Martin Kettle



Profile:
Full name: Martin James Kettle

Area of interest: British, European and American politics, media, law, classical music

Journals/Organisation: The Guardian

Email: [mailto:martin.kettle@guardian.co.uk martin.kettle@guardian.co.uk]

Personal website:

Website: Guardian.co / Martin Kettle

Blog: Comment is free...; the blog arts & enertainment

Representation:

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



Biography:
About:

Education: Leeds Modern School; Balliol College, Oxford University: modern history

Career: National Council for Civil Liberties: research officer, 1973/1977; New Society: home affairs correspondent, 1977/1981; Sunday Times: political correspondent, 1981/1984; Guardian (1984): Washington correspondent, columnist, classical music critic, political leader writer 1984/1988 & 1993/1997, (appointed an assistant editor of the paper, 1994), Europe editor and US bureau chief 1997/2001, chief leader writer 2001/2006

Current position/role: Columnist and assistant editor


 * also writes 'performance notes' classical music column for Prospect magazine

Other roles/Main role: Classical music reviewer

Other activities:

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight:

Broadcast media: Extensive TV and Radio broadcasting, including British TV and radio, CNN, US TV, International TV, New Zealand TV and radio

Video:
 * Martin Kettle on Sir Menzies Campbell Guardian Unlimited, 18th September 2007 (video)

Controversy/Criticism: New Statesman: John Pilger kebabs the Tonier-than-thou club - Those who regard themselves as commissars of the respectable, moral, liberal class do not convey to - 7th March 2005

Awards/Honours:

Scoops:

Other: Son of prominent communist activists Arnold Kettle and Margot Kettle



Books & Debate:

 * Policing the police OCLC4942624, with Peter Hain et al, 1979
 * Uprising!: police, the people and the riots in Britain's cities OCLC9031351, with Lucy Hodges, 1982
 * Guardian guide to Europe - (ed) ISBN 1-85702-119-3, 1993
 * The single currency: should Britain join? OCLC59613141, 1997

Latest work: The Bedside "Guardian" OCLC 246905906, 2008

Speaking/Appearances:

Debate: 

The Guardian
Column name:

Remit/Info: British, European and American politics and national issues

Section: Comment

Role: Columnist / assistant editor

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:martin.kettle@guardian.co.uk martin.kettle@guardian.co.uk]

Website: Guardian.co / Martin Kettle

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Friday (since July 4th 2008), previously Saturday

Regularity: Weekly

Column format:

Average length:


 * also contributes to Comment is free... blog



Articles: 2016

 * Shakespeare’s greatest achievement is that he lives inside all our heads - The Bard is there in the way we speak, the jokes we tell and even the way we imagine our country - 22nd April
 * Corbyn’s ‘yes, but’ on Europe was right – we all think that too - All is not lost for the remain campaign, and the Labour leader could be its unlikely saviour - 14th April
 * Any party that fails to speak for England can forget about No 10 - We’ll learn much from all the polls on 5 May. But the battle in English cities and counties will tell us most - 7th April
 * Nationalisation is a red herring. But the state should save steel - With Port Talbot under threat, we can no longer treat industrial policy as a relic of the 20th century - 1st April
 * New Zealand’s decision on the flag has lessons for Britain’s EU referendum - Voters across the world, when given the chance to change things, tend to stick with what they know. Will this mean no Brexit? - 25th March
 * How convincing was David Cameron’s Commons statement? - This was the most dangerous moment in Cameron’s premiership - 22nd March
 * If I were George Osborne I’d be starting to sweat about Tory unpopularity - Even in a favourable political and economic climate, the British people don’t love the Conservatives - 18th March
 * Cameron’s unlikely French love affair may be his saviour - The PM had all his eggs in the German basket, but finally he’s seen the mutual dependence with Paris - 3rd March
 * Think a Brexit vote would push Scotland out of the UK? Think again - Even if Britain leaves the European Union, there are many hurdles facing any renewed bid for Scottish independence – as the SNP well knows - 26th February
 * Ideology or character? This is a fight for the Tories’ heart - Europe matters to the Conservative grassroots, but in truth, little divides the rivals for Cameron’s throne - 18th February
 * Antonin Scalia: the judge whose conservatism shaped America - The supreme court judge’s fundamentalist approach to the US constitution makes his death an intellectual as well as political landmark - 15th February
 * Liverpool football fans have shown why we need a moral economy - Smart politicians can learn from the club’s U-turn on pricing – about what makes people so indignant, and why - 12th February
 * Why it matters that Terry Wogan was Irish - The broadcaster made his name during the Troubles, when anti-Irish prejudice in Britain was rife. He showed what the people of both islands have in common - 2nd February
 * Here’s a US import Britain should ban – and it’s not - We can embrace presidential elections and the Oscars, but the NFL is too dangerous to adopt - 29th January
 * How did my communist family get it so wrong? Because politics was their religion - Marxism gave my parents faith to last a lifetime and helped them deny reality. The left today looks as if it’s also developing into a church - 22nd January
 * I’m backing Osborne’s Project Fear – if it helps keep us in Europe - The chancellor’s sudden economic pessimism is aimed at creating insecurities about Britain quitting the European Union - 7th January
 * Winning ugly: the art of Jeremy Corbyn's shambolic shuffle - The Labour leader’s long-winded and limited shakeup left him looking like a total loser. The look was deceptive - 6th January
 * I used to think booing was healthy. Now it’s out of control - The threshold has fallen so low that performers who live every day with fear of failure are being booed by audiences for no good reason - 3rd January



Articles: 2015

 * Britain’s pro-Europeans need to find a Shirley Williams - Unless the ‘in’ campaign delivers a ringing message, the fanaticism of Brexit supporters will decide this battle - 18th December
 * Floods bring people together, but they also wash away trust - If I were David Cameron, I would fast-track flood defences ahead of HS2, and say: ‘These are the people’s priorities – I get it’ - 11th December
 * Hilary Benn’s speech on Syria could transform Labour - The shadow foreign secretary’s electrifying speech not only gave Labour MPs permission to vote for extending military action, it also positioned him as a serious leadership challenger - 3rd December
 * The Syria debate shows MPs have learned the lessons of war - Westminster has shown it is getting better at weighing up the cases for and against intervention - 27th November
 * New politics? Thankfully the old politics is very much alive - There’s talk of populism and consensus, but tribalism and infighting is in rude health within all the Westminster parties - 13th November
 * It will soon be time to drop our oppressive remembrance rituals - We can respect the fallen without wrapping ourselves in the flag, as the Agincourt anniversary shows - 23rd October
 * Nicola Sturgeon’s stance pleases everyone… for now - The SNP leader’s speech at her party’s conference delivered few surprises – but while she’s winning, who cares? - 18th October
 * Labour’s conference will crackle with ideas. But the party may not survive - Under new leader Jeremy Corbyn the party is in flux. Any attempt to impose order from the centre could cause its demise - 25th September
 * What is the point of a House of Lords that rewards failure? - David Cameron’s new peerages don’t rebalance but only further bloat an institution in need of radical reform - 28th August
 * What Hamlet can teach the Labour leadership about getting things right - Some dismiss artists as dreamers. But, as with Benedict Cumberbatch’s Hamlet, they see what works in rehearsal and change what doesn’t. Politicians take note - 21st August
 * Wake up, unions: there will be no Prime Minister Corbyn - Rather than fighting old battles, Conservatives and unions should build a modern industrial democracy. It’s time to revisit the spirit of cooperation - 7th August
 * Why you won’t catch a British politician at the opera - Unlike Angela Merkel, our leaders rarely flaunt their cultural tastes. It’s to the detriment of national life - 31st July
 * Labour can come back from the brink. But it seems to lack the will to do so - In 1983 Neil Kinnock urged the party to unify – and people listened. The mood in today’s smaller, less confident Labour appears more fatalistic - 24th July
 * Labour can come back from the brink. But it seems to lack the will to do so - In 1983 Neil Kinnock urged the party to unify – and people listened. The mood in today’s smaller, less confident Labour appears more fatalistic - 24th July
 * George Osborne’s budget was more New Labour than Thatcherite - Yes, the chancellor delivered a regressive package, but the charge of ‘same old Tories’ is far too simplistic - 10th July
 * Napoleon’s dream died at Waterloo – and so did that of British democrats - This week marks Waterloo’s 200th anniversary, but there’s little to celebrate. It was an anti-liberal triumph for the forces of reaction, on both sides of the channel - 18th June
 * Labour leadership: the timing is bad, the process stinks, but this is going to be a good contest - With Cooper, Kendall, Burnham and Corbyn, there’s space for a proper argument between those who want Labour to be pure, and those who want it to be electable - 16th June
 * Let’s have a reality check. The Tories aren’t all wicked and wrong - This government will be judged on three issues: Europe, the union of the UK and public spending. The trick is not to bring your preconceptions with you - 5th June
 * From provocation to power: the SNP’s tricky road ahead - Despite their fractious first week, ‘the 56’ MPs may find Westminster life changes them in unexpected ways - 29th May
 * David Cameron faces sudden death over Europe. He cannot fail - The Tories are currently riding high, but all depends on how they tackle the defining test of this government – the EU referendum - 22nd May
 * Minority government will allow Ed Miliband to call Nicola Sturgeon’s bluff - The SNP would like to force Labour’s hand, but it could never credibly threaten to vote with the Tories - 1st May
 * Here’s a bold plan, Ed Miliband – it worked for Roosevelt - Our individual economic rights - from jobs, to homes to health – should be spelled out, as Roosevelt did 70 years ago - 17th April
 * The ruling on Prince Charles’s letters is a huge victory for freedom of information - Secret correspondence with ministers will be now made public. The separation of powers our ancestors fought for has been upheld - 26th March
 * I see the future of British politics – it belongs to the wheeler dealers - Minority government seems more likely than formal coalition. Prepare for instability reminiscent of the 1970s - 20th March
 * How do we reform Britain? Wales may have the answer - All eyes may be on Scotland come election day, but Wales could teach us how to save our ailing union - 20th February
 * A Labour failure in Scotland will lead to a battle for Britain itself - Every Ed Miliband misstep plays right into SNP hands, undermining Gordon Brown’s compelling case for the union - 6th February
 * I don’t care what the weatherman says when it’s just hysteria - Thank you, forecasters, for warning us it is going to get very cold. But it’s not your job to tell us to wrap up warm - 19th January
 * Fifty years on, we've yet to find post-Churchill Britain - The great Briton's funeral marked not just the end of an era but a nation. A replacement is still not in sight - 16th January



Articles: 2014

 * Our debt to history's radicals, right, left and centre - Do the 100 British trailblazers listed by Manchester's People's History Museum all deserve it? Thatcher and Blair are there; Keynes isn't - 27th December
 * Could this speech on spending be Ed Miliband’s midwinter spring? - Labour has wasted a long time before asserting its claim to be listened to on economic policy – but this could be a new chapter - 12th December
 * Gordon Brown has one last service to perform for Labour - The former prime minister will have plenty of options when he leaves the Commons, but before that Scottish Labour needs his help - 2nd December
 * In Scotland the old politics have crumbled, as they once did in Ireland - In the recent referendum young voters opted for independence. As with Ireland in 1916, a new mood has taken hold and change seems inevitable - 23rd October
 * The black-up morris dancing row shows that Britain isn’t one nation, but many - Was David Cameron sending out a racist message? No, but how we see it depends on who, or where, we are - 16th October
 * David Cameron's speech was great oratory, but it didn't answer the trust question - More voters identify with Labour than with the Tories, and that's unlikely to change - 2nd October
 * The UK’s presence in the anti-Isis effort is principally political, not military - First thoughts: What the UK brings to the US-led alliance against Islamic State is European solidarity rather than conflict-defining hardware - 27th September
 * Whatever Alex Salmond does next, he'll always be 'the chief' of Scottish politics - Like the great Irish home rule leader Parnell, Salmond brought his nationalist cause to the threshold of triumph – but his departure was surely not forced on him today - 20th September
 * Don’t let Alex Salmond blind you to the yes campaign’s dark side - The referendum has energised Scotland but it has also divided its people. That’s what nationalism does - 18th September
 * Dark night of the Proms: how the festival’s saviour fell victim to wartime prejudice - A century ago Sir Edgar Speyer, the great Proms benefactor, was forced out of England by a campaign of vindictive jingoism - 10th September
 * Scottish referendum: nothing else now matters in British politics - There can be no excuses for complacency or ignorance, with polls suggesting an independent Scotland is only 10 days away - 7th September
 * The Isis danger is all too real and Britain can't beat it alone - David Cameron's instinct for action is right. But rather than lead the charge, we must work behind the scenes, often in secret - 4th September
 * Douglas Carswell's Ukip defection could trigger a realignment in British politics - A win in the MP's Clacton constituency will boost Ukip, and could make Ed Miliband the most likely prime minister next May - 29th August
 * François Hollande can still help to lead Europe away from austerity - Despite his purge of the left and abject approval rating, the French PM is in the right place to challenge German orthodoxy - 28th August
 * Yes or no, things could get nasty after the Scottish referendum - Despite what politicians want us to believe, the English may not be inclined to reward Scots if they vote to keep the union - 21st August
 * Football has got too big for its fancy-coloured boots - I still have a season ticket but the truth is that the Premier League is a false god and there are more honest sports to follow - 14th August
 * Scottish independence: Remember 2014, the last golden summer of the old Britain - From the vantage point of 2024, the referendum's yes vote can be seen as the beginning of an unravelling, and a terrible waste of time - 31st July
 * The Germans resist a heroic view of war – if only we could - In Berlin the first world war centenary carries a warning about nationalism and conflict. Britain prefers to ignore the awkward issues - 24th July
 * An untested and unready Ed Miliband faces Cameron’s redrawn Tory ranks - Labour must match the prime minister’s ambitious statement of intent if it is to avoid joining the coming battle outflanked - 17th July
 * Romanticising the Scots does Scotland no favours - The argument that Scotland's problems are exceptional, and solvable only by independence, is wrong on both counts - 10th July
 * Gordon Brown is right: federalism is on its way if the Scots shun independence - The F-word is on the UK's agenda – there is no going back to undivided Westminster rule - 12th June
 * Queen's speeches are usually weird. But this one was weirder than usual - Scotland's vote and the coalition's near end lent today an added air of make-believe. The big stories are all outside parliament - 5th June
 * Cameron played well with Europe, but he's not winning this game - 29th May
 * Britain joins the anti-EU tune played across the continent - The votes in Britain and the rest of the EU offer an unprecedented challenge to mainstream politics - 26th May
 * Theresa May has ripped up the Tory pact with the police - The home secretary's brave speech stunned the coppers' union. It shows how far the Conservative party has come since Thatcher - 22nd May
 * The tech firms hate the Google verdict, but they can't be beyond the law - The digital industry's attacks on the 'right to be forgotten' ruling should be treated with icy scepticism - 15th May
 * The Eurosceptics have browbeaten us. It's time we stopped cringing - The anti-EU lobby has forced Britain out of the international debate. We have to re-engage – this month's elections matter - 8th May
 * Newark has flushed out the real meaning of Nigel Farage - By dodging the Newark byelection, the Ukip leader has opted to lead an anti-politics party. It is a far-reaching decision - 1st May
 * Scottish referendum: the UK is on shifting sands – we can't assume survival - A yes vote is becoming a real possibility – but we are woefully unprepared to deal with the psychological impact of Scotland rejecting the union - 17th April
 * Angela Merkel has Britain's future in her hands - If she picks her moment, the German chancellor could make a huge and positive difference to the British debate about Europe - 27th February
 * Alex Salmond and co are acting like spoilt children - The inadequacy of the SNP's engagement with serious issues like currency and Europe suggests they suspect the game is up - 20th February
 * David Cameron is wise to want to be the new Stanley Baldwin - He was a quintessential one nation Tory whose steady persona reassured voters. It may, though, be too late to copy him - 13th February
 * Sport, music, politics: they all need mavericks like Kevin Pietersen - The batsman's special brilliance proved too much for England. But like Maria Callas or Winston Churchill he was an essential talent - 6th February
 * Economic recovery helps the Tories - but it won't win them the next election - Growth doesn't guarantee a Tory victory, just as tax rises for the rich won't ensure that Labour regains power - 30th January
 * Ed Miliband's ultimate election battle will be about trust - After the Tories' failure to label him 'Red', or the wrong brother, their final blast will be to claim he's simply not up to the job - 23rd January
 * Modern Britain can survive – if we all have the will for it - We'll need something more than the Queen and bad weather to bind this nation in the year of the Scottish referendum - 9th January



Articles: 2013

 * What if the Germans had won the first world war? - With the war's centenary near, this is not a parlour game. Counterfactual conjecture allows us to see the conflict far more objectively - 26th December
 * We can't rely on Angela Merkel to sort out Europe's problems - David Cameron hopes the German chancellor will help him keep Britain in the EU, but she's focused on her own country - 19th December
 * Why do private schools still attract the most memorable teachers? - It's not surprising that Alan Bennett's The History Boys is Britain's most popular play. The unfairness within our education system endures - 12th December
 * The autumn statement is a political ritual without economic relevance - As George Osborne takes centre stage, we should understand his forecast is 1% about the economy and 99% about election politics - 5th December
 * JFK's assassination wasn't the end of anything, it just felt that way - Every generation has its Kennedy moments. From 9/11 to Iraq, history moves on - 21st November
 * The moment David Cameron lost the 2015 general election - By extolling the virtues of permanent austerity, the prime minister has abandoned the middle ground he needs to win - 14th November
 * Europe isn't lurching to the far right. That's escapist fantasy - Britain's view of European politics is coloured by Germany's terrible interwar years. But that period is no model for today - 7th November
 * What poppies, Prince George and the NSA tell us about freedom - While Edward Snowden revealed an over-mighty state, there are other symptoms. In Britain, democracy has some way to go - 30th October
 * Grangemouth could help shape the Scottish referendum - The SNP has cast itself as defender of the economy from the icy wind of global markets. What's icier than closure on the Forth? - 24th October
 * Scottish National party conference: the descant of political reality - Try as the SNP machine might to spin a more favourable story, the polls continue to point solidly towards a no vote next year - 19th October
 * Roy Hodgson can teach our politicians so much - The England manager – unglamorous, grounded, a patriot and a European, a man with a hinterland – is my kind of public figure - 17th October
 * The Tories are still better off with one-nation Cameron - David Cameron's speech was no lurch to the right, but a centrist leader's attempt to marry social justice with market economics - 3rd October
 * The Daily Mail's attack on Ralph and Ed Miliband is classic red-baiting - I sympathise with Ed – the Times ran a scurrilous piece denouncing my father's politics soon after his death - 2nd October
 * Forget Damian McBride. Another book matters more to Ed Miliband this week - David Sainsbury's tome on progressive capitalism offers the blueprint for Labour's social justice strategy - 26th September
 * On Europe, Angela Merkel's election win may save Britain from itself - The German chancellor's hat-trick puts her at the helm in Europe – and that's good news for David Cameron - 23rd September
 * Hugo Young remembered 10 years on - The Guardian's pre-eminent political commentator, who died 10 years ago today, was the dean and paragon of journalism - 22nd September
 * The great Liberal Democrat wipeout? I have a hunch it won't happen - Clegg's party may have to fight the equivalent of 57 Eastleighs in 2015 – but they are confident that they can defy the polls -12th September
 * Ed Miliband was good on Syria. But he'll soon be given a Kinnock-style kicking - The Tories are bruised. So prepare for the most sustained character assassination in British politics since the 90s - 5th September
 * In delaying the vote on Syria, Labour has acted for Britain - Ed Miliband and Douglas Alexander have been able to change the momentum of the parliamentary process - 29th August
 * A Lab-Lib deal in 2015 may be Ed Miliband's only chance of government - If Labour is serious about being open to coalition in 2015, the party must ditch its autocratic way of doing things now - 22nd August
 * Bad economic news for Europe is good news for Merkel and Cameron - These figures are proof not of a European recovery, but of the right's ability to exploit grim times in a way that eludes the left - 15th August
 * At Bayreuth, Angela Merkel shows up Westminster's shocking philistinism - Our MPs are Lenininst in their belief that politics is all and excludes a rich artistic life. It's a sign of a failed society - 2nd August
 * Can Ed Miliband give England a political voice at last? - The English identity is much more complex and progressive than the saloon-bar Farageism it is too often depicted as - 11th july
 * Falkirk may seem minor, but for Labour it really matters - The Unite union's tactics in the selection of parliamentary candidates are a direct challenge to Ed Miliband's leadership - 3rd July
 * Comprehensive spending review: Balls appeals to the few, Osborne the many - Labour's attack on the chancellor's spending plans is smart, but will only work with those who have made their minds up - 27th June
 * Coalitions and austerity: Britain better get used to them - It's the great new reality of British politics, and all the parties are in the same boat: fighting austerity elections for years to come - 13th June
 * Will this welfare speech turn things round for Ed Miliband? It's a big ask - Miliband has a mountain to climb to sell voters his credible alternative. He needs a lot of them to rethink their view of him - 6th June
 * It is absurd to pretend our armed forces fight only in just wars - The lessons of the first world war are not a settled question in modern Britain, nor is how to commemorate it - 30th May
 * In 2015 Nick Clegg may be in the right place at the right time again - He's holding the coalition together. And given the increasingly four-party message from the polls, he may be called on again - 23rd May
 * Britons obsess about immigration, Germans focus on education - Before descending further into hysteria about Europe, we'd do well to look to Germany. They tend to get their priorities right - 16th May
 * This is the beginning of the end for the coalition - A minimalist Queen's speech marks the failure of Cameron and Clegg's project. From here on, they'll go separate ways - 9th May
 * Like the unions before it, the press has shown us who really governs Britain - Cameron has failed a generation by allowing Leveson to go under. Media barons have bent parliament to their will - 2nd May
 * Scotland's independence debate is giving unionism a shot in the arm - Alex Salmond's SNP should be crowing after Osborne's speech. But pro-UK politics is making a confident comeback - 25th April
 * Thatcher's imperial funeral doesn't suit 21st century democracy - How distressing if this solemn event turns into a farcical reminder of the hubris and divisiveness of the Thatcher era - 11th April
 * Margaret Thatcher unmasked: the lady was for turning - Meryl Streep and state papers may portray a more nuanced Thatcher – but her divisive legacy should not be rewritten - 9th April
 * Seven social classes. Three political parties. It's the mathematics of failure - Britain's politicians are fighting the same old class battles in a country which, a new survey confirms, has radically changed - 4th April
 * David Miliband may be off, but his values still matter - Losing the heir to Blair needn't mean a lurch to the left. His brother Ed knows Labour can only govern from the centre - 28th March
 * Budget 2013: George Osborne's in the results game, and he's shooting for 2015 - Judging by this budget he hopes to win the next election like vintage Arsenal, playing ugly and nicking late winners - 22nd March
 * Chávez will continue to inspire – but not in Europe - If I had been Venezuelan, I would have voted for this charismatic figure. But a British equivalent wouldn't get my support - 7th March
 * Iraq must not blind us to Blair's skill and seriousness - If we use the war to rubbish the former PM's record, we brush aside the still relevant dilemmas he grappled with at home - 28th February
 * Make no mistake, Eastleigh byelection is a pivotal political event - This bylelection could be a priceless boost for Nick Clegg's party and put a second hung parliament seriously on the cards - 21st February
 * Why the consensual Barack Obama is becoming confrontational - The president knows Republicans aren't going to compromise, but can he get Americans to back him in the coming battle? - 14th February
 * 'No more Mid Staffs' sounds so simple. It will be anything but - The parties were unified but we know that reform in the NHS, though massively necessary, has defeated many politicians - 7th February
 * Theresa May has simply got on with the job of police reform - The home secretary has seen through serious reforms of the police that others dodged. If her luck holds the rewards could be great - 31st January
 * Cameron's speech on Europe was not brave yesterday. He was reckless - This speech on Europe marks when Cameron's pragmatic centre-right project finally bent the knee to ideological fantasy - 24th January
 * On Europe, Labour must leave schisms to the Tories - Ed Miliband shouldn't be panicked by the hoopla surrounding Cameron's speech into backing a vote on EU membership - 17th January
 * Obama's no Lincoln, but he has a touch of a Borgen hero - The idealism that the US and Denmark invest in politics can be seen in their televised depictions. And has passed Britain by - 10th January
 * The US and Europe should be glad to be led by a bunch of can-kickers - It's kept Obama and the euro from the cliff edge. What Bismarck called the art of the possible is now a key political skill - 3rd January



Articles: 2012

 * The full story of the British empire is yet to be told - The Dutch acknowledge the violence of empire but are nonetheless proud of the nation their ancestors created. Will we ever feel the same about our own 'golden age'? - 29th December
 * Is plebgate a product of the push for police reform? - The Mitchell affair is a reminder that relations between this government and the force are as bad as any in living memory - 20th December
 * The English, bereft of history, have lost their self-respect - The ties that bind the British are loosening in part because in England the national narrative has been sorely neglected - 13th December
 * George Osborne had a good day at the office. But it's getting late - The chancellor has set out a narrative he believes could win the election. It will be tough, yet we can't dismiss his chances - 6th December
 * Why we must talk about Britten's boys - Benjamin Britten was a great composer but, post-Savile, we cannot ignore his obsession with children - 22nd November
 * Austerity is here to stay, and we'd better get used to it - We think we know all about the rise of Asia and the decline of the west. But we've barely begun to grasp what it really means - 15th November
 * Obama re-elected: the status quo election? No, more like a watershed - On the face of it nothing has changed. But the Hispanic vote may have saved Obama, a fact his opponents cannot ignore - 8th November
 * Michael Heseltine's on the right road – so who's going to take it? - The Treasury must hate the maverick former minister's report, but it should realise his ideas have deep Tory roots - 1st November
 * If we are 'better together', what kind of UK will we be? - The SNP faltered over Nato, and Scottish independence looks unlikely. But the urgent questions won't stop with a no vote - 25th October
 * Ben Needham's disappearance is a matter for Greek police - South Yorkshire police's decision to send officers to the island of Kos is astonishing at a time when services are being cut - 20th October
 * Obama v Romney will be settled on the ground, not on the telly - As Obama and Romney's latest bout shows, TV debates can distract from the real arguments. The UK risks the same in 2015 - 18th October
 * David Cameron's Conservatives are living a lie and he can't speak up - Cameron's conference speech held out the promise that Britain can go it alone, without Europe or the US. It's an illusion - 11th October
 * Ed Miliband and Tony Blair have more in common than those stuck in the past can allow - Like Eric Hobsbawn, Miliband and Blair recognise the Labour party has to transcend old failed labourism to win and govern - 4th October
 * For a future Lib-Lab coalition work needs to begin now - Convergence needn't be either party's principle aim but, if it comes to pass, then it's better it goes well than goes badly - 27th September
 * No exaggeration: Ukip is now a force to reckon with - If the cards fall its way, Nigel Farage's party will shape both the 2015 election and the politics of Britain and Europe for a generation - 20th September
 * Adonis has a plan for schools, and you may find you like it - In the Labour peer's vision for the state sector the academies and free schools rollout goes on, regardless of vested interests - 13th September
 * Lib Dems are ruthless – and the figures show Nick Clegg is a loser - With Vince Cable having said he is available, it seems the only question is when, not if, the party decides to oust its leader - 30th August
 * If Romney beats Obama, Ryan will set the tone and call the shots - The candidate is no Sarah Palin, and should he come to office he could be a tough foil to an indecisive president - 16th August
 * The failure of Lords reform is great news for British democracy - Clegg opposing boundary changes may be partisan retaliation, but it favours Labour and the future of progressive politics too - 9th August
 * London 2012: leave go your cynicism and let the Games commence - I was an Olympisceptic too. But now is the time to sit back and enjoy the show that is the new festival of Britain - 26th July
 * The Proms' neglect of Mozart means we are losing touch with his true genius - Once fundamental to musical education, Mozart's symphonies are now being pushed to the cultural margins - 20th July
 * School-of-Brown politics is as destructive as ever - The reform bill fiasco has vindicated the militant oppositionism embodied by Ed Balls and Labour, and may yet threaten the coalition - 12th July
 * For Cameron and Osborne, the Barclays brawl is about 2015 - The switch of Tory focus this week from Europe to the banks is evidence of longer-term positioning. Just look at the polls - 5th July
 * Police reform: the Tories are in the right place at the wrong time - Once the leading pro-police party, the Tories are now the leading party of police reform. But do they have the nerve to stay with it? - 21st June
 * Europe is in a muddle but it could also hold the solution - There's no easy fix to the crisis. But if finance is to be brought under control, it must be done by bodies with power and credibility - 7th June
 * Is Mitt Romney's Mormonism a key issue? You bet it is - If, as Mormons believe, the US has divine sanction, then so must its foreign policy. This could have huge global implications - 31st May
 * David Cameron and Ed Miliband: two leaders so alike in their failure of nerve - Cameron and Miliband's reluctance to confront their parties' electoral liabilities willl severely limit everything else they aspire to do - 17th May
 * Queen's speech: a story of coalition uncertainty - David Cameron is now struggling to send a clear message to the nation about what the coalition is for - 10th May
 * Devolution and the separation of the English mind - These local elections will measure the role of English ignorance towards Scotland and Wales in Britain's disintegrating union - 3rd May
 * Rupert Murdoch's spell is broken. But not his baleful influence - If the Murdochs walk out of Britain today, their impact on our European politics will last a generation. That's why all this matters - 26th April
 * Cheer for François Hollande in France. But he won't change Europe - If the Socialists win in France it will create a new pole of influence. But their options will be severely limited - 19th April
 * Gesture politics is thriving, yet we always return to the big parties - British political history is littered with wreckage of fringe parties, from Mosley and the communists to Natural Law and the SDP - 12th April
 * National liberty is at stake, as well as national security - The plan to hold secret court hearings is anti-terror reflex, imported at the behest of the US by the security services - 5th April
 * Britain must beware the dystopic drift towards a US-style judiciary - Obama's current healthcare case with an explicity partisan supreme court should serve as a warning - 29th March
 * Budget 2012: A budget for the rich or the poor? It's too early to say - Whether this is a budget for millionaires, as Ed Miliband says, or the millions, will depend on the tax-dodging super-rich - 22nd March
 * Cameron and Obama ended the neocon era. But the era of Assad goes on - David Cameron and Barack Obama buried the neocons in Washington. But the west will pay a price for the quiet life - 15th March
 * Why the Scottish referendum date matters - No difference between a vote in 2013 or 2014? Apart from the small matter of the next general election, that is - 8th March
 * Mitt Romney is no moderate, and American voters know it - Republicans have failed to restore their instincts for electability. That's the real lesson of the Michigan primary - 1st March
 * The Liberal Democrats must abandon the doomed folly of Lords reform - Lib Dems can be proud of much of their coalition work. But pursuing Lords reform risks wasting what time they have left - 16th February
 * Liberal Democrats can again enjoy the reflection in the mirror - Nick Clegg has taken the Lib Dems on a traumatic journey. But his battle-hardened party now has real grounds for confidence - 9th February
 * The mood in Britain is to muddle along - This may be an era of economic turmoil, but people have little appetite for a radical alternative - 2nd February
 * Alex Salmond's wish is for a home rule option for Scotland – and he'll get it - The now imminent date for the Scottish referendum leaves little time for the consideration of its impact on the rest of the UK - 26th January
 * David Hockney is still an artist who genuinely matters - Hockney's show poses hard questions, on how and why we decide how much things matter - 19th January
 * Alex Salmond does not make Scottish independence inexorable - The Scottish Nationalist party leader wants a referendum deal – because without it the SNP is more likely to lose - 12th January
 * Labour is right to rethink, but it could do with some Republican heart - Labour and the US Republican party have reacted very differently to defeat – but each can learn from the other - 6th January
 * Iowa caucus results make Mitt Romney the man to beat - Republican presidential rivals look to southern states for victory as doubts remain over Romney's ability to fire up voters - 6th January



Articles: 2011

 * Margaret Thatcher unmasked: the lady was for turning - Meryl Streep and state papers may portray a more nuanced Thatcher – but her divisive legacy should not be rewritten - 30th December
 * Farewell, Sir Gus O'Donnell, but you got it wrong on government - The retiring cabinet secretary, Gus O'Donnell, believed the private sector had more to teach the public sector than the other way round - 23rd December
 * Labour's toughest test: the politics of 'no more money' - Simply blaming the cuts won't cut it any longer. The spending party must present a credible alternative for voters - 16th December
 * Voter rights are under threat, and the devil is in the detail - The Lib Dems as well as Labour stand to suffer from changes in electoral registration. It must not become a lifestyle choice - 9th December
 * George Osborne's autumn statement speaks to the public mood - The British are pessimistic about the economy. But they still do not blame the coalition - 2nd December
 * Cameron's 'blame Europe' strategy is full of holes – but so far it's working - Blaming the eurozone crisis for Britain's economic ills will play well with the Tory faithful, and have Labour on the back foot - 11th November
 * Cameron, take note. The UK can't step aside from this eurozone crisis - There's no justification for smugness at the fate of the eurozone. Debt is a global issue, and all our economies are vulnerable - 4th November
 * This Tory addiction to the Europe myth could cost them 2015 - The Conservative party is seriously out of touch if it thinks voters care for the referendum. It is the economy that matters - 28th October
 * Alex Salmond's opponents are now forced to reinvent themselves - Here in Inverness it is clear that the SNP leader's bold move on devolution has wrongfooted the other main parties - 21st October
 * Liam Fox ran a freelance international security policy. He will pay for it - The defence secretary's parallel advice service with Adam Werritty has cost him the confidence of his senior officials - 14th October
 * These demeaning rituals are a waste political parties can ill afford - The conference season – dominated by lobbyists and media and devoid of any debate – has long outlived its purpose - 7th October
 * Ed Miliband has offered an alternative – but will anyone vote for it? - Miliband's indisputable leftward shift has put Labour at ease with itself but risks making the party less relevant than ever - 30th September
 * While Labour remains in denial, it will be stuck in a dark alley - Both right and left of the party refuse to own up to its economic record. This places them off the high street in voters' minds - 23rd September
 * Dems' illusions are gone. Now they need imagination'' - The party members who believe in social justice have to look at the reality of the cuts agenda and find a way out of coalition - 16th September
 * the one about the corrupt, lying politician?'' - Today's satire is deeply cynical, depicting British politics as a nest of fools. It may make us laugh, but its impact is not funny - 26th August
 * voters are not mad. Our stereotype of them is patronising and wrong'' - We shouldn't get carried away by media coverage of the Tea Party. Many Americans are put off by the Christian right - 19th August
 * must talk to the rioters, not turn our backs on them'' - To seek an explanation is not to excuse them, yet the rioters know better than all of us why they acted as they did - 12th August
 * MI5's records on my father tell us about the uses of surveillance'' - I'd like to believe the security service have got better at sorting out the public from the private, the lethal from the harmless - 27th July
 * Wagner was no ranter'' - It is banal to suggest his music promotes antisemitism, but the Israel Chamber Orchestra's Bayreuth performance matters - 26th July
 * took some time to unravel. The phone-hacking scandal could too'' - David Cameron's poll ratings show he's having a good hacking crisis. But his insouciance may prove to be his downfall - 22nd July
 * reckless gesture is Cameron's historic chance'' - Murdoch still dominates but is weakened. The PM can show the strength of his liberal Toryism by stopping the BSkyB deal - 8th July
 * strikes could become the coalition's Iraq moment'' - David Cameron owns this dispute. If he's not careful, he might end up irreversibly alienating the public - 1st July
 * Schengen, Nato – it's time to admit the European dream is over'' - As its leaders meet to grapple with the Greek crisis, the airwaves are full of existential debates about the future of the EU itself - 24th June
 * Cameron has just learned that he can't defy eternal truths'' - The Conservative brand is not yet decontaminated. The prime minister realises the party can't be seen as an enemy of the NHS - 17th June
 * Clegg's House of Lords reform is folly. Abolition would be a better option'' - The Lib Dem leader's plan is noble yet naive; against his party's interests and destined to fail. But do we need a second chamber anyway? - 3rd June
 * argue for controls over the internet may not be cool, but it's right'' - Downing Street should not be so quick to dismiss Sarkozy's plan to regulate the internet. Its problems require global solutions - 27th May
 * outsider like Peter Mandelson could be perfect for the IMF'' - In a world of debt crises and bailouts, a European successor to Strauss-Kahn is seen as essential. But the appointment should be transparent - 20th May
 * Tory attack on red tape will cause a clearout of good law'' - The Tories' seemingly innocuous, populist tilt at bureaucracy is a red-meat onslaught on essential, hard-won legislation - 13th May
 * Clegg's pain offers new hope for centre-left harmony'' - Tonight's AV results will feel very raw for the Lib Dems, but could open the way for progressive parties to re-engage - 6th May
 * yes to AV if you want to see Tories feel the fear again'' - But if you're happy to see Labour prime ministers snubbed by the royals and taunted by Cameron, go for the status quo - 29th April
 * hatred of Clegg says more about us than it does about him'' - The collective bullying of the Lib Dem leader is bad for our democracy. Is it just a reaction to the end of the honeymoon? - 22nd April
 * banks needed Scarman's cold eye, but Vickers blinked'' - The report on the riots 30 years ago changed police. Today's Vickers commission on banking makes proposals to fit our timorous times - 15th April
 * will tell if Lib Dems face just disaster – or oblivion'' - Scottish and Welsh elections are fought on different issues, yet the coalition partners are losing their long-standing voters fast - 8th April
 * yes to AV could make the Green party a force to reckon with'' - The German greens' astonishing result in Baden-Württemberg hints at eventual breakthrough for Caroline Lucas and co - 1st April
 * budget speech was like a Brown tribute album'' - In terms of ideology and economics the two chancellors are deeply opposed, but their political moves are eerily similar - 25th March
 * 2011: Guardian columnists' verdict'' - 24th March
 * left should look to the laws of physics to overcome this losing streak'' - Maybe David Miliband was watching Brian Cox. But he has shown Europe's progressive parties how to become electable again - 11th March
 * win the next election, just find the next big question'' - The parties should think now about what the voters will be asking for in 2015. And it won't all be about the current cuts - 4th March
 * evil? Our certainties of 1865 give us pause today'' - The Guardian's stance on the US civil war was of its era. Those who now wish to intervene abroad can't foretell the future either - 25th February
 * hostility to politics will deliver a yes to AV'' - The mood is for change: people hate the system and believe in fairness. The May vote will have lasting consequences for British politics - 18th February
 * failure to curb banks is a failure of government itself'' - The coalition flunked its most important challenge this week, just as Labour once did. The public deserves better - 11th February
 * Egyptians want change, then they should have it'' - It is a risk, and could destabilise the country and the region, but who are Mubarak or the west to deny it to them? - 4th February
 * election: this will be Ireland's chance to move on from 1921'' - Ireland's ruling coalition has imploded, and the imminent vote could mark the historic downfall of Fianna Fáil - 28th January
 * deny prisoners the vote?'' - The reluctance to let prisoners vote is a hangover from the age of John Locke – a view of rights that sees the vote as a privilege - 21st January
 * recent history may be about to repeat itself'' - Ed Balls will frighten the Tories – but he may also frighten the voters. And Ed Miliband has good reason to fear him, too - 21st January
 * Lib Dems will gain strength through weakness'' - In coalition small parties are offered concessions. And in the modern world of fairness and volatility, they can thrive - 14th January
 * it, Ed: Labour and the Lib Dems need each other'' - Despite the current intense bitterness, the parties of the progressive movement may yet learn to work together - 7th January



Articles: 2010

 * Harold Macmillan could teach David Cameron'' - In a 1980 private memo to Thatcher, the former PM warned against divisive politics. The coalition must take note - 31st December
 * Cable's debacle is a clause IV opportunity for David Cameron'' - Rupert Murdoch's takeover of BSkyB a shoo-in? Not if Cameron shows he is radically different to his Thatcherite predecessors - 24th December
 * credit rating agencies are leading an assault on nations and peoples'' - Moody's, S&P's, Fitch: they are unelected, unaccountable and have hugely inflated powers. We must curb them - 17th December
 * fees vote: For the coalition, this is the end of the beginning'' - The vote was won, but divisions and wounds have been exposed in the most public way. Things will never be the same - 10th December
 * Openness against secrecy has a rich history of struggle'' - A needless war, a distrust of governments and diplomats, and a desire for greater transparency – we've been here before - 3rd December
 * Cameron's wellbeing is seats on trains, affording a ticket comes first'' - Cameron is right to talk about our quality of life. But as commuters know, carriages don't feel comfy when money worries bite - 26th November
 * 60 years, Nato kept the peace in Europe. What now?'' - The alliance now has few common objectives, and bows to a US agenda. Europe must make a stand to keep it relevant - 19th November
 * reform: Stop hoping for the worst and give Duncan Smith a chance'' - Iain Duncan Smith's welfare reforms may not be as exciting as those of Beveridge, but their aims are just as profound - 12th November
 * Johnson could be the Sarah Palin of a British Tea Party'' - A low-tax anti-European group taking on a corrupt Westminster elite could repeat the US experience – with the right leader - 5th November
 * Turkey's EU accession bid is going nowhere soon'' - As a weak Europe frets over Turkey's membership, the booming south-eastern nation is increasingly thinking: why bother? - 29th October
 * clever by half, Osborne put his message before facts'' - This isn't Thatcher 2.0. Yet the chancellor is looking careless over the outcome his measures will have on real lives - 22nd October
 * no tears for Liverpool: our football needs deflating'' - Bill Shankly was wrong. This unimportant game is an insatiable monster. Financial collapse would get it back in perspective - 15th October
 * government isn't foolish: there's a plan B in the offing'' - Lord Hutton's pensions report demonstrates that if the opposition adopts a principled approach the coalition can compromise - 8th October
 * coalition is far stronger than Labour optimists think'' - The Tories and Lib Dems are braced for short-term damage, but Cameron is popular and public trust is largely undiminished - 1st October
 * speech the new Labour leader must deliver'' - The party must rekindle the sense that it knows what it fights for – but be ready for coalition - 24th September
 * Blair absorbs me, Mahler's chord ousts him every time'' - That opening A of the composer's stunning first symphony, to be played at the Proms tomorrow night, still touches more than words - 3rd September
 * Labour party faces a choice of either politics or religion'' - Both Milibands offer a social democratic critique of New Labour. But one aims at a majority, the other at the core vote - 27th August
 * in the Anglosphere, we've lost sight of next door'' - It's great the internet has engaged us in Australian elections and Alaska, but language has cut Europe from our mental maps - 20th August
 * late, great Jimmy Reid left a legacy for our times'' - Both workers and bosses could learn from how the late, great trade unionist directed his shipbuilders in an hour of crisis - 13th August
 * clear, Labour is playing fast and loose on AV reform'' - A policy put forward in its manifesto just three months ago has been spiked by a spasm of hatred of all things Clegg - 29th July
 * genuine sporting king in a world of unworthy princes'' - Amid the overpaid egos and brats of global sport, Muttiah Muralitharan's successes and humility make him a true legend - 23rd July
 * man of grace. Cameron has been good for Britain'' - From Bloody Sunday to the international stage, the prime minister has charmed his friends and disarmed his opponents - 9th July
 * tough lesson: Labour may never win alone again'' - Across Europe, centre-left parties are suffering at the polls. Returning to power will mean having to alter and compromise - 2nd July
 * reason cannot calm the Groucho Marxist right'' - The BP disaster is just the latest crisis that has seen this consensus-seeking president rebuffed by the worst of partisan politics - 18th June
 * tough new era can't start by dodging tough questions'' - As long as all parties fail to speak frankly about the economic crisis, few long-term, balanced solutions will be found - 11th June
 * no common culture, a common history is elusive'' - Gove may find, as others did, that Britain lacks the national narrative to forge consensus on the history taught in schools - 4th June
 * will be tempted. But this is no way to break the coalition'' - Labour will soon face a historic choice on the electoral reform vote. Their wisest strategy is to back the yes campaign - 27th May
 * it survives early tests, this coalition could outlive the decade'' - In a mirror image of Blair's efforts, Cameron is set on marginalising the right, as part of a bold attempt to redraw the political map - 21st May
 * rule: but liberal Tories with a New Labour legacy'' - The bold risk Cameron and Clegg took means that instead of a lurch to the right, this regime will keep vying for the centre - 14th May
 * results: Britain is more Cameronian than Conservative'' - This is a moment of existential crisis for the centre-left – Labour needs to relearn the lessons of 1983 - 7th May (Cif at the polls)
 * the Conservatives steal this election?'' - Even if he can command only a minority government, David Cameron will tear up the constitution to block a Lib-Lab pact - 6th May
 * 2010: Conservatives – not just for England'' - The overnight: David Cameron's visits to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales aim to portray the Tories as a truly national UK-wide party - 5th May
 * debate: David Cameron faced the most important job interview of his life tonight. I think he passed'' - Cleggmania and post-bigotgate Brown were sideshows. What really mattered was how Cameron performed - 30th April 2010
 * Balls as leader would be a gift to Cameron'' - The Tories are foolish to want to remove Ed Balls from parliament. He could be their greatest asset - 28th April
 * will lead the opposition?'' - A hung parliament doesn't just change the nature of government – it changes almost everything about the workings of parliament - 27th April
 * is incapable of removing Gordon Brown'' - The overnight: So senior Labour figures are preparing to oust the PM and do a deal with Clegg? Get real - 26th April
 * Clegg held on in a gripping debate. This will go to the wire'' - David Cameron and Gordon Brown both went up a gear – but Nick Clegg impressively kept the Lib Dems in the hunt - 23rd April
 * latest poll would deliver an outrageous election result'' - The Liberal Democrat surge could yet unleash an intractable political and constitutional crisis for Britain - 17th April
 * asleep to Lib Dem threat'' - The party's strategists might be relaxed, but these jaw-dropping poll results say it all: Labour could be facing a fight for survival - 16th April
 * was the winner in this historic leaders' debate'' - Cameron disappointed, Brown held the line. But the Lib Dem success will put them in the crosshairs. This election has come alive - 16th April
 * 2010: The building of David Cameron's big society'' - Day eight: There's a lot I like in Cameron's idea, but Tory manifesto tactics have left rich pickings for the Lib Dems - 14th April
 * 2010: Labour manifesto v expenses row'' - Day seven: Labour fought a frantic battle to keep its manifesto launch atop the news list. Can it now derail the Tories' launch? - 13th April (Cif at the polls)
 * 2010: Gordon Brown hunkers down'' -Day six: Labour released its first party election broadcast, featuring a man plodding uphill alone - 12th April
 * bly-win-wasnt-gordon-brownBrown is hoist by his own petard, but cannot admit it - The original architect of the hands-off approach, post-crash, extols hands back on, when all voters want is contrition - 9th April )
 * 2010: Back to the future taxes'' - Day two: Gordon Brown's promises of constitutional reform were buried by the row over national insurance - 8th April
 * 2010: You're never alone with Gordon Brown'' - On day one it became clear how anxious Labour are to surround the PM with friends, allies and Sarah - 7th April
 * big society is bound to become mean'' - Blair is right to ask where the Tories are centred. Even Cameron's bold, warm vision cannot defy his party's gravity - 2nd April
 * peerages for MPs stink. Now the reek is intolerable'' - As the likes of Hewitt and Hoon expect a free pass to the Lords, attacking this cosy Whitehall club has ever more urgency - 26th March
 * budget could point the way for Britain's renewal'' - No party has created a vision for post-banking-crisis capitalism. Next week the chancellor, now his own master, can do so - 19th March
 * and voters are all colluding in this financial deception'' - We face a huge deficit. But honesty about cuts is losing out to party self-interest and a fog of fatuous euphemisms - 5th March
 * Cameron muddles in the middle'' - The Conservative leader needs to hone his message and get specific, otherwise voters will have no reason to trust him - 1st March
 * Farage's rampage of rudeness'' - The Ukip MEP is desperately trying to get noticed, and some have risen to his bait - 26th February
 * coalition ruling is one more nail in Labour's coffin'' - Brown should learn from Ted Heath's hard lessons. A hung parliament cannot resurrect a defeated government -19th February
 * time to shout down the bobbies-on-the-beat mantra'' - For 20 years Britain's two main parties have used police numbers as a vote-getter. But where's the evidence of public good? - 12th February
 * and Jack's carry on'' - I respect Harriet Harman and her husband Jack Dromey, but for him to be gifted a safe Labour seat would look – and be – terrible - 11th February
 * heart refuses to race to this cross-Channel love-in'' - Logically, allied Britain and France should tie the military knot and stand as one. Only 900 years of enmity stand in the way - 5th February
 * real problem was Blair's policy to America, not Iraq'' - He was not wrong about intervention. It was his political judgment that went badly awry. If only this was Chilcot's focus - 29th January (see: Iraq war inquiry: summary)
 * missing witnesses'' - Without evidence from witnesses such as Tory MPs, Bush officials, Chirac and Blix, our view of Iraq will remain partial - 26th January
 * jobless stats won't save Labour'' - Ministers may feel they are due some credit for the drop in unemployment figures – but most voters remain unimpressed - 22nd January
 * and tax divide Labour, but could sink the Tories too'' - The spending plans to be outlined in the budget, and Osborne's response, will be the critical pre-election moment - 22nd January
 * Dems eye the battle over cuts'' - Brown and Balls may still want to spend us out of recession, but Nick Clegg sees that the debate is shifting to how to make cuts - 18th January
 * must call a truce on its criminal justice arms race'' - If imprisonment is the measure, Britain is twice as wicked as 30 years ago. We have become the Texas of Europe - 15th January
 * Clegg capitalises on Iraq issue'' - The Lib Dems are pleased to have the invasion back on the agenda – no matter what Gordon Brown does about Chilcot - 13th January
 * Brown's pantomime of unity'' - Tonight the PM will offer Labour MPs a display of 'collegiate leadership' that not even his cabinet ministers believe - 12th January
 * defeat of this revolt is hardly any victory at all'' - Only a lack of planning in the plot saved the PM. Yet a newly confident cabinet may, with skill and luck, boost his party's fortunes - 8th January
 * and Hoon's great gamble'' - Whether this challenge to Gordon Brown's leadership succeeds or fails, the stakes for Labour are now frighteningly high - 6th January
 * Labour into holding byelection'' - Invoking a 'six-month rule' to deprive NW Leicestershire of an MP is a nakedly self-serving act. Labour mustn't get away with it - 4th January
 * a Labour-Tory coalition unthinkable? Only until you think about it'' - Seeing Britain's problems through the prism of a hung parliament could convince the Tories and Labour to do the deal - 1st January



Articles: 2009

 * even Cameron can control the politics of anger'' - The next election will take place amid a mood of public hostility to government that is near revolutionary in its force - 18th December
 * March election? Go for it, Gordon'' - The country seems ready to go to the polls. It may not make a difference to the result, but Brown has no good reason to hold on - 15th December
 * should beware the lazy cry of betrayal'' - In his Oslo speech, Obama showed that he understands politics is a messier, more nuanced business than many like to imagine - 11th December
 * the pre-budget report'' - This avowedly political event is a New Labour invention we don't need. At the very least, its date should be independently set - 8th December
 * Labour's class war calls bankers' bluff, bring it on'' - It is more Lennon than Lenin, but this new approach demanding morality for the financial sector could hit home - 4th December
 * this Iraq memo really so explosive?'' - Legality is partly a matter of dates, and a 'smoking gun' legal note was written before the key UN security council resolution - 1st November (see: Iraq war enquirt: summary)
 * parliaments are only good for whips and scribblers'' - They can enliven politics and force leaders to think twice. But they are rare and a recipe for factions rather than consensus - 27th November
 * imperfect, but let's all cheer Van Rompuy's victory'' - The dystopic European vision peddled by the Tories, the media et al has been shown to be a malicious fantasy - 20th November
 * is right: he is odds on to emulate John Major'' - Major's victory in 1992 is the precedent Labour likes to talk about. But it's his defeat five years later that should concern them - 20th November
 * speech: too much politics?'' - The Queen's speech should be judged not on its emphasis on electoral goals, but on whether it embodies smart politics - 19th November
 * it ain't. Salmond's army like the taste of office'' - Most Scots don't share the goal of independence – and the SNP won't risk throwing away power on a battle it is likely to lose - 16th October
 * should call time on payback'' - The expenses system has been a disaster – including for Gordon Brown. But Legg's letters demanding repayment stink - 13th October
 * and dangerous, Cameron's speech could unseal the deal'' - Conference season 09: Here was a revelatory political moment, raising a massive question about the Conservative leader's claims to run the country - 9th October
 * Osborne's speech did the business'' - It was a good morning's work for George Osborne, as he set out what a Conservative government would do to fix the economy - 6th October
 * strange survival of Labour England'' - Talk of Labour's demise is premature – it might not be re-elected, but it's had a good conference and still has its supporters - 2nd October
 * Tories' Eurosceptic toxicity could leave Britain stranded'' - Clearly, Cameron should mould himself on Merkel. But he is a prisoner of his own views and of an ideologically phobic party - 2nd October
 * minor miracle'' - Germany has given Angela Merkel a vote of confidence in moderate pro-business politics. Cold comfort for Gordon Brown - 28th September
 * beware'' - Conference season 09: The Labour election strategy is becoming clear - to capitalise on the rage against the banks - 28th September
 * of a revival is fantasy. With Brown, Labour is toast'' - To limit the damage to mere defeat at the next election, the Labour party must shine at conference – and then ditch Gordon Brown - 25th September
 * Clegg comes of age'' - The Lib Dems are still far from making three-party politics a reality, but this conference speech had brio and conviction - 23rd September
 * party conferences are the enemy of the new politics'' - Party conferences should be forums for innovation and lively debate, not bland, tightly controlled festivals of backslapping - 18th September
 * Wales: a land lost to Labour - A political earthquake is about to hit Wales, with the Tories set to become the dominant party - 16th September
 * Peter's whimsy'' - Speaking on cuts, Peter Mandelson showed that he, not Brown, is really running government. But will it make any difference? - 15th September
 * biggest problem for the Liberal Democrats is illiberal Britain'' - From the economy to climate change the party has often been right, yet a breakthrough in the polls remains a dream - 11th September
 * Brown's Afghanistan speech didn't say'' - Gordon Brown put his case well – but he must now decide whether to please his generals and send more troops - 5th September
 * October revolt is plotted. Brown's head is not safe yet'' - Loyalty will last as long as conference season, but if the polls don't improve Labour's leader may face one more coup attempt - 4th September
 * absurd Megrahi conspiracy theorists'' - The facts of the UK government's role in the Lockerbie bomber's release are simple – it had its hands tied by a lack of jurisdiction - 2nd September (see: Abdelbaset al-Megrahi)
 * golden age of wise, dull government is a fanciful idea'' - Some, like Ted Kennedy, go into politics and then grow up. But it's not true, in the US or UK, that most grow up and then go into politics - 28th August
 * Brown is silent on Megrahi'' - The PM's 'no comment' stance over the Lockerbie bomber's release shows a man who's lost the nerve to lead - 24th August
 * just not cricket as I remember it'' - The Ashes victory would once have been cheered by a better, more diverse crowd than today's pre-booked bunch - 24th August
 * should take more notice of this woman at the top'' - Brown should drop his Obama pretensions and look to Germany for his inspiration. Angela Merkel has got a lot right - 21st August
 * in the Tory ranks'' - Cameron's firefighting this week shows that indiscretion, sleaze and resurgent Thatcherism will haunt his project, but won't halt it - 15th August
 * can trust Handel. He is music's great communicator'' - This revival bears witness to his desire to please and elevate the audience. Where is that impulse in composers today? -14th August
 * causes a stir'' - George Osborne's Demos speech made an arresting, tactical claim that the Tories – not Labour – are the progressive force - 12th August
 * took 142 years, but at last Bagehot has got his way'' - The birth of the supreme court is not just for show. The removal of judges from parliament is a victory for liberty and law - 31st July
 * rewrites history, again'' - Gordon Brown could not simply mark the death of Harry Patch, he had to pretend the first world war was something it wasn't - 28th July
 * and fatalistic, they stumble into summer'' - Brown drags Labour down badly, as Norwich North is likely to show. It says it all that MPs know this and still do nothing - 24th July
 * the Tories have a real foreign policy?'' - William Hague's speech will be carefully scrutinised, but without their hatred of Europe, it is not clear what the Tories believe in - 22nd July
 * defence policy is mired in deceit and denial'' - Robert McNamara was haunted by an act of great military folly. Those who order war in Afghanistan risk a similiar, awful fate - 10th July
 * happened to Gordon's goats?'' - Lord Malloch-Brown is the latest disillusioned specialist to leave Brown's once-touted 'government of all the talents' - 9th July
 * future depends upon his nation's health'' - American voters want healthcare overhauled. But reform is a high stakes game that can wound the president - 3rd July
 * left is in crisis. The choice is stark: adapt or wilt'' - The big social democratic parties – not least Labour – must learn from Blair's example. Or accept a role on the political margins - 12th June
 * portfolio of possibilities'' - This is no grand new settlement, but Gordon Brown's statement on political reform does have the potential to bring about change - 11th June
 * must change, or the party's over'' - Labour's historically low vote has left it without authority – but how do its results compare with the performance of other parties? - 8th June
 * should stay but will be sacrificed for his honesty'' - The chancellor knows the voters' choice will be Labour cuts or Tory cuts. But Brown and Balls will never play it straight - 5th June
 * for Darling'' - Whatever the truth about the chancellor's expenses, the mere suspicion of wrongdoing has given his enemies a field day - 2nd June
 * rush for the Lords shows Labour is a barrier to reform'' - More than 50 of the party's MPs are scrambling for a place in the upper house. The only aspiration they still stand for is their own - 29th May
 * back on anger'' - We should be more self-critical about our rage, be it directed towards politicians or bankers, as it is no substitute for action - 25th May
 * 1787 it's not. But one radical reform is realistic'' - It's easy to oversell the talk of change. Brown can make a real difference, however, by ensuring MPs get a real mandate - 22nd May
 * choice for the next Speaker'' - If Michael Martin quits he cannot be replaced by another Labour MP. Of all the contenders for the job, I know who'd get my vote - 18th May
 * true patrons of this greed are an over-mighty press'' - Media that increasingly prioritise personality over serious debate have no real interest in restoring trust in politics - 15th May
 * leader picked by unions is an explosive trap for Labour'' - Party rules will mean five barons have huge clout in electing a successor to Brown. The system needs scrapping now - 8th May
 * Hazel Blears be Labour's Margaret Thatcher?'' - The parallel is not as crazy as it sounds. Maybe Blears could do for Labour what the Iron Lady did for the Conservative party - 6th May
 * think Labour couldn't go on. But they probably will'' - Despite a brutal week ministers seem doggedly convinced that a partial economic recovery will make them re-electable - 1st May
 * Conservatives have had an easy ride. That has to stop'' - The public needs to know which Tory approach it is buying. The longer the answer is denied, the more suspicious they get - 24th April
 * missed opportunity on MPs' expenses'' - The PM's announcement about expenses is proactive, but it should have come from the perspective of parliament, not Labour - 22nd April
 * must flush the dark arts culture out of his regime'' - Unless the PM acts to put an end to the dirty tricks and sleaze corroding his government, public disgust will persist - 17th April
 * needs urgent reform. But not by partial politicians'' - The Tomlinson scandal and Quick affair highlight crucial controversies, and reinforce the demand for a royal commission - 10th April
 * at 25% off?'' - Jacqui Smith's defence of her expenses was abject. Here are two ways the government could tamp down the row - 7th April
 * on Mr Brown's agenda: invade the Channel Islands'' - The prime minister's new zeal on tax havens rings hollow, as does his grand G20 roadshow. I'm now less sure he can hang on - 27th March
 * and Darling will stick together'' - Don't get over-excited by Mervyn King's comments about fiscal stimulus – it won't cause a rift between the PM and the chancellor - 26th March
 * this big need more than the state v market stuff'' - If climate change is to be tackled, or the financial system rebuilt, we need to move beyond the old, dumb, polarising politics - 20th March
 * 'Clunking fist' – down but not out'' - Until PMQs today, I thought Cameron's lead in the polls unassailable. But then he failed to land a glove on Brown ... - 19th March
 * centralist impulse is verging on the demented'' - Chairman Balls's reaction to the Baby P report is just the latest result of a political generation drunk on management theory - 13th March
 * can't throw custard in a police state'' - Leila Deen's attack on Peter Mandelson is a reminder that the assault on freedom does not have the universal upper hand - 7th March
 * finest hour won't change the political weather'' - Engaging with the global crisis in Washington and the G20 wins plaudits. But only honesty about errors can win back voters - 6th March
 * Thatcher-fest does not mean it's 1979 all over again'' - The Conservatives may be on the verge of power, but by any rational standards this is still a left-of-centre moment - 27th February 2009
 * times could yet see the Lib Dems eclipse Labour'' - Vince Cable is setting the agenda, and the party is closer than it seems to reclaiming the mantle of British progressivism - 20th February 2009
 * Brown has to accept his share of guilt for this mess'' - Tangled by his tactics, the prime minister seems incapable of recognising that politicians should take some responsibility - 13th February 2009
 * Clarke and Cable in the cabinet? Don't rule it out'' - Another disaster for Labour in this European elections, and the drums will beat for a national emergency government - 6th February 2009
 * mentioned the D-word'' - Gordon Brown didn't want to use the word 'depression' today. It's his great unconscious fear - 5th February 2009
 * cares about Europe. Britain he can take or leave'' - Denying ourselves a place in the president's new world order could be the greatest regret of this political generation - 30th January 2009
 * plan, but Cameron's pitch for the centre is serious'' - Labour scoffs at ideas of progressive conservatism but the Tory leader is signalling his intent to fight the middle ground - 23rd January 2009
 * 3 will be a shrine to Labour's congenital frailty'' - When backed in a corner, ministers seem unable to make the right choices on tough issues and build alliances to support them - 16th January 2009 (see: Runway 3)
 * wants to, yet he doesn't. Will Brown do a Callaghan?'' - The last thing on his mind? Get real. The prime minister will be agonising over election timing. It's all worryingly like 1978 - 9th January 2009



Articles: 2008

 * and central diktat have strangled police reform'' - The old consensus has broken down. A new relationship must begin with the Home Office devolving responsibility - 19th December 2008
 * lecturing Germany, Gordon. Steinbrück is right'' - The finance minister had reason to be exasperated. Britain's economic future hinges on Europe, and this is no time for animus - 12th December 2008
 * now delights in its new Mandelson with a plan'' - The man of the hour is the once-reviled business secretary, who has raised his game as a thinker in the face of financial crisis - 5th December 2008
 * or an empty gesture by men groping in the dark?'' - Whether or not Brown and Darling's plans ease the crisis, their symbolic killing of New Labour will reap more pain than gain -28th November 2008
 * or not, Iraq's legacy is a boost to the rule of law'' - The public's judgment on the war came long before Lord Bingham's. States and leaders will hesitate to repeat the experience - 21st November 2008
 * irresponsibility has left us in a civic Catch-22'' - People believe that standards in public life are low and getting worse. No wonder, when that's what they read every day - 14th November 2008
 * Hispanic vote shaped the contours of this election'' - A huge swell of support for Obama in the south-western states is the real race story behind this historic victory - 7th November 2008
 * challenge ahead'' - Obama has won a historic mandate. But delivering his promised 'change' will depend on holding that support through 2012 - 5th November 2008
 * this inner racist demon stuff is wildly overblown'' - Americans have spent a long time getting to know Obama. Despite Europe's condescension, this isn't at core a vote about colour - 31st October 2008
 * debates rarely swing it, but let voters test the timber'' - The presidency is not won or lost by televised knockabout, but Obama has taken the opportunity to confirm his credentials - 17th October 2008
 * can guide, yet there are new limits of the possible'' - Brown's lead shows he has learnt much from the 1930s and from Keynes, as market dogma gives way to real choices again - 10th October 2008
 * money is reining in debate, we will have to pay to free it'' - State funding for political parties is the surest way to keep their conferences open, honest and secure from corporate influence - 3rd October 2008
 * with a kiss? Maybe, but Brown's woes run deep'' - A conference bounce is a wave soon absorbed by the ocean. Dysfunction at No 10 remains, and the Tories are still to come - 26th September 2008
 * fast-sinking leader has received an unlikely lifeline'' - Market turmoil insulates Brown from a challenge, rendering next week in Manchester a carnival of collective hypocrisy - 19th September 2008
 * elephant in the hangar'' - They resist it – but the Liberal Democrats will have to decide which side to prop up in the event of a hung parliament - Guardian.co.uk - 16th September 2008
 * is far too frightened to learn Obama's lesson'' - There is a sense that the government wants the Democrats to lose, as that would somehow validate its own failure - 12th September 2008
 * lit the touchpaper. But the race is won elsewhere'' - McCain's running mate has fired up Republicans. Yet when the hype fades good vice-presidents don't clinch elections - 5th September 2008
 * to be a maverick'' - John McCain's nomination acceptance speech last night offered some uncomfortable messages for his own party - Republicans in St Paul - 5th September 2008
 * could yet ignite a bonfire of the liberal vanities'' - Electing Obama would be one of America's noblest gestures of historical redemption - which is why it may not happen - 29th August 2008
 * America ready to embrace a black first lady?'' - Michelle Obama is at least as much of a pioneer as her husband - Guardian.co.uk, 26th August 2008
 * years on, the left is yet to grasp the eclipse of socialism'' - Russia's invasion to crush the Prague Spring began the slow death of Labour as a party. A new political map needs to be drawn - 22nd August 2008
 * early and take the hit - or go late and risk a knockout?'' - The timing of this latest byelection is vital for both Brown and the party's fortunes. And the obvious option is wrong - 15th August 2008
 * the leader? Yes. Go to the country early? No'' - There is no reason why a new prime minister should call a snap poll. Toughing it out could be the honourable course - 8th August 2008
 * Wolfgang's curtain call - A new generation of Wagners is about to take over Europe's most controversial arts legacy - 2nd August 2008
 * Something's got to give - will it be Brown or the party? - Yesterday on these pages David Miliband issued an order to mobilise. Brown now knows he needs to act to survive September - 31st July 2008
 * Clutching at Straw - Jack Straw would be a plausible PM, should Brown stand aside. But does Labour need another coronation without contest? - 28th July 2008
 * Glasgow East: it doesn't get worse than this - Everything that could go wrong for Labour did go wrong. Here are last night's 10 terrible messages for Gordon Brown - Comment is free - 25th July 2008
 * I somehow just can't picture Brown in his summer shorts - The prime minister's holiday spot is chosen to make him seem more normal, but it achieves exactly the opposite - 25th July 2008
 * MPs cool on Lords reform are very, very future focused - This once noble crusade is hardly a priority for Labour politicians aboard a sinking ship who fancy a move into ermine - 18th July 2008
 * The 42-day plan is dead, but its assassin may surprise you - It wasn't David Davis or East Riding voters who holed the government's plans. It was a new arrival in the House of Lords - 11th July 2008
 * This byelection could be the most important ever - It would be not just a disaster for Brown to lose a seat like Glasgow East, but a sign of wider Labour disintegration - 4th July 2008
 * The real story of Henley is a historic Tory recovery -It was a humiliation for Brown, but this result is really about Cameron's astonishing repulsion of the Lib Dem challenge - 28th June 2008
 * Actually, it wasn't the Sun wot won it. Sun readers did - Politicians who obsess about the contents of each day's newspapers are looking in completely the wrong direction - 7th June 2008
 * The false rhinoceros is alive and well in modern politics - As Obama and Clinton have both recently proved, there is no end to our capacity to see only what we want to see - 31st May 2008
 * Who will have the courage to be Labour's Geoffrey Howe? - Backbenchers all agree that Brown must go - but, as with Thatcher's overthrow, the key players are in the cabinet - 24th May 2008
 * Time to decide: are we with the Germans or the Irish? - As referendums return to centre stage, we should heed one of the wisest speakers on the subject: Margaret Thatcher - 17th May 2008
 * Regroup, refocus, reprioritise - and that starts at the top - More bloody-minded denial could consign Labour to the margins for a century. It must make the tough decisions now - 10th May 2008
 * This carnage marks the end of Labour's great revival - 3rd May 2008
 * Speak for England, Gordon, and stop all this flag-waving - If the prime minister thinks this kind of identity promotion will create a cohesive society, he is deluding himself - 26th April 2008
 * Brown did well in Boston, but must avoid the Blair delusion - Here, at least, he's on the right track. But the prime minister must remember that he will never shape US global thinking - 19th April 2008
 * Labour's best way to recover might be for Brown to go - We've had too much wishful thinking about the prime minister. There really is no Roosevelt or Attlee lurking within - 12th April 2008
 * In Asquith's failure there is a chilling message for Brown - The Labour leader should not ignore the disasters that befell a Liberal party used to electoral triumphs - 5th April 2008
 * A Euro-army is fantasy land. We need our American ally - Nato today is very much a solution in search of a problem. It needs to be reformed and refined - but not to be replaced - 29th March 2008
 * Brown shouldn't deny the potency of climate change - Rather than pursuing the agenda voters clearly want, the PM is waiting, Micawber-like, for something to rescue him - 15th March 2008
 * This shambles is in fact a sign of Lib Dem strength - Nick Clegg can shrug off his discomfort on Europe tomorrow and remind Labour and Tories why they should fear his party - 8th March 2008
 * Our ministers should forget America and study the Mail - The directness and clarity of the plastic bag campaign show dithering politicians that real change is possible - 1st March 2008
 * Interventionism can be the only moral course of action - Britain was right to play its part in the Kosovo conflict and, however difficult, we have to stick with the consequences - 23rd February 2008
 * Elitist? Yes. But some things are simply better than others - Barenboim's cycle of 32 Beethoven sonatas is a reminder that the best art is uniquely ennobling. It should be available to all - 16th February 2008
 * It's hardly Bolshevism to propose taxing non-doms - Ministers are afraid to assert the principles that underpin the wider contract between efficiency and fairness - 9th February 2008
 * Labour needs to take a good hard look at the opposition - The government's woes are not all self-inflicted. The party has too long ignored how Cameron's messages are playing - 2nd February 2008
 * Hain's departure epitomises the eclipse of 60s idealism - Whatever his flaws, this grizzled veteran came from an era that was a world away from today's technocratic politics - 26th January 2008
 * President Blair can make Sarkozy's dream come true - The French leader has the classic Gaullist vision: Europe, with our former prime minister in the chair, shaping the world - 19th January 2008
 * This battle will not come to an end on Super Tuesday - On both sides in the US presidential primaries, the big discussions need to continue far beyond the polls of February 5 - 12th January 2008
 * Hillary is the candidate of retribution, not of hope - Young voters want to end not only the Iraq war, but the US culture wars. They aim to move beyond Bush - and the Clintons - 5th January 2008



Articles: 2007

 * US politics has been wrecked by rigid party allegiances - America's governance system has become so polarised that it can barely solve its own problems, let alone the world's - 29th December 2007
 * Gout is no joke. This I know from painful experience - Like many mainly male things, this agonising disease is rarely spoken of, and so falls victim to mythology and mockery - 22nd December 2007
 * Send in the strings! - Martin Kettle on the true purpose of the New York Philharmonic's trip to North Korea - 12th December 2007
 * The next decade just might belong to the Lib Dems - It may seem cavalier, but the coming years could bring fresh opportunities, as well as false dawns, for the liberal tradition - 8th December 2007
 * Stop fighting Tony Blair and start leading the government - In the key battlegounds of character, competence and consistency, Brown is on the run. He must tell us what he's all about - 24th November 2007

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References:
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Links:

 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Kettle
 * Prospect magazine: 'performance notes' (archive)