Michael White



Profile:


Full name: Michael White (not to be confused with Michael White author and ex-GQ science editor and Sunday Express columnist)

Area of interest: Politics (esp. parliamentary issues), current affairs

Journals: The Guardian

Email: [mailto:michaelwhite@guardian.co.uk michaelwhite@guardian.co.uk]

Website: Guardian.co / Michael White

Blog: Comment is free...; Politics blog

Agent:

Networks:



Biography:
Education: Bodmin Grammar School, Cornwall; University College London: History BA (Hons)

Career: Reading Evening Post, 1966/1970; London Evening Standard, 1970/1971; The Guardian: sub/feature writer, 1971/1974; diary writer, 1974/1976; political correspondent & sketchwriter, 1976/1984; Washington correspondent, 1984/1988; political editor, 1990/2006; assistant editor, 2006-

Current position/role: Assistant editor


 * also writes/has written for:

Other roles:

Other activities:

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight: White vs Campbell: Michael White recounts his scrap with Alastair Campbell, The Guardian, 5th November 2001

TV/Radio: Regular BBC commentator and newspaper reviews for Newsnight to Breakfast News, BBC News 24 to Question Time

Controversy/Criticism: BBC2 Talk About Newsnight: Political journalism - Guido Fawkes accuses - film and debate, 28th March 2007 (video)

Awards/Honours: Print Journalist of the Year (MP's and Peers in the House Magazine/ BBC Parliamentary Awards), 2003

Other:



Books & Debate:

 * (Contibutor) Secrets of the press: journalists on journalism (1999) OCLC 41960895 by Stephen Glover

Latest work:

Speaking/Appearances:

Current debate: George Monbiot won the day in tussle with Julie Burchill, "I have my issues with Monbiot, and Burchill is a terrific controversialist, but the environmental activist came out on top in this morning's Today scrap over green politics", 6th August 2008 

The Guardian:
Column remit: politics (esp. parliamentary issues), current affairs

Section:

Role: political writer

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:michaelwhite@guardian.co.uk michaelwhite@guardian.co.uk]

Websites: Guardian.co / Michael White: All comment | Political briefing | Politics blog | Comment is free...

Commissioning editor:

Day published: usually consecutive days

Regularity: three or four days per week

Column format:

Average length:



Articles:

 * Lansley has opened Pandora's ambulance with his reforms'' - The health secretary's plans to replace PCTs with GP-led consortiums is a gamble and could cost the coalition the next election - 20th January 2011
 * reform: the struggle to prescribe the correct treatment'' - Andrew Lansley is the latest in a long line of health secretaries who have tinkered with the health service - 17th January 2011
 * courts and politics collide'' - The case that triggered the Oldham byelection highlights the way in which courts are now getting involved in all sorts of matters that were once the exclusive domain of politics - 14th January
 * Diamond loses his shine as MPs quiz him over banking and bonuses'' - Explanations of banks' behaviour from the Barclays boss and from the chancellor fail to impress parliament - 12th January 2011
 * Clegg enters Pennine climate of uncertainty'' - Nick Clegg made all the confident noises of a party leader on his second campaign visit to the west Pennine constituency - 6th January 2011
 * Clegg seeks a surge of optimism and relief from the Judas jibes'' - His emergence as the coalition's leading hate figure has been as dramatic as Cleggmania was last spring - 16th December 2010
 * opinion adds to Andrew Lansley's health reform woes'' - Mild-mannered Stephen Dorrell unhelpfully mauled Lansley's core reforms – in print and on TV - 15th December 2010
 * Cameron seems to like being in a coalition – but rightwingers are restless'' - Centrist politics is in vogue but it is marginalising Labour's left and the Conservatives' right - 9th December 2010
 * Clegg could be left with a four-way split when MPs vote on tuition fee hike'' - Woeful political handling lead to turmoil in Lib Dem ranks over tuition fee hike - 7th December 2010
 * not write off the SNP next May'' - Alex Salmond's party may yet benefit from Lib Dem disarray and Tory plans to give a bigger financial say to Edinburgh - 2nd December 2010
 * more than one game in the casino'' - George Osborne's autumn financial statement shows he's banking everything on austerity measures. Everything? - 30th November 2010
 * Cameron – realist or Pollyanna?'' - The PM believes he is heading a coalition that is avoiding New Labour's mistakes. Time will tell - 25th November 2010
 * Clegg's Hugo Young Lecture thesis has a striking weakness'' - Wanting to cut public spending more slowly is about avoiding recession, not protecting state activity - 24th November 2010
 * cheers in Commons for royal wedding news – even among Tories'' - Old hands detected less enthusiasm for Prince William and Kate Middleton than for Charles and Diana in 1981 - 18th November 2010
 * you can't tweak the system!'' - Nick Clegg's push to change how we vote and how many MPs we have may yet rebound in his face and hurt the Lib Dems - 16th November 2010
 * or local? David Cameron writes new words for a stuck record'' - If buck-passing in the name of voter choice is part of the calculation, old hands will confirm it is doomed - 10th November 2010
 * all those Lib Dem MPs lying about fees if they meant it at the time?'' - The same accusation of lying levelled at Phil Woolas applies to every Lib Dem who promised to vote against higher tuition fees - 9th November 2010
 * referendum: Is now really the best time to axe 50 MPs?'' - Electoral fights brought about by boundary changes will see scores of MPs set against their neighbours - 5th November 2010
 * Alexander defends the axemen'' - Treasury deputy appears on top of his brief in a fluent and good-tempered first appearance before select committee - 4th November 2010
 * after No 10 can be tough for former prime ministers'' - Thatcher has been like an unemployed workaholic. Brown has modelled himself on Jimmy Carter. Both could learn from Attlee - 2nd November 2010
 * David Cameron strike a hard bargain in Brussels?'' - Will David Cameron's compromises over the EU budget and Lisbon Treaty revisions trigger a serious revolt? - 29th October 2010
 * start for Ed Miliband, but he has a long way to go'' - The new Labour leader is performing better than many expected – but Ed Miliband's voice still lacks weight - 28th October 2010
 * the universal basic pension too good to be true?'' - The Lib Dem modified pension is simplified, beneficial to women and more accessible for the neediest – but is not problem-free - 27th October 2010
 * term fuels the right's fears'' - George Osborne's gamble on economic recovery opens the way for potential horse-trading in the run-up the next election - 22nd October 2010
 * Cameron trades hardware for software'' - PM presented what sounded suspiciously like defence cuts dressed up as a strategic defence review - 20th October 2010
 * Murdoch's will is likely to prevail over BSkyB buyout'' - A populist deal-maker who likes to win, Murdoch is a formidable opponent as many before Vince Cable will attest - 13th October 2010
 * university fees review is a rehearsal for the coalition's crunch time'' - Lord Browne's review of university funding will enrage students, Lib Dems, and could stretch the coalition to breaking point - 12th October 2010
 * benefits: what would William Beveridge do now?'' - Winter fuel help for dukes is hard to justify except in political terms: it locks them into the welfare state - 9th October 2010
 * Hutton refuses to give a green light to slash and burn on pensions'' - Trade unions that attacked pensions report did not do John Hutton justice: we are living longer and he recognises this - 8th October 2010
 * bye Blairism as the Labour party moves on'' - Ed Miliband's victory signals a decisive shift away from New Labour's thrice-winning formula advocated in A Journey - 27th September 2010
 * Dem utopia is a long way off'' - There are raging economic rivers and jagged ravines of spending cuts to negotiate first - 23rd September 2010
 * John Bercow and raft of new MPs making Commons a livelier place'' - The Speaker's role as backbenchers' champion against the executive is important. And, though many Tories still dislike Bercow's bumptious style, other parties think he's doing well - 15th September 2010
 * cannot afford tactical errors in fight against coalition's cuts'' - As the TUC meets in Manchester, the unions know they must capitalise on a golden chance to win public support for their promised resistance to cuts in services and jobs - 14th September 2010
 * politics crosses the Atlantic as Tea Party champions come ashore'' - Can the simplistic populism of a Tea Party-style political movement work here? - 10th September 2010
 * Liberal Democrats may laugh but the joke could well be on them'' - They seem happy to ignore the polls and pin their hopes on a handy byelection - 8th September 2010
 * Hague finds judgment questioned as Fleet Street digs in'' - Gay Tory MPs are adamant that the foreign secretary is not, as Lady Thatcher used to say, 'one of us', but it doesn't end there - 3rd September 2010
 * Blair's memoirs: verdict'' - Most PMs use drink as a prop - 1st September 2010
 * of the Milibands? Cain and Abel it isn't'' - This week's reported spat over Labour's must rebuild was hardly in the murderous tradition of brotherly rivalry - 26th August 2010
 * era, same old defence cuts'' - Faced with making 15% savings, experts are counter-intuitively suggesting the navy commission more but cheaper vessels - 24th August 2010
 * Philip Green is a coalition own goal'' - The celebrity expert lesson for David Cameron: vet carefully - 20th August 2010
 * cull bloodies IDS and Osborne'' - Planned cuts in welfare have set chancellor and pensions secretary at each other - 19th August 2010
 * for Labour to be robust opposition'' - Labour has not given the coalition the hard time it would have under a lean and hungry leader - 18th August 2010
 * Blair's donation: guilt, piety – or both?'' - Former PM may be seeking to repair damage to his reputation, but we shouldn't mistake it for an apology for the Iraq war - 17th August 2010
 * a double-dip recession on the way? No one really knows ...'' - The Bank of England's report gives few clues to the future while the government and the opposition are following Monetarist and Keynesian paths - 12th August 2010
 * the taxing problem of funding universities'' - Ministers need to find cuts fast to placate George Osborne - but a pure graduate tax does not do that quickly enough - 10th August 2010
 * Lib-Con solution to university fees'' - The graduate contribution put forward by Vince Cable is 'high minded politics yoked down to low political necessity' - 16th July 2010
 * Gove, not forgotten'' - Michael Gove's misfortune reflects a government keen to make good use of its political honeymoon - 14th July 2010
 * Lansley's £80bn adventure'' - Thoughtful MPs seemed to agree with Andy Burnham's point that the NHS shakeup lacks consultation, piloting and evidence - 13th July 2010
 * leadership hopefuls shouting from the sidelines'' - The contenders have done their separate best to hammer the Tories at the dispatch box - 6th July 2010
 * David Cameron better than Tony Blair in 97?'' - Cameron starts with several advantages over Blair. They include having had a ringside seat to learn from New Labour's mistakes - 1st July 2010
 * meeting: Regional clout gets a kicking'' - The coalition cabinet met in Bradford yesterday – and promptly closed down the regional development agencies - 30th June 2010
 * rely on sense of honour over expenses'' - Are peers worth £300 a day? Most think they are, but know some voters disagree - 29th June 2010
 * Gove's free schools face costly challenge'' - Ministers insist that the policy need not exhaust the coffers - but, at a time of acute budget pressure, money will be an issue - 24th June 2010
 * gay-friendly credentials are welcome but divisions remain'' - There are at least 10 gay or lesbian Tory MPs in the new parliament and several gay ministers - 17th June 2010
 * a job for John the Baptist?'' - IDS knows he will have job tying Frank Field's loose cannon to the deck - 15th June 2010
 * power stations and social housing – just not in my backyard'' - So-called 'garden grabbing' replaces large and lovely old homes with heartless flats - 10th June 2010
 * Straw sows seeds of doubt'' - Shadow justice minister said Clegg's reform bill would render Lib Dem seats 'isolated dots of orange in a sea of red and blue' - 8th June 2010
 * aplenty for Liberal Democrats after Nick Clegg's leap of faith'' - Clegg knows that past coalition history points to Liberal splits and decline - 3rd June 2010
 * Labour leadership contest is not right without the left'' - One way to enliven the hustings would be to ensure that one of the leftwing challengers reaches the 33-MP threshold - 2nd June 2010
 * the chop? David Laws may find that hara-kiri can lead to reincarnation'' - As he nurses his bruises, Laws might look to the cases of Peter Mandelson and David Blunkett for instruction - 31st May 2010
 * the enemies within'' - The mandarins are in hog heaven as Sir Humphrey looks to be regaining the ascendency - 28th May 2010
 * speech leak will have MPs and activists scouring draft'' - The leak of 21 measures gives some clues as to who is in with No 10 – and who is making the tea - 24th May 2010
 * government: Living up to cosy vows is the real challenge'' - It still reads like a manifesto. Where is the postelection realism voters were promised? - 21st May 2010
 * Minister, it's the revenge of the mandarins'' - Many in Whitehall breathed a sigh of relief when New Labour moved on, taking sofa government with it. Now officials are sizing up the class of 2010 - 20th May 2010
 * of mystery hangs over Lords reform'' - Hastily-drafted seven-page coalition agreement promised a blueprint for a 'mainly elected upper chamber' by December - 19th May 2010
 * tips for new MPs'' -This week 226 new MPs will pitch up at the Houses of Parliament, eyes blinking at its quaint procedu res. But who to call 'honourable', who ranks as 'learned' – and, more importantly, where's the best coffee? - 11th May 2010 (Election 2010)
 * hopes hang on a political deal'' - These are interesting, if risky, times for nationalists, including the BNP - 2nd April 2010
 * Brown's euro journey from villain back to good favour'' - Gordon Brown's return to Brussels sees him complete a journey from being eurozone villain to a welcome adviser - 26th March 2010
 * is out of control. But as with all reform, only fools rush in'' - Thoughtful MPs who have been grappling with such problems for years know that a crisis is not the best moment to enact reform - 24th March 2010
 * place for cynicism, but this pregnancy will do polling no harm'' - Samantha Cameron's pregnancy will be a boost to the Tory leader's credentials as a family man who really does like being with his kids - 23rd March 2010
 * undermines Labour poll hopes'' - The ancient British art of industrial brinkmanship that is playing out between British Airways and the Unite union causes pre-election heartache for the government - 20th March 2010
 * beasts Peter Mandelson and Ken Clarke get the claws out'' - Clash of Tory and Labour politicians as election debate focuses on economy - 19th March 2010
 * this Labour's death rattle or a rare new optimism?'' - Even Labour's new policies of fast trains, dog asbos and a drink drive clampdown appeal to voters more than Tory cuts - 16th March 2010
 * the Liberal Democrat campaign on track'' - Nick Clegg's dismissal of coalition talk rallies the party faithful and ensures his options remain open - 15th March 2010
 * Union of Generals is ready to attack'' - Neither Labour or the Tories can afford to let Lord Guthrie's views pass unchallenged - 12th March 2010
 * are back, but unlikely to trouble Gordon Brown'' - Unless BA cabin crew and train staff disrupt Easter, union militancy is not expected to affect election chances - 11th March 2010
 * dogs – a bone of contention since 1839'' - Few MPs relish the prospect of having to legislate over dogs again – the issue is always divisive - 10th March 2010
 * David's day celebrations give scope for optimistic politics in Wales'' - Change is manifest in this week's BBC Wales/ICM poll, which showed opposition to the devolved Welsh assembly government has fallen from 80% to 13% - 2nd March 2010
 * state visit is unlikely to faze the Queen'' - Even before his plane lands on British soil for his state visit tomorrowSouth Africa's president, Jacob Zuma, has made an impact on British politics - 2nd March 2010
 * Dave's new improved promise - no more soft soap'' - David Cameron's face shows the strain he is under at the Tory party's spring conference - and his cabinet, sitting behind him, look even glummer - 1st March 2010
 * elite don't fear Farage, Cameron is the real concern'' - Michael White ponders whether the Tory leader's break with the European People's party is tactical or for real - 26th February 2010
 * blacker than the pot when it comes to political fundraising'' - The Tory kettle looks blacker than the Labour pot in what David Blunkett rightly calls a David v Goliath scenario - 25th February 2010
 * do feel sorry for Gordon Brown, but in the wrong way'' - Gordon Brown is Piers Morgan's toughest underdog interviewee since Susan Boyle first opened her mouth on Britain's Got Talent - 16th February 2010
 * care of the elderly and infirm splits the house'' - Political heavyweights know cross-party consensus is needed to address looming problem of health and welfare for older people - 12th February 2010
 * privilege of a short memory'' - The ancient and important right of parliamentary privilege has become a grey area - some legislative clarification is needed - 9th February 2010
 * Gordon's the man for the job – of leading the opposition'' - Tory leader goads Brown at PMQs on alternative vote and defence cuts – but is called to book on dodgy crime stats - 4th February 2010
 * and voters beware – the expenses scandal isn't over yet'' - MPs insist voters are more interested in the recession. But the damage is immense - 3rd February 2010
 * recovery comes with pitfalls for both main parties'' - If any general election could be said to be a good one to lose, it may be this one - 28th January 2010
 * government' seizes moment to shape thinking of elected politicians'' - Mandarins suggest how Whitehall management might improve – and for once they may get a hearing - 27th January 2010
 * afghanistanSecret talks create alarm - Western officials hoping to nurture a role in Afghanistan's government for the Taliban might be wise not to look to Northern Ireland for encouragement - 26th January 2010
 * Harman adds touch of class to life chances debate'' - Tories are wrong to detect renewed "class warfare" strategy in Harman's shift, though it helps to defuse the class bias in many Tory policies - 22nd January 2010
 * Dems shorten battle lines'' - Like any sensible military commander, Nick Clegg moved today to shorten his frontline to create more easily defended proportions - 12th January 2010
 * Hilton: an insider's insider'' - Reports of swearing at a ticket inspector are the latest to put the Tory adviser in a bad light – but I doubt he's under attack - 8th January 2010
 * Lib Dems won the first half of the week, Labour lost the second'' - 'We couldn't have scripted it better', said one shadow cabinet member of the Hoon-Hewitt plot - 8th January 2010
 * needs something classier than class war'' - What would be at stake if Labour were to fight the coming election through a "class warfare" strategy - as has been much debated in recent weeks? - 5th January 2010
 * Tony Blair or loathe him, only one choice for politician of the decade'' - Where some saw only an Iraq body count, others experienced better schools and NHS - 31st December 2009
 * denouncing China is hypocritical'' - There are good reasons why China is likely to be impervious to lectures from Europeans on the morality of the drugs trade - 29th December 2009
 * my Britishness to the test'' - Is the Home Office's Life in the UK test for would-be citizens: a) ridiculous, b) a good idea or c) both the above - 26th December 2009
 * questions remain after TV election debates deal'' - Will Brown, Cameron and Clegg face direct questions from voters ‑ or be quizzed by pundits US-style? - 23rd December 2009
 * for London mayor? Give it a year or two'' - There is plenty of water still to flow under the bridge before Mandelson, Johnson and Livingstone can think about 2012 - 22nd December 2009
 * secretary in a spot over hacker's extradition to US'' - There is nothing Johnson can do except allow all legal options to be exhausted, including judicial reviews - 16th December 2009
 * or May? Record as ditherer points to Gordon Brown leaving it late'' - MPs in all parties deeply divided on prospect of 25 March election - 25th December 2009
 * self-inflicted humiliation'' - Old hands on both sides wonder whether it will prove to be wise to give Ipsa powers previously held by the MPs' own standards and privileges committee - 11th December 2009
 * too grand for Pooh-Bah'' - The business secretary's lofty ignorance of Gilbert and Sullivan is little surprise – he's far more high opera all round - 4th December 2009
 * Hattie takes a detour around class war'' - MPs switched from old Labour toff-thumping back to New Labour's default position: the gender war that Harman has waged for many years - 4th December 2009
 * too grand for Pooh-Bah'' - The business secretary's lofty ignorance of Gilbert and Sullivan is little surprise – he's far more high opera all round - 3rd December 2009
 * the statistics are flattering, the headlines are more modest'' - Yesterday it was the turn of the education system to take another kicking, several actually, though most adverse media comment focused on an ONS report - 3rd December 2009
 * rock the Celtic fringe'' - Labour's Rhodri Morgan, just turned 70 and famously shambolic, will be a hard act to follow for Carwyn Jones, tipped to become first minister of the Welsh assembly government - 1st December 2009
 * Cameron and the 'Red Tory' philosopher'' - Every politician on the edge of power needs a few respectable authors and quasi-intellectuals to lend their project gravitas - and the Tory leader is no exception - 26th November 2009
 * under water: How the state responded'' - What happens in response to the flooding in Cumbria is as illustrative as a fiscal stimulus in the wake of a banking crisis - 25th November 2009
 * ready the smokeless rooms: a hung parliament is on the cards'' - Britain's traditional adherence to strong governments with solid, first-past-the-post majorities is actually at variance with the facts - 24th November 2009
 * wields duster to spruce up care bill'' - The first tentative steps towards the creation of a national care service didn't get more than a one-handed clap - 19th November 2009
 * local election for local people ... or is it?'' - David Cameron is routinely accused of running a highly centralised operation to modernise his party's image - 18th November 2009
 * speech is about setting traps for Tories'' - Gordon Brown hopes to persuade wavering voters that the government has not yet run out of ideas - 17th November 2009
 * Brown weather the Sun's storm?'' - Gordon Brown deserves some sympathy – the fast-spinning news industry is as potentially destructive as the economy - 12th November 2009
 * contest Gordon Brown dare not lose'' - Glasgow North East byelection: For 74 years the area around the Red Road high-rise flats has been a Labour stronghold. Will that change today? - 12th November 2009
 * rhetoric signals naivety'' - Tory leader wants government's role smaller but smarter and fairer - 11th November 2009
 * tactics tax Brown's advisers'' - Not for the first time MPs were puzzled by one of Gordon Brown's tactical calculations - 10th November 2009
 * leaves less bitter taste than MPs feared'' - Sir Christopher Kelly handled his moment in the limelight with competence and good humour - 5th November 2009
 * Johnson felt the need to say sorry'' - Alan Johnson's speech included an apology for 'maladroit' handling of sensitive issues too long ignored by governments of both parties - 4th November 2009
 * the populist card trumps the professionals'' - These are volatile, populist times for the sensitive frontier between political accountability and the operational freedom of public servants - 3rd November 2009
 * cuts row covers up the black hole in defence budget'' - The TA has never enjoyed powerful protection inside the MoD's menacing Whitehall HQ - 29thOctober 2009
 * does it again, a new spicy topping to go with that overpriced sandwich'' - 27th October 2009
 * hot potato the Tories may wish they had never picked up'' - Conservative campaign leaflets have routinely promised to replace the 1998 Human Rights Act but does Cameron want another ill-judged battle with Europe? - 23rd October 2009
 * reform: a mouse that may roar'' - Ministers have sometimes gone further than they realised in shaking up the system - as demonstrated by the Freedom of Information Act - 22nd October 2009
 * into intensive care'' - Billy Hayes, the posties' leader, is smart enought to know he fell for a sucker punch when using a Scargill analogy - 20th October 2009
 * time for the mainstream parties' tactics'' - Mainstream British voters and MPs elected to what the BNP calls the 'one-party state' at Westminster - 16th October 2009
 * broken House of Commons requires the cleansing process of an election'' - Most MPs will pay back whatever Sir Thomas Legg demands from their previous expense claims. The fight has gone out of them - 13th October 2009
 * to power'' - What Cameron did, in a speech low on drama and energy, was accentuate the dividing lines with Gordon Brown in ways both men will relish - 9th October 2009
 * a dangerous game'' - Cameron persists in pandering to the untamed right over the EU but it is a perilous strategy - 5th October 2009
 * waving, not drowning'' - The kernel of defiant claims that all is not quite lost for Gordon Brown's battered government is not complete fantasy - 2nd October 2009
 * NHS is core to our public spending priorities'' - How can we help the NHS to nurture social solidarity while retaining the essentials of our cherished free society? - 30th September (Series: A new public services)
 * Speaker's new broom'' - John Bercow got out his own scaffolding to do some repair work on parliament's old and battered procedural fabric - 25th September 2009
 * Nasty put away, for now'' - Nick Clegg gave a decent and assured performance but it was not the speech of a prime minister in waiting - 24th September 2009
 * voters may cut back Cameron's election margin'' - Labour's slender hope lies in the conviction that voters outside the M25 will rumble Cameron and Osborne as slick, well-fed metropolitans - 17th September 2009
 * message was the only one with weight'' - In contrast to Gordon Brown and George Osborne, the Liberal Democrat unveiled specific suggestions for cuts in public spending - 16th September 2009
 * earthquake will provide more shockwaves'' - MPs may be heading for another car crash over their own pay and expenses - 15th September 2009
 * learn to love localism'' - George Osborne promises that a Tory government would learn from their wisdom and experience - 11th September 2009
 * of fancy shot down'' - The thoroughly independent committee on climate change has ministers running for cover with a call for higher taxes on air passengers - 10th September 2009
 * terror and compromises'' - As William Hague and David Cameron turn up the heat, they might pause to remember Lady Thatcher's ministers faced Brown-like dilemmas - 8th September 2009
 * swap hair shirts for card votes'' - Despite greater professionalism, the party is roughly where the Liberals were in the 1960s - on the periphery - 4th September 2009
 * costly lack of courage'' - If Brown had bitten the bullet on day one, explained his realpolitik dilemma while condemning the Tripoli celebration, he might have got away with it like Houdini Blair - 3rd September 2009
 * PM's straw in the wind'' - Like Jim Callaghan clinging on in 1978, Brown hopes that his opponents will make a mistake - 2nd September 2009
 * pour in, despite row over expenses'' - Money follows the opinion polls where party funding is concerned, so it is now pouring into David Cameron's piggy bank - 27th August 2009
 * 'broken Britain' easier said than done'' - 'No easy answers' might be a better starting point than many of the cliches employed in public life - 26th August 2009
 * to means test a bus pass – or keeping the middle class sweet'' - Cutting benefits is the third leg of the triangle of pain Britain now faces - 25th August 2009
 * victors will have to take the offensive on defence'' - Whoever wins the next election must take hard decisions about the future shape and equipment needs of Britain's military - 20th August 2009
 * is back on the agenda, but party differences have narrowed'' - Something happened to demoralised Labour MPs while most of them were on the beach this August - 19th August 2009
 * Mandelson shrugs off claims over his social networking on Corfu'' - The business secretary has been anything but devious this summer - 18th August 2009
 * the Iraq inquiry has bite, it will hound Gordon Brown to the polls'' - In its haste to forestall a Labour revolt, Downing St was saddled with compromises that may cost it dear at the general election - 30th July 2009
 * must stick to the script, or risk ruining the PM's holidays'' - She may be deputy Labour leader, but her holiday season appointment is a gamble for both her and Brown - 28th July 2009
 * is a cruel business'' - The sound of democracy's removal van can clearly be heard trundling towards Downing Street - 24th July 2009
 * of Lords reform is like a ball of string. Tug a knot and everything moves'' - Tory leader in the Lords suspects Labour ministers are happy with a 100% appointed house - 21st July 2009
 * age obsession'' - The country is gripped with age anxiety – are our soldiers too young and politicians and TV personalities too old? - 21st July 2009
 * one Labour goat leaves another is lured'' - Lord Darzi, who joined Brown's 'government of all the talents', resigned to return to the operating theatre - 16th July 2009
 * up to join the debate that never died'' - A clutch of initiatives from Andy Burnham and other ministers may make this week a good one for older voters - 15th July 2009
 * family report proves there are second acts in political lives'' - Iain Duncan Smith is saying what he has always said: that marriage is better than cohabitation - 14th July 2009
 * absolute right to unfettered free speech in parliament'' - Parliamentary privilege is a grand-sounding phrase, entrenched in the Bill of Rights of 1689, but what does it mean? - 9th July 2009
 * an axe to public spending the Canadian way'' - Politicians are always on the lookout for good ideas they can borrow from other countries - 8th July 2009
 * the quangos (again)'' - In his quango-cidal speech to the Reform thinktank, the Tory leader disowned Margaret Thatcher's 'bonfire' phrase as simplistic - 7th July 2009
 * internet delusions'' - Lobby journalists aren't in politicians' pockets, as the blogger Paul Staines claims – we just don't hunt with the online pack - 3rd July 2009
 * is easy to lose, impossible to regain'' - Voters seem to accept the distinction between a direct lie and being economical with the truth but the stakes remain high - 2nd July 2009
 * new plan for schools - but who pays, and who will be the enforcer?'' - Balls's white paper retains an over-optimistic gloss. But the Tories leave too much to the market - 1st July 2009
 * Cameron's self-inflicted isolation from the big guns could backfire'' - The basis for Tory complacency over Europe is not completely misplaced - 25th June 2009
 * Speaker must face down ministers'' - The speaker's role of controlling the Commons, MPs and ministers matters most now - 23rd June 2009
 * minister restored to office questions diligence of the media'' - Shahid Malik to become parliamentary under-secretary in John Denham's new team after expenses scandal - 12th June 2009
 * dip in whirlpool Speaker contest'' - Any MP who claims to know who will win the secret ballot is bluffing - 11th June 2009
 * results for Gordon Brown – but also for left across EU'' - Are the EU election results awful enough to finish off the tortured nail-biter? Hard to say – probably not - 8th June 2009
 * blare across Whitehall, but no one's listening'' - In the final months of a government the danger is that decision makers stop paying attention - 3rd June 2009
 * reshuffle - wielding the butcher's knife'' - If tough guys like Margaret Thatcher don't enjoy ministerial reshuffles, a comparative softie like Gordon Brown is going through agonies of indecision this week - 2nd June 2009
 * row: House of Lords add to suspensions'' - By not entirely happy coincidence, the House of Lords found itself debating allegations of misconduct - 20th May 2009
 * the House of Commons ready for a manager?'' - Gordon Brown struggles to get ahead of the curve in his response to the MPs' expenses scandal - 20th May 2009
 * expenses: Is this the whole iceberg?'' - The system is in crisis and no one knows what will happen next. It is an opportunity as well as a threat. Can the political elite grasp it? - 18th May 2009
 * parties: the fringe benefits'' - From the Greens on the left via nationalists and Ukip to the BNP on the right the joke is that a mole inside the establishment parties must be working to destroy them - 15th May 2009
 * Martin will cling on'' - Michael Martin has made enough friends to stay on as Speaker, despite wading disastrously into the row over MPs' expenses - 14th May 2009
 * expenses: 'Suddenly David Cameron looked grown up''' - It was brilliant! Old Etonian graduate of Bullingdon Club shocked by High Life - 13th May 2009 (see: MPs' expenses: summary)
 * may be legal but it looks awful'' - Any hopes Gordon Brown of escaping the downward spiral of an appalling month's corrosive news have ended - 8th May 2009
 * of devolution sees Celts cheerful and Labour disheartened'' - A lot has changed since Scotland and Wales voted in their first devolved governments - 7th May 2009
 * Brown asked to deliver the undeliverable'' - Most Labour MPs admit to liking their chief whip but they don't envy him his job - 6th May 2009
 * options for Gordon Brown as authority wanes'' - No obvious alternative exists who could be installed without bloodshed worthy of the Gurkhas - 5th May 2009
 * day, another botched battle'' - The Tories could afford the luxury of feeling outraged but privately they were divided too, as they often are over money - 1st May 2009
 * balancing act still out of kilter'' - Harman's bill fails to focus on class-based inequalities and is very New Labour in its style - 29th April 2009
 * 2009: Cameron and Osborne's savings plan'' - Torys believe the 50p tax rate is a trap and that Brownites hope they will pledge to repeal - 24th April 2009
 * civil war yet to be declared'' - Brown's critics want to prod him into setting out his vision rather than retreating into his G20 comfort zone - 22nd April 2009
 * opinion caught in the headlights'' - The drive to improve the road safety system comes on top of "learn to drive" and "compliance" consultation papers - 22nd April 2009
 * civil war yet to be declared'' - Brown's critics want to prod him into setting out his vision rather than retreating into his G20 comfort zone - 21st April 2009
 * ministers accept charity case'' - In choosing to help UK charities, ministers have picked the more deserving priority - 7th April 2009
 * Obama – the genuine article'' - The most memorable moment of the G20 circus was the first lady's meeting with London schoolgirls - 4th April 2009
 * expenses and pessimism'' - MPs insist that any mechanism for pay and allowances will create its own problems - 1st April 2009
 * dull display of viral virility'' - Tory MEP Daniel Hannan's attack on Gordon Brown is wearily predictable Oxford Union stuff - 27th March 2009
 * riot, today's irritation'' - Announcement of a 3% average rise in English council tax must be judged a rare tax triumph for Gordon Brown's cash-strapped team - 27th March 2009
 * ideas, but you're out of time'' - Will Jack Straw's bribery bill assist law enforcement agencies to prosecute villains for economic crimes? - 26th March 2009
 * Cameron and George Osborne face high-wire trilemma'' - Tories have been slow to adjust to the reality that there is no more money - 25th March 2009
 * favourite sex scandals'' - With its funny working hours far from home, the House of Commons is the perfect place for an unwise affair - 24th March 2009
 * and worried, but Labour's urban heartlands reluctant to point finger at Brown'' - Can Labour win?: For the Tories to take power they must win more urban seats - 19th March 2009
 * news for Labour, just when Tories admit NHS is getting better'' - Labour's target driven policies are accused of distracting managers - 19th March 2009
 * delay awkward decision on increasing tuition fees'' - Most observers saw the Universities UK report as a green light for a fees increase - 18th March 2009
 * still running into trouble over immigration'' - The government is at fault for making only half-hearted efforts to promote the case for immigration - 17th March 2009
 * summit is no launch pad for an election'' - Fantasists predicting that Gordon Brown will announce May general election are wrong for at least two reasons - 12th March 2009
 * questions as Cameron returns to rough and tumble'' - Cameron's return to politics made easier by the bipartisan mood over the murders in Northern Ireland - 11th March 2009
 * of words along Scotland's rocky road to self-determination'' - Since Iain Gray announced his opposition to SNP referendum demands, Holyrood battles have intensified - 10th March
 * off the hook'' - The day's real miracle was Ms Harman was still at liberty several hours after the PM's plane touched down at Heathrow - 6th March 2009
 * councils feel the pinch'' - Different this time is the prospect that the latest financial squeeze will last a decade - 5th March 2009
 * challenge of equality'' - Parliament has never been so open to aspiring MPs who were once actively discouraged, but it isn't enough - 4th March 2009
 * the pub crisis is not small beer'' - The all-party Beer Group of MPs is sometimes dismissed as a mere vehicle for Westminster conviviality. But no fewer than five ministers from five Whitehall departments have signed up to attend its "summit on the UK pub crisis" next Wednesday - 27th February 2009
 * that extra mile to rescue Royal Mail'' - Mandelson is the comforting focus of critics' anger, though there are many villains in the story of the 350-year-old service's decline - 26th February 2009
 * the banks can lift the gloom on the home front'' - After the long housing binge, the long bust. Eighteen months after the credit crunch began, barely a day passes without negative headlines on the home front - 25th February 2009
 * is in the hands of the Pope, even in relatively godless country'' - Even in a relatively Godless country such as modern Britain, politicians have trouble handling religion - 20th February 2009
 * tipsy finance minister saves GB from the A-word'' - Gordon Brown might have been in trouble at his monthly press conference yesterday if Japanese correspondents hadn't launched a diversion - 19th February 2009
 * lady's not for turning off: Drama shows the chinks in Thatcher's armour'' - As the most dominant prime minister since Churchill is brought down by a combination of her party and her hubris, viewers can actually feel sorry for Thatcher - 17th February 2009
 * assault bounces off Brown's encrypted firewall'' - Just as the Taliban digs itself into caves and ravines, so the prime minister deploys shelves-full of words, acronyms, cliches and concepts to create a network of bomb-proof tunnels to defend himself from attack - 13th February 2009
 * work up a sweat over rules on election spending'' - As if the recession didn't pile enough problems on MPs' financial plates, they are also grappling with the latest attempt to tidy up Britain's troubled election rules: who pays for what, and how best to monitor the system - 12th February 2009
 * medal for political optimism'' - Scepticism is in order when contemplating the word "legacy", which organisers of London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympics wrapped round their necks like a medal - 11th February 2009
 * stubbornly dig in against whacks of FoI'' - Every scandal pushes MPs and peers towards greater openness and transparency in the handling of their publicly-funded activities - 10th February 2009
 * services in a recession - does something have to give?'' - Britain has experienced a financial bubble and an unsustainable house price surge. Has there also been an unsustainable bubble in the public sector - 6th February 2009
 * big beast brings weight and humour'' - Ken Clarke is supposed to have rung Lord Mandelson and told him they were both mad to have agreed to re-enter the snake pit. Mandelson agreed, but neither meant it. They love it - 5th February 2009
 * and dining in Pugin's rooms'' - Peers claim legislation can be amended 'far more easily' in House of Lords - 27th January 2009
 * time on EU opt-out'' - If some analysts are to be believed, a serious economic crime was perpetrated against Britain this week, the European parliament voted to end the British opt-out from the EU's 1993 working time directive - 19th December 2008
 * demise of mobility and the birth of celebrity culture'' - 17th December 2008
 * are made, but NHS is getting better'' - Some 2,940 people were killed on Britain's roads last year, around 500 fewer than died as a result of medical error in the safety of an English hospital - 12th December 2008
 * claimants out to work at a tough time to find jobs'' - Can hardcore cases, the 3 million people who have been on benefit for over a year - most on incapacity benefit - really be steered into skills and work at a time when firms are shedding jobs every day? - 11th December 2008
 * exercises his right to talk tough and stay positive'' - The justice secretary gave an interview to the rights-and-Europe-phobic Daily Mail in which he complained about an excess of ambulance-chasing lawyers and acknowledged that, in Mail-speak, it is widely seen as a villains-and-terrorists charter - 9th December 2008
 * from terrorism, but not from the police'' - Following the arrest of Tory MP Damian Green, the buck is being passed with alarming regularity - 4th December 2008
 * housing controversy that IDS built'' - Will Iain Duncan Smith's proposals curb benefits culture or weaken social mobility still further? - 3rd December 2008
 * bills the only thrills in Queen's speech'' - The annual speech the Queen delivers at this time of year has changed beyond recognition - 2nd December 2008
 * Commons finds its voice in the tearoom'' - 28th November 2008
 * talk about death - before it's too late'' - 27th November 2008
 * report that re-draws the battle lines'' - When a crisis bursts, opposition also becomes hellish. The government of the day seizes the initiative while the opposition fumes impotently, privately hoping for the worst, publicly required to support whatever ministers do that looks like it's working - 26th November 2008
 * is the new recklessness'' - Dire times call for government action to stop a financial disaster becoming a major economic slump - Politics Blog, 25th November 2008
 * of opinions ahead'' - Ministers have disappointed the safety lobby by not proposing to cut the legal drink-driving limit - 21st November 2008
 * times for Two Musketeers'' - Yesterday David Cameron used the crisis to bury an irksome commitment of his own, to match Labour's spending plans between now and 2011 - 19th November 2008
 * question, wrong answer'' - independent committee tasked with resolving organ donation problem comes up with the wrong solution - 18th November 2008
 * a decade, unemployment rears its head'' - 14th November 2008
 * to the airport lobby? Not yet'' - 12th November 2008
 * and banker-speak: the Reid Plan'' - 11th November 2008
 * for role in the ministry of paper clips'' - MPs are split on the consensual way most cross-party committees operate in parliament - 7th November 2008
 * the relationship alive'' - the US/UK special relationship - 6th November 2008
 * in social mobility will not last, warn gloomy Tories'' - Labour's promise of a strategy to foster 'financial capability' among the poor is just talk during a recession, according to Chris Grayling - 4th November 2008
 * Gordon muscles in on the banks'' - 30th October 2008
 * reform: a painful process'' - Talk of welfare reform usually triggers strong emotions and yesterday's revamp of incapacity benefit (IB), a tough policy legacy from the Thatcher era, is no exception - 28th October 2008
 * makes a tough choice'' - Feelings run high on both sides as MPs vote not to discuss pro-abortion amendments - 23rd October 2008
 * long battle against poverty is not over'' - 22nd October 2008
 * in the post for Mandelson'' - Friends and dedicated enemies all agree that life is rarely dull for long around Peter Mandelson. Newly restored to cabinet as business secretary, he popped up on the Sunday TV sofa to set a pack of hares running in all directions - 21st October 2008
 * gets room to breathe, not to boast'' - 15th October 2008
 * age of irresponsibility: when did it start? Discuss'' - 9th October 2008
 * suffering from bout of cross-party unity'' - 8th October 2008
 * bites bullet in the Met stand-off'' - Reducing crime, handling counter-terrorism well and other successes are never enough if confidence has gone - 3rd October 2008
 * new party of City regulation and early nights'' - As financial volatility deepens, Cameron's poll lead over Gordon Brown has dipped like a FTSE share price - 1st October 2008
 * bounce, the bickering, and another brief respite for Brown'' - 26th September 2008
 * amid the fraternal spite'' - Have there been two parallel conferences in Manchester this week? One conducted under the glare of TV lights in the main conference hall, all sweetness and harmony; the other, awash with fraternal spite and leadership speculation in the bars and corridors of the conference fringe? - 24th September 2008
 * you lose: on a day for hearts, Keir's vision - and name - has the greatest appeal'' - 23rd September 2008
 * out of left field ... hope'' - The 2008 Labour conference is not quite as dead as it keeps being told it is - 22nd September 2008
 * The financial sector just bombed itself. Is this the end of capitalism? - With the left remaining muted to the crisis in capitalism, the chief outcome may be nationalism not nationalisation - 20th September 2008 (Politics blog)
 * message, bad timing?'' - Lib Dem party conferences rarely make front pages unless they vote to legalise cannabis or abolish the Queen. So this week's bloodshed on Wall Street and Downing Street merely guaranteed their modest place on media news schedules - 18th September 2008
 * of inequality'' - Harriet Harman stirs things up on class at the TUC - 11th September 2008
 * 'Two mallets' Prescott and his croquet legacy'' - Prezza and croquet has a suitably New Labour upwardly-mobile feel to it - 14th August 2008 (Shortcuts)
 * set, slander'' - As insults are traded at the Olympics, I can only be thankful I don't live in the nannying land of Australia - 13th August 2008 (Guardian.co.uk)
 * talking Cameron'' - David Cameron sets himself a high bar whenever he discusses geopolitics at his monthly press conference - 13th August 2008
 * hard being Nice'' -the postcode lottery for life-saving drugs - 12th August 2008
 * Lib Dem tax revolution?'' - Many voters have trouble distinguishing rising star Cameron from Clegg - 8th August 2008
 * might a nudge be as good as a shove?'' - Rarely a week passes without ministers urging us to modify our reckless behaviour - 6th August 2008
 * Tories get a lesson on education - Labour ministers who keep saying they should stop fighting each other could take comfort from the schools minister, Jim Knight - 5th August 2008
 * How to regain popularity: windfall taxes or surcharge on banks? - 1st August 2008
 * Being bold on equality - A good day for hard-pressed women, if not for local authority budgets - 30th July 2008
 * Say cheese! - In the age of 24-hour media, the last thing politicians can do on holiday is relax - as Gordon Brown and David Cameron's painfully staged holiday snaps reveal. Michael White looks at how their predecessors - from Gladstone to Blair - handled the summer photo-op - 29th July 2008
 * Loyalists halt Get Gordon drive - Another Labour MP denies any such involvement in a 'Gordon Must Go' letter - 29th July 2008
 * Is this as bad as it seems? - Glasgow East by-election - 26th July 2008
 * Cameron cosies up to Unionists - 25th July 2008
 * Testing time for Balls - 24th July 2008
 * Muddying the waters at the last minute - When better to announce something unpleasant than when MPs can't complain until October 6? - 23rd July 2008
 * The price of a high profile - When it comes to their own pay and expenses, MPs never make it easy for themselves - 17th July 2008
 * Intervention in triplicate - It isn't the best of weeks to be publishing another youth crime action plan. But then, it never is - 16th July 2008
 * The green, green grass of Glasgow East - A luscious landscape masks serious poverty, drugs, ill-health, unemployment and too many bottle-fed babies - 15th July 2008
 * Battle against Toad's rage - It is market forces which is finally curbing the motorist's appetite for expensive driving - 11th July 2008
 * Rush legislation, repent at leisure - Liberty and security were slugging it out in both houses of parliament - 9th July 2008
 * Bonding over blue balloons - Tories can usually rely on a warm welcome in parts of Glasgow East, if only because their blue balloons are the colour of Rangers FC - 8th July 2008
 * Blokes put to flight - The government has launched a new offensive against the Taliban: the ones who skulk in offices preventing women from running the stock exchange or becoming deputy leader of the Labour party - 27th June 2008
 * Union discontent, yes: but it's not the 1970s - 26th June 2008
 * Tories look forward to jolly voting weather - 24th June 2008
 * Green agenda poses thorny problems - 20th June 2008
 * MPs on £60,000 feel the pinch - 18th June 2008
 * History is against him - If David Davis had time to consult the history books before he took his dramatic decision to force a byelection over British liberties it must have given him serious cause to hesitate - 13th June 2008



Links:

 * Wikipedia bio
 * 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