Rachel Sylvester



Profile:
Full name: Rachel Sylvester

Area of interest: Politics

Journals/Organisation: The Times (previously with The Daily Telegraph)

Email: [mailto:rachel.sylvester@thetimes.co.uk rachel.sylvester@thetimes.co.uk]

Personal website:

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

Blog:

Representation:

Networks: https://twitter.com/Rachelsylveste1



Biography:
About: Rachel Sylvester writes a weekly political column and also does an interview every Saturday with Alice Thomson. She started writing about politics in 1996 and was a lobby correspondent on The Daily Telegraph before becoming political editor of The Independent on Sunday. She joined The Times in 2008

Education: Oxford University

Career: The Daily Telegraph: Political Correspondent; The Independent: Political Editor, 1998/1999; The Daily Telegraph: Assistant Editor / Political Commentator / Interviewer (with Alice Thomson), 1999/2008; The Times: Political Columnist, 2008-

Current position/role: Political interviewer and columnist

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Other: Married to Patrick Wintour of The Guardian



Books & Debate:


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The Times:
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Remit/Info: Politics

Section:

Role: Political Columnist

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:rachel.sylvester@thetimes.co.uk rachel.sylvester@thetimes.co.uk]

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

Commissioning editor:

Day published:

Regularity: Weekly

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Articles: 2017

 * Corbyn’s fans are in the dark about Europe - Young voters would not greet the Labour leader with such rapture if they knew of his long-held hostility to the EU - 27th June
 * May’s migration obsession will make us poorer - With leading Leave campaigners joining calls for an ‘open’ Brexit, the PM must rethink her Home Office mindset - 20th June
 * The Stop Boris, Get Ruth campaign has begun - As Tory MPs plan for the demise of Theresa May they look longingly at the success of the party leader in Scotland - 13th June
 * May is blind to the threat of extremism - The PM is as oblivious to the links between segregation, deprivation and jihadism as she was when home secretary - 6th June
 * Attacks on Corbyn do the Tories no favours - The Conservatives’ scaremongering revives their ‘nasty party’ reputation and further undermines Mrs May’s credibility - 30th May
 * May’s flaws are now exposed for all to see - The U-turn on social care is symptomatic of a leadership style that ranks the views of her inner circle above the facts - 23rd May
 * Tories edge towards the tax they dare not name - The party manifesto is unlikely to spell it out but plans to pay for social care are zeroing in on inherited wealth - 16th May
 * May’s ultra cautious approach isn’t risk free - The prime minister doesn’t even try to be charming or likeable but to succeed she needs to learn how to make friends - 2nd May
 * May takes leaf out of Thatcher guide to power - Britain’s second female prime minister has learnt from the first the importance of not leaving any hostages to fortune - 25th April
 * High-flyers can give new purpose to prisons - Recruiting top graduates to work in jails will improve a maligned service and lift inmates’ chances of rehabilitation - 17th April
 * May will pay price for Brexiteers’ promises - The PM is about to discover that the toughest part of EU negotiations will be satisfying her own hardline Eurosceptics - 28th March
 * Liberals could cause a political earthquake - Bouncing back from virtual wipeout, Tim Farron’s party has the new supporters and donors to build a proper opposition - 21st March
 * Hammond’s a Tin Man but May has a tin ear - The falling-out between No 10 and No 11 over the budget has dangerous implications for the battles ahead about Brexit - 14th March
 * Spreadsheet Phil plots a quiet revolution - Unconcerned with popularity, the chancellor is planning far-reaching changes to taxation, infrastructure and innovation - 7th March
 * Tories raise spectre of ‘death tax’ for care - The crisis in provision for the elderly is fuelling radical proposals in Whitehall including a levy on inherited wealth - 28th February
 * Corbyn is making Tories veer to the right - The lack of an effective opposition means that the only challenges Theresa May faces are from her own back benches - 21st February
 * Treasury is cowed but still calls the shots - Don’t be fooled into thinking Philip Hammond’s department is a spent force — our economic fate rests in its hands - 14th February
 * Social care is now a national crisis - Theresa May can no longer the pass the buck: we need a nationwide plan for funding care of the elderly, such as the Japanese have - 7th February
 * My brush with brutal reality of knife crime - Witnessing the lead-up to a violent attack has brought home the desperate need to tackle the epidemic of stabbings - 31st January
 * May is missing EU’s shift on free movement - An inflexible negotiating position risks ignoring European politicians’ significant changes of attitude to migration - 17th January
 * Shared society exposes May’s tunnel vision - The prime minister’s desire to improve standards of mental health care is admirable but her focus is far too narrow - 10th January



Articles: 2016

 * It’s time to face up to the cost of growing old - The middle classes and the ‘left behind’ will unite in anger if the government can’t devise a way to pay for social care - 13th December
 * May must abandon her faith in faith schools - Theresa May is the latest in a long line of politicians who have promised to lead a “One Nation” government, yet according to Dame Louise Casey’s report on integration, published yesterday, Britain is more divided than ever. - 6th December
 * Closing hospitals can help us save the NHS - We should stop the kneejerk reactions and accept that more specialised services save money and are safer for patients - 29th November
 * Our control-freak PM has met her match - The chancellor is in the driving seat as the usual hostilities between No 10 and No 11 are all set to resume - 22nd November
 * Farage is filling our foreign policy vacuum - The PM has nothing to say on major diplomacy issues and treats Boris like a fool who cannot be trusted to do his job - 15th November
 * May must beware the new Tory ‘bastards’ - John Major’s government was hounded by Eurosceptics in the same way that Europhiles plan to pursue Theresa May - 8th November
 * May must shake off her Home Office mindset - The case for reform on prisons and overseas student numbers is clear, yet the prime minister remains inflexible - 1st November
 * ‘Spreadsheet Phil’ is power behind the throne - In an increasingly fractious battle over Brexit, the chancellor has become the voice of authority and common sense - 17th October
 * Hard left are sabotaging anti-extremism plans - Demonising the Prevent strategy only undermines trust in Muslim communities, as the new Casey report makes clear - 11th October
 * May must stick with sense over sensibility - The Tory leader’s pragmatism is not as exciting as her colleagues’ zeal but, as Jane Austen showed, it requires the greatest skill - 4th October
 * Labour remains stuck as the world moves on - The progressive party of recent decades has nothing to say to the growing hordes of self-employed looking for a lead - 27th September
 * May cuts another slice from Cameron’s legacy - By sidelining her predecessor’s plans to help young criminals, the prime minister is risking a Commons rebellion - 20th September
 * Corbyn has the perfect weapon for a purge - The redrawing of constituencies will cost Labour seats but also allow the hard left to oust their centrist enemies - 13th September
 * May hit by whirlwind of political emotion - The dreams that drove the Leave vote are about to collide with reality in a world where there are no simple solutions - 6th September
 * Brexit bureaucracy will infuriate Out voters - As ministers try to expand their fiefdoms, the salaries of lawyers and trade experts could top £5bn in the next decade - 16th August
 * Pull of the past could be Mrs May’s downfall - The Tory party’s safe pair of hands must resist its reactionary forces. Grammar schools have no place in modern Britain - 9th August
 * Vitriol spills from cyberspace into real life - Labour’s failure to provide any real opposition at Westminster has turned frustrated activist anger into physical violence - 26th July
 * The vicar’s daughter must watch her moral compass - Theresa May’s political philosophy is imbued with her Christian faith, although she has already made a host of enemies - 19th July
 * Corbyn’s Labour must be tested to destruction - The leader may be disastrous but it would be a serious mistake to leave him off the ballot paper in the coming vote - 12th July
 * As Labour splits, a new party is emerging - Three months ago the idea of a fresh political grouping was seen as mad. Now the tectonic plates are beginning to move - 5th July
 * Can Boris switch from showman to statesman? - The former mayor will not only find he alienates much of his Brexit support but that he has enemies in Tory ranks too - 28th June
 * MPs need to drain the swamp they created - The referendum battle has degenerated into xenophobia. As MPs mourn Jo Cox, they must all look at their own behaviour - 21st June
 * Labour arrogance is destroying the party - Corbyn and his clique hold the key to referendum victory but there’s a fundamental breach with working-class voters - 14th June
 * Tories need to cut the fat cats down to size - Politicians on all sides are no longer prepared to accept the worst excesses of capitalism. Cameron must get on board - 7th June
 * The Europe battle is turning into class war - Brexit Tories resenting the ‘posh’ image of the party are mirrored by Leave voters who detest the pro-EU establishment - 31st May
 * Labour starts its long march to the north - Party moderates see no future under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership so are seeking jobs as mayors with real power - 24th May
 * The Tories need a new breed of modernisers - When the war ends on June 23, the party will require less divisive fresh faces to shape a One Nation, anti-elitist future - 17th May
 * Compassion is the key to holding on to power - Police chiefs, Philip Green and Zac Goldsmith have all discovered that ruthlessness and lack of empathy can cost you dear - 10th May
 * Labour is sneering at ‘the wrong kind of voter’ - Rather than seek power through ‘big tent’ politics, the left is driven by an ideological purity that is electoral suicide - 3rd May
 * Brexiteers are opening wounds that won’t heal - By focusing on how the EU hurts our public services, Out campaigners are wrecking any chance of reuniting the Tory tribe - 26th April
 * This legal highs law is mind-bendingly useless - Psychoactive substances are killing more and more people but the government is clueless about how to deal with them - 19th April
 * Cameron’s real problem is favouring the rich - Publishing tax details will not stop the belief that the prime minister puts the elite first and ordinary people second - 12th April
 * UK is awash with dirty money, Mr Cameron - The prime minister can’t afford to be smug about the Panama leaks given his abject failure to tackle corruption at home - 5th April
 * The real Tory divide is head versus heart - Disability row has pitted Osborne the free marketeer against IDS the patrician, a party fault line that goes back a century - 22nd March
 * The extremists are a world away from power - Reports that moderate political parties are being soundly beaten all round Europe have been greatly exaggerated - 15th March
 * Don’t think Brexit will solve the migrant crisis - The Leave campaigners seem to believe that you can deal with this colossal problem by pulling up the drawbridge - 8th March
 * Cameron must resist the bully inside him - The prime minister has displayed an ugly side to his character which could cost votes in the EU referendum - 1st March
 * Whatever the EU result, Labour is the loser - As top Tories dominate both the Leave and Remain campaigns, Corbyn is becoming ever more of an irrelevance - 24th February
 * May can be Cameron’s most potent weapon - While the PM and Boris look like phonies in the great EU debate, the home secretary appears wise and principled - 16th February
 * Tories plot the great party funding robbery - The financing of politics is ripe for reform but crippling Labour while protecting Conservatives’ income is a scandal - 2nd February
 * It’s a race to push the self-destruct button - As unilateralism and Europe tear apart Labour and the Tories, only Cameron seems to be trying to stop the carnage - 12th January
 * Women have the power to decide the EU vote - Leaders of the pro and anti-Europe campaigns are alienating millions of potential supporters who could deliver victory - 5th January



Articles: 2015

 * Labour is becoming the woman-hating party - The resurgence of the hard left has exposed misogyny that many thought dead and which may further alienate voters - 29th December
 * Essay-crisis Cameron is set to fail his EU exam - The prime minister’s failure to deliver anything meaningful on Europe poses the biggest threat to his leadership - 15th December
 * Don’t abandon religion to the extremists - As France proves, secularism isn’t the answer. Faith shouldn’t be forced into the shadows where hardliners can flourish - 8th December
 * Labour is the party for down and out losers - The damning verdict of swing voters - which Corbyn refuses to publish - shows how big a mess the opposition is in - 1st December
 * Labour’s battle to the death is about to begin - Corbyn is now held in cold contempt by colleagues. Will he be knifed before his allies complete the purge of moderates? - 24th November
 * Corbynistas won’t protect us from terrorists - The Labour leader was elected on a tide of self-satisfied student politics which is at odds with our dangerous times - 17th November
 * Cameron, the emperor with no EU clothes - Renegotiation is just a fig leaf to keep his party together. In reality, the referendum will be about our national identity - 10th November
 * Show some emotional intelligence, George - No one doubts the chancellor’s strategic political skill but if he wants the top job, he needs to demonstrate humanity - 3rd November
 * Incompetence, not cash, to blame for NHS crisis - Ministers’ failure to invest in a modern workforce is at the root of our dangerous reliance on costly temporary staff - 20th October
 * Ministers at odds over desert kingdom deal - Saudi Arabia’s brutal prison regime is getting help from the British taxpayer. We should stand up to Riyadh and cancel it - 13th October
 * Europe is a cancer eating the Tories’ heart - Just as the party makes an audacious grab for the centre ground, its old obsessions threaten to tear it apart again - 6th October
 * Labour is trapped in a burning building - Not only are the policies of hard left and centre left irreconcilable, the two sides even disagree on their real objective - 29th September
 * Britain needs a liberal party that isn’t a joke - In an age of intolerance and erosions of our liberty, the centre-left needs leadership that Tim Farron can’t provide - 22nd September
 * Sexist ‘beer and sandwiches’ Labour is back - For all the talk of a new kind of politics, Team Corbyn’s patronising approach to women is a throwback to the 1970s - 15th September
 * Corbynistas loathe the nation they want to lead - The Labour left looks down on modern, materialistic Britain like latter-day Roundheads at odds with a Cavalier age - 8th September
 * Will a Corbyn victory be the end of Labour? - A triumph for the hard left may force the party moderates to break away in order to remain a realistic political force - 2nd September
 * Until Labour craves power it’ll be in turmoil - If the party needs help on recovering from its nervous breakdown, this summer’s hit film for children would be a start - 11th August
 * Blame the swarm on Britain’s shadow economy - Our flexible labour market has boosted growth but is also sucking in the migrants so demeaned by David Cameron - 4th August
 * A precise way to oil the wheels of government - Chris Froome’s cycling guru has a system that could help to improve welfare reform, health issues and cost savings - 28th July
 * No appeasement – this is all-out war on Isis - The prime minister is all too aware of the parallels with fighting the Nazis in today’s struggle against Islamic extremism - 21st July
 * Labour could soon be as dead as a dodo - Many opposition MPs and activists want to embrace political extinction rather than getting back into government - 14th July
 * Osborne is the shape-shifting chancellor - Architect of omnishambles budget has transformed into visionary, One Nation interventionist in the Heseltine mode - 7th July
 * Cameron prepares to drain the terrorist swamp - Last week’s attacks have spurred the prime minister to embark on an ideological struggle reminiscent of the Cold War - 30th June
 * Labour needs to learn its lesson on welfare - The Tories have moved quickly to make the moral case for benefits reform. Labour hasn’t got long to catch up - 23rd June
 * Tories have chance to shatter the class ceiling - Social mobility appears to be in decline so will David Cameron overcome his upbringing to champion the dispossessed? - 16th June
 * Labour take note: voters don’t want ‘equality’ - While those vying to be leader are drowning us in jargon, the party needs to find a language the public understands - 9th June
 * Scaring voters won’t be enough to win EU vote - The aftermath of the Scottish referendum shows that negative tactics can soon rebound on the winning side - 2nd June
 * Labour must ignore roar of the dinosaurs - Steve Hilton, David Cameron’s modernising guru, has a message that the opposition should take to heart - 19th May
 * No more excuses from Osborne the axeman - Liberated from the constraints of coalition, the chancellor has a golden opportunity to transform the economic landscape - 13th May
 * Miliband knows he can be the loser who wins - Even if the Tories win more seats, Labour can legitimately take over as ‘most likely’ to secure a Commons majority - 5th May
 * Labour and Tories turn up the fear factor - Israel’s prime minister won a surprise election victory by using negative tactics at the last minute. Could it work here? - 28th April
 * How Westminster turned into the Wild West - The parties will regret holding guns to each other’s heads when they need to look responsible after the election - 21st April
 * Tories desperately need a positive song to sing - Some Conservative modernisers fear their party has been badly tarnished by personal attacks on the Labour leader - 14th April
 * Cynical Tories should stick to their principles - For a party that believes in preserving the Union to cosy up to one determined to break it up is the worst short-termism - 7th April
 * Head or heart? It’s a Wizard of Oz election - Both the main party leaders are reverting to type, terrified at the consequences of failing to win over floating voters - 31st March
 * Prepare for the great leadership bloodbath - Your chance to play political Cluedo and work out if there could be five Westminster deaths in the coming months - 24th March
 * We must stop hissing this pantomime villain - The loathing of Tony Blair is wildly out of proportion. No politician today has his power to appeal to so many voters - 17th March
 * Is this Cameron’s bacon sandwich moment? - The prime minister’s reluctance to take part in TV debates could be as damaging as Ed Miliband’s infamous photo-opp - 10th March
 * MPs, not immigrants, are the real problem - Most people have a balanced view on immigration. What everyone agrees is that Westminster has handled it badly - 4th March
 * Straw and Rifkind both fail the ‘smell test’ - The political grandees have played straight into the hands of those bitterly disillusioned with the Westminster elite - 24th February
 * The nasty party is back, but this time online - With their new attack ads the Conservatives are showing they have utterly failed to learn the lessons of the past - 17th February
 * Politics and business – a dangerous cocktail - Both Labour and the Tories are realising that association with ‘crony capitalism’ will do them damage at the polls - 10th February
 * Dave and Ed are playing the generation game - Labour’s wooing of youth and the Tories’ focus on the elderly is creating a dangerous divide between old and young - 3rd February
 * Two tribes go to war over Labour’s future - Ed Miliband’s team is dividing into left and right ahead of the leadership race they expect will follow defeat on May 7 - 27th January
 * Cromwell rules in Westminster’s ‘Wolf Hall’ - Hilary Mantel’s novel pitches the great pragmatist against the utopian idealist. In today’s politics there’s no contest - 20th January
 * NHS phoney war hides the real scandal - While politicians swap puerile pre-election blows, they ignore the cause of the crisis – a breakdown in social care - 13th January
 * Voters want more than the two nasty parties - The election countdown has begun in a predictable cycle of negativity, ignoring the appetite for something different - 6th January



Articles: 2014

 * In the selfie era, there’s nowhere left to hide - In the selfie era, there’s nowhere left to hide - 23rd December
 * There’s a whiff of pork-barrel politics in the air - A new road here, a bigger hospital there: bribes are becoming the norm in politics but are alienating yet more voters - 16th December
 * This is Tory civil war, not a rift with the church - The food bank row has reopened the long-running split between the Conservative party’s moralists and pragmatists - 9th December
 * The coalition is deeply divided on tax and spend - The chancellor wants to minimise the pain that will inevitably follow the election. But the Lib Dems won’t play ball - 2nd December
 * Ukip is cashing in on our obsession with class - British society remains as socially stratified as ever, but the political loyalties that went with it have been shattered - 25th November
 * Ministers take sides in Tory culture clash - The party finds itself fighting a crucial by-election while split between traditionalist pessimists and liberal optimists - 17th November
 * Meet the geeks designing our digital future - The government digital service is a great unsung British success story — and could save us billions in the years ahead - 4th November
 * Cameron is heading for a big fall on Europe - The prime minister’s stance on immigration risks losing EU allies and raising expectations that he cannot meet - 21st October
 * The NHS question is no longer head v heart - The big parties wanted a traditional battle over health, pitting emotion against economics. Ukip has made it impossible - 14th October
 * Why Clegg needs to be a street-fighting man - Despite being close to invisible, the Liberal Democrats are optimistic: they could easily still be in power in a year’s time - 7th October
 * Two tribes struggle with toxic reputations - The Tories and Labour are pandering to their core voters but failing to offer anything for millions of ordinary citizens - 30th September
 * Miliband has to win back Blair’s Englanders - Labour is suffering “southern discomfort” as it fails to break through in the part of Britain where elections are won - 23rd September
 * Cocky Cameron surrenders keys to the kingdom - The prime minister’s naive short-termism and arrogant refusal to listen to women will come back to haunt him - 16th September
 * There’s a negative mood behind the Yes surge - Alex Salmond and Nigel Farage are both benefiting from disillusion with the Westminster elite felt by the ‘left behinds’ - 8th September
 * We need proper security, not political games - The prime minister’s bungled announcement of anti-terror measures looks like an attempt merely to grab headlines - 2nd September
 * Operation Kill Mill will backfire on Dave - Negative campaigning against the Labour leader may be exactly what the public loathes about the political class - 5th August
 * Stop bombarding our kids with betting ads - If cigarette commercials are banned and alcohol ones restricted, why is the gambling industry able to target children? - 29th July
 * Pragmatists v romantics: the Tory dilemma - The party’s two strategists are poles apart – one is a hard-headed Australian, the other the idealistic Michael Gove - 22nd July
 * A token reshuffle does nothing for women - If Cameron wants to promote females in politics, it will take more than a few high-fliers around the cabinet table - 15th July
 * Our civil servants must not be the masters - An extraordinary leaked document sets out how mandarins think they are more important than elected ministers - 8th July
 * Ed doesn’t lack policies. He lacks character - Frustration is growing on the Labour benches as Miliband’s lack of grip makes it likely that victory is slipping away - 1st July
 * The NHS dog will not stay silent for long - Labour is about to poke it with a big stick. Then all the problems will emerge in the run-up to the general election - 24th June
 * Gove’s rallying cry: don’t patronise the poor - Unlike the Marie Antoinettes of the left, the education secretary believes deprivation need not be a barrier to success - 17th June
 * Swamp-drainers take on the croc-shooters - One side at Westminster believes in tackling extremism at its root; the other prefers to muddle through - 10th June
 * Let’s cut our comic-book leaders down to size - Politicians have no superpowers and are as fallible as the rest of us. Forget that and disillusionment is inevitable - 3rd June
 * Power would annihilate the people’s army - Nigel Farage’s party seems to defy the laws of political gravity, but it would crash if it ever reached Westminster - 27th May
 * Now Ed is under pressure from left and right - The vanishing poll lead, campaign gaffes and the leader’s retro message are giving both wings of Labour the jitters - 20th May
 * This time the coalition is fighting for real - There is nothing phoney about rows over free schools or knife crime. And it can only get worse as the election nears - 13th May
 * On this they agree: don’t vote for the Tories - Unless they persuade Britain’s ethnic minorities to support them at the polls, the Conservatives face annihilation - 6th May
 * The super-rich could win political gold for Ed - The Labour leader and his new American strategist both see rising inequality as David Cameron’s Achilles’ heel - 29th April
 * Stop faffing about. We need a radical rescue - Caution is the watchword at Westminster, but a Lib Dem ex-minister has risked alienating his party with a bold vision - 8th April
 * When migrants have a name, they’re welcome - Voters dislike the abstract idea of immigration. But when real people are involved their views change dramatically - 1st April
 * The coalition must fight fear with progress - Cameron and Clegg need an optimistic, forward-looking message to counter the negative nostalgia of Ukip - 25th March
 * It’s the great Lib Dem-Tory economic love-in - If there had only been only one party in power, there would have been more differences that in the present coalition - 18th March
 * Don’t laugh at Ukip – it’s a serious force - The fruitcakes may provide light relief, but the party represents a powerful voice that feels ignored in Britain - 11th March
 * Exit Mayor. Enter Labour’s own female Boris - If Johnson’s appeal goes well beyond his party, the same is true of his possible successor – the scourge of tax avoiders - 4th March
 * Mrs Merkel can’t give Cameron what he needs - Germany’s Chancellor lacks the political freedom to agree the kind of renegotiation Tory Eurosceptics hunger for - 25th February
 * Politicians can’t wade in to every problem - The floods have exposed the limits of what government can do, but Cameron senses people want him to intervene - 18th February
 * Cameron must stop and search his conscience - Theresa May is right to curtail this power. Its reform would improve Conservative and police relations with minorities - 11th February
 * Gove needs to make peace as well as war - The Education Secretary has alienated his own supporters as well as the ‘Blob’ that he blames for failing schools - 4th February
 * Dave and Ed need their lipstick and high heels - Politicians should swing both ways. Conventional old-left or old-right policies won’t attract the votes both parties need - 28th January
 * Rennard won’t budge. The world moves on - Public opinion has become more enlightened about gender equality, as the Lib Dem fiasco unintentionally shows - 21st January
 * Ed Miliband needs an Achilles’ heel operation - In the Labour leader’s big speech he must deal with the one problem that makes his party unelectable - 14th January
 * Minimum wage rise could be a Tory winner - Cameron needs a surprise move to rebuild his party’s image. It may come with a boost for the low paid - 7th January



Articles: 2013

 * Ghosts of the past still haunt Dave and Ed - The Tories must overcome their nasty party brand while Labour must restore its economic credentials - 24th December
 * Power is seeping from the party leaders - Select committees, backbench MPs and anti-establishment mavericks often make the political weather - 17th December
 * Whitehall must not hide its wasted millions - The shambles over Universal Credit highlights a lack of accountability throughout the Civil Service - 10th December
 * Tin Man Cameron needs to show his heart - The Tories are thought of – particularly by women and voters in the North – as lacking compassion - 3rd December
 * Do voters want Bravehearts or cool heads? - Scotland in the referendum and the whole UK at the next election must choose between hope and fear - 26th November
 * The Eds feud, but their party has moved on - Despite tensions at the top, Shadow Cabinet ‘clean skins’ have put Labour’s old factions behind them - 19th November
 * David Cameron ignores John Major’s message at his peril - The former Conservative leader is not being disloyal. He thinks his party looks dangerously out of touch - 12th November
 * Get ready for the you-are-special election - Using marketing techniques, Tory HQ hopes to make emotional connections with targeted groups of voters - 5th November
 * NHS payoff scandal could cost David Cameron dear - Bungled reforms let managers pocket thousands in redundancy and walk straight into another job - 29th October
 * Voters don’t want two tribes going to war - Nick Clegg signed up to the free-schools policy. He should not now rubbish it for electoral gain - 22nd October
 * It’s not just green taxes on your energy bill - Gas and electricity users are paying to tackle fuel poverty as much as to subsidise renewables - 15th October
 * A shuffled pack doesn’t make a winning hand - Cameron can’t rely on promoting token women and northerners to win over wavering voters - 8th October
 * Tories must balance the tough with the tender - Vintage policies on welfare and immigration will not win unless there is action too on jobs and housing - 1st October
 * Ed is haunted by the ghosts of politics past - The Labour leader’s heart lies with old socialism, but his head knows he must appeal to the centre - 24th September
 * Nick Clegg is becoming the heir to Blair - The Liberal Democrat leader is winning admirers by standing against the extremes of left and right - 18th September
 * This Labour mouse needs to find its roar - Ed Miliband should scrap the antiquated voting system that helped to elect him leader in the first place - 9th September
 * Britain hasn’t a clue where its loyalties lie - After the Syria vote last week the UK is now distanced from the US and increasingly detached from Europe - 3rd September
 * Cameron must not let Osborne run the show - The Chancellor’s machine is dominating government, leaving little room for the PM’s gentler conservatism - 6th August
 * Geeks in jeans are the Treasury’s new heroes - A digital revolution, masterminded by a team of dress-down civil servants, could save the taxpayer billions - 30th July
 * David Cameron must woo the school-run mums - The Prime Minister’s alpha male routine may play well with some voters but it is a turn off for women - 23rd July
 * Using NHS as a football will be a Tory own goal - Downing Street’s determination to drop its consensual line on health service failures could backfire with voters - 16th July
 * The barons are dead. Long live the rank and file! - Ed Miliband’s plan to pass power from union leaders to individual members would be a bold and welcome step - 9th July
 * Does Len McCluskey or Ed Miliband run Labour? - The Labour leader cannot let a trade union boss dictate who his MPs are. He must show he’s in charge - 2nd July
 * Better on the politics than the economics: - Times writers and politicians from the main parties give verdicts on Osborne’s review - 27th June
 * The NHS must treat patients, not statistics - The last thing the health service needs is another big shake-up. Instead it must rediscover its heart - 25th June
 * No Minister, you can’t have recycled paper - The wasteful practices of the National Union of Mandarins is making cuts even deeper than they need to be - 18th June
 * UK seeks place in world. Partners welcome - EU relations are shaky. We’re frozen out of China. The Cabinet is split on Syria. Cameron needs a good G8 . . . - 11th June
 * Balls uses the ‘d-word’. But it’s just a first step - The Shadow Chancellor has acknowledged the deficit. Even so, economic credibility is still a long way off for Labour - 4th June
 * Was Woolwich a crime or an act of terror? - Some ministers see last week’s incident as part of a crusade against the West – but they are in a minority - 28th May
 * Those aren’t loons, they’re just the over-60s - As membership dwindles, activists have less and less in common with voters. The party system needs a total rethink - 21st May
 * This dash for growth is fraught with danger - The coalition wanted an export, manufacturing-led recovery but we may be seeing an old-fashioned housing boom - 14th May
 * Governments manage change. UKIP fears it - Anxiety about the modern world is understandable, but people must be helped to adapt, not encouraged to hide - 7th May
 * Some missionary zeal at last, thanks to IDS - This week’s benefit reform shows what ministers can do if they are willing to face down Whitehall’s mandarins - 30th April
 * Don’t expect decisions from deserted No 10 - With so many advisers leaving Downing Street, there is a lack of energy and ideas at the centre of power - 23rd April
 * Ed Miliband should be pitching a bigger tent - Labour would be unwise to rely on a coalition of left-wing voters. A ‘35 per cent strategy’ may backfire - 16th April
 * The unhappy childhood is father to the man - Parents are rightly protective, but in public life a traumatic experience early on can often be the spur to success - 2nd April
 * Old Labour rears its rebellious head again - Backbench MPs are defying their leader over welfare reform, egged on by the unions. It is a crucial test for Miliband - 26th March
 * Cameron needs a lesson in style from Bowie - Through all his ch-ch-changes the star was always in control. But the PM has let himself be pushed around - 19th March
 * Punish them, yes. But jail doesn’t fit this crime - Huhne and Pryce broke the law. But locking them up in our expensive, overcrowded prisons serves no purpose - 12th March
 * Tories must see the conservative in Cameron - The PM’s modernising instincts are rooted in traditional values. His party must realise this is the only way to win - 5th March
 * The Lib Dems’ problem isn’t sex. It’s power - Senior figures joined the party never expecting to be in the spotlight. Now it’s revealing political and personal flaws - 26th February
 * Budget poker: Osborne needs a trump card - There are rumblings of discontent from all sides as the Chancellor tries to improve on last year’s ‘omnishambles’ - 12th February
 * There’s no such thing as an MP’s private life - Chris Huhne’s fall was personal, not political. But in today’s Westminster pressure cooker that counts for nothing - 4th February
 * Why the ‘ethnicity effect’ terrifies Tories - The statistics are inescapable and the implications huge: black and Asian voters are wary of voting Conservative - 29th January
 * Algeria head good – Europe head bad - The EU is an old and damaging distraction for Mr Cameron. He looks stronger dealing with modern issues - 22nd January
 * No one wants to be mistaken for the pub bore - A tough line on Europe and shirkers may be popular, but the Prime Minister has to play the measured statesman - 15th January
 * Labour must challenge the Ronseal coalition - The austerity Government’s pledge to do what it says on the tin beyond 2015 shifts the centre of political gravity - 8th January



Articles: 2012

 * Can our leaders find their inner Hercules? - Obama already embodies a narrative, but Cameron, Miliband and Clegg must find one to explain their actions - 18th December
 * It’s more like a souk than a rose garden now - The Lib Dems won over boundary changes. Now the coalition rows will turn to Leveson and secret courts - 11th December
 * In the battle of the budget, who’s fair wins - The Chancellor’s challenge is as much about values as maths. He can’t afford to misjudge again how voters feel - 4th December
 * Cameron’s Britain: now we’ll see its true face - Europe, energy, gay marriage, Leveson – the next few turbulent weeks will define this Government’s character - 27th November
 * What Britain needs is unreasonable people - No 10 has brought in design gurus to shake the Civil Service into thinking that the customer might just be right - 20th November
 * Why is Twitter on trial? *innocent face* - Tweets have shown their power to upend the old order. But at times they seem to bring only noise to politics - 13th November
 * Support for Obama: the Tories’ guilty secret - Ministers lean more towards the socially liberal Democrats than the ‘fiscally mad’ and ‘extreme’ Republicans - 6th November
 * Think the unthinkable about the untouchables - Parents are losing child benefit, the young are struggling, while the elderly prosper. For how much longer? - 30th October
 * To govern is to choose. Fudge won’t work - Sharp changes in direction on energy and crime will cause more lasting damage than class-war fiascos - 22nd October
 * Scotland, fine. But an EU vote is a huge risk - Asking the people did for Nick Clegg and may do for Alex Salmond. David Cameron should think twice - 16th October
 * To win, David Cameron must try a little tenderness - Husky hugger or bovver boy? The Prime Minister must resist those urging him to adopt a negative strategy - 9th October
 * First Labour must shake off its defeat-deniers - Ed Miliband’s party will not prosper until it stops blaming the voters and accepts why it was rejected in 2010 - 2nd October
 * Grow up and stop chasing the protest vote - Brushing up their left-wing credentials will never win the Lib Dems the support they need to avoid obliteration - 25th September
 * Parties must stop playing unhappy families - A toxic combination of troubled history and flawed political genes is afflicting all sides at Westminster - 18th September
 * Why the whiff of success clings to Brand Boris - David Cameron must rediscover the qualities that won him the leadership to see off the Mayor’s challenge - 11th September
 * Game changer? No, more an echo chamber - David Cameron’s reshuffle today will be secateurs in the Rose Garden rather than a Night of the Long Knives - 4th September
 * We can’t afford to lose people like Louise - Feisty and unstuffy, the young Tory is just the kind of MP that the Commons will need in post-Olympic Britain - 7th August
 * Yes, they’re the most democratic Games . . . - . . . but the girl with the pearl earring is right: women athletes are often treated as second-class citizens - 31st July
 * Olympic bandwagon jumping is poor sport - Britain wears its patriotism lightly. Politicians should be careful about exploiting the Games for party advantage - 24th July
 * Be nice to that shadow. It gives you substance - The Tories wouldn’t be in office without the Lib Dems, and won’t return unless they show they can work with them - 17th July 2012
 * Both sides must end the playground fighting - The future of banking and Lords reform are too important for this petty point-scoring that only alienates voters - 10th July 2012
 * ‘No jerks’ applies to Britain, not just Barclays - Decent behaviour matters, whether it is cheating on interest rates, avoiding tax or falsely claiming benefits - 3rd July 2012
 * The Army is no longer the Tory party at war - A blueprint for reform is stuck in Downing Street as No 10 plays politics over the reorganisation of the military - 27th June 2012
 * All politicians can do now is hold our hands - As we head towards the white waters of the eurozone crisis, world leaders gather knowing they are powerless to act - 19th June 2012
 * It’s mad: a euro vote with no clear question - A referendum has all sorts of appeal to parties set on scoring political points. But it serves no obvious purpose - 12th June 2012
 * Chillaxing is fine. But best to keep it private - Gordon Brown couldn’t do it. Today they do it too ostentatiously. There’s a balance to be found over “down time” - 5th June 2012
 * ‘The Master’ taught them the wrong lessons - A political generation grew up in Tony Blair’s shadow. But both Left and Right misunderstand what made him special - 29th May 2012
 * Mind the cracks in Labour’s pavement politics - Just as the party seems to have united its head and its heart, a dangerous split is emerging between the two Eds - 22nd May 2012
 * Too clever by half just isn’t clever enough - The coalition is in danger of failing the ‘hang on a minute’ test. Voters want common sense, not smart wheezes - 15th May 2012
 * Spin away from the centre and the ride is over - David Cameron is under pressure to get back to ‘real Tory’ values. To give in, though, would be a fatal mistake - 8th May 2012
 * A dangerous pattern emerges from the mess - The mate-ocracy is now embedded in voters’ minds. They think this is government by the few for their friends - 1st May 2012
 * Kick this shambolic reform into the jungle - When economic problems are the priority for No 10, the Upper House conundrum is a damaging distraction - 24th April
 * Power exposes the Tories’ internal tensions - Countryside or conservatory tax, Big Society or big business, David Cameron must decide which camp he is in - 17th April
 * It’s not supposed to be about you, Boris and Ken - Big parties and even bigger egos have hijacked the mayoral race in London. Will other cities escape the same fate? - 10th April
 * On funding they really are all in it together - This week it’s the Tories but it could be any of their rivals. The battle for donors is mutually assured destruction - 27th March
 * Osborne can’t afford to be cavalier about tax - If Chancellor cuts the 50p top rate, he risks reinforcing his party’s image as the friends of the rich - 20th March
 * It’s time Charlie was introduced to Louise - Helping the underclass would give the coalition a moral purpose. And it could start by joining up the policy dots - 13th March
 * It’s the Economist v Country Life Tory split - The Osborne types tend to favour property taxes. But Cameroons think an Englishman’s home is his castle - 6th March
 * Forget the abattoir and focus on the fillet - The Government has run into trouble on the NHS and welfare because it has taken its eyes off the big picture - 28th February
 * Tough on crime, tough on namby-pambies - Friction between the hardline Home Office and the liberal Ministry of Justice may lead to them being split up - 21st February
 * That’s £1m for breathtaking Olympic silliness - At a time of austerity, why spend this much on an artwork completely antithetical to the spirit of the Games? - 14th February
 * Is Lansley the exception to the no-sacking policy? - The botched NHS reforms could destroy the Tories at the next election. What they need is a new health secretary - 7th February
 * Can the insurgents beat the bureaucrats? - Instinctive supporters of Stephen Hester and big business need to listen to those in touch with small start-ups - 31st January
 * Hockney’s painted message for the politicos - Britain’s greatest living artist uses modern means to convey traditional themes. MPs of all colours should take heed - 24th January
 * Nick Clegg might not look sad much longer - The received wisdom says coalition government has ruined the Lib Dems’ chances. But it’s too early to write them off - 17th January



Articles: 2011

 * Slap a RASBO on those antisocial super-rich - Those on the Right as well as the Left are incensed at the behaviour of an overclass that operates by its own rules - 20th December
 * Europe could yet handbag the accidental hero - Cameron will not be enjoying the plaudits of the Right. This is the one issue he didn’t want to be defined by - 13th December
 * Watch out. MPs have got their mojo back - From its feisty Speaker to its emboldened backbenchers, Parliament has finally shed the duck-house doldrums - 6th December
 * It’s decision time: which guvnor will you pick? - Osborne must choose between the rich and the squeezed middle. For Miliband it’s the public or his union paymasters - 29th November
 * Urgent request from No 11: one magic wand - The Chancellor has a delicate job reassuring nervous consumers while showing the bond markets he’s standing firm - 22nd November
 * Borders row could close off May’s ambitions - A needless fight with her civil servants will damage the Home Secretary’s standing as leader of the Tory Right - 15th November
 * The Tory big beasts can’t both rule the jungle - Lords Young and Heseltine are back. But they are offering Cameron completely different approaches to business - 8th November
 * Small is beautiful if we can’t afford big failures - As another economic crisis looms, the Conservatives no longer want to be beholden to the super-sized - 1st November
 * Would Dave’s mate-ocracy survive a Werritty? - Founding a government on friendship may bring humanity to politics but it is also vulnerable to bad judgments - 18th October
 * Right-wing Fox still has Cameron on the run - The Defence Secretary’s role as leader of the Tory traditionalists will protect his position – for the moment - 11th October
 * Could economic victory mean election defeat? - The Chancellor’s determination to stick to the path of austerity risks a return to the party’s old nasty image - 4th October
 * Voters’ verdict: the two Eds aren’t on the money - Labour won’t be regarded as credible until it works out how to govern when there is no cash to spend - 27th September
 * Clegg must lead his party out of the scullery - The demise of the Westminster version of Downton Abbey could be a big opportunity for the Liberal Democrats - 20th September
 * Fight vested interests, Ed. Start with the unions - If Miliband wants to woo the ‘squeezed middle’ he will have to distance himself from public sector strikers - 13th September
 * Turbulent times call for grown-up politics - We are in a period of colossal change and uncertainty. Westminster point-scoring will not solve anything - 5th September
 * now we’ve got govt by txts. gr8! LOL'' - Forget e-mails or sofa chats. SMS messages – short, sweet and personal – are now oiling the wheels of Whitehall - 9th August
 * coalition see-saw tips to the Lib Dems'' - The hacking row and the retreat on health reform have allowed the junior partners to lord it over their Tory allies - 2nd August
 * the euroquake is rocking Westminster'' - As Labour flirts with Euroscepticism, the Conservatives are laying plans to repatriate powers from Brussels - 26th July
 * politicians now dare cross the blue line?'' - With public faith in the police tainted by tales of bungs and backscratching, long-resisted change is finally possible - 19th July
 * Miliband discovers the joys of opposition'' - With the Prime Minister dithering, the hacking crisis has given the Labour leader the chance to find his voice - 12th July
 * to both sides: loosen up or lose power'' - Christopher Shale was right. The Tories are being smothered with their own safety blankets — but so is Labour - 28th June
 * us why it was worth stabbing your brother'' - In the TV age voters see leaders through images. Ed Miliband is a blank screen desperately in need of definition - 14th June
 * hands on the machines of loving grace'' - ‘Power to the people’ was Cameron’s mantra – until he got into power. Now he’s taking back control of the levers - 7th June
 * rose garden romance to secret love'' - The Lib Dems’ anger is an act. Off stage, the coalition is still cosy. In fact, it may even survive a Tory majority - 31st May
 * Giggs affair is not the only fight in town'' - The row over privacy is just part of a deepening battle between Parliament and judges - 24th May
 * that a second chamber in the long grass?'' - Lords reform seems as distant as ever. Even the Lib Dems are backing off, realising there’s little public support - 17th May
 * Dems must now decontaminate themselves'' - For a year Nick Clegg’s party has protected the Tory brand. It can no longer do that and recover its own standing - 10th May
 * people’s hearts and you’ll come up trumps'' - Passing laws and spending money is an outdated way to govern. You need an EPS (emotional positioning system) - 3rd May
 * arguments show the honeymoon is over'' - The coalition won’t end, whatever the referendum result. But the marriage of convenience won’t be the same again - 26th April
 * and orange: united colours of coalition?'' - Labour’s Blairite wing is following Lib Dem reformers with a modernisers’ manifesto. A new alliance beckons - 19th April
 * or no, a negative campaign kills our trust'' - Electoral reform won’t affect politicians as much as voter hostility. Public spats and broken promises don’t help - 5th April
 * NHS reforms will face radical surgery'' - As the Government prepares to backtrack on health, Nick Clegg could seize a chance to rebuild his reputation - 29th March
 * did it by the rules. We must stick to them'' - David Cameron has been meticulous about the process of going to war. But the dangers lie in what comes next - 22nd March
 * nudge people if you don’t get the credit?'' - Ministers fear not reaping the political rewards if they use persuasion, not new laws, to improve our behaviour - 15th March
 * are not above the rules of public life'' - Prince Andrew’s errors of judgment have rattled Whitehall. But how far can ministers push the monarchy? - 8th March
 * politics of petrol is highly inflammable'' - Voters know what it costs to fill their tank. Little wonder that the Treasury is looking at ways to stop the price rising - 1st March
 * of change blows Cameron off course'' - As the Prime Minister visits Cairo, his pragmatic foreign policy is being shaken by the Middle East revolutions - 22nd February
 * Facebook policy met by baffled faces'' - The Big Society is determinedly uncynical. That is why it does not fit into the Westminster mindset - 15th February
 * cult of Tony is a danger to Tory disciples'' - The former Prime Minister ended up believing the public were wrong. The coalition must avoid the same error - 8th February
 * health and welfare, now a tax revolution'' - Lib Dems want the poorest to pay no tax. Some Tories want rid of the 50p rate. But which side is Osborne on? - 1st February
 * more red-top grit to spoil ‘red Tory’ oyster'' - The exit of former tabloid editor Andy Coulson marks a significant shift in the modernisers’ struggle to rebrand the party - 25th January
 * reform can seriously damage health'' - Even David Cameron is jittery about his Health Secretary’s plan to ‘throw a hand grenade’ into the NHS - 18th January
 * of roses? Or sleeping with the enemy?'' - Listing their hits, pitching their policies, the Lib Dems are drifting away. Oldham could be the tipping point - 11th January



Articles: 2010

 * Santa v Scrooge this coalition Christmas'' - Having backed the Tories on tuition fees, the Lib Dems want payback — and it is the banks that will be paying - 21st December
 * open season on the pushmi-pullyu party'' - The Lib Dem are falling apart and Ed Miliband is keen to pick up the pieces. But where will they land? - 14th December
 * up to his neck. And so is Cameron'' - We know the Lib Dem leader is struggling with his party, but the Tory leader is struggling with his liberal instincts - 7th December
 * ‘imperial’ Treasury refuses to cede power'' - George Osborne may be committed to reining in the power of his department, but his civil servants are not - 30th November
 * is casting as long a shadow as Thatcher'' - It took the Tories 15 years to get over the Iron Lady’s fall. Labour is finding it just as difficult to move on - 23rd November
 * bloody-mindedness on the red benches'' - The House of Lords is a thorn in the flesh of successive governments. Emasculating it would be a disaster - 16th November
 * starts to feel the wind of change'' - Tensions are emerging between minister and civil servants who feel distrusted and fear for their jobs - 9th November
 * Minister’s question: terror or liberty?'' - The cargo bomb plot has shown Mr Cameron the harsh choice he must make between principle and protection - 2nd November
 * mess with people’s homes at your peril'' - A housing revolution that breaks up households and pushes up costs – does that remind you of anything? - 26th October
 * your ears to the squeals of self-interest'' - Forget the military, the unions or the arts lobby. It’s squeezed ordinary voters the coalition can’t afford to alienate - 19th October
 * that a starting pistol or a shot in the head?'' - Ed Miliband has sidelined the deficit deniers, but he still has battles ahead with his Shadow Chancellor - 12th October
 * Big Society faces up to the Small State'' - There is an ideological divide at the heart of the cuts debate. And Cameron and Osborne are on different sides - 5th October
 * Labour has a full-blown identity crisis'' - To cast off the label of Gordon Mark 2 – or even IDS – Ed Miliband must inspire the party that didn’t vote for him - 28th September
 * reassures, but Vince will delight them'' - The Lib Dem divide is not between ‘inners’ and ‘outers’ but Tory-friendly ‘affiliators’ and sceptical ‘differentiators’ - 21st September
 * may split along freedom’s fault line'' - How to balance liberty and restraint is the defining question of our age. But Tories and Lib Dems seek different answers - 14th September
 * the Labour winner be more than a loser?'' - Whoever wins the leadership risks the fate of William Hague in 1997 – unless he can reach out to normal people - 7th September
 * the TB-GBs, now it’s the Heebie-BoJos'' - If you found the Blair-Brown rivalry gripping, the Cameron-Johnson animosity has the potential to match it - 17th August
 * for a game of Growers and Shrinkers?'' - Some Cabinet flowers are blooming nicely after 100 days. Others look as if they’ve had a dose of weedkiller - 9th August
 * social apartheid, then build a Big Society'' - From gangs to Facebook, barriers are everywhere. Only if we break them down will Cameron’s big idea work - 3rd August
 * Tories and a metrosexual merger'' - By 2015 we could see coalition candidates fighting on the same ticket - 26th July
 * years? Four years? Keep counting down'' - Britain is getting ready to leave Afghanistan. We are only waiting for the Americans - 20th July
 * authentic voice will end this psychodrama'' - Anxiety, denial and depression still dog a party that must start to be honest with itself - 13th July
 * ministers tunnel under the wire'' - As the cuts start to bite, the wisdom of protecting some departments’ budgets is coming under assault - 6th July
 * Famous Five land in big union trouble'' - Whoever the big unions support as leader, their influence is a serious disadvantage to Labour - 29th June
 * they say, the poor will feel the pain'' - The Government wants to be fair, but today it will have to put its lack of money where its mouth is - 22nd June
 * offers us the audacity of despair'' - The Prime Minister has always seemed to be the sunny optimist, but pessimism on the economy suits him fine - 15th June
 * football. The coalition’s game is different'' - Unlike the Labour tactic of tabloid-friendly team games, the new Government promotes energetic individualism - 8th June
 * real cuts will spell trouble'' - The next round of savings will be bloody. Lib Dems already want to make sure they don’t carry the can - 25th May
 * the brothers give Labour family therapy?'' - The candidates all talk about next Labour, but the old rivalries are still overshadowing the leadership election - 20th May
 * a fight for power: purists v pragmatists'' - The kaleidoscope has been smashed – a monumental struggle is now under way within all three parties - 11th May
 * wasn’t about apathy. More like antipathy'' - Usually voters want to change the Government. This time they were determined to change the whole system - 7th May
 * with their heads! Soon the cuts will begin'' - There’ll be no sigh of relief at Thursday’s result but fury as voters discover how much hot air they’ve been fed - 4th May
 * is learning that it has no right to exist'' - Gordon Brown could lead his party to its worst result since 1918. Will anyone be able to pick up the pieces? - 27th April
 * who will be Nick Clegg’s political partner?'' - The Lib Dem leader has a problem with Gordon Brown ... but the Tories may prove incompatible too - 20th April
 * control or choice? The divide is clear'' - The policy and personality clashes are just noise. Underneath the parties are reverting to their traditional instincts - 13th April
 * years on, new Labour has come full circle'' - It’s just like the 1997 election. The only tactic the governing party has left is to sow the seeds of fear - 6th April
 * are still failing the Bridget Jones test'' - The voters have fallen out of love with Labour but they are not convinced the Conservatives have changed - 30th March
 * got an idea for the Labour manifesto?'' - As the Tories begin to fight back, their opponents are struggling to find a way to appeal to the electorate - 23rd March
 * takes more than Play-Doh to plug a deficit'' - Sticking it to middle-class mums is the easy option for cash-strapped politicians, but it won’t balance the books - 16th March
 * the red corner: Labour’s answer to Ashcroft'' - It’s not just the Tories. The Government has Charlie Whelan directing money and muscle in the marginals - 9th March
 * must not become the clunking fist'' - Aggressive tactics can look like arrogance in a ‘born to rule’ Tory. He must be clear why he deserves power - 1st March
 * Angry at No 10 should read Jane Austen'' - A prime minister who cannot control his emotions is unsuited to the job of making important decisions for the country - 23rd February
 * all ignoring political climate change'' - Both Labour and the Tories are stuck playing short-term games when the voters are crying out for true repentance - 9th February
 * should be afraid of their fear'' - Cameron is at his best when he is at his boldest. But a dangerous timidity is taking over - 2nd February
 * is a stage for Labour’s psychodrama'' - Blair was both hero and villain for his party. This inquiry is not really about Iraq, but resolving that split personality - 25th January
 * war is so last week for new Gordon Brown'' - If the Prime Minister wants to be on the side of the ‘mainstream majority’ he must shake off his old Labour mindset on schools - 19th January
 * Mr Cameron’s naughty step a step too far?'' - The Tory leader’s traditional family policies will please his party but it risks harming his image as a force for change - 12th January
 * Caesar and Cicero, read Ed Balls and Peter Mandelson'' - More than just one election campaign is at stake in the bitter power struggle between Gordon Brown’s two chief allies - 5th January



Articles: 2009

 * will always go for Santa, not Scrooge'' - Cameron has gone from blue skies to ‘bah humbug’. Brown has tried to do the reverse. But optimism will win in the end - 22nd December
 * odd attitude taxes our trust in him'' - The Tory leader must answer the Ashcroft question in full, otherwise how can voters be sure he will be assertive in No 10? - 15th December
 * won't pay for Brown give-away'' - As he prepares for his Pre-Budget Report, the newly confident Chancellor is standing up to the pressure - 8th December
 * not just about Iraq, it’s about Blair’s style'' - The poisoned ink is flowing because mandarins hate Labour’s sofa-style government and hope to end it under the Tories - 1st December
 * there may be trouble ahead'' - Though close, there are distinct differences between the more traditional Tory leader and his urban Shadow Chancellor - 24th November
 * election will be won at the school gate'' - Mum power matters. Politicians of all parties are lining up to test their family-friendliness with the voters on Mumsnet - 17th November
 * of empires could claim more careers'' - It is Gordon Brown feeling the heat over Afghanistan now, but the Tories too must decide if this is a war worth fighting - 10th November
 * authority fast and face down the mob'' - The voters are angry over expenses. Politicians must harness the court of public opinion or we will never move on - 3rd November
 * the Milibands can save Labour'' - It's time for the brothers to head for their local Greek to make a Lemonia pact - 20th October
 * MPs' expenses scandal could change politics for ever'' - The class of 2010 will be a new generation of political virgins who are untouched by outrage over the John Lewis list - 13th October
 * needs a clear blue message'' - If voters believe that the leader cannot keep the Right in check, they will desert him - 6th October
 * is finished. Labour might be too'' - The coalition of working and middle-class voters that sustained new Labour is fracturing - 29th September
 * on, Clegg, say your own C-word'' - Coalition. The Lib Dems don’t deserve to be taken seriously until they admit they can’t win outright - 22nd September
 * dares reveal the instruments of torture?'' - Labour fears it is already too late to try to gain credit from voters by being honest about the need for spending restraint - 15th September
 * another fiasco you’ve got us into'' - Brown's dismal handling of the Lockerbie affair has dismayed Labour MPs and reignited talk of a coup - 7th September
 * Relationship. Passed away 2009. R.I.P.'' - For some time America has regarded this country as Little Britain. The Lockerbie bomber case is seen as the final straw - 1st September
 * MPs born mad or driven crazy by power?'' - Even on their summer breaks, our leaders struggle to look normal. Perhaps politics attracts only a certain type of person - 11th August
 * equality row reveals a deeper rift'' - The meltdown at the human rights quango is symbolic of a battle over the Labour Party's future - 5th August
 * row reveals a deeper rift for Labour'' - The meltdown at the human rights quango is more than a bureaucratic squabble. It is about the future of the Centre Left - 4th August
 * Dave’s strength and weakness'' - No Westminster set has ever been closer than Cameron’s, but will they alienate the rest of the party? - 28th July
 * Sugar and the taste of hypocrisy'' - As Labour fails to tackle reform of the Lords, Brown grabs headlines by ennobling a TV personality - 21st July
 * the beginning of the affair'' - The Civil Service has turned its back on Labour and is getting into bed with the Conservative Party - 14th July
 * or nice cuts, there will be blood'' - Tories are obsessed with learning how Canada slashed its pending in the 1990s - 7th July
 * Brown fix it? No, he can’t'' - Labour has spent 12 years constructing Britain’s future but nothing has gone up - 30th June
 * crying out for change. Except MPs'' - The new Speaker was not chosen for his modernising credentials. This election shows the Commons at its worst - 23rd June
 * or lad? It's one or the other for Gordon Brown'' - On his right sits the mighty Mandelson; on his left, his favourite, Balls. They disagree profoundly on policy. Only one can win - 16th June
 * leader, no ideas: a party at the gates of Hell'' - Even some of his new Cabinet question the strength of a Prime Minister who now lacks any sense of political direction - 9th June
 * this the final act in Labour's 15-year drama?'' - With its Blairite Capulets battling the Brownite Montagues, the party has become a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions - 5th June
 * are piling up in this Westminster thriller'' - There is growing irritation that Brown is using the expenses row to remove ministers he wanted to get rid of anyway - 2nd June
 * little people no longer look up to the big'' - The public anger is not just about expenses. There has been a cultural shift away from organisations towards individuals - 19th May
 * all sorry now. But it's too late'' - Politics is about emotional intelligence as much as reason, but even reasonable claims look excessive - 12th May
 * backlash in the battle for Labour's soul'' - With the party's slow, sure drift to the left and defeat looming, a stalking horse may challenge Gordon Brown - 5th May
 * with expenses while UK burns'' - MPs' allowances are a sideshow. The real problem is that the public doesn't trust politicians to be honest on the big issues - 28th April
 * is the new black and nasty the new nice'' - There is little room for pre-election bribes in the Budget, but the voters will no longer tolerate out-of-control spending - 21st April
 * loyal attack dogs always bite to order'' - The McBride e-mail scandal follows a familiar pattern - the brutal and relentless undermining of opponents and rivals - 14th April
 * leaders or emperors with no clothes?'' - The G20 family photograph may look good but the summit can not possibly live up to its overblown expectations - 31st March
 * looks mad as we face financial doomsday'' - Ministers and the military Establishment are thinking the unthinkable - that Britain should scrap its nuclear deterrent - 24th March
 * Tories must not frighten the horses'' - The fallout from the credit crunch has shifted David Cameron's party rightwards. But that could alienate nervous voters - 17th March
 * twitter while the UK burns'' - MPs are trying to look in touch by using the latest webtools. But all they reveal is how insecure the political elite has become - 10th March
 * fiddles abroad while UK burns'' - Instead of managing the fine detail of recovery, the PM is caught up in the global ‘vision thing' - 3rd March
 * services need private cash. Where is it?'' - The credit crunch threatens to undermine the ambitious plans of all parties to reform schools, housing and welfare - 24th February
 * Labour MPs are shortselling the bust PM'' - The defection of the Government's welfare guru is the latest sign that Gordon Brown is sliding inexorably to defeat - 17th February
 * can't control City slickers'' - Taking over the banks was one thing but running them is another. Public anger will turn on ministers - 10th February
 * underestimate the Lords'' - After the cash-for-influence affair, it would be easy to imagine an elected chamber is the answer - 3rd February
 * panic: Superman falls to earth'' - Brown boasted that he had saved the world. Now his party fears he looks like a headless chicken - 27th January
 * true appetite for power'' - Ken Clarke will not be easy to handle, but his recall shows ideological purity is behind the Tories - 20th January
 * happy families will end badly'' - Despite their return to the fold, the comeback kids still have fundamental disagreements with Brown - 13th January
 * don't rely on the Brits during a battle'' - Never mind our colonial past. Confidence in the Armed Forces is the biggest threat to the special relationship - 6th January



Articles: 2008

 * rabbit dominates Labour talk'' - Since his return, Lord Mandelson has been skilfully repositioning his party - and himself - 16th December
 * modern morality tale villains'' - Meddling and a class obsession is ruining the Government's most successful parenting scheme - 9th December
 * Memo Martyr was not the real target'' - The Government has lost control of the flow of information. The pursuit of Damian Green was the wrong way to stem it - 2nd December
 * Labour regroups to fight the old battles'' - Blairites fear that the Chancellor's new top tax rate will reawaken the issue that has cost the party so dear in the past - 25th November
 * Dave's head they really want'' - As Cameron prepares to signal a new direction on tax and spending, the Tory Right is becoming restive - 18th November
 * Prudence to Beg, Steal or Borrow'' - Labour and the Conservatives both want to cut taxes now. But there is a real divide over how to pay for it - 11th November
 * is no time for a novice. Oh yes it is'' - Gordon Brown's favourite slogan will be seriously undermined if the American electorate vote for change - 4th November
 * Corfu, the spotlight turns on Belize'' - There will be trouble for the Tories if their millionaire benefactor Lord Ashcroft does not answer vital questions - 28th October
 * a God-shaped hole in Westminster'' - Today's politicians - whose favourite summer reading was The God Delusion - have never been more fearful of faith - 21st October
 * boom will end only in another bust'' - The Prime Minister is riding high in a time of crisis. But voters are unlikely to forget who got us into this mess - 14th October
 * Labour family seethes with hatred'' - Not only is the future of the party as precarious as ever, there is still no sense of direction - 7th October
 * au revoir to the days of laissez faire'' - The credit crunch has changed the public mood and is forcing a rapid repositioning for David Cameron - 30th September
 * storm gives Gordon Brown shelter - for now'' - David Miliband's speech to the Labour conference was not openly disloyal. But the plotters are gaining confidence - 23rd September
 * physical impossibility of Brown's survival'' - Labour's greatest strengths in 1997 are now its biggest weaknesses as presentation fails and anarchy breaks out - 16th September
 * beware, the dinosaurs are not extinct'' - After a long period of irrelevance, the trade unions are back - and that could mean trouble for the centre Left - 9th September
 * now has nowhere to hide'' - Relations with Alistair Darling are dire as the Prime Minister's recovery plan founders before it starts - 2nd September
 * diploma in muddled thinking'' - The new school qualification could mean the end of A levels and reflects Labour's fear of elitism - 12th August
 * is a Tory divorcing issue'' - Family policy is an area in which the two most senior Conservatives have a basic disagreement - 5th August
 * prosecco plotters circle wounded Gordon Brown'' - David Miliband now has the ‘cojones' for a leadership challenge that could decide Labour's future direction - 29th July
 * it's no time for Alistair to say goodbye'' - The Chancellor is increasingly his own man - and that is something Gordon Brown would do well to celebrate - 22nd July
 * Brown is being suffocated by a policy vacuum'' - Many on his own side see the Prime Minister as a dead man walking. And it is lack of big ideas that is killing him - 15th July
 * Conservatives understand it's society, not the economy, stupid'' - Mending the “broken society” should be natural Labour territory, but it is the Tories who have grasped its importance - 8th July
 * Brown, the snail finds it hard to be a whale'' - The Prime Minister is trying to speed up reform of the public services. But can he shake off his past? - 1st July
 * will finish off Gordon Brown? Follow the money'' - The super-rich donors who have bankrolled new Labour are increasingly disillusioned with the Prime Minister - 24th June


 * archive



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News & updates:

 * The Times has hired Daily Telegraph columnist Rachel Sylvester as a political columnist - The Guardian, 25th April 2008

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Links:

 * Hack watch: The security services and Whitehall have long kept dossiers on certain journalists but, characteristically, New Labour has widened the focus - as an internal cabinet memo obtained by the Guardian shows - Seumas Milne, Kevin Maguire, The Guardian, 22nd January 2001