Alice Thomson



Profile:
Full name: Alice Thomson

Area of interest: Politics

Journals/Organisation: The Times

Email: [mailto:alice.thomson@thetimes.co.uk alice.thomson@thetimes.co.uk]

Personal website:

Website: www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/profile/Alice-Thomson | www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/alicethomson

Blog:

Representation: Capel and Land

Networks:



Biography:
About: Alice Thomson is an Associate Editor of The Times and author of THE SINGING LINE, in which she retraces the steps of her great-grandfather who constructed the first trans-Australian telegraph cable

Education: Studied journalism at London's City Polytechnic

Career: The Times: trainee then foreign correspondent, feature writer and political correspondent. Moved to The Telegraph in 1997 as columnist, leader writer, also restaurant reviews and political interviews. Re-joined The Times in 2008 as political columnist

Current position/role: Political columnist, Interviewer (usually with Rachel Sylvester)

Other roles/Main role: Author

Other activities:

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight:

Broadcast media:

Video: BBC Redio 4 - Woman's hour: Alice Thomson and Polly Toynbee assess Tony Blair’s legacy for women (audio), May 2007

Controversy/Criticism: Iain Dale's Diary: Cristina Odone & Alice Thomson in Catfight, February 2006

Awards/Honours:

Scoops:

Other: Married to journalist Edward Heathcoat-Amory; Great-great-granddaughter of Alice and Charles Todd - see South Australian History



Books & Debate:

 * The Singing Line (New York: Doubleday, 1999) 42397204 OCLC

Latest work:

Speaking/Appearances:

Debate: 

The Times
Column name:

Remit/Info:

Section:

Role: Columnist

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:alice.thomson@thetimes.co.uk alice.thomson@thetimes.co.uk]

Website: www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/profile/Alice-Thomson

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Wednesday

Regularity: Weekly

Column format:

Average length:



Articles: 2012

 * We’re the world’s best: it’s not rocket science - Britain is looking for growth. It must exploit its brilliant scientists more single-mindedly - 4th July
 * Non-doms have got away with it for too long - The Chancellor must scrap their bizarre hereditary status, then make them pay fair taxes - 27th June
 * We need good GPs. One saved my child’s life - This strike is greedy, but I know why Germany and the US want their own family doctors - 20th June
 * Be ambitious: spell ‘conscience’, learn Keats - The Education Secretary has been unfairly derided for his new primary school curriculum - 13th June
 * The best jubilee legacy? Happier children - All generations have celebrated this holiday together. Here is a parenting lesson that we can learn for free - 6th June



Articles: 2011

 * Is our educational Berlin Wall crumbling? - There are signs that the damaging divide between state and private schools may be closing - 5th October 2011
 * Send developers into towns, not the country - The new planning laws threaten to suck the life out of our ailing urban centres - 28th September
 * Now Scots have turned into rays of sunshine - Are they happier north of the Border because there are no super-rich lording it over them? - 21st September
 * The rich should moan less and give a bit more - Europe’s wealthy are pleading to pay more tax. Why aren’t Britons doing the same? - 14th September
 * Search for common ground, not a battlefield - Conservatives should stand for the countryside and new homes. They’re not incompatible - 7th September
 * looting continues – in the countryside'' - Pylons, wind farms and new builds may generate growth for the coalition but will cost it dearly in votes - 31st August
 * parenting starts in school, not at home'' - Support the best teachers and they will give us the mothers and fathers that we need - 17th August
 * makes prison work – even for Breivik'' - The Utøya killer’s jail might sound soft, but reoffending is far lower than in Britain - 27th July
 * more Mr Nasty Guy – or we’ll fire you'' - The press, police, MPs and bankers won’t regain our trust unless they learn to be nice - 20th July
 * the old and put prisoners in a care home'' - The elderly are getting restive about their place in society. The coalition should take heed - 13th July
 * Who’s ahead of the game and never U-turns?'' - A: The Prince of Wales. Everyone is on his back, but his value is hugely underestimated - 6th July
 * What happens if you scrap testing?'' - Answer: Grades drop, as Wales found to its cost. England mustn’t make the same mistake - 29th June
 * eyes, sans teeth, sans hope of decent care'' - Reports of abysmal treatment of the elderly are stacking up, so why is there no action? - 22nd June
 * this test to find out if you’re a Tory'' - When teachers and doctors ballot to strike over their pensions, how do you react? - 15th June
 * mum syndrome stifles a generation'' - Josephine Hart and Margaret Thatcher were great role models. Where are their like today? - 8th June
 * so many mothers is a crime in itself'' - Most female offenders are not violent and locking them up makes their children suffer - 1st June
 * isn’t the problem, Ken. Your policies are'' - The Justice Secretary is right about rape. But he’s wrong about cutting jail sentences - 25th May
 * cuts can save the international aid budget'' - In an era of savings DfID cannot be allowed to avoid the scrutiny that others have faced - 18th May
 * Alex Salmond, next year’s Nick Clegg'' - The SNP leader is riding high, but independence might mean this is as good as it gets - 11th May
 * need teachers who are in a different class'' - It’s quality in the classroom that will improve education, not tinkering with structures - 27th April
 * the flow charts and start mopping brows'' - When I spent time in hospital with my sick child I learnt that only quality of care matters - 20th April
 * mansion tax hits the heart of England'' - The Business Secretary just doesn’t understand our lifelong obsession with property - 30th March
 * a crime to think Midsomer is rural reality'' - Forget cream teas and cress sandwiches. In the countryside they’re on the breadline - 16th March
 * North West, young man, for NHS reform'' - Doctors in Cumbria will show No 10’s media man how to convince a reluctant public - 9th March
 * disabled a generation through kindness'' - Mollycoddled children have learnt at last that being indulged doesn’t make them happy - 2nd March
 * don’t be a Sarah or a Jacqui. Believe in yourself'' - Women are good at business. Businesses want women. So why so few female directors? - 23rd February
 * succeed at 18, children need inspiration at 11'' - Throwing underqualified pupils into university won’t do. They need help to map their futures - 9th February
 * sneer at ‘part-time’. It’s our salvation'' - Germany thrives on flexible working. We can too if we manage to bury our prejudices - 2nd February
 * fathers have it easier and mothers suffer'' - The modern pressures on women with families are becoming intolerable - 26th January
 * the strikers and cheats who must wake up'' - Forget your Alarm Clock Heroes, Mr Clegg. It is not work that divides goodies from baddies - 12th January
 * to avoid the hated VAT rise: don’t shop'' - By concentrating on life’s essentials, we can make our homes zero-rated zones - 5th January



Articles: 2010

 * up on the battle of the generations'' - Alas, poor students, say the over-45s. But tuition fee fury could be just the beginning - 15th December
 * Victorian lesson in climbing the ladder'' - We should focus on schools, not parents, if we want to make Britain socially mobile - 8th December
 * businesses: a rescue remedy for Britain'' - With only a bit of help from government, little companies could turn this country round - 1st December
 * has not wearied the Tory elder statesmen'' - Lord Young is condemned but the coalition needs a generation that knows its way around - 24th November
 * Downton, a new soap opera – Middleton'' - The royal engagement is the Boden breakthrough, a middle-class fairytale at long last - 17th November
 * mentally ill deserve a new kind of asylum'' - Prison is the wrong place for the vulnerable. But care in the community doesn’t help either - 10th November
 * prejudice against adoption hurts children'' - Race isn’t the only hurdle that stops us matching vulnerable infants with desperate families - 3rd November
 * is easy. When jobs go there’ll be real anger'' - The Tories must worry about the middle classes who have more to lose than pocket money - 6th October
 * Here’s compensation for the cuts'' - There’s pain ahead. But freeing people from petty rules would be popular – and cheap - 29th September
 * honest toilers, not the prodigal sons'' - Patronise the middle classes if you must. But don’t equate them with spongers and criminals - 22nd September
 * need technicians, not middle managers'' - A more practical school system could help children currently labelled as having special needs - 15th September
 * Dem dreams of power turn to a nightmare'' - As their party conference approaches, there is no upside for the junior coalition partners - 8th September
 * is so last century. Give us money instead'' - The public are less interested in MPs’ extramarital affairs than in their financial ones - 2nd September
 * must abandon the sordid dash for cash'' - Put away the begging bowls: MPs waste too much time sucking up to rich donors - 25th August
 * of magic that could cut the benefits bill'' - Slashing payments won’t work. The unemployed need fairy jobmothers to turn their lives round - 18th August
 * overpay gifted teachers. Pay off the duds'' - Before a new generation of educators can be inspired, the bed-blockers must go - 14th July
 * sticking the vulnerable in holding pens'' - Violent criminals are freed after half their sentences and the wrong people stay in jail - 7th July
 * to cut benefit costs – offer the sick a job'' - People on invalidity allowance will struggle to find work unless employers get an incentive - 2nd July
 * bit of austerity will do our children good'' - Parents may suffer in hard times but youngsters can learn about self-reliance and freedom
 * many forms to fill in? Welcome to our world, MPs'' - We’ve put up with bureaucracy and incompetence for years. And Hon Members whinge when they’re £100 short - 16th June
 * immigrants, but times have changed'' - The Age of Austerity means Britain will have to harden its attitude to foreign labour - 9th June
 * all scroungers – and it can’t carry on'' - The deficit will never be slashed unless everyone stops demanding perks from the State - 2nd June
 * the savers who did the right thing'' - Capital gains tax doesn’t hit the super-rich, it hurts the backbone of Tory support - 26th May
 * take the tarpaulin off the House of Lords'' - Blair left the Upper House looking like a building site. A short-term fix won’t finish the job - 19th May
 * tale of the naked and the not-dead-yet'' - Election fever has a flavour all of its own away far away from the media glare and the three big barking dogs - 7th May (with Austin Mitchell)
 * hard-working poor deserve better'' - Gordon Brown can comfort Tiara but in 13 years he has done precious little for her mother - 5th May
 * rural vote is being left to rot'' - Wake up and smell the bluebells – the countryside is just as important as the town - 28th April
 * Factor-style democracy has banished apathy'' - Simon Cowell has taught a new generation about politics - 21st April
 * anyone see what’s happened to crime?'' - Tony Blair was elected to be tough on it. But now the public has lost faith in the police - 14th April
 * workers need thanks, not English lessons'' - Foreign health service staff provide the kind of care that Britons think beneath them - 7th April
 * the country shouldn’t be child’s play'' - Do we really want sleep-deprived parents taking decisions that affect 60 million of us? - 25th March
 * mustn’t divorce ourselves from marriage'' - Scared politicians shy away from promoting it, but this special institution endures - 17th March
 * must listen to Rooster and wake up'' - The antihero of the play Jerusalem stands for all we loathe about interfering politicians - 3rd March
 * sex education please, we’re British'' - We have the highest rate of STDs and abortions for under 21s in Europe. We need to talk about it - 24th February
 * Blair is the very model of a modern baroness'' - Ignore the inevitable protests – Mrs Blair understands the lot of modern women and would be a great asset to the Lords - 10th February
 * out-of-hours care almost killed my baby'' - In parts of the country one doctor is responsible for 300,000 people at night. I know just how dangerous that can be - 3rd February
 * a burka you’re cutting me off as well as you'' - A ban would go too far, but covering the face makes normal human contact impossible. It is not right for 21st-century life - 27th January
 * has no cure for its binge hangover'' - Blair wooed young voters with liberal drinking laws. Now Brown is failing to clear up the mess - 20th January
 * out the elderly: is this official policy?'' - Party leaders flaunt their vote-winning child-friendly credentials, but ignore those at the other end of the spectrum - 13th January
 * not Ed, will make the case on climate'' - James Cameron’s blockbuster will persuade far more people to go green than all the hot air pumped out in Copenhagen - 6th January



Articles: 2009

 * toxic childhood won’t be cured in school'' - The Schools Secretary is appalled at the materialism of our children. He should blame the parents, who can always say no - 18th December
 * don’t care about BA strikes'' - It’s the embarrassment of it being our national airline that hurts - 15th December
 * Institution doesn’t like scientists anymore'' - The people the RI think will push the boundaries in the 21st century are managers — people who are hot at fundraising - 9th December
 * warrior ready for one last battle'' - Brown is preparing to paint the Tories as friends of the rich. But his tactics are an admission of defeat - 2nd December
 * think it’s all over. Time to think again'' - Financiers think they are indispensable to Britain. But times have changed. They face opposition at home and abroad - 25th November
 * female candidate, pretty, no opinions'' - We are the EU and half our voters are female, we’re proud of our equality laws - 18th November
 * was wrong to sneer. The lottery is a winner'' - We haven’t gone to hell in a handcart. We’re all richer for the billions spent on good causes, and there’s no harm in dreaming . . . - 16th November
 * infuriating and dangerous'' - I am lucky that my children are not all digitally challenged - 11th November
 * is about the Tories taking power'' - David Cameron’s all-female shortlists are a way to boost the Conservative Party talent pool - 22nd October
 * are taken to the cleaners'' - Two opposing views on the expenses scandal that has left Westminster in chaos on its first days back - 14th October (with Austin Mitchell)
 * in water? I lost an eyebrow'' - Why are we trying to stop explosions in school labs? They’re the best way to learn science - 6th October
 * Brown’s terrible mistake'' - A woman’s place is not two steps behind her man - 30th September
 * lessons still unlearnt a year on'' - The City is back in the money and thinks it is saving the nation. It must not be allowed to forget - 25th September
 * dinner lady was right'' - The guidelines that led to her removal are ridiculous - 23rd September
 * X Factor could decide the next election'' - Forget manufactured focus groups, the parties believe that the talent show is a better guide to what voters like and dislike - 5th September
 * shows true country grit'' - Sabotage in agricultural shows? Why, it’s a tradition - 2nd September
 * girls to be lawyers and mothers'' - The idea that women don't aim high is outdated. As one terrible tragedy has shown, balance is all - 30th July
 * not all about surf and sun'' - It’s fantastic that a schoolboy decided that he’d had enough of bars and headed into the Blue Mountains - 16th July
 * steal children’s time and our money'' - We mustn’t institutionalise a middle-class obsession - 1st July
 * can't win by banning competition'' - Children love competing. Merging good and bad schools means no one can fail - or come top - 25th June
 * Prince is right to speak out'' - The Royal Family is at its best when it is protecting our heritage and championing causes - 17th June
 * truth doesn't always make things clear'' - We watch fascinated as bankers, MPs and even poets are stripped before us. But we are losing sight of the bigger picture - 27th May
 * romance of railway travel is well and truly over'' - Never mind the fat controller, our trains are now run by the thin accountant - 25th May
 * the MPs, not the spouses'' - Being married to an MP is an awful role, even without the expenses scandal. Imagine the drudgery and the humiliations... - 15th May
 * Lumley can even make the Lib Dems look sexy'' - Good old Patsy. Hurrah for Purdey. A heroine for Britain - 1st May
 * a year of no shopping, women are back'' - Michelle Obama led the way. Now ASOS sales have doubled - 28th April
 * of the people? No, Tesco is a hero'' - Low prices, good products, staff that chat to the customers. Why knock this superstore success? - 22nd April
 * every great woman, is a prince'' - Our longest-serving consort, the Duke of Edinburgh, is one of the great male ‘professional wives’ - 15th April
 * recession has stolen our smiles'' - As families struggle with bills, the rot has set in with fewer dental visits and more extractions - 13th April
 * click before they can think'' - IT communication for anyone under 18 is instinctive. They don't have to be taught -  26th March
 * not against the rules... everyone does it'' - MPs who abuse allowances turn people off politics - 24th March
 * who work and those who won't'' - Blaming immigrants for unemployment misses the point: the problem is people who are bone idle - 20th March
 * talk about the credit crunch, baby'' - Many parents shield their young ones from financial reality, but children can handle hardship and it can be fun too - 10th March
 * wise men and women are absent'' - We urge every child to go to university, but hope none will stay. We have a peculiarly negative attitude to academic success - 9th March
 * Made in the South but felt in the North - Everyone talks about a middle-class recession, but bankers are still doing very nicely thank you - 22nd January



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Links:

 * Archive at Telegraph.co