Posts Tagged cameron
Middle East unrest: the West is paying the price for its hypocrisy
Posted by Alan in Journalism on July 3, 2011
This is an opinion piece I wrote for an online news day on 25/02/11.
What scares the West most about the unrest is the lack of control they have
In Washington and London, those in power are watching events across the Middle East with fear and uncertainty.
For the first time people across the region – most of them young – are fighting to force change and reform. David Cameron and Barack Obama have spoken of the need for democracy to prevail and for the will of the people in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya to be respected.
But beneath the platitudes there is a fear of what lies ahead. What scares the West is the lack of control they have.
Historically they have been accustomed to having a much more hands on role. The truth is that Britain and the United States are no friends of democracy in the Middle East. Read the rest of this entry »
A good day to bury bad news?
Posted by Alan in Journalism on July 3, 2011
This is a leader I wrote for an online news day on 25/02/11.
The departure of Andy Coulson will raise questions about David Cameron's judgement
The thinking behind the timing of Andy Coulson’s decision to resign as Downing Street Director of Communications was politics at its most calculating.
He had made his mind up two days ago. Today seemed like a good day to bury the bad news.
The torrent of speculation surrounding Alan Johnson’s departure from his position as Shadow Chancellor was still swirling. The latest rumours suggest that Johnson’s wife was having an affair with his police protection officer.
And of course a certain tanned ex-Prime Minister was back in town, giving evidence to the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War for a second time. Read the rest of this entry »
Strategic Defence Review: do what you think is right, Mr Cameron
Posted by Alan in Journalism on July 3, 2011
This is an opinion piece I wrote for a print news day on 15/10/11.
The warning from the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a BBC interview was surprisingly blunt, in a diplomatic sense anyway.
Washington is ‘worried’ about the upcoming cuts to the £37bn defence budget.
The alliance with Nato – the most successful defensive alliance in the history of the world she grandly proclaimed– must be maintained. If Mrs Clinton is willing to voice her concerns so publicly, one wonders what she is saying behind closed doors. Read the rest of this entry »
‘We have to walk the hard road together’
Posted by Alan in Journalism on July 3, 2011
This is a leader I wrote for a print news day on 15/10/11.
“Fairness” is the poltical buzzword of the moment.
The coalition claims it is ‘fair’ that the better off share some of the burden by having their child benefits payments cut. The coalition is keen to ensure that any changes to university funding are ‘fair’. Ian Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, says his reforms to the welfare system fit a similar criteria. Read the rest of this entry »
The more the focus is on Gordon Brown, the more David Cameron benefits
Posted by Alan in Journalism on July 3, 2011
Allegations of bullying have shifted the focus onto Gordon Brown
This is an opinion piece I wrote for an online news day on 24/02/10.
Gordon Brown has every reason to be lobbing objects around Downing Street right now.
The political agenda is being dominated by questions about his character, and they are not the rather cushy ones put to him by Piers Morgan on ITV a couple of Sundays ago. Read the rest of this entry »