t get it, but they still have to pay it'' - The deficit binds the coalition together. But getting people to understand it may bring both partners down - 22nd September 2010
 * won’t work for Cameron’s Tories'' - It’s Labour that must get tough with the militants. The Conservatives have to find a way to live with them - 15th September 2010
 * this man must not languish in jail'' - Like Alfred Dreyfus before him, Eddie Gilfoyle is in prison for a crime he did not commit. He should go free now - 8th September 2010
 * will never have an heir to Tony Blair'' - The big question from the former PM’s memoirs is: why did Blairism die? - 11th August 2010
 * stay up in the polls just stay out of power'' - Unpopularity is the price the Lib Dems must pay for being in government. The alternative was extinction - 4th August 2010
 * rules are dafter than believing in Xenu'' - A tweet against Scientology has exposed draconian curbs on elected officials - 28th July 2010
 * us a favour. Let us wear what we like'' - Why do women put up with restrictions such as the burka? Because they find it liberating - 21st July 2010
 * remember Labour’s downfall'' - Our recollection is more fallible than we realise. Today’s memoirs may be no help at all - 14th July 2010
 * peace does more damage than war'' - Were Iran and Afghanistan worth it? Ask the woman who escaped from North Korea - 7th July 2010
 * truth. And anything but the whole truth'' - Yes, soldiers were guilty on Bloody Sunday. But the price of peace is that they must get the same leniency as the IRA - 16th June 2010
 * forced to agree are forced to lie'' - David Cameron has the chance to show that not all new politics is guff at his first Prime Minister’s Questions today - 2nd June 2010
 * news, boys: we’re not a left-wing nation'' - Britain should be natural territory for a Lib-Con alliance, but its partners must learn to socialise with each other, fast - 19th May 2010
 * daring will change politics'' - A Tory partnership with the Liberal Democrats has wiped out the anti-Conservative majority at a stroke - 12th May 2010
 * never voted Tory. But changing was easy'' - The tribalism of British politics is a mystery to me and I hope it doesn’t cost Cameron his chance - 5th May 2010
 * Invitation to Do a Spot of Retail Therapy'' - Let customers do the shopping. That’s what lies behind the Tory plan to improve schools and hospitals - 28th April 2010
 * it a party for middle-class rebels or lefties?'' - Nick Clegg has an historic dilemma to solve: whether to unite the Left or stick resolutely to the centre - 21st April 2010
 * wizard behind Cameron’s little blue book'' - How do you reconcile the best of Thatcherism with an appeal to new Tory voters? Call for Oliver Letwin... - 14th April 2010
 * you trust David Cameron? That’s the question for voters'' - Kinnock was a no. The Tory leader could be a yes. In the end, it boils down to public belief in the Leader of the Opposition - 7th April 2010
 * the great scandal no one’s noticed'' - It’s Gordon Brown’s refusal to announce a spending review in bad economic times. No, really it is. Honest . . . - 24th March 2010
 * workers! You’re in Mr Brown’s pocket'' - Power is what matters to this enormous union, not airy-fairy ideals. And it’s following in a long tradition - 17th March 2010
 * plugging away. The brand is a winner'' - Tories think that the job of changing their party’s image is complete. It isn’t — and complacency could be fatal - 10th March 2010
 * chatter won’t change the result'' - A chasm has opened up between electors and the elected. Voters are deaf to the babble of the political class - 3rd March 2010
 * Tories can win big, whatever the polls say'' - Ignore reports of a hung Parliament. Clever targeting in key seats is bringing the Conservatives votes where they count - 24th February 2010
 * Tories will get burnt fighting fire with fire'' - Voters have decided they don’t like Mr Brown. Negative campaigning risks putting them off rather than winning them over - 17th February 2010
 * presidential leader in No 10? Bring him on'' - Sorry, but strong party leadership and independent-minded MPs just don’t mix. The head must be separated from the body - 10th February 2010
 * Churchill when you think of Iraq'' - If we had not invaded, what then? Our foreign policy now should depend, as in 1940, on assessing the risks of inaction - 3rd February 2010
 * must talk about the next generation'' - A seminal new book about families and fairness could provide the missing soundtrack to current Conservative thinking - 27th January 2010
 * smoking shines a light on pack loyalty'' - Group identity is just as important as economic incentive in the way we behave. That’s a lesson all politicians must learn - 20th January 2010
 * same old row. But with one big difference'' - This Labour split is not about style or strategy but spending cuts. And this time the Prime Minister is on the wrong side - 13th January 2010
 * will not break his vow on marriage'' - The Tory leader stumbled over his marriage tax plans. But he won’t ditch them as they are at the heart of his beliefs - 6th January 2010



Articles: 2009

 * waste your money on an early election'' - There are always rumours. But Gordon Brown would be mad to go the country with his party at a paltry 30 per cent - 16th December 2009
 * urge to throw voters red meat'' - The Tory lead is shrinking, but don’t forget how much the old Tory brand put voters off - 9th December 2009
 * believe Demjanjuk is a ‘victim’'' - Some claim decent human beings can behave in an evil way just to conform. It is a pernicious argument - 2nd December 2009
 * to stop the Queen picking the next PM'' - You can blame it on the Canadians and the Lib Dems, but a constitutional crisis is much closer than you might think - 25th November 2009
 * speech? Who cares?'' - Pundits and politicians obsess about dividing lines. The public are serenely indifferent - 18th November 2009
 * created the job. You should do it'' - David Miliband is wrong to think it's better to be in loyal opposition than to be EU high representative - 11th November 2009
 * it straight: Cameron is Eurosceptic'' - The Tory leader plans to stop the ‘European ratchet’, but he won’t let the Lisbon spat derail his first year - 4th November 2009
 * for the week: the Left rocks the movie boat'' - When it comes to history, it’s the pirates of the Left who waive the rules - 28th October 2009
 * should know that strikes are catching'' - The Royal Mail strike is bonkers and everyone will lose out. But we won’t stop it unless we break the union’s network - 21st October 2009
 * coup behind the clap for poverty'' - It took one man 20 years to put the poor in the mainstream of Conservative politics - 14th October 2009
 * Issue that threatens the Tories'' - Why have MPs’ expenses dropped off the agenda? The public want to see if parties are changing - 7th October 2009
 * mustn’t be on the front foot'' - If his party heeds Brown's empty conference rallying cry it will only make defeat even more inevitable - 30th September 2009
 * up. Your moment is nigh'' - Facing unpopular Tories and a weak Labour Party, can the Liberal Democrats seize the advantage? - 23rd September 2009
 * to win elections and influence people'' - Being in a group pushes individuals to extremes. But moderates need not despair, group think can work to their advantage - 16th September 2009
 * Beatles: a triumph of capitalism'' - It was Brian Epstein's commercial flair that turned four musicians into a global phenomenon - 9th September 2009
 * were right to keep an eye on Red Sam'' - The actor who created the Globe Theatre was no danger to Britain. But his fellow communists most certainly were - 2nd September 2009
 * need more ‘squabbling gossips’'' - If ministers want to stay in touch with voters they need more special advisers, not fewer - 26th August 2009
 * and America are both right'' - The real question about healthcare is how we afford new treatments, not which system is best - 19th August 2009
 * is fine, but it won’t save cash'' - The benefits of cost-saving measures can take years. So a Tory goverment will have to raise taxes - 29th July 2009
 * antics are everybody’s business'' - The private lives of leaders reveal their character. And character may be the most essential element of leadership - 22nd July 2009
 * is party leader even out of office'' - Her resignation shows the Republicans’ problem. They prefer talking to themselves than to voters - 15th July 2009
 * hard truths from the fog of war'' - What happened to Robert McNamara teaches a lesson to all those who talk of governments of all the talents - 8th July 2009
 * Jacko’s death we know that War is Over'' - The media fuss over the death of the entertainer tells us that the 1960s culture clash has been resolved. Pop culture won - 1st July 2009
 * bombshell: Gordon Brown thinks it's still 1992'' - The Prime Minister is still haunted by Labour's last defeat. And shows the Tories how to beat his arguments on spending - 24th June 2009
 * want freedom. Just like us'' - The protests in Iran show the neocons were right. No people want to live under despotism - 17th June 2009
 * Scorekeepers now hold the key to power'' - The scale of Labour's defeat shows more than just a broken party. It shows that the old tribal era of politics is over - 10th June 2009
 * agrees he's got to go. So why hasn't he?'' - Bobby Kennedy and the Brazilian football team explain why toppling Gordon Brown is only a possibility, not a certainty - 3rd June 2009
 * Well, I can't trust anyone. Not even you'' - The British public is feasting on hatred. One minute it's estate agents, then bankers or foreigners. Who will be next? - 27th May 2009
 * the next Speaker get the new era?'' - The information revolution has claimed its first scalp. Politics in future will be less controlled - 20th May 2009
 * you thought this was bad, just wait'' - The expenses fiasco shows that Parliament change, or a succession of disasters will follow - 13th May 2009
 * people enjoy morris dancing'' - Tories can't afford to insult state employees. They'll need all the help they can to get spending cut - 6th May 2009
 * spirit of Old Sarum, still alive and rotten'' - There is no point in agonising over the quality of MPs while we still allow them to be chosen by tiny insider factions - 29th April 2009
 * dividing line: the many versus the few'' - If you want a clue to the Prime Minister's Budget plans - and his general election strategy - turn to Stan Greenberg - 22nd april 2009
 * for the week: the magic of Paul Daniels'' - Am I dumb, or just a sucker for magic? Science has come up with an explanation - 4th April 2009
 * pestilence. And your problem is shopping?'' - The anti-consumer brigade thinks there is a fairer, more rational, alternative to capitalism just round the corner. There isn't - 1st April 2009
 * Tories will choose stability not tax cuts'' - When unemployment is rising, voters want more reassurance that the Conservatives are not just for the rich and secure - 25th March 2009
 * takes courage to stand apart'' - The actor Ron Silver was a Democrat who voted for George Bush. His brave stand cost him dear - 18th March 2009
 * to the era of no money'' - For the next ten years politics will be about living with the consequences of the State being broke - 11th March 2009
 * Fred Goodwin must keep his money'' - Forget mob rule. We should not let the court of public opinion overthrow the rule of law - 4th March 2009
 * to getting elected: stay in the zone'' - Politicians dare not stray from what the public will accept. But to stay in power, they may have to - 25th February 2009
 * of falling'' - If God had meant us to ride horses he wouldn't have invented cars - 18th February 2009
 * blame the market for bankers' bonuses'' - These outlandish rewards have nothing to with the laws of supply and demand and everything to do with psychology - 11th February 2009
 * Finkelstein on video games and children'' - I am very worried. In December we bought my sons a Nintendo Wii and, with it, the Super Mario Kart video game. I am now concerned that when they grow up my sons are going to become Italian plumbers - 6th February 2009
 * don't have such a hard time'' - Research saying individualism and working women are breeding a damaged generation is flawed - 4th February 2009
 * the Gaza fuss. Let them buy airtime'' - Who knows who's right in the appeal row? Viewers could make their own minds up if we had US-style political advertising - 28th January 2009
 * may be the 'no we can't' President'' - After the waves of optimism, this was an inaugural speech that dared to set limits on expectations - 21st January 2009
 * hard, cruel party. Sound good?'' - The kinder Conservatism of David Cameron is not just a slogan. It's central to Tory strategy - 14th January 2009
 * acts because the world won't defend it'' - The scenes from Gaza are heartbreaking. But the whole conflict could be avoided if the Palestinians said one small thing - 7th January 2009



Articles: 2008

 * time for capitalism? I don't think so'' - The Left likes to see itself as vindicated by the debt crisis. But it was caused by too much government, not too little - 24th December 2008
 * conman, the dream - and the sharp suit'' - Bernard Madoff is the latest in a line of brazen fraudsters. They find their victims among the brightest of people - 16th December 2008 (Summary of Bernard Madoff news articles here)
 * an election now, Gordon'' - Voters are frightened, Labour stands a chance. If things start to get better, it may be time for a novice - 10th December 2008
 * services without reform? It's just a con'' - This is a time for creative innovation, not the rigid belief that statistics can show us all the answers to our problems - 3rd December 2008
 * when was debt a vote-winner?'' - It is absurd to think the Tories, rather than Labour, face a political dilemma. The answer is easy - 26th November 2008
 * Disney from his Mickey Mouse critics'' - As the cartoon rodent reaches 80, we should celebrate his creator - a genius and one of the best arguments for capitalism - 19th November 2008
 * of those who dare to resist violence'' - Obama's is a victory not just over the white supremacists, but also the black separatists - for democracy over terrorism - 12th November 2008
 * reasons why this is a landmark'' - Old politics is swept away because Americans have changed: they are richer, smarter and less white - 5th November 2008
 * it's best to do nothing'' - We tend to overestimate big reformers and forget rulers who embraced compromise - 29th October 2008
 * triumph? I'd hate to see a disaster'' - Gordon Brown can only avoid blame for the bust if he admits that his boom was always an illusion - 15th October 2008
 * he looks like a cop, it's a problem'' - The police want to be independent of politicians; the important thing is to be independent of each other - 8th October 2008
 * Leviathan must be controlled'' - The vast jamboree of special interest groups in Birmingham illustrates its malignant growth - 2nd October 2008
 * thinks the voters are wrong'' - The party is in denial. Its unpopularity is nothing to do with the ailing economy; it goes far deeper - 24th September 2008
 * pointless party to save the Left'' - As the Lib Dems meet for their conference, a fundamental question has to be raised - 17th September 2008
 * bogus lines on fictitious figures'' - No opposition can make detailed promises about how much they will spend. Now the Conservatives shouldn't even try - 10th September 2008
 * chattering class changing the US'' - The racist South was always Democrat. But Obama may be able to shake party's legacy of shame - 3rd September 2008
 * you pass or fail the Kinnock Test?'' - The British voter never gets it wrong. At every election in the past 80 years the right party has won. Discuss - 14th August 2008
 * beating crime. You'd better believe it'' - Tougher prison sentences and tougher policing are working. Denying the facts only makes the Right look stupid - 23rd July 2008
 * way: an intellectual revolution'' - Go and look in your bookshop: new thinking is seeping into politics - 16th July 2008
 * can't be done in secret. And here's why'' - We will always try to twist the evidence to fit our theories. Especially when we are wrong - 9th July 2008


 * archive



The Times:
Column name: The Fink Tank

Remit/Info: Football

Section: Sport

Role: Columnist

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:finktank@thetimes.co.uk finktank@thetimes.co.uk]

Website: TimesOnline / The Fink Tank

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Saturday

Regularity: Weekly

Column format:

Average length: 500 words



Articles: 2009

 * Do louder fans give their team a better shout? - Sky Sports are going to measure the decibel levels of fans at the Carling Cup final - will Spurs or United come out on top? - 28th February 2009
 * Split decision on ‘Quite Big Phil’ - Change could have come too late for Chelsea this season after falling short of expectation under the charismatic Brazilian - 14th February 2009
 * Applying a new watching brief to football - Fink Tank says that you should treat offsides as a more encouraging indicator than corners - 7th February 2009
 * There are no cracks in Rafael Benitez's master plan at Liverpool - Nothing strange is going on at Liverpool, Fink Tank always predicted they were not legitimate title challengers this season - 31st January 2009
 * Revealed: Fink Tank's secret formula - Statistical guru Daniel Finkelstein reveals how you can make your own rough-and-ready estimation of match-day probability - 24th January 2009
 * Statistics undermine red-card myths - The Fink Tank: Analysis proves that sides rarely take on a more resilient edge when reduced to ten men - 17th January 2009
 * Investors could do worse than a Bentley - Is winger worth the £15m Spurs paid? Fink Tank looks at who spent wisely and who bought a dud in last summer's transfer market - 10th January 2009
 * Why FA Cup is not a game of equals - 100,000 reasons why claims by the ad-men, however eye-catching, do not stand up to analysis when on the football field - 3rd January 2009



The Jewish Chronicle:
Column name:

Remit/Info:

Section:

Role: Columnist

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Email:

Personal website:

Website: JC.com / Columnists

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Day published: Friday

Regularity: Weekly

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Links:

 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Finkelstein