Oliver Wright



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Articles: 2016

 * The Queen was right to call the Chinese security officials rude – after facing them myself, I agree - I joined David Cameron on a trade mission to China, and was shocked by the behaviour of the Chinese security guards - 11th May
 * Yes, David Cameron is scaremongering about war after Brexit – but that doesn't mean he's wrong - Pulling out of the EU would not, in itself, put Britain in jeapordy. But there is a very real risk that it could lead to a domino effect that would - 10th May
 * As the relative of a patient in A&E, I know how dangerous NHS waiting time targets really are - Strict targets can lead to patients being sent home too soon, or being admitted to hospital when there's no need for them to be there - 14th April
 * Today we took a step towards mob rule – and the only thing we learned is that politicians' tax returns are dull - Public figures are being bullied to reveal the tax they pay by those who will never have to do the same. That is profoundly wrong
 * - 12th Apriltop-moaning-about-samantha-cameron-s-special-advisor-you-try-being-the-prime-minister-s-wife-for-a6976371.html Stop moaning about Samantha Cameron’s ‘special advisor’ – you try being the PM’s wife for the day - From organising charity receptions in Downing Street to coordinating her personal work, parental responsibilities and state obligations there’s more than a full job of work to do for an assistant - 8th April
 * Cameron might think £30,000 is a trifling amount. When the average UK income is £26,500, the rest of us don't - In terms of the EU referendum, the timing here couldn't be more appalling - 7th April
 * Why yesterday was a very bad day for the Out campaign - David Cameron had a good day, with a little help from Nigel Farage and Michael Gove - 20th February
 * How can Jeremy Hunt get away with imposing a contract on junior doctors? Look no further than the other Jeremy - The normal restraints of Parliamentary democracy no longer apply – the Government has a freedom to take unpopular decisions with little threat of electoral payback - 11th February



Articles: 2015

 * These are the four ways the Government stops you hearing about its big mistakes - Though it gets them in trouble, ministerial advisors still use these clever techniques to bury bad news - 19th December
 * David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn have both lost the argument over air strikes - There was no sense of occasion in the Commons for today's crucial debate. If this is the new politics, we want the old politics back - 3rd December
 * Airport VAT: How I unearthed the great boarding pass scam – and led the charge to end it - Every time my boarding card had been requested at the checkout it had perplexed me - 15th August
 * Chuka Umunna resigns from Labour leadership contest: a realisation that this isn’t how he wants to live his life - Attention paid to those close to Umunna made him think again - 16th May
 * Old military hands are using Putin as a bogeyman - Ex-generals are wheeled around television studios to fight the media battle - 26th February
 * The 'Milly Dowler' moment that never was - Nothing in politics is truly private - 14th February
 * Cameron is running scared from the “empty chair” - Don’t be fooled. Whatever he says, David Cameron is desperate to kibosh plans for a repeat of the..... - 24th January
 * Two parties, two flawed sets of plans for the NHS - Labour are offering a financial increase, while the Tories have been reticent to commit - 15th January
 * The key questions that Labour and the Tories haven’t begun to answer - Neither of the two main parties has been upfront about how they'll govern in the next austerity-driven parliament - 8th January



Articles: 2014

 * Are we being dumbed down by ‘news’ from social media? - Inside Westminster: As we approach election, consider whether past faults are being exaggerated by mass communication of the present - 17th December
 * Government cuts: This is where the axe will fall on public spending - Inside Westminster: You can’t bank savings without traumatic structural change - 11th December
 * You wouldn't give your child untested medicine, so why would you give them an untested education? - With the emergence of a new education organisation, it looks like we're finally starting to be grown up about how we teach our children - 27th November
 * Our next Prime Minister will be decided in the wards of the NHS - A tiny infectious agent could have more impact on the outcome of the next election than David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg combined - 8th October
 * Five reasons why Brooks Newmark shouldn't have resigned after being caught in a sexting scandal - There is no legal or rational reason for his departure - 29th September
 * Scottish independence: Five reasons Salmond is secretly hoping for a No vote - Is the huge gamble on oil keeping him up at night? - 18th September
 * David Haines beheading: Was a news blackout on Isis hostages the right option? - Some hostages, after the event, have been critical of the FCO - 15th September
 * Scottish independence: If there’s a Yes vote Whitehall won’t know what to do - How I wish that the civil service had a contingency plan - 10th September
 * The less we hear about a project to predict the unexpected, the better - The Government's new Horizon Scanning Programme helps us avoid disaster - 3rd September
 * Long-term bail allows lazy police and prosecutors to leave cases to gather dust - Where are the checks and balances to make sure power isn't being abused? - 20th August
 * Why a John Lewis business model might solve the problem of surly station staff - Labour's plans to renationalise our train companies would only go so far - 13th August
 * Does Boris’s decision to stand as an MP threaten Cameron? Not really - The 2015 election was an opportunity the London Mayor was bound to take - 6th August
 * Baroness Warsi's resignation seriously dents the Tories’ ‘inclusive’ image - Cameron now faces an uphill struggle to win support from UK's Muslim communities - 6th August
 * What became of Cameron's Big Society Network? - Despite being deemed “high risk”, the Big Lottery Fund awarded it £830,000 - 23rd July
 * Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare reforms are disastrous – yet he’s still standing - First thoughts: The bedroom tax has caused misery, universal credit is thoroughly discredited. How much more failure can one man survive? - 17th July
 * How the sacking of the head of the Civil Service almost cost a minister his job - A 'retirement'? Nothing could be further from the truth - 16th July
 * Cabinet reshuffle: Ukraine, Syria, Middle East... a baptism of fire awaits new Foreign Secretary at the Foreign Office - William Hague's departure just now may well be the deftest move of an astute politician - 15th July
 * The problem with hospitals - Inside Whitehall: If a few hospitals are in trouble financially, it’s their problem - 4th June
 * Iain Duncan Smith has failed on Universal Credit. He must be replaced - He has proved himself to be inept at managing its implementation over the past three years - 28th May
 * Oliver Letwin makes a speech - With a nudge, government hopes to accomplish more than regulations ever could - 21st May
 * Ed Miliband sells ‘fairer’ Britain to voters - 20th May
 * Our tax money is not for the creation of party spin - Inside Whitehall: The Coalition intends to spend £50m more on communications this year than it planned last year - 15th May
 * Abolishing the term ‘rape’ might improve conviction rates - Perhaps the time has come for policymakers to take a much more radical and controversial approach - 8th May
 * A sober look at costs led to the alcohol price U-turn - For every pound that a new regulation cost industry, a pound would have to be saved… - 1st May
 * The media wails about money wasted on Tamiflu – but we were the ones who demanded it - This isn't the only time that screeching headlines have led to bad decisions - 16th April
 * Keeping Miliband out in the cold will haunt Tories - The rules allowing the Opposition access to the civil service to plan a power transition have been changed so as to offer only 6 months contact instead of a year - 2nd April
 * We have to start the cuts now for next period of austerity - Inside Whitehall: Some departments have been better than others at restructuring and reducing costs - 26th March
 * It’s time for some plain speaking on Cayman Islands lobbying by the noble Lord Blencathra - It is now two years since The Independent revealed that the former Conservative minister..... - 24th March
 * Inside Whitehall: Aid argument is not straightforward in Africa - There is a widespread view that Western threats to cut aid have pushed back gay rights - 19th March
 * Care.data will help prolong our lives and those of our children - In any scheme of this nature there is a trade-off between privacy and better health - 26th February
 * What Downing Street doesn't want you to know - Inside Whitehall: Last month Tory strategists issued an edict to Government departments banning them from highlighting events that do not chime with the party's key themes - 19th February
 * For devolution to work, we need talent outside London - Inside Whitehall: A century ago, civic leaders in cities and towns outside London had a power, influence and prestige comparable to the Government in Westminster - 12th February
 * Big Pharma lobbyists exploit patients and doctors - Ten years ago, when I was a health journalist, I was once contacted by lobbying company working for a large pharmaceuticals firm - 11th February
 * Spot the motivations behind the critiques of the Gove and Morgan spat - Inside Whitehall: The BBC could perhaps better have described Sir David Bell as a disgruntled ex-employee - 5th February
 * Some food for thought, Nick – why not plan a policy before you implement it? - Inside Whitehall: Clegg originally promised all children a 'hot' meal. Now it's a nutritious one - 29th January
 * Beware - Humpty Dumpty statistics can mean whatever you want them to - Inside Whitehall: The UK economy only grew faster over the last three months - 22nd January
 * Online pornography: Education is the real answer, not legislation - The Lib Dems will have a public debate on whether we, as a society, should try to control access - 10th January
 * The Government is aiming to set the standards for online security - Inside Whitehall: If the project is successful it will not be long before you’ll be able to read your medical records or consult a doctor online - 7th January



Articles: 2013

 * Speaking truth to power can be a little risky for your political health - Ministers believe that the civil service has been slow to face up to its problems - 10th December
 * The art of claiming our right to view masterpieces - Worried about the high prices foreign collectors were prepared to pay, the Government launched what was known as the Conditional Exemption Tax Incentive scheme - 26th November
 * Once mice, parliamentary select committees have finally learnt to roar - Today, declining an invitation to give evidence is no longer an option - 19th November
 * The Foreign Office has a new brief - flog Britain to overseas investors - Why do we need an expensive network of embassies around the world when public services are being cut at home? - 12th November
 * Government tsars - what are they good for? - A report shows just how out of control the ministerial use of tsars has become - 15th October
 * Cameron and Hunt know the next leader of NHS England could cost them an election - Inside Whitehall: These decisions should have been ones for NHS England. Mr Hunt should not have been involved - 9th October
 * Civil servant Robert Devereux should not suffer the public grilling his minister ducked - Inside Whitehall - 9th September
 * Row over how Britain can keep the lights on rages between Tories and Lib Dems - Inside Whitehall: Tories now feel climate change scepticism is not just acceptable but advantageous - 6th August
 * The dismissal Downing St was forced to dismiss - Inside Whitehall: The Civil Service is a very, very big organisation and it needs someone with corporate expertise to run it - 17th July
 * Forget Government plans on lobbying reform, here’s to the same old sleaze and scandal - It is more than two years since The Independent first began campaigning for lobbying reform - 5th June



Articles: 2012

 * If hospital figures for food spend are so wildly inaccurate, what else are they getting wrong? - From waiting times, to medication errors, to surgical outcomes; NHS decisions are made on the basis of data. It's vital that data is correct - 18th October
 * Ed Miliband's big speech had echoes of Cameron in opposition. And that's no bad thing - This might in future be seen as the moment when Labour gave people something to vote for - and not just against - 3rd October
 * In the Chancellor of the Exchequer we do not trust - There is only one thing deteriorating as fast as Britain's public finances – and that is the public faith in George Osborne's ability to deal with the problem - 22nd August



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