Martin Bright 
Wise up Mr Grayling: youth unemployment is no mere distraction
Could it be that Matthew Taylor, the RSA’s chief executive, is even more influential in Downing Street today than he was when he was head of policy under Tony Blair?… Continue reading
7 CommentsMiliband’s bind
Ed Miliband is in a bind. He really should be concentrating on the competence argument, but keeps falling back on the ‘evil Tory ideologue’ argument. There are several reasons for… Continue reading
15 CommentsKen’s adventures in Israel
There is a very peculiar passage in Ken Livingstone’s memoirs, "You Can’t Say That", about a visit he made to Israel as leader of the GLC. He had been invited… Continue reading
19 CommentsOpening the doors to power
Three young people start work in Westminster for the first time today. Breon Finch, Alice Hannam and Rachel Shackleton are the first apprentices at the Parliamentary Academy, a cross-party initiative… Continue reading
6 CommentsHow the Tories turned generous donors into sinister lobbyists
The Fox-Werritty story took an interesting turn this week with the news that Conservative Party treasurer Howard Leigh had been soliciting funds from wealthy Jewish donors. The Jewish Chronicle had… Continue reading
8 CommentsCameron should continue to resist knee-jerk reshuffle politics
When things get rough, especially in the area foreign policy, I have the distinct feeling David Cameron asks himself the question “What would Tony do?” before he takes a big… Continue reading
7 CommentsIn it together
Governments worth their salt know that a single young person out of work is a tragedy, but a million young people being on the dole is a political catastrophe. … Continue reading
7 CommentsA genuinely New Generation
Labour’s reshuffle is the best thing Ed Miliband has done since he became leader. I say this mainly because I am feeling very smug because I have been writing that… Continue reading
9 CommentsWhat Miliband must learn from Cameron: a speech is not a policy paper
I have been so annoyed by Ed Miliband’s speech to Labour Party conference that I haven’t been able to bring myself to write about it. As the Tories gather in… Continue reading
17 CommentsWhy all the apologies, Ed?
The Labour Conference 2011 has turned into a horrible misery-fest. What a daft idea to make the theme of the conference: “We’re really sorry, we won’t do it again”. At… Continue reading
40 CommentsWhat Ed Miliband should say at Labour conference, but won’t
It is now beyond question that Ed Miliband is moving his party to the left, or redefining the centre ground if you prefer, or drawing a line under the New… Continue reading
14 CommentsPolitical Stepford Wives
At the beginning of the conference season I mused on Twitter that these occasions were very tribal, but that I had never been able to work out what defined the… Continue reading
19 CommentsA piece of illiberal silliness
Memories are short in journalism, but reading about the attempts by the Met to force the Guardian to hand over source material in the Hackgate case, reminded me of a… Continue reading
3 CommentsWas the glory of the labour movement just a crazy dream?
Watching the footage of the debates at the TUC this week can’t have been a happy experience for anyone on the left. I understand the leadership’s decision to hold an “austerity… Continue reading
18 CommentsWhat Alistair Darling and I have in common
The coverage of Alistair Darling’s memoirs at the weekend was fascinating, not least for the almost universal respect he was shown. Some senior Labour figures tried the old "ancient history"… Continue reading
22 CommentsMay blanket ban a bizarre overreaction
Just as it looked as if Theresa May was about to do the right thing over the EDL march on Tower Hamlets, the Home Secretary decided to issue a blanket… Continue reading
37 CommentsWelcome moves against the EDL
Great to hear that the police have formally applied to the Home Secretary to get the English Defence League march on Tower Hamlets banned. I’m something of a freedom of… Continue reading
33 CommentsYouth unemployment: anaylsis helps, but no substitute for action
Congratulations to David Miliband on his appointment to head up the ACEVO commission on youth unemployment. He is exactly the right man for the job and may be able to… Continue reading
12 CommentsWhy IDS must get it right on youth unemployment
Iain Duncan Smith has given a detailed interview with the Spectator and the full-length version is online. Right now, beyond David Cameron and George Osborne, he has the most important… Continue reading
5 CommentsRiot culture: let’s stop pretending there are any easy answers
I had a call from a researcher on the Jeremy Vine show this week to ask me to go on and talk about the riots. Would I be prepared to… Continue reading
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