Alan Watkins



Profile:


Full name: Alan Watkins (3 April 1933 – 8 May 2010)

Area of interest: Politics, Rugby

Journals: The Independent on Sunday

Email: [mailto:a.watkins@independent.co.uk a.watkins@independent.co.uk]

Website: Independent.co / Alan Watkins



Biography:
Education: Tycroes Primary School and Amman Valley Grammar School, Carmarthenshire, Wales; Queens' College, Cambridge: Law

Career: (as political columnist) Sunday Express ('Crossbencher'), The Spectator, New Statesman, Sunday Mirror, The Observer, The Independent on Sunday
 * Ammanford Web Site: Alan Watkins, Fleet Street Journalist (extensive biography)

Current position/role: Commentator


 * has also written for: Evening Standard (general column), The Observer magazine (drink column)

Other roles: Author

Viewpoints/Insight: Called to the bar, British Journalism Review, Vol. 16, No. 2, 2005, pages 37-44

Controversy/Criticism: Why I fell out with the prince of columnists by Peter Wilby, British Journalism Review, Vol. 11, No. 4, 2000, pages 63-66 Awards/Honours: London Press Club awards, Edgar Wallace Award, 2005; 'What the Papers Say' Award for Lifetime Achievement, 2007


 * Alan Watkins: 'Generous, convivial, a friend, an inspiration', Novelist Robert Harris, a former political editor of the Observer, bids farewell to Alan Watkins, one of the great political commentators of our times, The Guardian, 9th May 2010
 * Alan Watkins: A tribute to a voice without peer, He dabbled in politics, but the elder statesman of political commentary made his distintive mark in a more permanent way, by writing, says colleague and friend Anthony Howard, Obituary, The Independent on Sunday, 9th May 2010



Books & Debate:

 * A slight case of libel : Meacher V. Trelford and others (1990) OCLC 28392843
 * A Conservative coup: the fall of Margaret Thatcher (1991) OCLC 26315053
 * A short walk down Fleet Street: from Beaverbrook to Boycott (2000) OCLC 44532710 (his memoir)

The Independent on Sunday:
Column remit: Politics

Section:

Role: Commentator

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:a.watkins@independent.co.uk a.watkins@independent.co.uk]

Website: Independent.co / Alan Watkins

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Sunday

Regularity: Weekly

Column format:

Average length: 1200 words



Articles: 2010

 * soft touch will be hard to sustain'' - The Lib Dem leader's success in the first debate resembles an old-style third-party win in a by-election - 18th April
 * left it too late for a Lib-Lab pact'' - Nick Clegg now regards himself as one of the big boys, not as a subordinate partner to Labour - 11th April
 * 10 is for the winner, not the also-ran'' - The idea that Gordon Brown might stay in Downing Street at the head of the second-largest party is preposterous. In any event, the Labour Party is facing an abyss which make such thoughts irrelevant - 4th April
 * Darling is the hero of the hour'' - The Chancellor is the last piece of the good ship New Labour that is still afloat – just - 28th March
 * dog's dinner of an election'' - Voters are fed up with Labour, but don't want the Tories either – the leading players are so unimpressive - 21st March
 * hung parliament is a red herring'' - Just because the winning party has a tiny majority, it doesn't mean it cannot govern - 14th March
 * Foot – an intellectual prizefighter'' - The Labour veteran, who died on Wednesday, seemed bookish, but he was an early television star who relished a skirmish - 7th March
 * bullied. Thatcher too. But not this PM'' - Some incumbents of No 10 really have tormented colleagues. This one is just bad-tempered – and bad at his job - 28th February
 * gift for picking the wrong leader'' - With many promising politicians to choose from, the best one is passed over – and that was 1976. But history repeats itself... - 21st February
 * Osborne is the fly in the ointment'' - The Conservative Party has history with Kenneth Clarke, but he's the warhorse who would clinch it for Mr Cameron - 14th February
 * Brown survives the snowflakes'' - The conspirators' plot to topple the Prime Minister melted away even before there was a nickname for it - 10th January



Articles: 2009

 * Brown's diversionary tactics'' - Talk of hung parliaments, class war and snap elections are little more than ploys but they create a 'hum' - 20th December
 * else apart from the chiefs?'' - Parties are putting spotlight on leaders - perhaps because the talent stops there - 13th December
 * tweaks nudge the Tories to No 10'' - The playing fields of Eton decided the battle of Waterloo, but inheritance tax pulls more punches now - 6th December
 * money's still on Mr Cameron'' - All this chatter about hung parliaments is just a sign of boredom in the political classes, who are hoping for a more exciting contest. The reality is, the Conservatives will win, and win by a comfortable margin - 29th November
 * Brown's good week comes too late'' - Trust in the Prime Minister has gone and a by-election victory and a new City tax will not rebuild it - 15th November
 * Cameron's plausibility stops at Dover'' - The Conservative leader is vulnerable on foreign policy and defence, but he won't let that come between him and No 10 - 8th November
 * Blair's legacy of flatulent rhetoric'' - The former prime minister has no record of achievement to commend him as first president of Europe - 1st November
 * both, but Mr Brown is worse'' - The Prime Minister and David Cameron have picked on out-of-favour MPs in the expenses row - 18th October
 * Cameron cuts a lonely figure'' - If he means to form a government, the Conservative leader has few big guns to choose from - 11th October
 * to the malice party conference'' - For lack of clarity and sheer craziness, the Conservatives trump Labour every time, as Manchester will find - 4th October
 * party's over before it has begun'' - Labour may be in conference mood, but there will be little merriment, even if Mr Brown performs a popular turn - 27th September
 * is Mr Cameron's silly season too'' - Cameron toes the Washington line and gets sucked into controversies - 23rd August
 * chance, the bookies' favourite?'' - Clever money may be on Mandelson but political betting invariably gets it wrong - 16th August
 * title is worth shedding for the top job'' - This week it is Lord Mandelson's turn to assume the position of acting PM - 9th August
 * Cameron's 'cursing' won't harm him'' - The Conservative leader's ahead of the game but only because voters are, um, hacked off with Gordon Brown - 2nd August
 * Labour awaits a new messiah'' - Somebody will now have to invent a replacement for New Labour - 26th July
 * editor knows what his reporters are doing. And a would-be PM should know about his staff'' - David Cameron's choice of Andy Coulson as his press secretary shows a lack of judgement all round - 12th July
 * we turn to Mr Brown's Last Phase'' - The Prime Minister who foolishly tried to out-Blair his predecessor is now reaching the end of the road - 5th July
 * backbenchers are revolting'' - It is hard to see the Government surviving for a whole year - 28th June
 * incompetent to get things wrong'' - Good order and political discipline have broken down and the Prime Minister will still be blamed for the Iraq war - 21st June
 * is a farce, but the timing is dire'' - If Labour is incapable of organising a reshuffle in a brewery, how is it ever to get rid of Gordon Brown? - 14th June
 * has lost all its stuffing'' - Punched and pummelled from all sides, there is scarcely anything left of the party - 7th June
 * Labour with PR, Mr Brown'' - There is only one way the Prime Minister might prevent complete electoral disaster - 31st May
 * had no lines, yet he fluffed them'' - In the Gurkha revolt, Mr Brown was invoked as an all-powerful, off-stage presence. It didn't last 24 hours - 10th May
 * the rot, Mr Brown. Set the date'' - The Prime Minister may well believe he has still work to do, but that's no reason to prolong the agony - 3rd May
 * to the end. And it is the end'' - From the 'austerity' Budget to MPs' attendance allowances, the Prime Minister must take the flak - 26th April
 * Brown's twilight among the elves'' - Newspaper attacks on the Home Secretary and Labour aides are really aimed at the Prime Minister - 19th April
 * cannot change the weather'' - Brown can do nothing now the wind is blowing in the Conservatives' favour - 12th April
 * of the bill, but with the same old act'' - G20 performance won't persuade voters Brown has been successful in office - 5th April
 * Street neighbours fall out'' - The Chancellor's differences with the Prime Minister do not augur well for the Government - 29th March
 * stay until evicted, Mr Brown?'' - Cabinet ministers are rebellious and may prefer a dignified exit in October to an out-and-out drubbing - 22nd March
 * reform? Too late, Mr Brown'' - Labour will not now be saved by changing the electoral system. That opportunity passed in 1997 - 15th March
 * standing ovation for a fallen man'' - The US Congress's rapturous reception of Gordon Brown will not yield a single vote this side of the Atlantic - 8th March
 * live in Mrs Thatcher's monument'' - The Iron Lady launched an era of selfishness, greed and fraud - 1st March
 * Brown will cling on till the bitter end'' - Voters on the left are looking to the Liberal Democrats as their faith in the Prime Minister drains away - 22nd February
 * ‘Golliwog’' or ‘depression’: they're just words - Carol Thatcher's green room observations and the collapse of Western capitalism are clearly connected - 8th February
 * Government is breathing its last'' - Scandals in what are meant to be high places are the unfailing sign of an administration nearing its end - 1st February
 * Brown's revival hits the buffers'' - The Prime Minister has his back against the wall – or has he simply shot himself in the foot? - 25th January
 * Clarke to return? He's hardly been away'' - The best leader the Tories never had may yet accept a front bench role, but he should not be offered a peerage - 18th January
 * on is an honorable tradition'' - The PM may have been the longest serving Chancellor, but in his new role he has embarked on a high-risk economic strategy - 11th January
 * is defeat, and there is crushing defeat'' - By calling an early election, Brown can save his party from total ignominy - 4th January



Articles: 2008

 * biblical moment for Mr Brown'' - Few politicians today have the stamina to make a heavyweight speech. Time to summon Kenneth Clarke - 21st December 2008
 * is not the time for sharing'' - Many a government has ignored calls for a coalition, and this one will behave no differently - 14th December 2008
 * is just gloating over Mr Green'' - Police action over Mr Blair's hangers-on was different. That was about fund-raising, not Whitehall matters - 7th December 2008
 * 'spot the difference' puzzle at No 10'' - The new broom has settled into the old ways - 30th November 2008
 * Brown could hazard a dance-off'' - As the Conservatives fail to impress, for all his protestations, the Prime Minister might go for a spring election - 23rd November 2008
 * Cameron will cruise to victory'' - The crew of the good ship Tory is muttering, but all is well on the bridge - 16th November 2008
 * at the skirts of presidential victory'' - Messrs Brown, Cameron and Clegg have engaged in an unedifying bout of bandwagon jumping - 9th November 2008
 * Brown: 'I'm still here''' - The Prime Minister's enemies keep setting the PM tests. He flunks every one. What more can they do - 2nd November 2008
 * 'Have nothing to do with yachts''' - Lord Beaverbrook's wise words seem not to have reached the ears of Messrs Osborne and Mandelson - 26th October 2008
 * term, Mr Cameron need not worry'' - Despite current standing, most Labour MPs expect to lose the next election - 19th October 2008
 * control of the crisis is illusory'' - The Prime Minister has run an effective PR campaign, but he has little real idea of how to regulate the banks - 12th October 2008
 * Cameron plays it safe... for now'' - The Tory leader's speeches at party conference were all taken from the 'Daily Mail' bumper fun book - 5th October 2008
 * do a Heseltine? A Portillo, more like'' - The Prime Minister did tell one big fib at Labour's conference, but he has cleared the field of opponents - 28th September 2008
 * the South Sea Bubble all over again'' - Mr Brown will now be presented as the pilot who weathered the storm, but we should remember that he helped to create it - 21st September 2008
 * An election is the PM's ultimate deterrent'' - The idea that Mr Miliband or somebody else succeeding Mr Brown should trot off to the Palace seems the height of folly - 10th August 2008
 * A new Labour PM is sure to be a loser - Were Gordon Brown to be removed and replaced, the election following a dissolution would ensure the party's annihilation - 3rd August 2008
 * It's 10-1 the bookies are having a bit of fun - Is Mr Straw or Mr Miliband favourite for next Labour leader? Your turf accountant will decide – but he doesn't have a clue - 27th July 2008
 * That nice Mr Cameron is turning nasty - The Tory leader has had a good year, but he risks becoming crudely belligerent even as he delights his cheering backbenchers - 20th July 2008
 * Who will tell Mr Brown that it's time to go? - Any support for the bombing of Iran would prompt a deputation from the men in suits, of the type who called on Mrs Thatcher - 13th July 2008
 * For Labour MPs, tomorrow never comes - Even if the Government fails to hold the safe seat of Glasgow East, it's hard to see the Prime Minister paying the price of defeat - 6th July 2008
 * Focus on the Opposition has blinded Brown - The Prime Minister did not deceive us, but his determination to catch out the Tories has contributed to the slow decline of Labour - 29th June 2008
 * Why not have a by-election on Afghanistan? - Mr Davis has made a stand on the 42-day detention limit. A war we are fighting at the behest of the United States is just as important - 22nd June 2008
 * Poor Mr Davis – unloved and driven by pique - A by-election in Haltemprice and Howden is not about civil liberties. The Shadow Home Secretary just wants to be appreciated - 15th June 2008
 * It takes more than 42 days to save a PM - Gordon Brown's belief that a Commons win on detention of terror suspects will revive his premiership is mistaken - 8th June 2008
 * Mr Brown will keep muddling on - The Prime Minister has done nothing really wrong that he can be charged with – except having disappointed everyone all round - 1st June 2008
 * This sea-change is a gift for the Tories - There are times, said Jim Callaghan, when there is a shift in what the public wants, no matter what politicians say or do - 25th May 2008
 * The PM is no longer on the people's side - A Labour MP may feel the need to apologise to Gordon Brown, but the electors of Crewe and Nantwich share no such obligation - 18th May 2008
 * Mr Brown lacks the Commons touch - Of the four Labour premiers since 1964, the current PM is the least convincing public performer. And he can't take a joke - 11th May 2008
 * Mr Brown is running out of friends - David Cameron is starting to look like a future prime minister, whilethe current occupant of No 10 is short of ideas and allies - 4th May 2008
 * Another fine mess of the PM's making - As the 10p tax furore has illustrated, Gordon Brown's disposition is to make life more complicated than it is already - 27th April 2008
 * Cameron looks a winner, but a wary one -The Conservative leader appears on course for an outright election victory, but he's looking to history for guidance in case he falls short - 20th April 2008
 * Mr Brown has lost his bearings - It's one thing to take a wrong turning going to dine with the Queen, but there are more disturbing signs of the PM's disorientation - 13th April 2008
 * The PM should cosy up to the Lib Dems -The race for London mayor is close and Labour's future, as well as Ken Livingstone's, is hanging on the voters' second preferences - 6th April 2008
 * Electoral reform is in season - If Gordon Brown wants to change the voting system, he should do it while he can, and Nick Clegg should tell him how - 30th March 2008
 * The Prime Minister is exhausted already - The most bizarre crisis since the South Sea Bubble has made helped make the Prime Minister unlikely to go to the wire - 23rd March 2008
 * The Chancellor will drive us all to drink - The UK has the second largest proportion of poor children after America. The Government's solution is radical, to say the least - 16th March 2008
 * The tangled tale of referendums: episode two - Once again the Commons found itself immersed in another elaborate charade for the entertainment of the political classes - 9th March 2008
 * A very curious way of tying us in to Europe - The great Liberal Democrat Commons walkout was not only trumped by the roof protesters – it fell victim to its own folly - 2nd March 2008
 * Darling will survive, but not with any credit - The Northern Rock settlement has already begun to unravel; Mr Brown's only consolation is that the Tories appear equally clueless - 24th February 2008
 * Labour in power after 2010? Not on your nelly - Former home secretary Charles Clarke has been reflecting on the government's future. All very interesting – but not convincing - 17th February 2008
 * Let the PM answer questions, Mr Speaker - Gordon Brown seems to enjoy special Commons protection, but his fellow Scot should remember he has a duty to the whole House - 10th February 2008
 * Public money and a very private enterprise - The employment practices of Mr Derek Conway point up the urgent need for a review of the whole system of allowances - 3rd February 2008
 * Green shoots, Mr Brown? I don't see them - As Mr Hain heads for the back benches, the Prime Minister's hope of regaining public trust for New Labour seems forlorn - 27th January 2008
 * History is catching up with you, Mr Brown - Pay restraint and the semi-nationalisation of Northern Rock? New Labour is haunted by the demons of its least favourite decade - 20th January 2008
 * Parliament may turn on the Prime Minister - Mr Brown's love of the House may make it difficult for him to be the premier his nearest and dearest want him to be - 6th January 2008



Links:

 * Wikipedia biog.