Andrew Grice



Profile:
Full name: Andrew Grice

Area of interest: Politics

Journals/Organisation: The Independent

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

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Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/biography/andrew-grice

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Career: Westminster journalist for more than 20 years. The Sunday Times: political editor for ten years; The Independent: political editor, 1998- Current position/role: The Independent: Political Editor


 * also writes/has written for: Freelance journalism for Campaign magazine

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Awards/Honours:

Scoops: Won the London Press Club Scoop of the Year (with Barrie Clement), 2002 - for revealing Jo Moore's memo suggesting "burying bad news" in the wake of the 911 attacks.
 * Jo Moore story wins scoop of the year for 'Independent', The Independent, 30th April 2002

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The Independent:
Column name: Inside Politics / Inside Westminster

Remit/Info: Political analysis

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Role: Political Editor

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

Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/biography/andrew-grice

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Saturday

Regularity: Weekly

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Average length:



Articles: 2016

 * Win or lose, this is what will happen to the Tory party after the EU referendum - David Cameron's referendum was supposed to settle the EU issue for a generation. It would be ironic if it recreated the mayhem of the Major years - 21st June
 * There is a dark side to our politics – and Jo Cox saw it long before her death - Cox was by instinct a unifier, a bridge-builder who wanted to see a more consensual politics. But social media is taking us in the other direction - 18th June
 * Brexit would mean living with all of Vote Leave's broken promises - which could sweep the Tories out of power - A vote to leave the EU next week is a vote for a right-wing Boris Johnson government which would try to deliver its land of milk and honey amid economic turmoil, a recession and a £30bn black hole in the public finances - 16th June
 * Would Osborne's promised 'emergency Budget' actually materialise after Brexit? I very much doubt it - A simple look at the maths - and political logic - shows how a budget of the kind he's threatened really wouldn't make any sense - 16th June
 * The Remain campaign has a positive story to tell on immigration. It’s time they started talking - David Cameron should devote a speech to the issue of immigration so that voters know he is listening to them. He might not convince them all, but he needs to try - 9th June
 * Having lost the argument on the economy, Vote Leave has unleashed its inner Farage - Given the scaremongering by the Outers on immigration, David Cameron and George Osborne have no choice but to spell out the economic risks of Brexit with no holds barred - 26th May
 * Jeremy Corbyn could decide the EU referendum – so why isn't he trying? - With Conservative voters divided, both sides in the referendum agree that Labour supporters could swing it - 21st May
 * This is the Queen's Speech that Cameron called too soon – and his 'One Nation' credentials will suffer for it - If Cameron survives his self-made scare, his list of Bills provides the bare bones of a Tory strategy in the political centre ground. But it will require a lot more flesh – and money – to turn the rhetoric into reality - 18th May
 * Boris Johnson's blunders have damaged the Leave campaign – and his career – beyond repair - The former Mayor of London’s hapless intervention in the Brexit debate has shown his political limitations. For once, his affability cannot cover it - 13th May
 * Jeremy Corbyn has a toxic relationship with the media – but he’s the one to blame - Corbyn’s camp consistently rejects the olive branches extended by broadcasters, and advice in general on media management – and now he’s suffering - 11th May
 * Labour is gearing itself up to oust Corbyn - but other candidates for leadership aren't who you might expect - Triggering a leadership contest would require the backing of only 51 MPs and MEPs - 5th May
 * Corbyn’s leadership has heightened Labour’s 'Jewish problem'. Only he can bring this row to an end - Corbyn is on a fast learning curve. A half-hearted approach by the Labour leader would not only lose Jewish voters but repel others too - 29th April
 * Yes, the junior doctors’ strike really is about money – how little Government is willing to spend on our health - The NHS is being funded on a wing and a prayer. The NHS is told to find £22bn of efficiency savings, yet there is no plan how to achieve them - 28th April
 * Zac Goldsmith's campaign proves that Donald Trump's politics have arrived in Britain – and Tories are furious - Moderate Muslims will look at the nasty party’s attacks on Sadiq Khan and conclude that entering public life is not worth the hassle. That's bad news for us all - 22nd April
 * Nigel Farage may be over but Ukip is here to stay – whether we vote to leave Europe or not - A narrow win for the In camp would not settle the Europe question or kill off Ukip, just as defeat in the Scottish independence referendum did not stop the SNP - 21st April
 * The Tories might have found their antidote to the 'party of the rich' virus plaguing them - Crabb’s views have been shaped equally by his Christian faith and by being one of three boys brought up in a council house by their mother, who he once shielded from a knife attack by his abusive father - 14th April
 * David Cameron's tax affairs are a gift to Jeremy Corbyn. His survival depends on what he does next - Whatever else people think of Corbyn, they know he is unlikely to have benefited from an offshore trust fund - 11th April
 * David Cameron's reputation is in tatters - and the people rejoicing the most are within his own party - Politicians put themselves on a pedestal and must meet higher standards than the rest of us. On the tax issue, the bar is higher for Cameron because of his privileged background - 8th April
 * The living wage is set to cause more problems than it solves, however popular it may be - Social care will go into decline as budgets are swallowed up by implementing the living wage - and we face a future of agency workers rather than regular staff - 31st March
 * Google tax row is a gift to Labour and Jeremy Corbyn's camp knows it - Labour will be able to remind us that the Tories depend heavily on donations from the financial sector and to shine a light on the lobbying of the Government - 30th January
 * Corbyn's Labour reshuffle signals a likely return to unilateralism - By ousting Maria Eagle, Corbyn removed an obstacle to his goal of ending Labour support for Britain’s nuclear weapons - 7th January



Articles: 2015

 * We’re entering a new political era leading to a one-party state - For now, the instinct of most Labour moderates is to stay and fight. That may not always be the case - 7th December
 * Jeremy Corbyn has had a shambolic first week as leader – if Labour doesn't win London Mayor, his opponents will oust him - Even the left-winger's select band of backers are uneasy - 19th September
 * Blairites only have themselves to blame for their humiliation at the hands of Jeremy Corbyn - The seeds of Corbyn’s victory do not lie only in the disastrous Iraq War - 14th September
 * Refugee crisis: Where is your compassionate Conservatism now, David Cameron? - The Prime Minister is running to catch up with public opinion instead of leading it - 12th September
 * Jeremy Corbyn is here to stay and the Labour Party is never going to look the same again - 5th September
 * Labour leadership contest: Can grey beard Jeremy Corbyn win the grey vote? - Age is now more likely to determine how you vote than social class - 29th August
 * Labour leadership contest: Whether Jeremy Corbyn wins or not, Labour faces a long time out of power - Blair's apocalyptic warnings over Corbyn had a touch of desperation - 15th August
 * Migrant crisis: Politicians need holidays too, but Calais crisis holds David Cameron at Downing Street - Imagine pictures of the PM on holiday as Calais crisis keeps families stuck... - 8th August
 * Blairites be warned, this could be the moment Labour turns into Syriza - “But what about Greece?” The question is posed by many Labour members when they are canvassed on the  phone by supporters of Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall. - 1st August
 * Labour will become nothing more than a pressure group if Jeremy Corbyn is elected as party leader - Inside Westminster: I remember my first encounter with Jeremy Corbyn well because it was the first time I attended a party conference - 25th July
 * George Osborne's image makeover is all but complete – but will it win him an election? - Although the Conservatives won this year’s election on a “party of working people” ticket, it was a piece of positioning without much substance - 11th July
 * David Cameron is keeping his cards close to his chest over Europe – with good reason - Inside Westminster: The referendum could prove the PM's s toughest battle yet - 26th June
 * Greece’s offer shows the only way forward is to rein in the childishness - A deal has not been done though, and eurozone finance ministers need more time to study the small print of the belated Greek offer - 23rd June
 * Has David Cameron finally laid the ghost of Margaret Thatcher to rest? - Inside Westminster: Which party leader who won three general elections still casts a shadow over their party and divides opinion within it? - 20th June
 * Charles Kennedy's death has reignited debate on a possible Lib Dem and Labour alliance - Kennedy sought to forge a progressive, anti-Tory alliance - 6th June
 * Labour needs to challenge itself and evolve or risk losing more elections - Inside Westminster - 16th May
 * Migrant boat disaster: This human tragedy has been brewing for four years and EU states can't say they were not warned - When we tried to revisit the best beaches in 2011, the road was blocked by police. The camps were not far away and no one was allowed near them - 20th April
 * Thoughts of his legacy prompted David Cameron’s quit admission - "He is saying he has no intention of leaving after the referendum" - 24th March
 * Politicians court the grey vote because pensioners, unlike the young, vote - Labour has rejected calls from some in its own ranks to save £1bn a year by means-testing winter fuel payments - 6th March
 * Smart Tories know they can’t ignore England’s attachment to the NHS - Nothing has changed since Nigel Lawson, the then Chancellor, described the NHS in 1992 as 'the nearest thing the English have to religion' - 17th January
 * Election pledges abound but whose figures can we trust? - It's the start of the longest general election campaign in modern times - 7th January



Articles: 2014

 * The political parties aren't all the same – which means 2015 will be a 'big-choice' election - Cameron doesn’t look like the compassionate Conservative who won the party leadership - 27th December
 * Gordon Brown defied Enoch Powell’s law that 'all political careers end in failure' – but election defeat will haunt him - “I am too old to be the comeback kid and too young to be an elder statesman,” Gordon Brown said - 2nd December
 * Cameron's speech was an attempt to kill immigration as an election issue - As Conservative Eurosceptics digested David Cameron’s long-awaited speech on immigration, they had a familiar sense of disappointment and anti-climax. - 29th November
 * Ed Miliband's fightback: Does he have what it takes to win back voters? - Labour leader to say that failed coup against him by some of his own MPs has made him stronger and more determined than ever to win next May’s general election - 14th November
 * Norman Baker’s departure underlines Coalition’s divergence - "The Lib Dems are like a plane with a fuel tank full of holes" - 5th November
 * Miliband has to offer voters something and he needs to do it now – he can’t just sit and wait - Labour is behind the clock after wasting the chances offered by its conference - 18th October
 * Lib Dems hit back after Tories outflank them on personal tax allowance - To say that the Liberal Democrats were miffed when the Conservatives shamelessly stole their tax ..... - 8th October
 * The Lib Dems have a rare chance to recapture the middle ground - With Ukip distracting the two main parties, it's up to Clegg to take the initiative - 4th October
 * Syria air strikes: This time, David Cameron made sure of Ed Miliband’s support - After last year's embarrassing defeat in the Commons over Syria, Cameron would have been foolish not to consult his rival - 27th September
 * Scottish referendum: How did Labour manage to end up on the losing side? - The English genie is out of the bottle and Labour can’t put it back - 20th September
 * This unfolding Scottish drama shows ‘politics as usual’ is over - The need to engage with regular voters has been painfully clear this week - 13th September
 * Douglas Carswell’s defection reminds us that it's the Tories who have the most to fear from Ukip - Winning back natural Tory supporters who have switched to Ukip has just become a lot harder for Cameron - 30th August
 * David Cameron might prefer another Lib Dem coalition after all - The Tories are under pressure to split from their partners, but it could prove to be a mistake if there's another hung parliament - 2nd August
 * Ed opens up about his image problem. Now he needs to explain some of his policies - The funny thing about the Labour leader is that he does not look funny at all when you meet him - 26th July
 * Cameron’s new Cabinet of Eurosceptics will push us towards EU exit door - Reshuffle also opens way for Conservative manifesto pledge to pull Britain out of European Convention on Human Rights - 16th July
 * How a polite message from Canada inspired the campaign against Scottish independence - No campaigners hope to get a draw in the “emotion” game - 12th July
 * The Tories plan to see off Red Ed with the same nasty tactics they used on Kinnock - Worryingly for Miliband, it is no longer only Tories who look back 22 years - 5th July
 * Cameron’s own goal may give Eurosceptics a surprise victory - The Prime Minister was in the right but played it wrong - 28th June
 * Ukip have ignited a bidding war on tough immigration policies - But parties should stop trying to outbid each other and find a common cause - 21st June
 * How can Ed Miliband pursue his agenda without spending billions? - The Labour leader believes he can be both radical and credible by offering solutions without throwing money at problems - 13th June
 * After the Newark by-election - Tories may rue opposing voting reforms - 7th June
 * Entertaining as failed Lib Dem coup was, it was not the true elections story - Mr Clegg has been wounded because it emerged that a sizeable chunk of Lib Dem activists want him to go - 31st May
 * We might have entered an era of four-party politics - The political system has had a shock. Ukip tapped into something real, and angry - 24th May
 * An ‘NHS tax’ - everybody’s thinking about it, everybody knows it’s inevitable, but nobody will admit as much - What better way for Tories to spike Labour’s guns than by safeguarding the future of our universal system? - 17th May
 * Exposing Ukip's nasty side does not blunt the party's appeal - What spooks the Tories is the threat Ukip poses to their hopes in 2015 - 3rd May
 * The Scottish referendum is a judgement of both the head and heart - Many of the undecided want to vote for independence, but their heads aren't convinced - 26th April
 * David Axelrod needs to find the Labour Party some new tunes - The cost-of-living campaign was a brilliant and, for Labour, very convenient diversion from the elephant in the party’s room - 19th April
 * It took a tiny spark to reignite the expenses scandal - The genuine public anger about Ms Miller has been a wake-up call to the entire political class - 12th April
 * Another loss of trust is bad news for politics - Even those politicians giving Maria Miller their public support know that the controversy engulfing her has reopened the wound of the 2009 scandal over MPs’ expenses - 7th April
 * Miliband needs to wrest back control of the economic agenda from the Conservatives - He usually comes out fighting and emerges stronger from these squalls - 5th April
 * Ukip’s fortunes could brighten in the European elections, but don’t expect that to carry on in 2015 when it will really count - Farage did well in EU matters but was shaky on foreign policy and domestic issues - 29th March
 * Osborne’s Budget has delighted his party – but also opened a gap in the market for Labour - The Chancellor offered little that would appeal to the young - 22nd March
 * Who will be the next Tory leader? This sideshow threatens to upstage the main event - George Osborne should stick to the job and ignore the swirling party politics - 15th March
 * Banging on about Europe used to be a problem for Clegg. These days it’s the Lib Dems’ number one selling point - Strange as it may sound, the Lib Dem leader is gambling by making the European Parliament elections in May about Europe - 8th March
 * The Coalition marriage is increasingly tetchy and ‘open’ as the Lib Dems (allegedly) play footsie with potential new partners - There won’t be a divorce before the May 2015 election - 15th February
 * Lib Dems have cause to fear Ukip as the inheritors of their mid-term protest vote - When Nick Clegg tells his staff he intends to - 11th February
 * If only Gove could get things done as easily as he makes enemies - The Education Secretary was not surprised by his deputy’s attack - 8th February
 * Labour’s 50p tax announcement was a needless own goal - ‘We did it with too much glee. That sent the wrong message,’ said a Labour MP - 31st January
 * The Rennard affair has shown that Clegg is a prisoner of his party – and that bodes ill for another Lib-Con coalition - The scandal was even a distraction at the launch of the party's mental health policy - 25th January
 * Nick Clegg has a woman problem - Having only seven female MPs is not liberal or democratic - 17th January
 * Ed Miliband's big plan is anti-big business, not anti-business. Now he must convince the electorate - Some Labour figures worry that the party leader is overdoing the anti-business rhetoric - 17th January
 * Osborne has set Labour a 2015 tax trap - The Chancellor plans an extreme course of spending cuts to reduce the deficit - 11th January



Articles: 2013

 * Cameron, Miliband and Clegg all have reason to breathe a sigh of relief. But the real winner in 2014 could well be the man below - 2014 may be a year of political paradoxes, just as 2013 has been - 28th December
 * If the Prime Minister wants to change the EU, he has to stop making enemies - What really spooks the Tories is that anti-EU Ukip could cost them scores of seats - 21st December
 * What have the Lib Dems ever done for us? Actually, Mr Cameron’s ‘little black book’ outlines it all very nicely - It’s only a bit of Lib Dem fun, but it might just get serious at the election - 14th December
 * Ed Miliband needs to look forward and avoid George Osborne’s expertly laid trap - Osborne’s performance was that of a man confident that he has won the argument - 7th December
 * U-turns abound, as Osborne the political magpie steals Labour’s and Lib Dems’ best tunes - The Chancellor must resist the temptation to crow and claim victory over Ed Balls - 30th November
 * The Coalition is steadily coming undone - Ed Miliband's pledge last month to freeze energy prices has not only dominated headlines, it has driven a wedge between the Tories and the Lib Dems - 16th November
 * Ed Miliband’s ratings gone from ‘abysmal’ to just ‘bad’ but he will need new tunes to charm the voters - Allies of George Osborne are telling MPs not to panic: wages may rise in real terms next year - 9th November
 * Why Mr Osborne isn’t blowing his own trumpet – at least not until 2015 - Voters might think it's safe to take a chance on Labour in 2015 if they think the job is done - 27th October
 * Stop calling me a Blairite - Miliband exiling the Blairites fitted neatly with the Conservative claim that Labour is “lurching to the left” - 17th October
 * Slowly, the Whitehall machine has adapted to coalition. But it may well need to go further - This Government has been a good advert for sharing power - 5th October
 * 'Let us finish the job.' We will hear it a million times before the 2015 election - David Cameron is attempting a difficult balancing act in his election warm-up rhetoric - 3rd October
 * David Cameron is smiling now. But Nick Clegg could have last laugh - Labour says the ‘Red Ed’ soubriquet jars with the Tory decision to attack Miliband as weak - 28th September
 * A good speech, but what about the economy, Ed? - He must hope the policy proposals do not wither under pressure - 26th September 2013
 * Ten years on, the shadow of the Iraq War looms large over all the party leaders - One reason Ed Miliband defeated his brother for the Labour leadership was his revelation he had opposed the Iraq War - 29th August
 * Miliband keeps going off the radar and is in danger of sinking without trace - Mr Mudie is a maverick, but he shouldn’t be dismissed by Team Miliband - 2nd August
 * Nice photo op, George, but it’ll take more to win in 2015 - The public want politicians to feel their pain as incomes fall behind inflation – and to know what they are going to do about it - 27th July
 * Why David Cameron secretly dreads a Tory-only government - Small majority would leave the PM dependent on the Commons votes of right-wingers - 25th July
 * Theresa May should enjoy the good luck while it lasts - May did not sparkle in her frontbench jobs in opposition, but she has looked a natural since becoming Britain’s first woman Home Secretary in 2010 - 8th July
 * Struggle with Unite is a battle of wills that Ed Miliband didn’t want but must not lose - It is called “July madness”. Fuelled by drinks on the terrace overlooking the Thames, MPs from the governing party plot Commons rebellions and leadership coups - 6th July
 * Britain may be out of intensive care but new cuts will be painful - The spending review will be analysed as a game of winners and losers for Cabinet ministers - 22nd June
 * Has the Syrian crisis exposed David Cameron's failing in foreign affairs? - There is no guarantee the PM would secure a Commons majority for arming the rebels - 15th June
 * Friends abroad, but David Cameron has blood-scenting rivals at home - Cameron’s strategy could only work if Eurosceptics trust him. They don’t, and it hasn’t - 18th May
 * Why the Coalition is still doomed... to last until 2015 - Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband talked intensely at St Paul’s Cathedral as they waited for Margaret Thatcher’s funeral to begin - 11th May
 * Even without winning a single constituency, Ukip could still transform the 2015 general election - Britain now has a four-party political system - 4th May
 * The IMF's check-up will give George Osborne another headache - Miliband may need five symbolic cuts to convince that he means business on the deficit - 27th April
 * Margaret Thatcher's ghost still sets agenda in divided Britain - Even after her funeral, Baronness Thatcher shapes the political debate – the ultimate tribute. The Conservatives agonise over whether to be “Thatcherite” or “Thatcher-lite”. David Cameron is stuck awkwardly in the middle, being pulled in both directions - 20th April
 * Margaret Thatcher caught the tide of change. Can Ed Miliband? - Today, there is only one politician who aspires to end the post-1979 consensus - 13th April
 * The ghost of Margaret Thatcher will haunt David Cameron until he shows he can win an election - The unusually large band of 148 new Tory MPs elected in 2010 are very much 'Thatcher’s children' - 10th April
 * George Osborne's happy to pick a fight over welfare reform. But is it one he can win? - George Osborne set his trap, and Labour appeared happy to walk into it - 6th April
 * Nobody will be more pleased about David Miliband stepping down than his younger brother Ed - Our Political Editor draws a parallel between what the former Foreign Secretary has done and what Tony Blair did when Gordon Brown succeeded him as Prime Minister - 29th March
 * Nobody will be more pleased about David Miliband stepping down than his younger brother Ed - Our Political Editor draws a parallel between what the former Foreign Secretary has done and what Tony Blair did when Gordon Brown succeeded him as Prime Minister - 28th March
 * George Osborne has found a Plan B – it's called the Bank of England - Labour risks winning the battle over whether cuts stalled growth but losing the war in 2015 - 23rd March
 * David Cameron can see off a challenge from Theresa May. But Boris Johnson is another matter - anti-Cameron plotting continues in a party which has ousted three of its previous leaders - 16th March
 * After Eastleigh the Lib Dems still have a long way to go, but don't bet against them just yet - Clegg feels he has proved the critics wrong and allies say he is now 'absolutely secure' in his post for the 2015 election - 4th March
 * More policies, Ed Miliband, you've misunderstood history - By the start of 1997, New Labour had already put down firm foundations - 16th February
 * Fuelled by Haribo and coffee, the PM won a battle. The war will be harder - Cameron’s success on the budget will raise greater expectations on a return of EU powers to London - 9th February
 * The one thing plotters hate more than coalition is the PM - Cameron lacks the authority that an outright win in 2010 would have given him - 2nd February
 * PM is not in Holland, and pro-Europeans may prevail - Eurosceptics are never satisfied. If Cameron announced a referendum tomorrow, they'd complain it wasn't yesterday - 19th January
 * Today’s the day Ed Miliband answers his Blairite critics - A month ago, George Osborne set what looked like a clever trap for Labour by announcing a Bill to cap rises in most state benefits at 1 per cent for the next three years - 12th January
 * Can Cameron resist the siren calls of the Tory right? - At the start of a new year, the Coalition reaches an important milestone - 5th January



Articles: 2012

 * After one bark, Deputy Dawg will go back to nodding - Our politicians are learning that coalitions do not stand still; they evolve. The priority for the Liberal Democrats in the first year was to show that “coalition works” - 1st December
 * Patten should defy his Tory foes and stay as chairman despite - Lord McAlpine, like some Tory MPs, is gunning for his old foe to be ousted from the BBC - 17th November
 * Recession may be over, but no one is making capital - Politically, however, the GDP figures are very significant - 27th October
 * Is David Cameron aping Gordon Brown's headline-grabbing habit? - It should have been a good week for David Cameron. A collective shudder went through the leading figures of the Labour Party who were watching the BBC's 10pm news bulletin on Wednesday - 20th October
 * Away from conference, the prospect of coalition lives on - David Cameron and Ed Miliband left their respective party conferences happy that their troops had been cheered up after receiving their marching orders. In public, the two leaders exuded confidence that they were on course for victory at the next general election - 13th October
 * To overcome his Downton problem, David Cameron should start by claiming the nation as his own - When voters are asked what they associate David Cameron and his Government with, some reply: "Downton Abbey" - 6th October
 * Now's the time for Miliband to show what he's made of - The more people see of Ed, the more they like him. The more they see of Cameron, the less... - 29th September
 * Nick Clegg's apology may look wise in six months' time - Many politicians would have tried to spread the blame – and Clegg could have pointed at Vince Cable - 22nd September
 * George Osborne the octopus pulls the PM into troubled waters - More chairs! We need more chairs!" The cry went up in 10 Downing Street as the new Cabinet prepared to meet on Wednesday - 8th September
 * 'Man or mouse' reshuffle has not magically created a Tory majority - This reshuffle may stabilise Cameron's party for a while, but there could be trouble ahead - 5th September
 * Is Nick Clegg's brand so bust he can't remain leader? - His friends blame the "Continuity SDP" for the emergence of a debate on leadership - 1st September
 * Does Boris want to be the PM? Yes, and his team is already trying to make it happen - Being Mayor is one thing; being PM is another. Do voters want his finger on the nuclear trigger? - 4th August
 * Is Boris already the first big winner of these Games? - Ambitious Boris Johnson once joked to friends that he wanted to be 'king of the world' - 28th July
 * Has the Coalition charabanc reached a fork in the road? - Clegg has to show that coalition works. Flouncing out would undermine that - 21st July
 * PM is caught between yellow devil and deep blue ranks on Lords - On Monday, David Cameron and Nick Clegg will try to get the Coalition back on track after it hit the buffers on House of Lords reform this week - 14th July
 * As soon as Clegg learnt the whips had failed, he knew he had to accept the inevitable - A chaotic day that left the Coalition scarred - 11th July
 * Dig a little deeper and it's been a good week for the Tories - Inside Westminster: Unusually, more than half of voters could be described as ‘don’t knows’ or floaters - 7th July
 * Two-thirds of voters want to see Lords reformed - Poll boost for Nick Clegg as rebel Tory MPs prepare to shoot down Bill in crucial vote - 4th July
 * Cameron's European headache will get worse - Boris Johnson knows calling for a referendum hits his party’s sweet spot and so does it regularly - 30th June
 * Cameron facing a perfect Eurosceptic storm - These are bumpy days for the Coalition. Next week the Prime Minister and his deputy will try to head off another split - 23rd June
 * David Cameron may live to regret speaking out about Jimmy Carr's tax - The proverbial genie is out of the bottle and the media will not stop asking Mr Cameron his views about other celebrities, Tory party donors and businessmen who advise the Government - 22nd June
 * A Prime Minister whose personal brand is bust - Inside Westminster: The abiding memory of Mr Cameron's five hours of evidence was that text message from News International's Rebekah Brooks about arranging a "country supper - 16th June
 * Cameron, the forgetful sheriff, dodges silver bullets - He looked uncomfortable at the questions about his relationship with senior Murdoch empire figures - 15th June
 * It's no LOL matter for George Osborne as he's drawn into BSkyB affair - Jeremy Hunt survived his day in court, but the net cast by the Leveson Inquiry is widening - 2nd June
 * Chancellor punished fornot reading the small print - Labour advisers pointed out that the pasty tax was repeatedly rejected by ministers - 30th May
 * So David Cameron lacks an ideology. Who knew? - It sounds mad, but sane Tories are talking about ousting David Cameron after the elections - 26th May
 * Darkening clouds of euro crisis make life perilous for the PM - The election of the Socialist François Hollande in France on a "growth before austerity" ticket threatens to tip the EU balance in favour of growth - 19th May
 * Anti-politics mood is giving Labour a hard time in opposition - Things ought to be only getting better for Labour - 12th May
 * Clegg may have missed his big chance. But it's Cameron who's feeling the heat - Normally, governments are keen to shout from the rooftops about the key measures in its Queen's Speech. Yesterday was different - 10th May
 * Bruised and battered, Clegg will struggle to sell Coalition relaunch - Yesterday's election results make it a very unhappy anniversary for the Coalition, formed after the general election, held two years ago tomorrow - 5th May
 * It's time to take a step back, Mr Cameron - "Hand on heart, we all did a bit too much cosying up to Rupert Murdoch," David Cameron told MPs on Wednesday. "No we didn't," mouthed Nick Clegg - 28th April
 * Behind closed doors, the love-in goes on - From recent headlines, you might think the wheels were in danger of coming off the Coalition -21st April
 * Is current crisis a blip – or worse? The jury's still out... - Cameron's advisers are cursing a run of bad luck - 20th April
 * What's the problem – a lack of vision, or George Osborne? - The Tories have slipped in the opinion polls. So why has the Government suddenly run into trouble in the past four weeks? - 17th April
 * Cunning Osborne sets a tax trap - David Cameron and Mr Osborne talk up the prospect that Cabinet ministers will publish their tax returns - 14th April
 * Cameron must think short-term to end headline horrors - Politicians often argue – in public – that they must rise above the day-to-day headlines to take the right long-term decisions for the country - 7th April
 * Once again, Miliband forges ahead – then blows it - Labour's surprise by-election setback is part of a pattern. Mr Miliband gets himself into good positions and then blows it - 31st March
 * Cameron's terrible week shows he can no longer get benefit of the doubt - There was plenty of competition for Mr Cameron's worst moment - 30th March
 * Budget for the wealthy that exposes Tories’ fatal flaw - I doubt David Cameron is having sleepless nights over the Budget. But he should be. It has backfired badly - 24th March
 * How Osborne missed the white rabbit trick - The Chancellor made a fatal mistake. The key measures leaked out but one big one did not - 23rd March
 * How the Chancellor pulled off the 50p tax cut - George Osborne's judgement was that it was 'now or never' to cut the top rate - 21st March
 * Osborne playing with fire over the 50p tax rate - The Chancellor would not be the first political animal to keep an eye on his own long-term prospects - 17th March
 * They had a mutual interest in making trip work – and it did - They don't need to act; the bonhomie is real," one British minister said, reflecting on David Cameron's bonding with Barack Obama as his three-day visit to the United States ended last night - 16th March
 * Clegg invades Tory turf to get under Cameron's skin - Clegg's invasion of Tory turf shows how the Coalition game has changed - 10th March
 * Labour must bite welfare bullet to match the public mood - David Cameron had a welcome break from the endless controversy over his Government's health reforms on Wednesday when he issued a triumphalist statement after Parliament passed the Welfare Reform Bill - 3rd March
 * Osborne's Budget is shaping up to be a battle for the soul of the Coalition - Normally, politicians make their Budget TV broadcast in the few days after the event - 25th February
 * Cameron could live to regret his reluctance to kill the Bill - "I hope I backed Andrew [Lansley] enough," David Cameron said after PMQs on Wednesday - 11th February
 * Sadly for them, Labour still owns the economy - "Oh, the luxuries of opposition," David Cameron sighed as he reflected on a rare but important victory for Ed Miliband - 4th February
 * Clegg can reap rewards from his canny tax plans - While David Cameron and George Osborne cut their teeth as special advisers to Cabinet ministers in the 1990s, there was a rule of thumb at Conservative HQ that the opinion poll ratings of any government move in line with people's optimism about the economy - 28th January
 * PM lags behind in rush to embrace moral markets - David Cameron's address was a much more passionate defence of markets than Labour had expected - 21st January
 * This could prove to be Ed's defining moment - When Ed Miliband ran for the Labour leadership on a "not Blair" ticket, he reassured his party he would not pick fights with it to win cheap headlines - 18th January
 * Osborne: the SNP's secret weapon - Senior Lib Dem and Labour figures were appalled by the way Mr Cameron launched his challenge to Mr Salmond last weekend. Nor did they think it was clever to announce that George Osborne would mastermind the fight against independence - 14th January
 * Balls may be right – but the voters just don't care - Voters are in no mood to give Labour credit for anything - 7th January



Articles: 2011

 * Clegg's 'greatest triumph' comes unstuck - While George Osborne gives with one hand, he will grab back more with the other - 27th December
 * How a wealth tax would pay dividends for Clegg - If David Cameron and George Osborne opposed it, they would come over as defending their rich supporters - 24th December
 * Divisions on Europe point to a rocky road ahead for Coalition - The genie is out of the bottle and it was Mr Cameron who opened it - 17th December
 * This PM dared to go where even Thatcher feared to tread - Although the public might like Mr Cameron's posturing now, I am not sure they would vote to withdraw from the EU - 12th December
 * Plenty of talk about cracking down on lobbying – but still there's no action - The political parties may talk tough – but they are happy to take the lobbyists' money - 6th December
 * An age of austerity just might benefit the Tories - The official, still unpublished Conservative Party inquest into why David Cameron did not win an overall majority last year found that his modernisation project failed to win enough support in three key groups - 3rd December
 * The Chancellor's pain will see only a few gain - George Osborne did not want his Autumn Statement next Tuesday to be a big deal - 26th November
 * Beware, George, of playing the euro blame game - The eurozone debt crisis provides a convenient cover for the UK’s flatlining economy - 19th November
 * Gould may get his dying wish: the brothers reunited - The last time I saw Philip Gould, the Labour strategist who died this week after a long battle with cancer, was at a recent birthday party - 12th November
 * The EU genie is out of the bottle and can only cause Tories trouble - For more than a year, it was the dog that didn't bark. Europe, the issue that divided and destabilised the Thatcher and Major governments, was firmly back in its box and David Cameron had reason to think it would stay there - 5th November
 * Curious case of the silent watchdog - The Liam Fox affair has highlighted a flaw in the rules governing the conduct of ministers which means that allegations against them can be investigated by the civil servants who serve them - 12th October
 * Cameron is posh, Ed Miliband is weird... - ...but which will be the bigger liability at the polls? - 8th October
 * Ed Miliband may have the last laugh - It would be lazy and dangerous to rely on Mr Miliband to deliver the prize; the Tories will have to earn it - 1st October
 * Public won't listen until Ed says sorry - I am not sure the public has really heard the party's 'mea culpa' - 24th September
 * Cameron - still the 'heir to Blair'? - These days the Prime Minister prefers to learn lessons from Blair's mistakes - 20th September
 * Clegg could soothe Lib Dems but what about the voters? - The Liberal Democrats don't need to tack right like New Labour or left like Cameron's Conservatives - 17th September
 * Darling's book could help Labour - Alistair Darling's intervention may be a wake-up call for Labour - 10th September
 * Cameron should resist the siren calls urging him to the right - When will the real David Cameron stand up? When he speaks to the Conservative Party's annual conference on 5 October, it seems. In the run-up, he is being pulled in different directions by groups inside his party urging him to use his address to tilt the balance in their favour - 3rd September
 * must switch focus from Tripoli to London to gain capital'' - Cameron has had a good war in Libya. Although it is not over yet, the minds of Conservative MPs are already turning back to what they regard as the Government's immediate priority – ensuring peace on the streets of Britain rather than Tripoli - 27th August
 * can use all the spin he likes – it won't help the economy grow any quicker'' - "Things can only get better" worked as a slogan as well as a theme tune for Labour at the 1997 election. "Things could be even worse than they are" is George Osborne's song today. It will never top the charts - 30th July
 * of Middle England, beware politicians'' - Out of each £100 of GDP, only £12 goes in wages to the bottom half of earners - 25th July
 * hit back at newspapers'' - I have been surprised by the thirst for revenge displayed by politicians - 23rd July
 * hacking Ed has barely put a foot wrong'' - Perhaps the time has come for Mr Miliband's responsibility agenda - 16th July
 * News International's misery Gordon Brown's revenge?'' - Some say Mr Brown believes he could still be Prime Minister today if the most recent claims about hacking had emerged before the election - 12th July
 * support is now a threat to PM'' - Mr Miliband senses a chance to define himself against his opponent - 9th July
 * autumn of discontent suits neither side in pensions battle'' - The trade unions are back. After years in the wilderness, they are all over the television news bulletins and front pages - 2nd July
 * knows a strong euro is good for the UK'' - Although a pragmatist in his head, he is a Eurosceptic at heart - 25th June
 * big boys fight it out while their leader sits in the middle'' - The big boys fight it out while their leader sits in the middle - 19th June
 * the PM and his deputy jockey for credit, Labour is the real winner'' - Why the Tories' health U-turn is important - 14th June
 * a man who won the leadership, he seems remarkably short of friends'' - Even some of the trade union allies who ensured his narrow victory over his brother are becoming restless - 13th June
 * needs to find a voice fast if he wants to be heard'' - When Ed Miliband pronounced New Labour "dead" on winning the party leadership last September, he was trying to signal a new style of politics rather talking about the substance of policy - 11th June
 * adds flexibility to stability'' - The Tories claim Labour's policy is no different to their own - 7th June
 * a difference a month can make in the life of a coalition'' - Before this month's elections and referendum, the Chancellor was "George" in the Liberal Democrats' internal discussions. Now he is "Osborne" or "the Chancellor" - 28th May
 * has had a bad day at the office but the Tories need his experience'' - It was the moment the new, more tribal phase of the Coalition became very public - 21st May
 * majority may find its voice despite AV disaster'' - On the eve of the referendum on the electoral system, Ed Miliband said supporting the alternative vote (AV) would give expression to the "anti-Conservative, progressive majority" in Britain. On the face of it, he could not have been more wrong - 14th May
 * Coalition will never be the same again'' - From now on, the Liberal Democrats will have some surprises of their own - 7th May
 * over vote reform changes things irrevocably between Clegg and Cameron'' - After the Coalition was formed almost a year ago, Nick Clegg and his advisers resolved that unity between the two parties would be the top priority for the Government's first year - 30th April
 * has few options over AV'' - Mr Cameron could call a "dump, cut and run" election as early as this autumn - 26th April
 * week the No camp wheeled out its big gun'' - Fear of losing the vote has persuaded Mr Cameron to rewrite the rulebook - 23rd April
 * Tories cannot promote Brown and attack his legacy'' - David Cameron's attempt to stop Gordon Brown running the IMF is another stage of the Coalition's so-far successful campaign to persuade voters that Britain's record peacetime deficit was caused by Labour, rather than a global crisis - 20th April
 * is a tricky task for Miliband'' - Mr Clegg's allies suspect Mr Miliband is playing a double game - 18th April
 * Saint Nick to Calamity Clegg'' - In a rollercoaster year, he has gone from Cleggmania to Old Nick - 16th April
 * learns from mistakes and tightens his grip over his ministers'' - Cabinet "colleagues" are not shedding too many tears for Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, who is getting most of the flak for the mess the Government is in over his controversial NHS reforms - 9th April
 * has a plan to profit from defeat on AV'' - A No vote would provoke claims that Clegg had blown a opportunity to change the voting system - 2nd April
 * Chancellor's game is to lay a tax trap for Labour'' - Stand by for an election at which the parties say they are all tax-cutters now - 26th March
 * has backing of the Commons – but it won't last'' - The Labour leader has left himself room to criticise if things turn sour - 22nd March
 * Osborne will struggle to sell his Budget of growth'' - David Cameron promised to end Tony Blair's "sofa government" but it has made a temporary comeback ahead of next Wednesday's Budget - 19th March
 * may be catching flak from all sides, but all is not lost just yet'' - Nick Clegg feels like a man with his head in the stocks. Passers-by throw rotten fruit at him. They are not always sure why - 12th March
 * the 'squeezed middle''' - Miliband will try to capitalise on the feelbad factor, citing the waiting tax traps and cuts in public services - 5th March
 * will struggle to survive a 'No' vote'' - The special relationship between Dave and Nick may face its toughest test yet - 19th February
 * Big Society is unlikely to play on estates'' - The Big Society might work very nicely in leafy Oxfordshire, but what about the most deprived parts of the country? - 12th February
 * has read Blair's memoirs, but he hasn't learnt from them'' - Mr Cameron deployed a classic Blair argument, his "modernise or die" mantra - 5th February
 * of a double dip stalks the Coalition'' - The coalition cannot admit that it might need an economic Plan B - 29th January
 * has to address the past'' - Until he says more about the past, Labour will not have much of a future - 22nd January
 * is life in the Lib Dem parrot yet'' - Dave will not be able to throw Nick a similar lifeline in the May elections - 15th January
 * space for Miliband - a bloody nose for Clegg'' - First, the good news for Labour. Victory in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election will help silence the mutterings about its leader, Ed Miliband, from critics in his own party - 14th January
 * is Ed's chance to prove he is the right brother at the right time'' - Inside Politics: It had to happen. Towards the end of Ed Miliband's bruising BBC Radio 2 phone-in on Thursday, one caller addressed him as David. This man is not alone. At least one of Mr Miliband's staff does it too - 8th January
 * figures like these, Clegg faces a painful 2011'' - Nick Clegg is said by aides to have returned from his Christmas break in Spain with a spring in his step. He will need it - 5th January



Articles: 2010

 * Barack Obama can win election on small donations, why can't Ed?'' - The expenses scandal left politicians reluctant to make the case for more taxpayer support - 28th December
 * Year in Review: The Coalition'' - Nick and Dave – the wedding of the year - 24th December
 * are a problem for the leaders'' - Backbench rumblings can grow into something much more threatening - 18th December
 * Coalition isn't finished, but Clegg must learn the lesson of this fiasco'' - Mr Clegg feels cast in the role of fall guy. Little or no mud has stuck to Mr Cameron or Mr Osborne - 11th December
 * can relax over the fairness vote'' - Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of us all? - 27th November
 * Miliband needs ideas fast'' - It's not enough to proclaim the death of New Labour - 20th November
 * week that taught the Coalition the reality of being in power'' - Although he had a busy schedule in China and South Korea, David Cameron had to devote more time than he had bargained for to events back home - 13th November
 * Civil Service is back – and the Coalition doesn't like it'' - Benchmarks and milestones are in, but they look like slimmed-down targets by another name - 9th November
 * Miliband is in for a long wait'' - I would be surprised now if the coalition doesn't survive until the election date - 6th November
 * on the road to re-election'' - In delaying some of the economic pain, has Osborne ensured several doses of political pain for the Coalition? - 23rd October
 * Osborne just completed the Thatcherite revolution? (Not that he'd ever want to admit it)'' - Andrew Grice: Nick Clegg has repeatedly assured us that the spending cuts will not involve a repeat of the 'slash and burn' approach of the Thatcher government in the 1980s, when poorer regions of Britain were left to sink or swim - 22nd October
 * the end, it was all a bit less bloody than they feared at start'' - Contrary to expectations, the Star Chamber did not have to hold any minister's feet to the fire - 21st October
 * Coalition - frugal and fair? We shall see...'' - Nick Clegg was at it again yesterday, announcing a morsel of good news - 16th October
 * one of Cameron's new problems'' - The Tories have problems with the middle classes who flocked to Blair - 9th October
 * believes in a 'new politics'. Who doesn't?'' - Cameron and Clegg are practising the new politics daily in front of the voters - 2nd October
 * first his bottle and then his brother cost David Miliband his dream'' - A career frustrated by crucial mistakes - 30th September
 * Coalition isn't a sitting duck for Labour'' - The most important task facing the new Labour leader will be to decide the party line on public spending - 25th September
 * fear Clegg could drive away the left that gave him power'' - "He must be the first party leader to invite people not to vote for him." That was how one bemused senior Liberal Democrat reacted to Nick Clegg's declaration that his party had no future as "a receptacle for left-wing dissatisfaction with Labour" - 23rd September
 * Minister will stand by his man – but for how long?'' - David Cameron's return to the political fray after the birth of his daughter was not supposed to be like this - 8th September
 * true legacy was Brown as leader'' - In contrast to Blair, Brown was poor at the job for which he waited for so long - 4th September
 * leadership contest has come alive at last'' - Perhaps it was naïve for the brothers to think they could stand against each other without harming their relationship - 28th August
 * figures have now accepted that talking to the coalition is better than shouting from sidelines'' - Analysis: Despite the inevitable public sector cutbacks and clashes ahead, some union pragmatists have expressed a sneaking admiration for David Cameron - 24th August
 * approach to foreign relations'' - He judges that honesty strengthens rather than weakens Britain’s hand - 31st July
 * must stop fighting if it wants power'' - With all the nastiness it is a miracle that Labour got anything done in office - 17th July
 * nightmare looms'' - The realignment of politics might just take place on the centre-right - 10th July
 * vote will test coalition not destroy it'' - With complaints on both sides of the fence, maybe it shows the PM and his deputy are getting it right - 3rd July
 * the Government's Afghan wires have become crossed'' - Any talk of dates makes military commanders wince since they know it only strengthens the enemy's resolve to sit tight, play it long and then claim victory - 2nd July
 * the face of this crisis, all the G20 could serve up was fudge'' - Analysis: If everyone cuts to calm the markets, where is the growth going to come from? - 29th June
 * mean the charm offensive is over'' - Both leaders give an impression to the voters that they are obsessed with cuts - 26th June
 * is forced to eat humble pie over VAT increase'' - The carefully stage-managed picture of four men in white shirts sitting around the Cabinet table – George Osborne next to Nick Clegg, opposite David Cameron and Danny Alexander – told the story the coalition wanted: they were all in it together - 24th June
 * must sell destination, not the best way to get there'' - Inside politics - 19th June
 * Chancellor is overplaying the scale of the black hole to shift blame for cuts on to Labour'' - George Osborne prepared the ground for higher tax rises and deeper spending cuts than previously expected in next week's emergency Budget as he seized on the first report from the new independent fiscal watchdog he has set up - 15th June
 * coalition needs a strategy for growth as well as for making cuts'' - Inside Politics - 12th June
 * month is a long time in politics'' - The love affair between David Cameron and Nick Clegg is contagious - 11th June
 * one side of the coalition benefits more than the other'' - David Laws is one of us," one senior Conservative MP boomed. "He's got balls of steel," beamed another - 29th May
 * coalition leaders may have bonded, but have their parties?'' - The new government has achieved a lot in just two weeks. It would surely have taken about two months on the Continent, where coalitions are much more common - 26th May
 * voting system puts Ed in pole position'' - Forget the bookies' odds, which make David Miliband the favourite - 22nd May
 * Mr Cameron's 'liberal conservative' credentials can be tested'' - It is already clear that this is much more than a "marriage of convenience" - 15th May
 * manifestos become one: but how long will it hold?'' - "There is a coalition at the heart of the Treasury," George Osborne, the new Chancellor, told his officials yesterday - 13th May
 * coalition with the Tories comes with huge risks for Clegg'' - One of the ironies of being the third party is that it wanted and yet feared a hung parliament - 12th May
 * Dems must talk to the Tories but they have more in common with Labour'' - A number of Tories will not feel comfortable in bed with the Lib Dems and the feeling is mutual - 10th May
 * dream of leading a progressive alliance lies in tatters'' - The game is still in play. There is still a prospect of a Liberal Democrat deal with Labour – but not with Mr Brown - 8th May
 * self-serving electoral reform plans'' - Shock news: David Cameron is committed to electoral reform - 6th May
 * 1983 election shows peril of splitting the anti-Tory vote'' - Will we make it?" the Tory frontbencher asked nervously when he rang yesterday. "Do you think we will come fourth?" the Labour official asked later - 1st May
 * MPs are still more equal than others'' - Most of the events in this General Election seem to be strictly men-only - 29th April
 * yellow battlebus is still driving this election campaign'' - The spectacular advance of the Liberal Democrats has electrified this campaign - 24th April
 * know self-interest when they see it'' - Another proposed rise in NI seems to have alienated the business community - 10th April
 * and a brazen pitch for votes'' - I didn't think that David Cameron and Mr Osborne would resort to a 'wheeze' - 3rd April
 * ghosts of politics past haunt campaigns'' - The strikes are allowing the Tories to revel in a 'spring of discontent' - 27th March
 * fireworks but Alistair stands up at last'' - Just over two years ago, friends warned Alistair Darling that he was seen as "an appendage of Gordon Brown" and he had to break free if he were to have credibility as Chancellor - 25th March
 * expect the Budget to be boring'' - Labour hopes to paint a line between Labour optimism and Tory austerity - 20th March
 * shouldn't count on a hung parliament'' - Nick Clegg knows he can't avoid questions about a hung parliament - 13th March
 * a dead horse? No, it's still running'' - Mr Cameron's impressive speech to the Tories' spring conference last Sunday steadied nerves. But not for long - 6th March
 * is no longer the Tory problem'' - Conservative MPs, candidates and the party's grassroots are jittery - 27th February
 * is already thinking beyond the election'' - When Alistair Darling replaced Gordon Brown as Chancellor in 2007, he was confident that his long-standing partnership with the new Prime Minister would stand him in good stead - 25th February
 * might not ditch sofa government'' - The Tories believe they have found "booby traps" left by Labour - 13th February
 * insurance against defeat'' - PM's deathbed conversion to electoral reform may look like pure opportunism - 10th February
 * the first time, the Tories are worried'' - They are not used to Labour turning its guns on the enemy, instead of itself - 6th February
 * will linger when stables are swept'' - The election will probably see the highest turnover of MPs since 1945 - 5th February
 * Cameron's clever trick turned into the second Conservative wobble of 2010'' - Labour always hoped a relatively untested Tory leadership would crack under the pressure of an election, when intense media scrutiny can magnify any change of emphasis. Team Brown now thinks it is happening - 2nd February
 * the public mood is one thing – keeping it is quite another'' - In his first speech to the Conservatives' annual conference after becoming party leader, David Cameron endorsed gay marriages. He didn't know how Tory activists would react. Some old farts sat on their hands, stony-faced. But after a pregnant pause, applause began to ripple around the hall - 30th January
 * performance plays into Brown's hands at election'' - When Downing Street issued its list of ministerial engagements and news events for Westminster journalists yesterday, there was no mention of the long-awaited official figures showing that the economy had finally returned to growth - 27th January
 * inquiry has rebounded on Brown'' - British elections are about domestic events. Now, it's the economy, stupid - 23rd January
 * must use the dreaded 'C-word''' - What should be the dominant issue at the general election? The cuts, stupid - 16th January
 * is desperate to prove it can still change'' - The card symbolised a time for change, the most powerful message in politics - 14th January
 * shift in power – towards Mandelson'' - Even those who are not his natural allies say the position of Lord Mandelson has been strengthened - 9th January
 * was nobody to pull the trigger'' - Brown knew it was coming, even if he did not know the precise mechanism - 7th January



Articles: 2009

 * is Clegg's chance to shine – or sink'' - For Mr Clegg, the debates are a threat as well as an opportunity - 26th December
 * of the year 2009: Expenses scandal'' - They’ll have to get used to life in the duck house - 23rd December
 * Labour is working after all'' - Cameron needs to paint a rosier picture than cuts, cuts and more cuts - 19th December
 * test of nerve for Cameron'' - On the surface, the Cameron show goes on and it is an impressive one. Yet behind the scenes, all is not well - 12th December
 * hasn't got the money to be a game-changer'' - It was Gordon Brown who insisted on reviving one of New Labour's favourite tunes in the pre-Budget report: "schools'n'hospitals first." For good measure, he added the police - 10th December
 * poses possible headache for Tory leader'' - Climate change really is an issue that can split conservatives around the world - 2nd December
 * of the philosophy, Mr Cameron.'' - Think-tanks play an important role in politics. But they have their limits - 28th November
 * beaten, but a coup for PM nonetheless'' - Mr Blair would have loved to become a powerful figurehead for Europe - 21st November
 * belated attempt to force the hand of the Tory 'gamblers''' - He raised the stakes yesterday. But how will Brown pay for his promises? - 19th November
 * it, but Whitehall is already preparing for a change at No 10'' - you can almost sniff the expectation of change in the Whitehall air - 14th November
 * great expectations'' - Tory leader said he would not let matters rest if Lisbon Treaty became law - 7th November
 * medicine may lead to unwelcome side-effects'' - At first glance, the Committee on Standards in Public Life has proposed some sensible reforms and its chairman Sir Christopher Kelly presented its report confidently - 5th November
 * Government wants to have its cake and eat it'' - No winners in the bitter confrontation between Alan Johnson and Professor David Nutt - 3rd November
 * has yet to earn the Tories' love'' - The Cameron modernisation project has still not seeped deep into his party - 24th October
 * as Mandelson was finally winning over his party...'' - After Lord Mandelson wowed last month's Labour conference, Tony Blair sent him a text in which he jokingly asked whether the party had been won over by the Business Secretary or whether it was the other way round - 23rd October
 * the City need not fear a windfall tax'' - "Get real – Darling warns the bankers," said a front-page headline in The Independent in July. In an interview, the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, expressed concern that the bonus culture was creeping back in the City and threatened a law to rein them in - 21st October
 * meant to open fire on the Tories. Instead, Brown shot his own troops'' - After a brief summer respite, the cloud returned this week. For Labour, it was supposed to be the moment to turn its guns on the Tories after the party conference season - 17th October
 * big headache for Brown'' - Gordon Brown must feel he can't win on MPs' expenses. His first attempt to clean up the system, pre-empting the review by the Kelly Committee on Standards in Public Life by issuing his own proposals, is remembered only for his infamous YouTube video - 13th October
 * must fill the holes left by a policy-free conference'' - The Tories will be relieved that, so far, there is no sign that the past three weeks will interrupt Cameron's glide towards Downing Street - 10th October
 * is determined to win a mandate for cuts'' - Yesterday's package ensures a debate on real cuts. The phoney war about efficiency savings is over - 7th October
 * finds chinks in the Tories' armour'' - Labour rediscovered the class war at its annual conference this week - 3rd October
 * limp in to Brighton in search of a guiding hand'' - Labour gathers for its last annual conference before the general election in a sorry state. When cabinet ministers admit that, it must be true – and highly significant - 26th September
 * up to the Liberal Democrats to win support – with well-defined policies'' - As their annual conference in Bournemouth begins today, the Liberal Democrats sense that they are in the game, but worry, in their private moments, that they are not doing better when Labour is playing so badly - 19th September
 * will happen later'' - Both parties will want to avoid spelling out too many 'hard choices' before the general election - 16th September
 * Labour got to lose by axeing Brown?'' - Backbench knives are being sharpened for the Commons return on 12 October - 12th September
 * day of reckoning is getting closer'' - Time is running out - this relaunch may be Mr Brown's last - 5th September
 * Tory for tax rises' – it's not as daft as it sounds'' - In a way, Mr Cameron has gone full circle. Before the economic crisis, his goal was to transform "society" in the way that Margaret Thatcher revitalised the economy - 29th August
 * not underestimate this peer's reach'' - Lord Ashcroft, the Conservative Party's deputy chairman, is feared and loathed in equal measure by some of his Tory colleagues as well as political opponents - 28th August
 * ready to mark Brown's homework'' - There is no magic bullet to enable Labour to transform its fortunes - 25th August
 * Hannan is not a lone loose cannon'' - He is not alone in questioning Cameron's unwavering support for the NHS - 22nd August
 * Gordon do a Major? Probably not'' - Andrew Grice: The optimists dream of 1992, with a PM winning despite the odds against an untried, untrusted Leader of the Opposition - 18th July
 * has to shout to be heard, but voters may be ready to listen'' - to succeed (and get noticed) he has to take risks, and that there is a gap in the market for his party because many voters have written off Labour but can't bring themselves to embrace the Conservatives - 11th July
 * may be ready to listen to Clegg'' - The Lib Dem leader has tackled his visibility problem in recent weeks - 11th July
 * fear 'scorched earth' policy by Government'' - Conservatives worry there are many poison pills in the machine - 4th July
 * your choice: Dodgy Gordon or Honest David'' - One test for any party leader is whether he can turn setbacks into opportunities - 27th June
 * your positives better, Mr Brown'' - To exploit the Tories' weakness, the PM will need to be more honest - 20th June
 * a duck island changed politics for a generation'' - The expenses scandal is the biggest shock to the political system since I began pounding the Westminster beat 25 years ago. To borrow the language beloved by campaign strategists, it has "cut through" to the public in a way that very few political events do - 19th June
 * real reason why Brown might back constitutional change'' - I am not talking about the Lib-Lab coalition Tony Blair and Paddy Ashdown dreamed of before Labour's 1997 landslide. The Liberal Democrats got their fingers burned then and would be cautious next time. But they might support a minority Labour government in key Commons votes in return for a programme of constitutional reform - 13th June
 * Gordon Brown can survive this, he can survive anything'' - MPs want anything but an early election - 9th June
 * believe the spin'' – the PM didn't get what he wanted - 6th June
 * Westminster justice fair?'' - The body count is soaring but backbenchers are first for the chop - 23rd May
 * could be a Lib Dem bonanza'' - This crisis for politics might be good news for the Liberal Democrats - 16th May (see: MPs' expenses: summary)
 * or tragedy? Sadly, it is both'' - MPs, too mindful of their own pockets, have been slow to change that culture - 9th May
 * the unthinkable - spending cuts'' - Hard choices await in the battle to balance Britain's books - 2nd May
 * moment that cost Labour the election'' - What next for Labour? A 70p top tax rate in the pre-Budget report this autumn? - 25th April
 * public revulsion forced Brown to act'' - Why did Gordon Brown suddenly take the initiative on MPs' expenses? He has been shocked by the scale of public anger about the recent torrent of stories on MPs' claims - 22nd April
 * unfriendly fire may have shot the PM's electoral hopes'' - 18th April
 * MPs are honourable. Honest'' - After July, Jacqui Smith's blue movies will look like a trailer for the main event - 11th April
 * was the Bretton Woods of our times'' - Mr Brown deserves credit. He played a blinder at the summit - 4th April
 * must adapt policies to the times'' - Pledge to cut inheritance tax looks like a bad one in the middle of a recession - 28th March
 * has been forced to lower expectations'' - Gordon Brown has softened his language in recent days as he lowered expectations ahead of what might be achieved at next week's G20 London summit - 27th March
 * shadows lurking behind Brown'' - Blair and Cameron are the names on many lips in Euroland - 21st March
 * on Darling to be bold with Budget'' - Darling can't remember a single "good news" day since he became Chancellor - 14th March
 * Brown walk the economic walk?'' - He talks a good game on reform. But talk is one thing, agreement is another - 7th March
 * could teach Brown to say sorry'' - Brown's aides agonise over his language as he tries to find the right tone - 28th February
 * Cameron the politician was changed by Ivan'' - The discovery that his first child Ivan was severely disabled did much more than change the lifestyle of David Cameron. It also changed him as a person and a politician - 26th February
 * Labour still haunts this Government'' - Some ministers think Mr Brown should just nationalise the major banks - 14th February
 * bonuses became a headache for Brown'' - After saying they would not "do an Obama" – a reference to the United States President's £340,000 salary cap for bankers whose firms have taxpayers' support – British ministers are now trying to repeat his trick - 11th February
 * jibe may return to haunt Brown'' - The economic crisis squeezes out time and space for other issues - 7th February
 * soundbite that haunts the PM'' - I don't think he meant it literally. But he was trying to send a signal - 31st January
 * Brown accept any blame?'' - The normal rules of political gravity, suspended last autumn, have resumed - 24th January
 * must stop fighting a class war'' - The ‘class war’ headlines generated by Harman’s plan worried some ministers - 17th January
 * 'Squeeze the rich' mantra is back in fashion'' - Cameron is gambling that the public won’t lose much sleep about a public spending squeeze - 10th January
 * Miliband brothers'' - Younger brother Ed has emerged as a contender for the Labour leadership - 3rd January



Articles: 2008

 * of the state is defining question for 2009'' - The issue underlying the economy in 2009 will be the role of the state - 27th December 2008
 * there won't be an election in 2009'' - It is the Tories, not Labour, who are talking up an early general election - 20th December 2008
 * envoy issues formal protest'' - The question Cameron fears: ‘What did you do in the economic war?’ - 13th December 2008
 * matter how bad it gets, Brown escapes the blame'' -“Fears about a 2009 election have been enhanced by a slimline Queen’s Speech” - 6th December 2008
 * the real champion of leaks is...'' - In opposition, Mr Brown was a regular recipient of leaked documents, which he deployed with devastating effect against the Tories. Now the boot is on the other foot - 29th November 2008
 * rise is a repudiation of New Labour'' - Yesterday's surprise announcement that Labour will raise the top rate from 40p to 45p in the pound if it wins the next election marks a sea change for New Labour - 25th November 2008
 * Chancellor must consider tax hikes'' - Despite the weight on his shoulders, the Chancellor remains remarkably calm - 22nd November 2008
 * cut or tax con, Cameron has a problem'' - “Like the banks, the Tories have seen their world turn upside down” - 15th November 2008
 * can't rely on recession to win the election'' - Labour's victory in Glenrothes is another shot in the arm for the Brown - 8th November 2008
 * last thing the Tories want is to look like fat cats'' - 25th October 2008
 * in the frontline – and revelling in it'' - Despite their famous14-year feud, Mandelson is now the Prime Minister's right-hand man, a trusted member of his inner circle - 20th October 2008
 * haunted by Hague and Howard failures'' - There has been a touch of Corporal Jones about the Tories this week - 18th October 2008
 * woes create election hope for Brown'' - 11th October 2008
 * loathing and leaks at the top'' - Tense relations between No 10, No 11 and the Bank of England ensured yesterday's crisis was a drama, too - 8th October 2008
 * day Brown nailed his colours to the Blairite mast'' - A much more dramatic cabinet reshuffle than expected gives Gordon Brown the final word of a fascinating party conference season - 4th October 2008
 * shows he is learning the lessons of Kinnock's defeat'' - 2nd October 2008
 * is not yet won – and he knows it'' - The tide of events flowing the Tories’ way has become a dangerous whirlpool - 27th September 2008
 * write off Nick Clegg just yet'' - The LibDem leader has reason to be optimistic - 13th September 2008
 * hurdles for Mr Brown get higher by the day'' - Brown must stop looking at the Blair years and move on - 6th September 2008
 * In substance as well as style, Brown can learn from Obama'' - 30th August 2008
 * Labour MPs think Cameron can be beaten. That's why they are in revolt - 2nd August 2008
 * Brown will not go quietly, but the air is thick with plots - 26th July 2008
 * Tax remains 'toxic' for Labour - 19th July 2008
 * Gordon just needs a good story, and a Campbell - 12th July 2008
 * Obama shows how to reconnect with the people - 5th July 2008
 * How can governments survive a recession? Ask John Major - 28th June 2008
 * Why Irish 'no' vote could be double trouble - 21st June 2008
 * Threat to Cameron's cleansing of Tory brand - 14th June 2008
 * The luxury of opposition won't last for ever - 7th June 2008
 * Crewe's seismic shift can shake Labour into anti-Brown revolt - 24th May 2008
 * Will Labour learn to be as ruthless as the Tories? - 17th May 2008
 * Darkening mood in the Downing Street bunker - Tuesday 13th May 2008
 * In the heat of the battle, nobody is talking about climate change - 10th May 2008
 * PM was caught trying to be all things to all men - 3rd May 2008
 * Brown's luck has run out – and his core support has run away - 26th April 2008
 * The PM has only himself to blame for Budget mess - Thursday 24th April 2008
 * John Major's mistake was trying to do too much. Gordon Brown must learn from it - 19th April 2008
 * As he heads to the US, Gordon Brown has more in common with the President than he would like - Tuesday 15th April 2008
 * Tories need fewer questions, more answers - 12th April 2008
 * The Week in Politics - Brown's MPs are in a darkening mood - 5th April 2008
 * PM may pay heavy price for expenses affair - 29th March 2008
 * There's no way to dodge the Iraq inheritance - 22nd March 2008
 * The Tories fear they are losing momentum - 15th March 2008
 * A different Chancellor, but the same mantra - 8th March 2008
 * Tribalism is still a stain on the Tories' image - 1st March 2008
 * How the ghost of John Smith still haunts Labour's attitude to the rich - 16th February 2008
 * Back Ken to hang on to his £11bn budget - 9th February 2008
 * Subversive – or just a supporter of human rights?  - Wednesday 6th February 2008
 * A new world order is Brown's next project - 2nd February 2008
 * First Stalin. Then Mr Bean. It only remains for Brown to turn into John Major - 26th January 2008
 * Blairite mantras creep back on to the agenda - 12th January 2008



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 * Hack watch: The security services and Whitehall have long kept dossiers on certain journalists but, characteristically, New Labour has widened the focus - as an internal cabinet memo obtained by the Guardian shows, Seumas Milne, Kevin Maguire, The Guardian, 22nd January 2001