Conservatives

State aid and the union state
Defending the Union is not the same as owning the Nats. Tory disdain for devolution post-Brexit endangers it even further (18 July 2020)

Public good
The Cummings farrago exposes a government which doesn’t grasp its own role (25 May 2020)

Dear sensible Conservatives …
Learn from Labour’s social democrats. Given the chance, the hard left turned on us. Given the chance, the nationalist right can turn on you in turn (28 October 2017)

On electoral responsibility
Seeking to govern is not just about seeking votes. This irresponsibility may well come back to haunt Mrs May (3 May 2017)

Religion in the public realm

No Outsiders: on living together
The same values make LGBT equality non-negotiable and the right to worship sacred. Liberal values matter. But to serve anyone, they have to be upheld (27 March 2019)

#CharlieHebdo: why religion can’t be a sacred cow
Religions are a powerful social force; many of their believers campaign for their values in the public realm. They cannot be beyond criticism (12 January 2015)

Welfare

Slipping behind
With benefit reform, keep an eye on the index (8 November 2011)

Dear ministers
Poverty generally means not having enough money (6 April 2011)

Tax and spend

The March for the Alternative
And why it’s OK for the marchers to want different things (30 March 2011)

Taxes, taxes, taxes
To reduce the damage to services, benefits and investment, we’d better learn how to argue it’s worthwhile for all of us to pay more taxes in a good cause (18 January 2011)

Deficits
Paying for credibility (17 January 2011)

Other UK politics

Decency
London’s my home. Our ‘leaders’ making capital out of an attack on it, whether to play tough cop or to berate the West, repels me (1 December 2019)

A letter to The Tricycle Theatre
In asking the UKJFF to return funding, the Tricycle is taking a political stand. In effect, it is labelling the State of Israel so beyond the pale (jointly written open letter, 11 August 2014)

Immigration, political honesty and the limits of the possible
If we carry on arguing that migration levels can be determined and keep failing to deliver, more and more people will ask why we’re not delivering (18 April 2011)