Published by The Spectator (19th October, 2018) When Tamsyn Barton was summoned before MPs last month to be quizzed on her suitability to run the official aid watchdog, […]
Politics
Don’t drag down heroes for their flaws
Published by The i paper (15th October, 2018) Should we ban George Orwell’s books, ditch prizes named in his honour and pull down his statue that stands beside […]
Africa / Aid / Ghana
Proof that foreign aid does not work
Published by The Mail on Sunday (14th October, 2018) As I drove through villages in northern Ghana, bumping along pitted dirt roads and passing mud-splattered men pushing bicycles, […]
Disability / Health / Policy
Bedlam is still with us in Britain
Published by The i paper (8th October, 2018) Bethany is 17 years old. She is a girl who likes Bob Marley’s music, spending time with animals and being […]
Politics
Theresa May still has everything to play for with Brexit
Published by The Guardian (2nd October, 2018) Conversations in the bars and corridors of political conferences often start with a question about how the event is going. ‘A […]
Politics
Tories should revive the Big Society (but not tell anyone)
Published by The i paper (1st October, 2018) As the Tories gather for their annual conference, they are in dismal shape – angry, divided and struggling to deliver […]
Disability / Health / Immigration / Policy / Social care
Why does Britain care so little for its sick, disabled and elderly citizens?
Published by The Daily Mail (26th September, 2018) My daughter Iona had a seizure at 5am yesterday. Her eyes rolled, she screamed, her limbs flailed and her body […]
Europe / European Union / Politics
May’s fate could depend on Labour rebels
Published by The i paper (24th September, 2018) Who would have guessed that like Aretha Franklin, all Theresa May wanted was a little respect? Forget the fact her […]
Policy / Politics / Transport
Whoops – there go the railways, says Westminster’s answer to Mr Bean
Published by The Guardian (20th September, 2018) Imagine you were running a business and one of your senior managers left a trail of disaster in their wake. First, […]
Aid / Economics
Save us from these self-appointed saviours
Published by The i paper (17th September, 2018) There can be no doubt Jeff Bezos is an extremely impressive business operator. He has turned a website selling books […]
United States / World
Adventures in Trumpland
Published by UnHerd (14th September, 2018) Richard Ojeda is standing for election in the heartland of Donald Trump terrain, a poverty-scarred slice of West Virginia filled with coal […]
Africa / Equatorial Guinea / Politics
Steve Baker and his daft plans
Published by The Guardian (12th September, 2018) Seven years ago I went on one of my strangest journalistic jaunts, when I joined the first western parliamentary delegation to […]