Author Archives: Michael White
Quiz of the year: politics
Calm down dear, it’s only a quiz about what’s been going on in Westminster in 20111 Who used a New Statesman article to accuse the coalition of pushing through “radical policies for which nobody voted”?a) Ed Milibandb) Barclays Bank’s Bob Diamondc… Continue reading
Race and gender: do we always get the balance right? | Michael White
Can it be right that a doctor compensated for hurt feelings gets far more than most victims of physical or psychological damage can hope to receive?Did you register that case the other day in which an employment tribunal in Leeds awarded a hospital con… Continue reading
Say no to Paris time – but politely | Michael White
Changing the clocks to give us lighter evenings may have some benefits but the downside of such reform is more tangibleThis being the shortest day of the year, it struck me as worth revisiting that old favourite, the possibility of shifting Britain’s c… Continue reading
Leveson inquiry: Piers Morgan confronted by ‘worst hits’
The former Mirror editor appears live from Los Angeles to talk about phone hacking – and gets gently fillettedPiers Morgan should have been a very happy camper on Tuesday as he gave video link evidence from Los Angeles to the Leveson inquiry on phone… Continue reading
Nick Clegg: wholesome but somewhat unworldly | Michael White
Clegg’s speech was full of admirable sentiments but it did not really reflect Britain as it is today or address its real problemsCharlie Whelan, Gordon Brown’s rascally spin doctor, would be grudgingly impressed by the way his Lib Dem successors in Whi… Continue reading
Feltham and Heston byelection: don’t break open the cava, Ed | Michael White
Labour may have scored victory but the party should be under no illusion about its prospects in these times of austerityA learned professor whom we all see on the telly confided to a friend this week that Ukip might win yesterday’s Feltham and Heston b… Continue reading
Iraq after America: here’s hoping for the best | Michael White
I was horrified by the way the US occupation of Iraq unfolded, but now it is ending there is hope for a more peaceful futureI was glad to read President Obama gracefully conceding that there were “patriots on both sides” of the controversy within the U… Continue reading
Don’t make it easier to expel MPs | Michael White
A new mechanism for calling MPs to account will create expectations that cannot easily be fulfilled and will be abused by special interest groupsIn all the excitement you may not have noticed that the coalition published a draft bill yesterday designe… Continue reading
RBS? Milly Dowler’s hacked phone? Watch out for the blame game | Michael White
At both RBS and the News of the World bad practices were badly supervised and inadequately regulatedWe live in a blame culture, where everyone instinctively looks for someone to pillory for disasters, real or imagined. So today’s press provide a vintag… Continue reading
Break up the coalition? Neither Clegg nor Cameron would dare | Michael White
The coalition will probably endure its buffeting because too many people have too much to lose – and no obvious alternative existsIn recent months I’ve begun to think that Nick Clegg was getting the hang of power-sharing, finding a more effective voi… Continue reading