Ian Birrell



Profile:
Full name: Ian Birrell (not to be confused with Ian Burrell, also of The Independent)

Area of interest:

Journals/Organisation: The Independent | Evening Standard | The Guardian

Email: [mailto:i.birrell@independent.co.uk i.birrell@independent.co.uk]

Personal website:

Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/ian-birrell | Evening Standard

Blog:

Representation:

Networks: https://twitter.com/#!/ianbirrell



Biography:
About: Former deputy editor of The Independent, speechwriter for David Cameron during the 2010 election campaign

Education:

Career: Current position/role:


 * also writes/has written for: The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Financial Times

Other roles/Main role:

Other activities:

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight:

Broadcast media:

Video:

Controversy/Criticism: Rwandan leader launches Twitter tirade against British journalist - Paul Kagame, the Rwandan leader and an avid tweeter, launched into a furious tirade on the social networking site after a British journalist labelled him "despotic and deluded" - Daily Telegraph, 16th May 2011

Awards/Honours:

Scoops:

Other:



Books & Debate:


Latest work:

Speaking/Appearances:

Debate: 

Journals:
Column name:

Remit/Info:

Section:

Role:

Pen-name:

Email:

Website:

Commissioning editor:

Day published:

Regularity:

Column format:

Average length:



Articles: 2012

 * The housing crisis: a nightmare caused by our sanctified suburban dreams - Freeing up 1% of the green belt could provide 300,000 homes. Time to lose our myopic nostalgia and send in the bulldozers - 21st August
 * Cameron must now embrace the spirit of the Games - The Olympics should inspire the PM to be bold – and to return to the themes of the Big Society - 13th August
 * It's not just the bad apples – it's our rotten society's attitudes - The assaults at Winterbourne View were horrific. But just as shocking were the systematic failures of one protective authority after another to stop them - 9th August
 * A £13bn boost to the economy? I don't think so Prime Minister - Far from generating growth, big sporting events such as the Olympic Games tend to do the very opposite - 7th July
 * David Cameron's inner Maoist - His assault on benefits was naked politics, but it may well help reawaken the prime minister's reforming zeal - 29th June (writing in The Guardian)
 * Labour's cowardice on immigration is sickening - These clunking steps are even worse from a man who makes such play out of being the child of refugees - 22nd June
 * The Tories are becoming the 'nasty party' on immigration - The Conservatives are boasting of their immigration plan that will split up thousands of families, but only if they're poor - 11th June
 * Our national sport shares our national blindness - In Britain, we pretend the problem of racism has been defeated, despite all evidence to the contrary - 6th June
 * Don't mock 'hug a hoodie'. It was, and still is, the right message - In Britain we feel the need to talk tough on crime when all the evidence suggest that this is the politics of the madhouse - 1st June
 * Geldof's obsession with aid hurt Africa. But now trade is healing the scars - A corrosive culture of aid dependency for 30 years has portrayed Africa as a helpless supplicant - 28th May
 * Like Afghanistan, Mali is a victim of our 'war on terror' - Al-Qa'ida in the Maghreb is increasingly active, while even Nigeria's Islamist Boko Haram is involved - 23rd May
 * Britain's visa system: a V-sign to visitors - Heathrow is a symbol of an immigration system that deters one in four visitors. This torture by visa must end - 15th May
 * Zombies of British Tea Party long to lurch further right - The primary cause of post-Budget problems was the decision to cut the top rate of tax - 7th May
 * A warning shot to the world's despots - No one doubted the depths of depravity during the decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone, which left 50,000 dead, half the population in flight and a nation in ruins. The question was whether the brutality and bloodshed could be legally tied to Charles Taylor, the former Liberian leader - 27th April
 * The end of privacy in British politics - A new age of transparency is coming, thanks to technology, and those who pay lipservice to it must be prepared for scrutiny too - 8th April
 * Accidental coup has undone decades of steady progress in Mali - Two weeks have ripped apart this beautiful country, for two decades such a model democracy - 7th April
 * The 50p tax trap for Conservatives - George Osborne looks set to end the 50p rate. But cutting tax for the richest at a time of hardship is daft politics - 17th March
 * Forget mansions and lower the 40p tax band - Time to stop playing around with taxes on the wealthy - 7th March
 * This grave desecration does not mean Libya is out of control - The outrage must be addressed, but don't give up on an emerging nation because of a handful of bigoted fools - 6th March
 * Elected city mayors will transform political scene - City mayors and police commissioners have the power to re-engage a wearily cynical electorate - 12th February
 * Resist pessimism - keep faith with the Arab Spring - Evening Standard, 3rd January 2012



Articles: 2011

 * Like it or not, the PM has never been stronger. He should exploit it - Since the referendum, the Lib Dems have been a destructive presence, endlessly opposing ideas - The Independent, 13th December
 * The demonisation of the disabled is a chilling sign of the times - There is a climate of hostility towards people for whom life is already difficult and it is being fostered by politicians and journalists - The Guardian, 4th December
 * Big Pharma's demise is nothing to celebrate - The most profitable medicine in history came out of patent in the world's biggest market on Thursday - The Independent, 3rd December
 * We should not fear a Muslim Brotherhood win - Power could be a Pyrrhic victory. The party may be forced to take to - The Independent, 29th November
 * Why the St Paul's rebels without a clue can't simply be ignored - Evening Standard, 18th October
 * Immigrants saved my family and are crucial to Britain - Evening Standard, 11th October
 * Cameron must bring back the sunshine - Cameron must offer a forceful reminder that he is a modern, liberal – and optimistic – Conservative - The Guardian, 4th October
 * A good news story out of Africa brings hope - Zambia's long-standing president stands down after losing an election… a sign that the continent's fortunes might be changing for the better - The Guardian, 25th September
 * Bahrain and Libya expose the two faces of Britain's foreign policy - We bombed Gaddafi, but now we court Bahrain. Is our foreign policy based on ethics, or commerce? - The Guardian, 14th September
 * myopic faith in British police supremacy must end'' - Poor leadership, bungled cases, alleged corruption, death of innocent people – the charge sheet is now too long to ignore - 17th August
 * Trust plans for the Olympic Park would create a proud legacy'' - A visionary post-Games plan for the Olympic Park is being put at risk by fools and jobsworths - The Guardian, 3rd August
 * David Cameron must breathe new life into the Coalition - Evening Standard, 25th July
 * is turning Britain into a cultural backwater'' - Performers from non-European countries are taking Britain off the playlist because border controls are too stringent - The Guardian, 10th July
 * Scapegoat: Why We Are Failing Disabled People by Katharine Quarmby - Evening Standard, 30th June
 * journey's over, Tony Blair'' - Tony Blair supports the Arab spring and wants to heal Africa. Laudable aims but breathtaking hypocrisy - The Guardian, 10th June
 * war on drugs war is lost. Now it's time for a rational response'' - Politicians are too scared to propose legalisation and controlled use, but without radical changes many more lives will be destroyed or ruined - The Guardian, 5th June
 * twitterspat with Paul Kagame'' - The Rwandan president was revelatory in his self-exposure. Shame so few of his own people saw it - The Guardian, 17th May
 * Is the Coalition marriage doomed to end in divorce? - Evening Standard, 3rd May
 * Why Britain must try to stop the slaughter in Syria - Evening Standard, 27th April
 * Proof banks don't have to be run the Gordon Gekko way - Evening Standard, 19th April
 * Coast's Gbagbo must go – and so should other African leaders who overstay'' - With 19 elections due in Africa in the next 18 months, Ivory Coast highlights one of the continent's biggest problems - The Guardian, 4th April
 * despots fear the gales will blow south'' - News of the revolts in Libya and Egypt is being ruthlessly suppressed by nervous dictators - The Times, 11th March
 * our disabled daughter, a way out of the labyrinth'' - Gove promises some relief for the parents of severely disabled children. But others may have reason to worry - The Guardian, 11th March
 * Western aid now does more harm than good - Evening Standard, 1st March
 * Libya we can't let ourselves be scarred by Iraq'' - The international community must get over the foolishness of the 2003 invasion, and take swift action against Gaddafi - The Guardian, 24th February
 * Public v private isn't the issue - what's best is key - Evening Standard, 22nd February
 * deal struck with tyranny'' - The Libyan people are finally rebelling against their despised ruler and his corrupt regime. But Gaddafi's strength in the Arab world was shamefully bolstered by his oil pact with Tony Blair - Daily Telegraph, 21st February
 * time the world listened to new stories out of Africa'' - Trade, not aid, is the best way to sustain the continent's increasing prosperity - The Guardian, 20th February
 * British music can still star as rock finds a new role - Evening Standard, 15th February
 * the dictators to steal'' - Hideous despots like Mubarak rip off their people, and the UK helps them hide their plunder - The Guardian, 14th February
 * NHS is ripe for revolution'' - Our needs have changed; so should our hospitals and doctors - The Guardian, 6th February
 * is not the villain in this tragic case'' - The PM knows that respite for carers is vital, but his Government has dealt insensitively with the disabled - The Times, 21st January
 * Cameron is inviting a Viking invasion'' - Once Scandinavia was a beacon for the Left. But its radical reforms now inspire the coalition - The Times, 19th January
 * detox remains the Tories’ prime task'' - on the party’s relationship with the Lib Dems - Financial Times, 5th January
 * There has never been a better time to be alive - Evening Standard, 4th January



Articles: 2010

 * big gamble puts the citizens at the wheel'' - The coalition government’s Big Society is not only for the middle classes - Financial Times, 29th December
 * brave new world is falling to pieces'' - In the Middle East, in Africa, in the Balkans, the international special envoy is in trouble - The Times, 24th December
 * Can Twitter and the internet start a revolution? - Evening Standard, 7th December
 * Idayah is a bright child. One of a spurned minority - Evening Standard, 2nd December
 * There's a better way to break the cycle of crime - Evening Standard, 23rd November
 * last, a good way to help the homeless'' - A scheme that hands power, and money, to the destitute holds vital lessons for our public services - Daily Telegraph, 15th November
 * you pay to volunteer abroad, think of the harm you might do'' - A damning report says that well-intentioned westerners do little to alleviate the lot of poverty-stricken children in developing countries - The Guardian, 14th November
 * A cap on migrant workers will hurt London’s economy - Evening Standard, 2nd November
 * sales plummet but the music plays on'' - The EMI saga points to desperation, but the industry’s survival strategy is worth noting - The Times, 22nd October
 * East London may be the birthplace of a new Facebook - Evening Standard, 19th October
 * whirlwind of hatred against the disabled'' - Just how far are we, as a society, prepared to let violent crime against the disabled spiral upwards? - The Guardian, 16th October
 * kindest cuts of all'' - My daughter's case shows the need to change the culture of public service. This is not about money - The Guardian, 1st October
 * Dems need to stake out their own territory'' - Third party is failing to offer sufficient counterweight to the right - Financial Times, 24th August
 * open our doors to Haitians'' - 'Disaster asylum' would do far more than pouring in vast amounts of aid - The Independent, 28th January
 * disaster and a shocking reality'' - Around the world, presidents and prime ministers mouth platitudes about sharing the pain of Haiti. But they should consider a simple question: how come only 63 people died when an earthquake of the same strength hit northern California 21 years ago? - The Independent, 16th January
 * is counter-productive to humiliate another nation'' - Sitting amid the trawlers in Reykjavik harbour is a solitary gunboat, a reminder of what happened when Britain and Iceland last went to war - The Independent, 7th January
 * economist who got it right'' - It is astonishing how much Pigou's ideas impact on our lives and debates today - The Independent, 6th January



Articles: 2009

 * dark shadows that stain the new darling of Africa'' - The reality is that behind a veneer of democracy lies a ruthless autocracy - The Independent, 27th November
 * is patients who will end up losing out'' - Nursing is a practical profession. It is not something that can be taught in universities - The Independent, 13th November
 * your language: words can cause terrible damage'' - When did people with disabilities cease to matter in the battle against bigotry? - The Independent, 6th November
 * This award is premature – and potentially very foolish - When Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, the American humourist Tom Lehrer declared that political satire was dead - The Independent, 10th October
 * are repressive regimes given the succour of British aid?'' - A mission to eliminate poverty is laudable. But ours is riddled with contradictions - The Independent, 17th September
 * These poor unfortunates are pawns in a game of power politics - Michael was sitting in the shade of a building site with about 20 fellow Nigerians, watching life go by in a bustling town on the edge of the Sahara... - The Independent, 1st April
 * Iona and Ivan – a tale of two children and two families - The deputy editor of The Independent, whose daughter is profoundly disabled, offers a unique insight into the difficulties facing both his own family and the Camerons - The Independent, 26th February



News & updates:

 * Ian Birrell joins David Cameron's office as speechwriter, Conservativehome website, 29th March 2010



References:


Links:

 * Spectator.co.uk articles