Which of our leaders has really got the courage to care?
The Coalition may have cracked down harder on the wealthy's pay rises and tax dodges, but that is not saying much
Independent, 28 November 2011
Leveson inquiry: the tabloids don't get it
Their churlishness towards Leveson won't make public horror over phone hacking go away
Guardian, 23 November 2011
The PM lectures Europe to conceal his lack of vision
With metronomic predictability, David Cameron is paralysed by the issue that all but destroyed his predecessors
Evening Standard, 21 November 2011
Review: Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin
Corey Robin's romp through the evils of conservatism has lucid moments but his loathing gets the better of him
Observer, 13 November 2011
The phone hacking inquiry must shackle corporate power, not journalists
As James Murdoch takes MPs' questions again, it's important to remember where the real problem with phone hacking lies
Guardian, 10 November 2011
Review: You Can't Say That: A Memoir by Ken Livingstone
The veteran leftwinger's life story is honest, nuanced and picaresque, but like his career, it just goes on and on…
Observer, 6 November 2011
At the Commonwealth summit, the human rights proselytisers no longer hold sway
The Perth summit reveals how compromised western leaders are in their efforts to promote human rights
Guardian, 31 October 2011
Cameron's Little Englanders need some German lessons
Europhobic talk of taking back powers from the EU to foster growth ignores Germany's route to real, lasting economic success
Guardian, 26 October 2011
Libel reform: a final push
Parliament is taking a significant step in its slow removal of the UK's pariah status on defamation
Guardian, 19 October 2011
A crucial week for the cause of free expression
For those who care about free expression in the UK, and particularly the reform of our invidious libel laws, this is a crucial week
Spectator Coffee House, 17 October 2011
Leveson inquiry throws media's future in the air – but where will it land?
Journalism is too weak, not too strong: the inquiry must reform the press without choking its freedom, its curiosity or its viability
Guardian, 3 October 2011
Review: The Leaderless Revolution by Carne Ross
A former British diplomat issues a refreshing mea culpa and sets out a radical manifesto for people-power
Observer, 11 September 2011
Alistair Darling’s sweet revenge leaves a bitter taste
Ed Miliband needs to do more than move on; he needs to explain how his party descended into such acrimony in the first place
Sunday Telegraph, 4 September 2011
Review: Dark Market by Misha Glenny
A dark journey through the tangled world of online crime becomes a real page-turner in this eye-opening account
Sunday Times Culture, 4 September 2011
The challenge for Cameron after a summer of events
This was one of those summers when party managers did not have to dream up wheezes to keep their leaders in the limelight
Evening Standard, 30 August 2011
Review: The Revolution Will Be Digitised by Heather Brooke
A robust examination of the race for control of information in our digital age. The book is part dissection of the issues, part call to arms
Sunday Times Culture, 28 August 2011
Savour your moment, Dave. But don't get hooked on war like Blair
Cameron once scoffed that you don't impose democracy from 10,000ft up. But that's just what he's done in Libya
Daily Mail, 27 August 2011
The wealthy should pay more tax. Why has it taken so long?
Three myths are punctured: higher levels of tax are a disincentive; oligarchs will go elsewhere; they won't bring in enough money
Independent, 26 August 2011
We're too easily offended
The Starkey brouhaha follows a well-trodden path. Curmudgeonly man says something crass. Somebody gets cross
Independent, 22 August 2011
The door has been left open for authoritarian hyperbole
Following the riots the gap between professed civil libertarians and the right has narrowed. But police do need support
Guardian, 15 August 2011
The place has changed but the fight’s the same
The Berlin Wall is history, yet in the Middle East the barriers remain
Daily Telegraph, 13 August 2011
Review: Join the Club by Tina Rosenberg
The secret of everything from political revolution to safe sex, says this Pulitzer prize-winner, is to follow the crowd
Sunday Times Culture, 7 August 2011
If we want to punch above our weight, we'll have to pay for it
Our defence budget does not meet the needs of a nation suffering from an identity crisis
Independent, 5 August 2011
Hackgate alone won't drain the trivia out of public life
Some of us thought 9/11 would usher in a new age of seriousness. We were wrong. Could Hackgate do it? Unlikely
Guardian, 3 August 2011
Thinking the unthinkable
Hilton's politics mix US-style hostility towards the state, a belief in bottom-up activism and a geek-led informality
Independent, 29 July 2011
The trouble is, reporters aren’t awkward enough
Tabloid journalism is integral to press freedom. Denying its value would hand the rich yet more power
Sunday Times, 24 July 2011
One battle won. Now will MPs fight for their liberal values?
Cravenness towards the powerful did not just affect the media. It distorted crime, banking and immigration policy
Guardian, 14 July 2011
News of the World fallout could change Britain's media culture
Axing the PCC means re-examining privacy v public interest – but will investigative journalism pay the price?
Guardian, 11 July 2011
Britain’s media must start policing itself
No one can now be in any doubt about the depths to which some in the British media will sink to get a story
Financial Times, 6 July 2011
Finally, the age of Western intervention is over
In case anyone has forgotten, on the eve of the Arab Spring, Cameron was busily trying to flog arms to Middle Eastern
potentates
Independent, 27 June 2011
Making the Tories a bit less nasty is just a start for Clegg
Though Ed Miliband is taking the heat now, the Lib Dem leader's task in achieving positive liberal results is tough
Guardian, 14 June 2011
Review: Off Message by Bob Marshall-Andrews
The MP for Medway was rebel-in-chief for 13 suffocating years of Labour rule. Now he gets it all off his chest
Observer, 12 June 2011
As under Blair, the tabloids dictate our policies
The cost of an overnight stay at Her Majesty's pleasure is greater than a night at the Ritz
Financial Times, 9 June 2011
Rights that are too important to be decided on by judges
Advocates of free expression should not see privacy as inimical to that cause. Nor should they excuse shoddy journalistic practice
Independent, 1 June 2011
Troitsky's only crimes are humour and irreverence
Russian rock critic kept going with his attacks on the Eurovision song contest as celebs shouted 'shame on you'
Independent, 18 May 2011
Privacy decisions can't just be left to judges and politicians
Before an independent review, we need to decide who is entitled to privacy and what constitutes public interest
Media Guardian, 16 May 2011
Review: The Social Animal by David Brooks
Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are rushing to embrace Brooks's ideas on social health. But how credible is his diagnosis?
Sunday Times Culture, 15 May 2011
What should Nick Clegg do next?
The party's unique selling point is a belief in compassion and fairness combined with a caution about the role of the state
Independent, 9 May 2011
Revenge is sweet but Labour needs Clegg after May 5
Miliband will be sitting prettiest after the local elections. But if he is serious about power, he must talk to Lib Dems
The Guardian, 3 May 2011
Should we scrap superinjunctions?
Tabloid victim Max Mosley and freedom of information campaigner John Kampfner debate the issue
Observer, 1 May 2011
Margate proves investing in our culture makes economic sense
If the current hiatus in funding capital projects becomes a long-term pattern, our country's regions will suffer enormously as a result
Independent, 26 April 2011
How punchbag Clegg can fight back
Those who think impending defeat will mean the beginning of the end for this bruised leader should think again
Financial Times, 25 April 2011
Justice Eady is in danger of making an ass of the law
David Cameron is not the only one who should feel uneasy. Britain is developing an invidious system of secret justice
Independent, 22 April 2011
An inquiry into press practice will be good for free speech
Though the timing may be opportunistic, Ed Miliband is right. Libel reform, privacy and media standards need looking at
Guardian, 21 April 2011
The worrying rise of the rich man's weapon of justice
In the week that super-injunctions broke new legal ground, our writer attacks a growing threat to press freedom
Independent, 1 April 2011
A 'mansion tax' wouldn't just hit the super-rich
For all their cohabitation with the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats remain essentially a party of the centre-Left
Evening Standard, 29 March 2011
Slovakia offers a scenic backdrop for two-wheeled adventures
There are not many places left in Europe where you can draw a crowd for entering a shop splattered with mud
Independent Travel, 19 March 2011
At last a blow to oligarchs
The UK's reputation as a cosy base for pariahs may be coming to an end
The Financial Times, 16 March 2011
A fearful BBC must regain its nerve
Its journalists are stronger than ever; but its institutional courage is weaker than ever. For all that, it remains our greatest brand
Independent, 10 March 2011
Julian Assange and the big picture
Working with the founder of WikiLeaks has been like treading on eggshells. But he really has changed the world
Guardian, 3 March 2011
This referendum is about a lot more than vote reform
Whenever you think politics has hit a new low, think again. The adverts launched by the campaign against electoral reform defy the worst expectations
Evening Standard, 23 February 2011
When tyrants want tear gas, the UK has always been happy to oblige
The revoking of arms licences to Libya and Bahrain won't last. British firms will be back
Guardian, 21 February 2011
Review: Wikileaks by David Leigh and Daniel Domscheidt-Berg
Two bitter accounts by former collaborators of working with the mercurial and itinerant WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
Sunday Times Culture, 13 February 2011
WikiLeaks turned tables on governments, but the power relationship has not changed
The information genie can't be put back into the bottle, however hard authorities try. But they continue to exploit the internet as a means of control
Guardian, 17 January 2011
Now Nick Clegg must spell out what Lib Dems stand for
One party celebrated. Another held its own. The third was humiliated. The fallout from a curious by-election poses as many questions as answers
Evening Standard, 14 January 2011
Review: The Net Delusion by Evgeny Morozov
The internet, far from promoting democracy or liberal values, has become a tool of authoritarian regimes, insists this trenchant survey
Sunday Times Culture, 9 January 2011
So you think we've got free speech in Britain? Think again
Nobody sensible wants to abolish libel law, to allow a free-for-all in which reputations are impugned without a right to redress. It's about balance and proportion
Independent, 6 January 2011
Alternative vote: it's not just about Nick Clegg
This too narrow focus understates the potential for electoral reform to life Britain's political malaise
Guardian, 4 January 2011
Who Will Fight Europe's Last Dictator?
It sticks in the craw to hear William Hague disparage the honorable approach Robin Cook adopted as Foreign Secretary
Independent, 30 December 2010
Vince Cable and co have to fight their corner – or walk away
The business secretary must not allow a loss of face to cow him: he has a department to run and a party to keep on course
Guardian, 23 December 2010
Lib Dems need to show pride in liberalism
Clegg cannot base his party’s appeal to voters on a message of smoothing out the Tories' rougher edges
Financial Times, 16 December 2010 (£)
Wikileaks shows up our media for their docility at the feet of authority
Julian Assange is an unconventional figure, a man who lives in the shadows and enjoys doing so
Independent, 29 November 2010
Review: Zero-sum World: Politics, Power and Prosperity After the Crash
Gideon Rachman has done us all a major service by debunking many of the myths surrounding globalisation
Observer, 28 November 2010
Singapore need not fear loosening censorship
Alan Shadrake’s conviction for contempt shows Singapore's sinister side – but there are signs the country is changing
guardian.co.uk, 9 November 2010
Europe's golden age is gone for good
The irony of Greece’s riots in May was that the UK was almost completely irrelevant during the saga
Independent, 30 October 2010
Rupert Murdoch uses Thatcher lecture for a display of power
News Corp boss, even now, continues to portray himself as the rebel with a cause
Media Guardian, 25 October 2010
Review: The New Nobility by Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan
Two investigative journalists expose how the heirs to the KGB are running the nation’s politics and businesses with an iron fist
Sunday Times Culture, 19 September 2010 (£)
Turning the page on Blair
From first to last, he was a politician who divided opinion. Here, three writers offer their perspectives on a man of many parts
Independent, 2 September 2010
What makes the ideal coalition?
As David Cameron and Nick Clegg marked their first 100 days of power sharing, I've been on the trail of a how-to guide to constructing the perfect coalition
BBC Online, 21 August 2010
Labour will have to grow up eventually
The fault line of the Coalition is the role of the state: not in New Labour's Big Brother mindset, but as a promoter of social justice
Independent, 19 August 2010
Tony Blair's magnanimity will not change public opinion
Blair's decision to donate his book proceeds to injured soldiers may be genuine, but it won't alter the consensus on the Iraq war
guardian.co.uk, 17 August 2010
Yes, I feel queasy. But I don't regret backing the Lib Dems
Those of us on the centre left who ditched Labour weren't wrong. Fighting hard for electoral reform is how Clegg will prove it
Guardian, 1 August 2010
Witnesses bent on self-exoneration
Alongside the parliamentary investigations by MPs hopelessly out of their depth, there has been the whitewash of Hutton and the lost opportunity of the Butler inquiry
Independent, 31 July 2010