Mary Ann Sieghart



Profile:
Full name: Mary Ann Sieghart

Area of interest: British politics, politics, social affairs

Journals: The Independent

Email: [mailto:sieghart@journalist.com sieghart@journalist.com] | [mailto:m.sieghart@independent.co.uk m.sieghart@independent.co.uk]

Personal website: http://www.maryannsieghart.com - contact

Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/mary-ann-sieghart

Blog:

Representation:

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



Biography:
About: "After 19 years as an Assistant Editor and columnist on The Times, Mary Ann Sieghart has left to pursue a portfolio life. She now writes a weekly column, every Monday, in The Independent. She presents Profile on Radio 4, chairs the Social Market Foundation, is an equity partner in the new website, The Browser, and sits on the board of Henderson Smaller Companies Investment Trust and on the Council of Tate Modern" - ref.

Education: Wadham College, Oxford (first-class degree) in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

Career: Financial Times: Eurobond Correspondent, Lex columnist. The Washington Post, as the Laurence Stern Fellow, 1984; City Editor of Today newspaper (from its launch in 1986); The Economist: Political Correspondent; joined The Times in 1988: Comment page editor, Arts Editor, Chief Political leader-writer, acting editor of the paper on Sundays. Left The Times in June 2007, See: Mary Ann Sieghart leaves Times, by Stephen Brook. Joined The Independent in July 2010

Current position/role: Commentator at The Independent


 * also writes/written for:

Other roles: Britain editor of the The Browser website

Other activities: see Wikipedia

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight: Was an outspoken supporter of Tony Blair's 'reform agenda'

TV/Radio: http://www.maryannsieghart.com/radio
 * presented The World This Week on Channel 4
 * chaired the revival of The Brains Trust on BBC2
 * regular co-presenter of Start the Week (at the time Melvyn Bragg was the programme's main presenter)
 * guest presenter of The Week in Westminster and Dispatch Box
 * regular appearances on Question Time, Any Questions, Newsnight, Today, The World Tonight, Woman's Hour
 * past presenter of Newshour on the BBC World Service
 * presents Profile on Radio 4

Video:

Controversy/Criticism:
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ann_Sieghart#Criticism
 * Paul Linford blog: George Osborne should be utterly ashamed of himself. And so should Mary Ann Sieghart
 * Tasteless, yes - but surely no offence was intended
 * When a silly little joke is headline news

Awards/Honours:

Scoops:

Other: Daughter of Paul Sieghart, a human rights lawyer, campaigner, broadcaster and author, and Felicity Ann Sieghart, chairman of the National Association for Gifted Children, magistrate and later managing director of the Aldeburgh Cinema



Books & Debate:


Latest work: currently writing a book about British politics, focusing on contemporary Britain and the big changes and social trends of the last decade

Speaking/Appearances:

Current debate: http://www.intelligencesquared.com/people/s/mary-ann-sieghart 

The Independent:
Column name:

Remit/Info: British politics, politics, social affairs

Section:

Role: Commentator

Pen-name:

Email:

Website: Independent.co/Mary Ann Sieghart

Commissioning editor:

Day published:

Regularity: Weekly

Column format: Three topics

Average length:



Articles: 2011

 * The problem at the heart of Labour - Labour must display a high degree of humility about its record - 26th September
 * Clegg's chance to fill a vacancy - The other two parties have made room for the Lib Dems - 19th September
 * The time to act on banking is now - To pause before deciding how to act would be a great mistake - 12th September
 * Time to call the SNP's bluff - The brand needs to die and be reborn - 5th September
 * generation in love with itself'' - Narcissists live in a fantasy world – they think they are better, richer, more attractive and more intelligent than they are - 29th August 2011
 * far right are we going?'' - If Cameron isn't careful, he will find that Miliband has painted a more coherent picture of the causes of the riots - 15th August
 * economics versus politics'' - The economics demand as much austerity as can be achieved - 8th August
 * austerity is changing us'' - Instead of seeking gratification by going shopping, we are achieving it by finding new ways of saving money - 1st August
 * to overturn the tyranny of porn'' - It is no longer enough to be successful. You must be gorgeous too - 25th July
 * the real winners will be ...'' - This scandal is better news for Labour and the Lib Dems than for the Tories - 18th July
 * has shifted back to the people'' - Politicians will be more worried about voters than a discredited company - 11th July
 * have all the europhiles gone?'' - The arguments for joining the euro have proved bankrupt - 4th July
 * is, David shares Ed's faults'' - Would things be different if the Labour leader's brother were in charge? - 13th June
 * can't be all things to all shoppers'' - Shops like John Lewis offer sturdy value, unflashy goods - 6th June
 * 'war' we should fight no longer'' - There is a more rational way of dealing with the drug problem - 30th May
 * of men who crash and burn'' - As a journalist I love political scandal. But as citizen? Less so - 23rd May
 * it ain't broken Nick, don't try to fix it'' - Messing with the Lords will make Clegg look out of touch - 16th May
 * live the king – if he's harmless'' - If Charles doesn't wind his neck in, the public won't put up with him - 2nd May
 * Yes for evolution, not revolution'' - The anger and scaremongering is so disproportionate to the reform you wonder if they're all looking at the same voting system - 25th April
 * betrayal of the middle class'' - Voters who believe in aspiration will be penalised by the Conservatives - 18th April
 * has little to fear from dissent'' - The Chinese are generally far more content with their lot than the Egyptians - 11th April
 * the sublime to the ridiculous'' - Without definition and direction Miliband may end up Labour's William Hague - 4th April
 * school is PM's only option'' - Cameron's Etonian background was his big handicap when he ran for leader - 28th March
 * wonder Clegg looked miserable. There was little for the Lib Dems to cheer'' - All Budgets are political, but this one had to satisfy two parties, not just one – and had to do so with no extra money - 24th March
 * fallout for our energy policy?'' - For the Lib Dems, nuclear could be as bad as tuition fees - 21st March
 * can still deliver for his Party'' - Talk of what Lib Dems have achieved in power is now allowed - 14th March
 * been blackmailed long enough'' - In other walks of life, people take pride in their work because of what they do - 7th March
 * likes quotas, but they work'' - If politics has anything to teach business, it's that progress is achingly slow - 28th February
 * dawning of Arab democracy'' - Most Jordanians don't want a revolution of the French kind; they just want a king who reigns rather than rules - 21st February
 * riddance to society of suspects'' - You don't build a Big Society on the back of mutinous, resentful volunteers - 14th February
 * war between the generations'' - Because the young are less likely to vote, politicians pay less heed to them - 7th February
 * not just the middle being squeezed'' - Unemployment affects one in ten workers; but rising prices hit all of us - 31st January
 * the rich can feel left out in Davos'' - That invitation to Davos – did yours get lost in the post? Yes, mine too - 29th January
 * Balls will be a disaster for Labour'' - Like Gordon Brown, he believes he's superior to almost everyone - 24th January
 * wonder they've got a drink problem'' - Why do younger people binge drink more than their parents? - 17th January
 * are lessons for us from Arizona'' - People can read whatever biased trash they like but at least there is a corrective when they watch or listen to the news - 10th January
 * the world – I want to get on'' - Brain not quite engaged. Eyes a bit dim. Energy levels still low. I think I now know how a hedgehog feels in the spring - 6th January
 * resolve to embrace our flaws'' - If you feel good about yourself, you start to look good – even if you are 80 - 3rd January



Articles: 2010

 * on a spirit of anarchy'' - Much better simply to boycott Topshop or Vodafone if you feel strongly - 20th December
 * party that is growing up in public'' - The students have stomped out but grown-ups may decide to vote Lib Dem - 13th December
 * fathers, where art thou?'' - The pay gap between men and women is wider here than in other rich countries - 6th December
 * much democracy can be a bad thing'' - The wisdom of crowds is not at its best on the minutiae of policy - 29th November
 * we avoided Ireland's nightmare'' - If you think our situation is bad, thank Blair's hesitancy and Brown's obduracy for things not being a whole lot worse - 22nd November
 * prepare for fight of their lives'' - The rest of us have had to work harder to keep our jobs; now they will too - 15th November
 * strength is now his weakness'' - The charisma he once displayed so powerfully has dried up - 7th November
 * sanity in the debate on drugs'' - Arresting people for possessing small amounts of cannabis is a waste of time - 1st November
 * every pensioner needs a bus pass'' - After housing costs, 48 per cent are in the top half of income distribution - 25th October
 * touch of decency in politics'' - The Coalition has brought a return to civilised ways of doing things - 18th October
 * perils of giving in to pester power'' - If you reward those who shout loudest, the cacophony will become unbearable - 11th October
 * is far happier than his party'' - He finds coalitions easy and party conferences tiresome - 4th October
 * threat to the Coalition'' - This isn't some crazy firebrand who is bound to scare off middle England - 27th September
 * Coalition is going to last'' - Yes, the party's poll ratings have fallen since the election. But they always do - 20th September
 * has much to teach his successors'' - You have to be prepared to let your advisers go when they've had enough - 6th September
 * power turns virtue into vice'' - Like Blair with Bush, so Clegg seems to be with David Cameron, too flattered now that he is in the big room with the most powerful people. He no longer seems himself - 30th August
 * was good timing for the parents, less so for the baby'' - Prime ministers and babies never used to mix – except on the campaign trail, perhaps, where a quick peck on the cheek or chuck under the chin was allowed - 25th August
 * are one thing, revenue another'' - If tax takes a fall, we could end up with cuts and a spiral back into recession - 23rd August
 * prices are finally falling. Good'' - Housing boom has redistributed wealth to the middle-aged from the young - 16th August
 * lives can't be only criterion'' - If we were to cut the drink-drive limit and keep current sanctions, we would have some of Europe's toughest laws - 9th August
 * deterrence needs is ambiguity'' - Our main enemy now is not even a state – it’s organisations like al-Qa’ida - 2nd August
 * and rise of 'Oberons''' - We witnessed a new political phenomenon, a sort of political cross-dressing - 22nd July
 * on top? You've got to be joking'' - 'The Future is Female', they said. But the future has always failed to materialise - 19th July
 * vanity came before the party interest'' - His mistake was overlooking the possibility of a coalition with the Lib Dems - 12th July
 * Minister is backing the old politics'' - Britain’s most refreshing political observer on why Cameron is wrong on voting reform - 5th July
 * of a kind - a coalition of style and substance'' - Looks, homes, dress sense: Nick Clegg and David Cameron have much more in common than a few shared areas of policy - 13th May 2010

archive



news & updates:

 * Independent hires former Times columnist Mary Ann Sieghart - Sieghart will write weekly political column from next month - The Guardian, 17th June 2010



Links:

 * Wikipedia biog.