Published in the Daily Mail (September 24th) The scandal is a parable for all that is wrong with government: a tale of such colossal arrogance, incompetence and waste […]
Police / Policy
Our myopic faith in British police supremacy must end
Published in The Guardian (August 17th, 2011) More than three decades ago Tom Robinson rose to fame with a gay rights anthem that began with the lines: “The British […]
Arts / Immigration / Music / Policy
We must stop treating world-class artists with such routine contempt
Published in The Observer (July 10th, 2011) Idrissa Soumaoro should have been rehearsing with the celebrated Malian musicians Amadou & Mariam for a show at the Manchester international […]
Health / Policy
Great Ormond Street’s been put on a pedestal it doesn’t deserve
Published in The Mail on Sunday (June 19th, 2011) The lonely death of Baby P was one of those moments that jolted the entire nation. That picture of […]
Drugs / Policy
The war on drugs war is lost. Now it’s time for a rational response
Published in The Observer (June 5th, 2011) Four decades ago, Richard Nixon was casting around for a new enemy to shore up support for his unique brand of […]
Health / Policy
Patients suffer. Standards fall. So why is competition still such a dirty word in the NHS?
Published in the Daily Mail (May 26th, 2011) Living in a high-tech age of instant communication, it is easy to forget how painful the process of obtaining a […]
Health / Policy / Politics
Patients are being betrayed. Don’t retreat from reform
Published in The Times (May 11th, 2011) For those of us forced to deal with the daily realities of healthcare in Britain, Nick Clegg has been an admirable […]
Health / Policy
NHS rewards bosses after 1,200 ‘excess’ deaths at scandal-hit hospitals
Published in The Mail on Sunday (May 1st, 2011) Julie Bailey is still haunted by the death of her mother, who entered hospital a sprightly 86-year-old but was […]
Disability / Policy
For our disabled daughter, a way out of the labyrinth
Published in The Guardian (March 11th, 2011) Nothing prepares you for the birth of a child with profound and multiple disabilities. There is the shock, the depression, the […]
Policy / Politics
Public v private isn’t the issue – what’s best is key
Published in the London Evening Standard (February 22nd, 2011) The facts speak for themselves. Elderly patients starved to death in hospital. Families spending a lifetime on benefits. Desperate […]
Health / Policy
The NHS is ripe for revolution
Published in The Observer (February 6th, 2011) It was just a small thing, but telling none the less. My son developed an abdominal pain, which was rapidly diagnosed […]
Policy / Politics
Britain’s big gamble puts the citizens at the wheel
Published in the Financial Times (December 28th, 2010) Lady Perry, a former chief inspector of schools in England, uses an anecdote from her time as a young teacher […]