Politics & Comment
I comment regularly on British and American politics, with a broad focus on foreign policy. I also maintain a particular expertise in the internal workings of the Conservative Party. I have contributed columns to most major British newspapers, starting my career at The Spectator, and am currently most likely to be found at The Financial Times and The Guardian, as well as number of US outlets. I have recently joined the Board of Index on Censorship.
In addition to my perspective as an intellectual historian, I also have a strong hinterland in the Anglican church, and write regularly on issues of faith and ethics. Much of my insight into British politics has been shaped by my time as part of the team responsible for establishing Bright Blue, the think tank associated with the Tory modernisation agenda. In 2014, I published a collection of essays with Ryan Shorthouse on the future of the Conservative Party, entitled The Modernisers’ Manifesto, for Bright Blue.
I have also made available here the three articles I wrote in late 2017 about Damian Green MP, which formed part of the #metoo movement and eventually led to his resignation as First Secretary of State. Originally published behind paywalls, they were widely reported in more sensationalist terms and it is important to me that my own words on the matter are publicly available.
Like most people who write for newspapers, I have no control over the headlines added to my articles. So I sometimes post articles here with my own choice of headlines, when I feel strongly that the published headlines are inappropriate.
On ‘political depression’ – and how conservatives like me need to get active
an edited version of this column appeared in The Independent, 16 January 2016 In early November, I went to bed for a month. I have a pre-disposition to clinical depression, although nowadays it is something I usually manage successfully, lovingly packing my citalopram tablets into every handbag like...
Read MoreDon’t flatter yourself Corbyn, Obama didn’t want to insult you, he didn’t even want to talk about you
As a nation, we still jump to catch even a crumb of attention dropped from the lap of a US President – and this manufactured political row proves it written for The Independent, 27 December 2016 Tis the season for manufactured political rows. The 25th is for turkey and the Queen. The 26th is for...
Read MoreIf you say ‘something must be done’ about Aleppo, did you oppose David Cameron when he tried to act?
written for The Independent, 14 December 2016 I didn’t sleep much on Monday night. I spent it trawling social media, glued to accounts I’ve followed since I first started writing about the Syria crisis four years ago. In our hyper-connected world, as Twitter floods with gruesome images from Aleppo, the...
Read MoreThe Casey Review: Integration of UK immigrants is a two-way process
written for The Financial Times, 9 December 2016 In January this year, the then British prime minister, David Cameron, unveiled a fund for teaching English to immigrants, targeted at Muslim women. The left erupted. Tim Farron, Liberal Democrat leader, called it “dog-whistle politics at its best”. The...
Read MoreThe horror of Trump shouldn’t blind us to Obama’s culpability in Syria
written for The Independent on 4 December, 2016 You may know Bana. You may have seen her face on Facebook; you may have caught a glimpse of one of her videos on Twitter. Bana is a seven-year-old, living in East Aleppo. She tweets – or rather her mother does for her, a setup giving rise to a thousand...
Read MoreThe future of the monarchy has potential to be our next crisis
an edited version of this column appeared in the Financial Times, 25 November 2016 It is November 2018. President Trump arrives for a state dinner at Buckingham Palace, his arm around the de facto first lady, Ivanka. An official photograph from the White Drawing Room is flashed around the world: the...
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