John Rentoul



Profile:
Full name: John Rentoul

Area of interest: Politics

Journals/Organisation: The Independent on Sunday | The Independent

Email: [mailto:j.rentoul@independent.co.uk j.rentoul@independent.co.uk]

Personal website:

Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/john-rentoul

Blog: http://blogs.independent.co.uk/author/johnrentoul | http://johnrentoul.independentminds.livejournal.com

Representation:

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



Biography:
About:

Education: Attended schools in Bangalore, Bristol and Wolverhampton; King's College, Cambridge

Career: Accountancy Age: journalist; New Statesman: deputy editor; BBC: political reporter; The Independent: political correspondent, chief leader writer; The Independent on Sunday: chief political commentator

Current position/role: Chief Political Commentator


 * also writes/has written for:

Other roles/Main role: Visiting fellow at Queen Mary, University of London, where he teaches contemporary history

Other activities:

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight:

Broadcast media:

Video:
 * IMDb

Controversy/Criticism:
 * Lenin's Tomb blog: John Rentoul denies reality, 10th December, 2004
 * Ian Dale's Diary: John Rentoul Needs to Get Out More, 25th March 2007

Awards/Honours:

Scoops:

Other:



Books & Debate:

 * The Rich Get Richer: The Growth of Inequality in Britain in the 1980s (1987) OCLC 17240400
 * Tony Blair: Prime Minister (2001) OCLC 48418436

Latest work: The Banned List: A manifesto against jargon and cliche, Elliott & Thompson, October 2011

Speaking/Appearances:

Debate: 

The Independent on Sunday:
Column name:

Remit/Info: Politics

Section: Comment

Role: Chief Political Commentator

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:j.rentoul@independent.co.uk j.rentoul@independent.co.uk]

Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/john-rentoul

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Sunday, and occasional weekdays

Regularity: Weekly

Column format:

Average length:



Articles: 2012

 * Cameron's problem? It's not the coalition, but his revolting MPs - The vote on Lords reform showed how Tory members are increasingly taking a stand on questions of principle. It's not good news for the PM - 15th July
 * Osborne loses the battle on banks but wins the party war - The Chancellor is not stupid. He cynically turned a scandal about City boys into a reminder that his Shadow looks like a bully - 8th July
 * In? Out? Where's the third way when you need it? - David Cameron's European policy is so contradictory he doesn't even agree with himself. But logic and Europe have often failed to converge - 1st July
 * An A-star for Gove in advanced political positioning - The Education Secretary's O-Level announcement was a trap that Clegg and the teaching establishment lumbered into - 24th June
 * Don't knock Twitter for being random - Louise Mensch has launched a site on which people can only discuss three subjects - 21st June
 * Horse riding, yacht hopping, country supper eating ... - The PM has been horribly exposed by the Leveson Inquiry - 17th June
 * The Prime Minister speaks with forked tongue on Europe - David Cameron was juggling last week when he assured Angela Merkel that Britain's future lies 'firmly' within the EU - 10th June
 * Six U-turns in one week looks like carelessness - The Prime Minister needs to sharpen up. Not believing in anything is becoming a dangerous flaw - 3rd June
 * There was no cosy deal for Murdoch to gain from - Blair at Leveson provided no revelations, and anyone who was expecting news should have known better - 29th May
 * A textbook case of how not to defuse a scandal - Jeremy Hunt's involvement in the BSkyB bid was injudicious. By not resigning, he compounds the damage to the Government - 27th May
 * As Hilton heads off, Cameron Mark II begins - Dave prefers George's 'cold calculation' to Steve's 'idealism' - 20th May
 * Osborne is not Brown, but the faultline is showing - The Chancellor is the pole around which disaffection organises itself - 13th May
 * Beware 'The Boris Effect' - it could mean nothing at all - Johnson's victory is neither a criticism of the Prime Minister nor a threat - 6th May
 * Beware 'The Boris Effect' - Johnson's victory is neither a criticism of the Prime Minister nor a threat - 6th May
 * If Hunt misled the House, it's all over for him - The PM will come outfighting for his Culture Secretary - 29th April
 * We're British, which means Abu Qatada should stay - We have more respect here for 'innocent until proved guilty' - 22nd April
 * Sick of them? That's normal - The coalition's ratings are low, but could be worse. More worrying is the Government's lack of political savvy - 15th April
 * A win that makes fools of us all - Politicians and journalists were both caught out by George Galloway's victory in Bradford West. We should get out more - 1st April
 * What on earth was Osborne thinking? - The granny tax may have been an oversight, but the 50p tax cut was quite deliberate - 25th March
 * Clegg blows his liberal credentials - He's fallen out with his party over student fees, Europe and the NHS. Now the Lib Dem leader is buckling under the Budget - 18th March
 * Tony – principled, brave and ignored - Unlike his former leader namesake, a one-time Midlands MP leaves a blameless legacy. But few know his name - 11th March
 * Wackiness has gone from No 10 - David Cameron protests too much when he suggests that the departure of his adviser Steve Hilton will change nothing - 4th March
 * There's more to come from Gove - The Education Secretary's qualities include courtesy, confidence and clarity. His only weakness is his peculiarity - 26th February
 * The jelly PM may wobble yet - Cameron has been working hard to look connected, but he needs to shape up if he is to keep looking plausible - 19th February
 * Lansley's Bill is safe, but he is not - The NHS shake-up is past the point of no return, and will proceed. Its author's future is less assured - 12th February
 * Huhne is the missing green giant - After selling out on tuition fees and Europe and losing their eco warrior, the Lib Dems look flimsier than ever - 5th February
 * Do you want the market or the market? - Cameron and Miliband compete to bash the bankers, but they both intend to safeguard the capitalist system in Britain - 22nd January
 * This is new all right. It just isn't enough - Labour's acceptance yesterday of the Tory case for cuts is welcome, but Miliband and Balls still look like a losing team - 15th January
 * Didn't do our prep, did we, Mr Cameron? - The PM should learn from Tony Blair and prepare an answer to the obvious question, not the one he is hoping for - 8th January
 * No one to replace Ed Miliband? Try Yvette Cooper - Cooper's politics are not mine but she would be populist on law and order, and she would be noticed - 3rd January
 * A missed chance to tell the truth about Mrs T - Meryl Streep's new film could have nailed some of the more persistent myths about how Thatcherism changed Britain - 1st January



Articles: 2011

 * Cameron wrongfoots his head boy - Another year of politics ends and the PM takes the side-stepping and bullishness prizes, while Nick Clegg smarts - 18th December
 * Any PM would have done as Cameron did -Ignore the Eurosceptic cheers. It may turn out to have been wise to step away from the heat as the euro begins to meltdown - 11th December
 * Ed is lost if Merkel pulls it off - Yvette Cooper is waiting in the wings should the eurozone survive and the Labour leader run out of friends - 4th December
 * Labour wakes up, fuzzy and too late - As Osborne fiddles, Miliband, rather belatedly, is beginning to think about balancing the books - 27th November
 * A bumper week for Eurowaffle - While observing diplomatic protocol with Angela Merkel, David Cameron distanced himself from much of his party - 21st November
 * How to ditch the euro but not Europe? - Labour's sceptics were right about the single currency, but we still need a solution to the problems they foresaw - 13th November
 * Who will say we're better off out of Europe? - If the single currency survives, it may not be long before a serious politician calls for Britain to leave the EU - 6th November
 * It's time for Dave to think of a policy - He duffs up Ed Miliband and can manage a crisis, but the Prime Minister needs to stand for something – anything, in fact - 30th October
 * The PM surfs the euro-breaker - sIn quashing referendum hopes, David Cameron flexes the political muscle that looks good on television - 23rd October
 * Banned list: the war on words - Verbiage and cliché are signs the speaker is unsure what they're saying - 16th October
 * He who hesitates is ... not in a hurry - Cameron has been confident in his handling of the Fox business - 16th October
 * Ken Clarke talks uncommon sense - The big beast among passed-over Conservative leaders poses more danger to Osborne than to May - 9th October
 * I don't like it, Dave... it's too quiet - The PM is at his best in a crisis, but good disasters keep dissolving. Even Europe has been tamed - 2nd October
 * What Labour should and should not apologise for - Nearly everyone is agreed. Labour has to apologise for the state of public finances it bequeathed to the Coalition before it gains "permission" to be heard by the public. I may even have written somet ... - 26th September
 * Rewriting the laws of particle politics - Labour has moved left faster than the speed of light. But on debt, the electorate is an immovable object - 25th September
 * Cameron's eyeballs are not for burning - Every year, we have the rituals of the party conference season - 18th September
 * Out of the 'zone', but still in the soup - The problems of the euro could sink even those who wanted nothing to do with it, such as the Conservative Party - 11th September
 * Why did nobody stop Gordon Brown? - Another memoir from a former member of Brown's government adds detail and depth to his monster status - 4th September
 * doesn't work for Clegg'' - The Prime Minister understands better than his deputy that voters want to hear impossible promises - 28th August
 * talk costs livelihoods'' - Riots in Britain, earthquakes in Japan, panic in the eurozone... and capitalism is a survivor every time - 21st August
 * is still a case for police cuts'' - David Cameron is very brave, or very foolish, to take on the police, but the argument for reform remains strong - 14th August
 * Euro Crisis'' - I am on a fact finding mission to find out more about the causes of fiscal unsustainability in the eurozone periphery. So far I have found out the fact that one euro is worth 88p - 27th July
 * can Boris Johnson be up to?'' - Johnson is the bookies' favourite to replace Cameron as the next leader of the Conservative Party - 24th July
 * Osborne, the new Macavity'' - Cameron's insistence that the decision to employ Coulson was 'mine and mine alone' looks like protesting too much - 17th July
 * exposed, but not at risk'' - The promise of a public inquiry was hailed as a triumph for the Leader of the Opposition, but the PM has won again - 10th July
 * boards the magic roundabout'' - The Prime Minister believes the Tories are getting an easy ride and will win the next election outright - 3rd July
 * hail John Major, a true European hero'' - The euro debate in Britain is over, but the door is now opening to fresh challenges to Brussels orthodoxy - 26th June
 * plot twist in the No 10 soap opera'' - The characters in Downing Street may be falling out over health reforms, but Cameron is watching the ratings - 19th June
 * was no plot. I hope there's one now'' - The 'Causes of the Fall of Blair' were a great deal more complicated than the machinations of Ed Balls and Ed Miliband - 12th June
 * in the spotlight, it was as though the old charmer had never been away'' - A tour to promote his autobiography has put the former Prime Minister back in the headlines - 10th June
 * truth about the lies about drugs'' - Reversing the status quo does not solve a problem, any more than a little high-profile nodding is a policy - 5th June
 * reap fruit of Labour's revolution'' - New evidence now unambiguously confirms that academies have transformed education - 29th May
 * Miliband and the End of the World'' - Labour's leader should be thinking about policy and not about Clarke's resignation – or anything else unlikely to happen - 22nd May
 * had a coalition since 1997'' - The Labour government wasn't made up of two parties, but the Blair-Brown rivalry came pretty close - 15th May
 * sacrificial strategy'' - Taking the blame, even for policies the Lib Dems do not endorse, makes the Deputy PM both brave and foolish - 8th May
 * has a nasty dose of self-delusion'' - The coalition is unpopular, but a lack of policies will wipe out any gains Ed Miliband makes in this week's local elections - 1st May
 * dear. A word of advice...'' - In most situations Cameron plays the part of PM well. But he lacks the trick of getting the big messages across - 28th April
 * hot potato makes a mash-up'' - Making political capital of immigration is a hazardous ploy for the Prime Minister and the coalition - 17th April
 * hard to diagnose confusion'' - When three senior politicians try and fail to clarify the NHS reforms, it's because the policy is a mess - 10th April
 * we go again, voting tactically...'' - The referendum on AV is the voter's chance to rebuff the least-liked party. But other polls on 5 May matter more - 3rd April
 * barks up the wrong tree'' - The Shadow Chancellor was unleashed on George Osborne's Budget but, wrongly, went for the banks - 27th March
 * Libya will get harder from now on'' - Cameron's no-fly zone may have taken off, but if Colonel Gaddafi does not fall soon it's hard to see a happy ending - 20th March
 * Osborne's hand of trumps'' - Points won by Labour when the coalition falters count for little while the Chancellor holds the Budget cards - 13th March
 * is a faulty barometer'' - Tempting as it is to find general election clues in Labour's by-election win, the numbers are misleading - 6th March
 * foreign policy. Must suit PM'' - William Hague has not covered himself in glory, but his real problem is the guidance given by his boss - 27th February
 * pincer movement on No 10'' - Nine months in, Cameron is between a rock and a hard place - 20th February
 * not economics, wins elections'' - George Osborne wrongfooted Ed Balls over bonuses, and such tactics will do more for him than number-crunching - 12th February
 * two things put Cameron off doing fluent PM'' - We're still feeling our way around this Prime Minister - 10th February
 * position is No but Yes'' - Prime Minister can't admit to hoping May's referendum will bring a change in the electoral system - 6th February
 * is riding the wrong cycle'' - His record as the Mayor of London has hardly been sparkling - 30th January
 * a must-have No 10 accessory'' - Often considered a weakness, a well-executed U-turn can enhance a premier's reputation, as PM proves - 23rd January
 * needs business more than big wins'' - The Lib Dems lost the by-election but claimed success. Labour won it but it's a terrible result for them - 16th January
 * anti-politics party is ahead'' - A by-election flushes out mid-term anger, but Her Majesty's Opposition is annoying voters too - 9th January
 * banks on the silver vote'' - Older people will gain under the coalition, unaffected by its measure - 2nd January



Articles: 2010

 * a peek into my crystal ball for 2011'' - Predictions are a dangerous business. So, let's do it... - 28th December
 * man who could have changed it all'' - Alan Johnson ducked his chance to be leader of his party - 26th December
 * it or not, Cameron is a born leader'' - His critics underestimate the potency of his ideological flexibility - 19th December
 * has trust issues. Sound familiar?'' - Dr Hindsight has come to tell us what should have happened - 12th December
 * luck may be running out'' - Miliband's poor showing hasn't stopped the Lib Dem leader being the bookies' favourite as the first to lose his job - 5th December
 * right to speak truth unto prejudice'' - The words about breeding by a former Tory MP were correct. It was the ritual 'gaffe' fallout that was unspeakable - 28th November
 * saved Gordon to get his job'' - Miliband could have helped unseat the former leader, but what good would that have done his own chances? - 21st November
 * don't need to reinvent the Blairite wheel'' - The only people the Health Secretary is empowering are the GPs - 16th November
 * learns from the Lib Dems'' - Promising the earth, on education or cuts, comes back to haunt you - 14th November
 * damned lies, and Phil Woolas'' - Most politicians tell the truth, more so than most other human beings - 11th November
 * lies electoral reform. R.I.P.'' - The political veteran started life as a much-loved idealist but withered away, neglected and outmoded - 7th November
 * is making it easy to be a Tory'' - Labour was leaderless all summer long. Miliband seems to think that it should stay that way - 31st October
 * Miliband needs a plan, and soon'' - Labour politicians' answer to the question, 'What would you do?' invariably starts with, 'Not this' - 24th October
 * drives his voters away'' - Having mislaid one voter in 10, where will they get more supporters from? - 17th October
 * power play to match Blair v Brown'' - Having alienated three key figures in his party, the new Labour leader will need every ounce of authority he can muster - 10th October
 * words decoded'' - Between the lines of the Prime Minister's conference speech - 7th October
 * Ed is a gift to Dave, he's a Trojan horse'' - The PM should be wary – the new Labour leader could steal his Lib Dem pals - 3rd October
 * nifty footwork works again'' - Vince Cable spots a news vacuum and pleases all of the people all of the time - 26th September
 * Clegg could yet be proved right'' - The Lib Dem leader has not got much out of the coalition, but it is the second half of this parliament that matters - 19th September
 * brothers will keep Balls at bay'' - Balls is the most intellectually able economist on the Labour side - 12th September
 * gift to Cameron – a leader's guide'' - New Labour's belated recognition of the gap between saying and doing will come in handy for his successor at No 10 - 5th September
 * does Blair rage come from?'' - Nothing he can say in his book today will stop the flow; the anger against him exists at a deeper level - 1st September
 * can do Labour no harm'' - David Miliband should have told some truths about his brother - 29th August
 * is, spotting a lie is pointless'' - Accusing your opponents of lies is always a sign of weakness - 22nd August
 * your country needs you'' - This phoney war has already lasted nearly two years - 17th August
 * not trade, freed Megrahi'' - Tony Blair did not engineer the release of the Lockerbie bomber - 25th July
 * ways of speaking to a 'special' friend'' - Cameron and Obama meet this week as leaders embarked upon major reforms. They have a lot to talk about - 18th July
 * must leave a door ajar for Clegg'' - Cameron wants to absorb the Lib Dem leader, who is not for being absorbed - 11th July
 * fancies a long stay at No 10'' - Even if the Tories win outright, they will want to keep the Liberal Democrats - 4th July
 * Labour can save the coalition'' - The VAT rise is painful for Lib Dems, but welfare reform has much greater potential to rock the Government - 27th June
 * look Down Under, Nick'' - The Lib Dems would do well to check the history of parties that betray their principles for power - 20th June
 * September, the steel will show'' - David Miliband has nominated Diane Abbott as a candidate for Labour Party - 13th June
 * as they are....'' - Maiden speeches reveal promising wit and entertaining Europhobia - 6th June
 * Dems 'no better than rest of us' shock'' - David Laws's resignation should bring a sharp end to his party's sanctimonious aspiration to be seagreen incorruptibles - 30th May
 * return to tribalism won't help Labour'' - Putting Ed Balls up on Newsnight to talk about cuts is like telling voters that they have not been paying - 27th May
 * gent's definitely for turning'' - It takes a true Blairite to spot the joins in our reproduction Prime Minister - 23rd May
 * is not a merger. It's a takeover'' - A Liberal-Conservative government is a bit like discovering that the Earth goes round the Sun - 16th May
 * 55 per cent rule'' - I do not really understand the 55 per cent rule, although I think people are right to be suspicious - 15th May
 * right to cosy up to Cameron'' - But the Lib Dem leader has boxed himself into a poor bargaining position - 9th May
 * has blown it, after all that'' - He's shown his hand too early and may have missed the chance of a lifetime - 2nd May
 * shape of things to come'' - As the Lib Dems hold their ground, the Cameron and Brown camps must determine the price of victory - 25th April
 * A triumph of anti-politics'' - 'Nice Nick' did well in the leaders' debate, but what counts most is the gap between the two biggest parties - 18th April
 * fallacy that dogs Project Cameron'' - This was the flying pig manifesto, describing a Britain that will never be - 14th April
 * put a wager on a Tory victory, despite all the known unknowns'' - Over-hyped and over-analysed, I bet the televised debates don't shift many votes. - 7th April
 * has always been a good finisher'' - The Conservative Party is convulsed by doubts about its leader as it sees the prize slipping away - 28th March
 * Cable as chancellor, vote Labour'' - The clunky mechanism of a hung parliament means that the Lib Dems need Brown to do well - 21st March
 * – Women are people too'' - Party leaders are mistaken if they think that half the electorate is only concerned with family-friendly issues - 14th March
 * puts a tick by War and moves on'' - The PM has moved his campaign on a notch by appearing before Chilcot and visiting Afghanistan - 7th March
 * smash personalities'' - The bullying charge has not settled the election, as Labour rallies and the Tories change tack - 28th February
 * a duh-brain I clicked on the link ...'' - It all started with Harriet Harman. It was an unexpected pleasure to receive a direct message from her through Twitter on Wednesday morning. This you? it asked - 27th February
 * can a security man scare so easily?'' - Shouting and raging at the staff is not the way that most of us would prefer our leaders to behave, in government or the office, but we are realistic enough to accept that it is how they often do - 22nd February
 * flight shows his party's plight'' - The decision of one of its stars to quit politics suggests that Labour is facing a crisis of self-confidence - 21st February
 * catchy voter'' - PM's willingness to indulge in soul-baring is part of an elaborate triple bluff - 14th February
 * the Houdini of Westminster'' - Shackled by a falling poll lead, policy muddles and photoshopped posters, the Tory leader will be free in an instant - 7th February
 * act in the Leader's Tragedy'' - The audience was justifiably restive after an uncharacteristically defensive performance by Tony Blair - 31st January (Iraq war inquiry)
 * signals is not enough'' - The Conservative leader's flailing semaphore doesn't address the complexities of 'our broken society' - 24th January
 * many years out in the cold?'' - Labour is likely to lose the general election. Its main concern now is damage limitation - 17th January
 * biggest loser from this election will be positive politics'' - We are in the run-up to an anti-politics election. It is a dismal, life-denying prospect - 14th January
 * the last challenge to Brown. Pity...'' - Miliband seemed to have flunked his final chance to go for the top job, but his long-term chances are unscathed - 10th January
 * know a man who can keep New Labour flame burning'' - Most members and supporters of Labour know their best hope is a change of leader - 6th January
 * must unleash its tarantulas'' - Only a series of unexpected setbacks can stop the Tories taking power. But stranger things have happened - 3rd January



Articles: 2009

 * Tories aren't so stupid after all'' - When Labour was last in opposition, much of the party was obsessed with electoral reform - 31st December
 * in the arena is risky but brave'' - The PM's decision to agree to a televised leaders' debate reveals the confidence of an experienced political - 27th December 2009
 * the incredible shrinking man'' - Tory plans to take power away from Westminster invite voters to elect a government that will do less and less - 20th December
 * a balanced verdict on Blair, look beyond Chilcot'' - He is being intimidated into coming up with the 'right' answers - 18th December
 * is unelectable again'' - Labour is being propelled into wilderness by economic plans that repel voters - 13th December
 * is safe, but not home and dry'' - PM had a good week, but murmuring of leadership challengers is always audible - 6th December
 * really disturbing question about Iraq'' - Going in is not the issue now. Chilcot should be looking at how the occupation gave rise to such bloodshed - 29th November
 * it or not, there it is. A Tory policy'' - Voluntary work for young people is not new – but Cameron wants to make it universally available - 22nd November
 * must read the Tories' book'' - Four unsuitable leaders cost the Conservatives power. Gordon Brown should take note and act fast - 15th November
 * Cameron is the new Blair'' - The Tory leader has learnt from New Labour not to promise too much - 8th November
 * Miliband's turn for hard choices'' - And they're all about him. Should he aim to be Europe's foreign minister, or wait and see what else might come - 1st November
 * special delivery to Griffin'' - The BNP leader on TV was pure panto, but the real villains in this drama have been at the cabinet table - 25th October
 * golden age of education is a myth'' - We love to think that life was better in the 19th century - 18th October
 * blew it. Labour can win'' - The Tory leader's big speech was a dud that can cost him the election – if Gordon Brown stands aside - 11th October
 * secret weapon – say nothing'' - The Tory leader's best bet is to wing it through his party conference while promising as little as he can - 4th October
 * of more of the same won't do'' - Labour is avoiding the one thing that would give it a chance: changing leader - 30th September
 * real story is Ireland, not Brighton'' - Party conferences are all very well, but they are not always closely related to life on this planet - 27th September
 * fail the 'under a bus' test'' - Test shows how much of a one-person party the Tories have become - 20th September
 * over. Let the plotting begin'' - I'll shut up about the Labour leadership in a moment, but the trouble is that everything comes back to it - 13th September
 * bombs leave Brown's hopes in tatters'' -We are surely approaching the final chapter of the Prime Minister's career, and the story is being written in Afghanistan and Libya - 6th September
 * Britain is 'broken', who broke it?'' - We've been here before: the Tories' scare stories are bogus. More to the point, they have no alternative plan - 30th august
 * is too late for everything'' - This inbuilt caution served him well on the road to No 10 but is disastrous as PM - 28th August
 * are our brave leaders?'' - Brown dilly-dallies in la-la land and Cameron shies away from big issues - 23rd August
 * battles the forces of Murdoch'' - The News Corp dynasty didn't cause the PM's troubles, but it won't help him - 26th July
 * let you know, Mr Blair'' - The job of European president will go to a milder candidate - 19th July
 * all odds, a step up for the planet'' - The global commitment to tackle climate change will make a difference - 12th July
 * less than it's cracked up to be'' - 'New media' are just another way of showing us what politicians are like - 5th July
 * public is ahead of Brown on cuts'' - Labour and Conservatives talk airily about 'difficult choices' and 'fiscal responsibility', but Nick Clegg has a list - 28th June
 * mob doesn't care about the details'' - Many MPs are facing greater disgrace than they deserve - 21st June
 * damned lies, and spending cuts'' - Labour will probably make a difference to more lives, but it's hard to tell when the PM keeps talking nonsense - 14th June
 * the final curtain but a dress rehearsal'' - The PM has limped through a very bruising week, but he will be brought down in the autumn, and he knows it - 7th June
 * they know what they're missing? Tony is back'' - For days his has been a name invoked, a reminder of election-winning ways now lost, a ghostly presence at the cannibalistic feast of the attempted coup against Gordon Brown - 6th June
 * isn't the start of the coup. Just the pre-convulsions...'' - I know I shouldn't say this, but Brown could do with some of Blair's baser political skills - 3rd June
 * weekend of woe is not the finale'' - Next weekend will be Gordon Brown's worst as Prime Minister. Worse than all his previous worst weekends - 31st May
 * Esther's the answer, the question is wrong'' - Neither Ms Rantzen, nor Katie Price, can transform our parliamentary system - 24th May
 * leadership election would do Labour good'' - One Scottish machine politician down; one more to go - 20th May
 * would want this poisoned chalice?'' - No self-respecting challenger is likely to bid for the Labour leadership - 17th May
 * be wimps about these revelations'' - Our politicians are a spineless lot. What we need is a bit of chutzpah - 10th May
 * on a tightrope to power'' - A sound bite, a photo opportunity and a Government defeat in the Commons: Nick Clegg is suddenly a player - 3rd May
 * all over for our Prime Minister'' - We are back to the Seventies in the sense of alternating parties in government - 30th April
 * down, Gordon, and liberate Labour'' - In case you missed the historic clash between Alan Johnson and Jeremy Paxman I've transcribed it here - 26th April
 * Smith can't check every badge'' - Pity poor Jacqui Smith. Or please yourselves, and don't - 19th April
 * now attacking Blair over religion are missing the point'' - The idea that the former PM hid his faith when in office is absurd - 16th April
 * cannot double-count on gratitude'' - The electorate does not approve of slippery arithmetic - 5th April
 * not knowing is not good enough'' - Sources say there may be 15 cases of UK complicity in torture - 29th March
 * – evasive but unstoppable'' - The Leader of the Opposition can afford to take more risks, because he is going to win the election anyway - 22nd March
 * lucky. Michael Gove's a one-off'' - The Tory Education spokesman scores top marks for stealing Labour's clothes with calls for educational reform - 15th March
 * careful what you wish for, Mr Clegg'' - The Liberal Democrats are a surprisingly resilient force - 8th March
 * shock – no hidden agenda'' - Not for the first time the nation asks: What is Peter Mandelson up to? - 1st March
 * for your close-up, Mr Cameron?'' - We still have little idea what the Tories would do in government - 22nd February
 * Johnson can hold back the Tories'' - The PM's mistakes are catching up with him. If his party stays loyal to him, it means certain electoral ruin - 15th February
 * may be right, but he's on his own'' - The Conservative leader is failing to find common cause with Gordon Brown's policy critics on the Continent - 8th February
 * has its uses – like jumping the queue'' - There is an afterlife: Blair beats Brown to Obama - 6th February
 * all throw a tantrum once in a while'' - Jobs are going - and they're going to others - 1st February
 * expensive mistake'' - Brown will get no thanks for protecting us if he is also trying to protect MPs with their snouts in the trough - 25th January
 * man who will change the world'' - We can only imagine the burden of high expectations borne by Barack Obama - 18th January
 * we've never had it so good'' - Our PM can't say it out loud, for some of us are suffering – but as things get cheaper, most of us get richer - 11th January
 * no room for reason when it comes to speeding'' - The idea that a car be fitted with a gizmo to stop it exceeding the limit arouses fury - 2nd January

Articles: 2008

 * special relationship'' - The return of Lord Mandelson of High Mischief sets up a taut psychological drama for 2009 - 28th December 2008
 * a diary, perform a public service'' - Noting what people say and publishing it has been a feature of New Labour - 26th December 2008
 * count the spoons'' - Mandelson's 'new industrial activism' could lead Labour down a well-worn garden path to electoral ruin - 21st December 2008
 * long can Gordon make the crisis last?'' - Stormy weather suits the PM, who will want to go to the country before the calm that follows - 14th December 2008
 * for deputy? Not a chance'' - Peter Mandelson is back and Labour is one big happy family again - 7th December 2008
 * Queen, but it's about the Budget'' - The Queen's Speech never has a theme, New Labour has never fabricated one - 4th December 2008
 * police are a law unto themselves'' - Raiding four addresses on the basis of 'inference' and 'intelligence' alone, the Met has overstepped its mark - 30th November 2008
 * Middle England solutions offer no way out this time'' - It's what politicians don't say that tells you most about them. George Osborne gave a loud – I wouldn't say confident – response to the mini-Budget - 25th November 2008
 * gets his shot at redemption'' - The shadow Chancellor has been under fire since Yachtgate. Tomorrow's mini-Budget debate will be the biggest test of his career - 23rd November 2008
 * handbrake turn that kills Prudence'' - A new recklessness could do the trick for Labour at the next election - 16th November 2008
 * defining moment for... humble pie'' - Honesty proved an effective form of spin at Glenrothes and the momentum is with Labour - 9th November 2008
 * Spend! Spend!'' - Homage paid to the ghost of Keynes is an excuse for a policy change about which Labour had no choice - 2nd November 2008
 * marks, Ed. Now for Tesco schools'' - The Childen's Secretary is following the fine example of Lord Adonis – and should aim even higher - 26th October 2008
 * can be too much of a good thing'' - Our poll suggests Brown's failure to fix the roof will haunt him - 19th October 2008
 * week Gordon met his ERM'' - It has been a good week for David Cameron - 12th October 2008
 * this is, it isn't serious politics'' - Gordon Brown's reshuffle measures up neither to the demands of the hour nor the challenge posed by the Conservative Party - 5th October 2008
 * Brown is straining Cabinet loyalty'' - The PM is in danger of marring his recent good fortune if he continues to anger ministers with his gang-culture tactics - 28th September 2008
 * with it, Nick. Walk-and-talk is so last year'' - Modern oratory is as dependent on technology to get the message across as it is on the dark arts of the professional speechwriter - 21st September 2008
 * for Labour: adopt the Coke strategy'' - The best way to take on the Tories would be to acknowledge they have changed, but urge progressives to stay with the Real Thing - 14th September 2008
 * should have kept it in the family'' - The former Home Secretary's criticism of Gordon Brown raises the question: if the PM is so useless, why is he still in No 10? - 7th September 2008
 * soars on his oratory, but errors may yet deflate him'' - A dull acceptance speech and a political marriage of convenience put the US hopefuls neck and neck - 31st August 2008
 * will be ditched. But when?'' - Labour does not need to lose another by-election to know that it is all over for this Prime Minister - Thursday 28th August 2008
 * do you think you are, Boris Johnson?'' - Worryingly for David Cameron, the increasingly transparent reply from London's mayor seems to be 'a future prime minister' - 24th August 2008
 * paradox at the heart of Conservatism'' - Tory housing policy would lead to greater labour mobility – exactly what the condemned 'Northern Town' report advocates - 17th August 2008
 * Now it is when, not if, for Mr Brown - Labour MPs must grasp the nettle and press for a new leader, but who should they choose – and will it make any difference? - 27th July 2008
 * Obama, the most dominant force in British politics - The Democratic presidential candidate is Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela rolled into one when it comes to sprinkling stardust. And now that he has ditched his left-wing baggage, Brown and Cameron are hoping that some of the magic will rub off on them - 20th July 2008
 * Cameron has a winning personality. And this is why he is ahead of Brown in the polls - Thursday 17th July 2008
 * The Prime Minister's nightmare scenario - A Tory win at the next election and a referendum on Scottish independence could see the end of progressive politics for a generation - 13th July 2008
 * The party awaits The Issue to topple Brown - The catastrophic vote against MPs' expenses reform may not be the Prime Minister's undoing, but something will be before long - 6th July 2008
 * The key to leadership? Personality not policy - Why does Barack Obama remain popular in spite of his left-wing policies, and what are the lessons for British politicians? - 29th June 2008
 * Cameron's stand on Heathrow proves that his green agenda is not just a gimmick - Thursday 26th June 2008
 * The punk hairdresser is a natural Lib Dem - Changing the law on race and religion is a no-go area for Labour and the Tories – which leaves an opening for Nick Clegg - 22nd June 2008
 * The constitution is dead. Would it be so impolite to admit it? - If even the pro-EU Irish won't endorse the Lisbon Treaty, the politicians should throw in the towel - 15th June 2008
 * A nasty case of Utopian dogma - Old Labour practices live on in the cruel rule that prevents NHS patients paying for extra cancer treatment - 8th June 2008
 * Gordon Brown's Japanese lesson - Labour MPs who would oust the PM should learn from the Land of the Rising Sun, where the ruling party's ratings are in freefall - 1st June 2008
 * Brown isn't working – and Labour has itself to blame - Only a handful of Blairites had the courage to oppose Gordon Brown's accession to No 10 last year, and now, even sooner than they expected, the Prime Minister has lost the confidence of his MPs. His early departure is no longer an if, but a when and a how - 25th May 2008
 * If Brown is slain by the press, who is its next prey? - A vulnerable Prime Minister is under attack from Rupert Murdoch, the Mail group and the the bitterly disappointed columnists of 'The Guardian'. But would any leader, of any hue, fare better, now that the feeding frenzy has reached such a pitch? - 18th May 2008
 * Cameron is leaving Brown to hang himself – but must show what he'd do instead - Thursday 15th May 2008
 * Cherie twists the knife, before it's too late - In her new book, Mrs Blair attacks Gordon Brown with lawyerly restraint. It's her timing that says most about his premiership - 11th May 2008
 * The day Boris became Mayor was the beginning of the end for Dave - Everything seemed to go so well for the Tories that night back in 2008, when victory in London was a taste of things to come. Then things went disastrously wrong. Our chief political commentator reports from 2012 - 4th May 2008
 * All change at Crewe: is it Brown's Waterloo? - Nick Clegg has failed to shine as Lib Dem leader, and it is the Tories who benefit. All eyes are now on the race for Gwyneth's old seat - 27th April 2008
 * Gordon Brown has summoned up a deep, dark fear from the souls of Labour MPs - It is the fear of failure. That empty feeling that the past 11 years have been wasted - Tuesday 22nd April 2008
 * Mr Brown is out of touch and out of control - The Government complains that minor matters are capturing the headlines, but the ministerial aide talked out of resigning over the 10p tax band touched a nerve. The penny has dropped among MPs – the Prime Minister will be a handicap at the next election - 20th April, 2008
 * Gordon Brown asks to be judged on his long-term decisions. So here goes... - Thursday 17th April 2008
 * Why the Tories are studying the lessons of history – and what they have learnt so far - Cameron cites 1924, when the Conservatives were the largest party but Labour took power - Tuesday 15th April 2008
 * David Miliband, this is your country calling - The current Labour leader's tenure is moribund. It is time for new blood to revive the party's fortunes - 13th April 2008
 * Vacancy: who wants Brown's job the most? - Either Cameron or some young Labour pretender will oust the Prime Minister from No 10. And he has no control over which version it is - 6th April 2008
 * Daylight robbery at the library of rhetoric - Another raid on Labour's terms of reference shows a Tory party becoming ever more brazen in its theft of left-wing idea - Saturday 29th March 2008
 * Tony thinks big. Gordon thinks of Mandy - Blair swoops in on his high-carbon flight to battle climate change, leaving low-carbon Brown green with envy in his wake - 16th March 2008
 * Darling was bad. Cameron worse. But even he was eclipsed by the performance of Balls - Thursday 13th March 2008
 * You're ahead, David, but going where? - The Tory leader may mock the environmental steps announced in this week's Budget, but he is running low on green cred himself - 9th March 2008
 * No wonder the Tories ask, 'Are we there yet? - The recent immigration debate shows the Conservatives are still doing battle over what sort of party they want to be - 2nd March 2008
 * A lot's been missed from this sad little list - Labour's dull cataloguing of achievements reveals a tired party while the Tories' passionate eagerness makes them prone to gaffes - 24th February 2008
 * It's official (even if it is unfair): Northern Rock has been a huge disaster for the Government - Thursday 21st February 2008
 * Let multiculturalism speak for itself - The country's future is too important to be lost in loose talk about race. It's time to address population stability in plain English - 17th February 2008
 * If Blair runs for the EU presidency, Brown will be the fall guy – whatever the result- Friday 15th February 2008
 * Politics reduced to a walk in the park - The election may be a long way off but the parties are laying the groundwork for a hung Parliament that looks increasingly likely - 10th February 2008
 * Can Brown turn it around? Probably not - Day 34 on the Gordonian calendar, and the gap between his world and ours shows no sign of shrinking, however you triangulate it - 3rd February 2008
 * Cameron knows he should be doing better - Caught between the hares and tortoises within his party, the Conservative leader is pursuing an erratic course - 27th January 2008
 * Tough on the causes of rhetoric about crime - Young Tony Blair battered the Tories with statistics on law and order. David Cameron is reprising the tactic on Labour - 20th January 2008
 * The primaries show – opening here soon - The Tories are seeking pointers from the US as avidly as New Labour emulated Bill Clinton's tactics in 1992 - 13th January 2008
 * Is Labour still the competent party? - Forget Northern Rock. The Government needs to confront some even stickier - and more old-fashioned - economic problems - 6th January 2008
 * Affordable housing is Brown's mantra. But he's wrong if he thinks he can make it happen - Thursday 3rd January 2008



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