Jonathan Freedland

Profile: Full name: Jonathan Saul Freedland Area of interest: UK politics, US politics, the Middle East Journals/Organisation: The Guardian | The Jewish Chronicle Email: jonathan@jonathanfreedland.com Personal website: Jonathan Freedland.com Website: Guardian.co Blog: Comment is free... Representation: Curtis Brown Networks:

Biography: About: Education: University College School, Hampstead, London; Wadham College, University of Oxford; Laurence Stern Fellowship winner Career: Started at the Sunday Correspondent, wrote for The Daily Mirror; joined The Guardian: serving as Washington Correspondent, then (from 1997) as a Columnist Current position/role: commentator also writes/has written for: the Evening Standard; Jewish Chronicle Other roles/Main role: Other activities: author (sometimes uses pen-name 'Sam Bourne'); broadcaster Disclosures: Viewpoints/Insight: Explains his decision to publish his latest book under an assumed name: What's in a pseudonym? The Guardian, 29th March 2006 Broadcast media: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/people/presenters/jonathan-freedland Video: Presenter of BBC Radio 4’s contemporary history series The Long View - has also presented BBC Four's The Talk Show and programmes for Channel 4 Links to archive broadcast material, Jonathan Freedland.com Controversy/Criticism: Melanie Phillips.com: Why Jonathan Freedland is wrong 6th April 2007 Awards/Honours: What the Papers Say awards: Columnist of the Year, 2002; 'Bring Home the Revolution' won the Somerset Maugham Award for non-fiction Scoops: Other: Son of biographer and journalist, Michael Freedland

Books & Debate: Bring home the revolution: the case for a British republic OCLC 42041756 , 1998 Jacob's gift : a journey into the heart of belonging OCLC 98258712 , 2005 (with David Cesarani) The righteous men OCLC 98258712 - published under the pseudonym Sam Bourne , 2006 The last testament - OCLC 85828637 - as Sam Bourne, 2007 Latest work: The final reckoning OCLC227273608 - as Sam Bourne, 2008 Speaking/Appearances: Debate:

The Guardian: Column name: Remit/Info: UK politics, US politics, the Middle East Section: comment & debate pages Role: commentator Pen-name: Email: freedland@guardian.co.uk Website: Guardian.co / Jonathan Freedland Commissioning editor: Day published: Wednesday Regularity: weekly Column format: Average length: 1250 words

Articles: 2012 In death – as in life – my mother was rescued by love - Sara's story is an extraordinary one of loss, survival and, at the end, the remarkable bonds between us all - 19th May Labour is back - Ed Miliband can find much to cheer him in the local election results, but they heap misery on the Liberal Democrats - 5th May Labour must decide – is this government useless or evil? - Team Miliband needs a coherent line of attack in order to capitalise on coalition troubles. It may not be hard to find - 28th April Anders Breivik is a terrorist, so we should treat him like one - We comb over every word from Oslo, but disregard al-Qaida's rants. The lack of consistency speaks volumes - 21st April Labour can take a route to national power through big-city mayors' offices - Winning mayoralties is the party's best chance of power this side of 2015, but it must be wary of a Bradford-style kicking - 7th April George Galloway dented Labour but the Tories still need a detox - David Cameron may feel lucky after the Bradford West result, but the past 10 days have exposed his party as out of touch - 31st March I've backed Ken Livingstone for mayor before, but this time I just can't do it - I agree with Livingstone's manifesto for London, but he shows too hard a heart to the capital's Jewish community - 24th March Budget 2012's sting in the tale: an attack on pensioners - Stinging the elderly is the sort of thing politicians try to avoid. After all, older people do tend to vote - 22nd March Germany, Europe's reluctant Goliath, is hiding its true strength - Germany is saving the eurozone from disaster, but it can't glory in its role. The past means it still fears its own shadow - 17th March In the US the right is eating itself. Cameron, take note - The Republicans are divided along almost every axis. It's something that could still happen to British Conservatives - 10th March Netanyahu and Obama's prickly alliance against Iran - There was less antipathy than at Aipac 2011, but the Israeli PM is maximising his leverage in the US president's re-election year - 7th March From Google downwards, our digital masters must be watched - The wielders of power who scrutinise and log our actions should themselves be held in check, in the same way as our politicians - 3rd March The Lib Dem carcass-to-be isn't ready to give up just yet - The Liberal Democrats know vultures are circling, and Labour must ensure voters who feel betrayed come its way and stay - 25th February Eugenics: the skeleton that rattles loudest in the left's closet - Socialism's one-time interest in eugenics is dismissed as an accident of history. But the truth is far more unpalatable - 18th February Syria is not Iraq. And it is not always wrong to intervene - The 2003 invasion has tainted the idea of liberal interventionism. But the people of Homs should not suffer because of that - 11th February Chris Huhne, David Cameron and the RBS boss don't have it, but Al Gore did - From bonuses to knighthoods, the leaders we put in high office prefer jaw-jutting certainty to thoughtful judgment - 4th February Bash the poor and wave the flag – how this Tory trick works - In a move imported from the US right, the Conservatives have successfully induced people to vote against their own interests - 27th January A Labour U-turn on the economy? Hardly. But nobody is listening - Ed Miliband and Ed Balls's apparent shift over cuts is not a contradiction at all. But in opposition, the argument's hard to win - 21st January This Republican abuse of the system is not the American way - The centuries-old US political system is one to be admired. Yet ironically it's under threat from those who claim to be patriots - 14th January In defence of Britain's tabloid newpapers - This desire to punish the red tops' worst excesses endangers what should be a force for good - 3rd January

Articles: 2011 Alex Salmond's spell could swing it for Scottish independence - Scotland's first minister is so dominant that by sheer force of personality he may realise his most cherished political dream - 29th December The story of Jesus is the ultimate political drama - Season of goodwill: I shouldn't be interested in the life of Jesus, but I can't help it – his story makes for gripping entertainment - 24th December The success of The Choir's military wives suggests we're losing our taste for malice TV - No pantomime villain judges. And no losers. In the age of austerity we want shows that lift us up, not put us down - 21st December How Fox News is helping Barack Obama's re-election bid - Because Fox has put off the best Republican candidates, Barack Obama will be much less vulnerable at the election - 14th December Ed Balls is right on the economy – but the public aren't ready for Keynes - As recession bites, the shadow chancellor's economic approach will gain admirers. Political reward will surely follow - 7th December The markets distrust democracy. Just ask the masters of Beijing and Moscow - Why is the democratic world faring so much worse in this crisis than its authoritarian rivals? It's the austerity, stupid - 15th November A Eurosceptic hero alongside sainted Maggie? It's got to be Gordon Brown - The judgments for which Gordon Brown was mocked look rather different now we've seen David Cameron in action - 9th November The heirs of Downton Abbey could be Occupy London's most natural allies - A kind of middle England, Tory anti-capitalism has deep roots in this land. Here's a chance to build a movement beyond St Paul's - 2nd November Gilad Shalit has been brought home to an Israel that has no plan for peace - Binyamin Netanyahu's words ring hollow with Palestinians, whose outward-facing strategy has problems of its own - 26th October In the Premier League the endgame of rampant capitalism is being played out - An unsustainable system where the rich win and the poor go to the wall. We see it in English football – and beyond - 19th October Liam Fox could defend himself no longer - David Cameron's slowness to act has a substantial upside for the PM while Liam Fox and the Tory right now stand smaller - 15th October Sorry is not enough. Fox has to go and, if he won't, Cameron should fire him - The defence secretary's weasel words cannot hide a gross failure of judgment. Resignation is the only decent course - 12th October The Tories are riding high, but Maya the cat has exposed their vulnerability - With attacks on human rights, immigration and the obsession with cuts, each day the party is re-toxifying its brand - 5th October We know that personality counts, and Ed Miliband doesn't have the X-factor - Gordon Brown taught us that policy nuances count for little if the public don't warm to you. This may be Ed Miliband's fate too - 28th September The new Met chief's U-turn is welcome – he had made a gross misjudgment - Demanding Guardian reporters' notebooks was a disgrace. Now the police must pursue the truth about phone hacking - 21st September Britain should say yes to Palestinian statehood – and so should Israel - A no vote at the UN will boost Netanyahu, wound Fatah and discredit the Europeans as useless hypocrites - 14th September Memories are still vivid, but we need to declare the end of the 9/11 era - Mark the September 11 anniversary with care, then stop this lethal thinking and the grave misjudgements it caused - 7th September Why wait for politicians to oust foreign tyrants? Every one of us can do our bit - Governments bomb despots, or do nothing. It is time to explore the alternatives. And that's where you come in ... - 31st August 2011 When we realised our leaders can no longer protect us - The financial crisis, phone hacking and now riots. Where once we may have felt rage, now we can feel only impotence - 10th August Hacking hearings: The best political thriller of our times - This is not yet Watergate, but intrigue swirls ever tighter around Rupert Murdoch and the Met, inching closer to David Cameron - 20th July Phone hacking fallout: ten days that shook Britain - A very British revolution has reined in Rupert Murdoch's mighty media empire and given politicians the courage to stand up to him – but will it last? - 16th July Elections and AV referendum produce a moment of clarity - Alex Salmond stands tallest, closely followed by David Cameron with Nick Clegg far behind. Personalities matter, more than ever - 7th May Obama's rivals now look like Lilliputians to his Gulliver - He has proved himself the decisive, macho leader Americans crave. And the timing is perfect for his Afghanistan plans - 3rd May AV: a crucial 'baby step' if we are to break Britain's electoral reform taboo - It's hard to get excited about such a small tweak to the system but a vote for the alternative vote could lead to more far-reaching changes - 27th April Israel and Palestine don't need more friends – but the peace process does - Roleplaying PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat made me see how easily one slips from problem-solving to point-scoring - 20th April The pendulum will swing from Tory axe to Labour spending. But how fast? - Voters accept the old story that Labour wrecks the economy, and Tories destroy society. The coalition may do both - 13th April Where's the Goldstone report into Sri Lanka, Congo, Darfur – or Britain? - The Arab spring proves that Israel is not even the biggest issue in the Middle East – yet it gets all the attention - 6th April We've avoided a Libyan Srebrenica, so when is the bombing going to stop? - When there was a clear and present danger, intervention was the right thing to do. But the threat is receding - 30th March Though the risks are very real, the case for intervention remains strong - Not to respond to Gaddafi's chilling threats would leave us morally culpable, but action in Libya is fraught with danger - 23rd March Mastering incompetence so early is tricky. But the Tories have pulled it off - Whether it's sell-offs, school repairs or desert rescue, Cameron and co's ability to bungle is proving second to none - 9th March For dictators, Britain does red carpet or carpet-bombing - The hypocrisy writ large in relations with Gaddafi owes much to our arms trade. But others profited from the diplomatic thaw - 2nd March We owe the internet for changing the world. Now let's learn how to turn off - Twitter can help bring down Middle Eastern dictators – but being forever online disrupts our lives for the worse - 23rd February For David Cameron's forests U-turn, timing may be all - Government blunders that come early in a term are often forgiven, but how did the sell-off policy ever come into being? - 18th February A better way to push democracy, but the west's love-bombing has risks too - The pressing question is what those outside the Middle East can do if they want to see reform spread across the region - 16th February The Conservatives were the designated defenders of tradition. Until now - Attacks on woodland, the World Service and British heritage will leave voters outraged. Labour must not miss this chance - 9th February When Egypt shakes, it should be no surprise that Israel trembles - Given the region's history, Israelis are bound to fear democracy in the Arab world. But that alone can bring real peace - 2nd February The Palestine papers have broken a taboo. Now the arguments for peace can be open - The papers show how much ground Palestinian negotiators were willing to concede. This isn't craven. It's admirable - 26th January Palestine papers: Now we know. Israel had a peace partner - The classified documents show Palestinians willing to go to extreme lengths and Israel holding a firm line on any peace deal - 24th January The Chilcot inquiry's moment of astonishing emotional intensity - Blair was the star witness, but the families of those killed in Iraq were in no mood to be convinced by his answers - 22nd January Iraq war inquiry Alan Johnson's resignation offers plenty for Labour worriers - The departure of one of its few greybeards is a shock for the party although there will be relief it was not for political reasons - 21st January The King's Speech lays bare the sheer scale of the republican challenge - The film confirms that the war is now our nation's creation myth – and the Queen our only living connection to it - 19th January Barack Obama's Tucson speech rose to the moment and transcended it - Obama spoke more like a pastor than a politician, carving out a moment of calm amid the toxic rhetoric - 14th January Sarah Palin's presidential hopes surely can't survive this assassin's bullet - She didn't pull the trigger, and she's not the first to use the language of combat. But the Alaskan's career will certainly suffer - 12th January

Articles: 2010 Worlds apart musically, Fela Kuti and Lennon both radicalised a generation - No governments are shaken by Snow Patrol; the FBI has no interest in Gary Barlow. Where are today's political popstars? - 1st December Ed keeps his head while all around him lose theirs. But it's not enough - No matter how admirable serenity may be, Miliband must get on with the job of opposition – starting with a critique of the cuts - 24th November Prince William and Kate Middleton: A royal wedding in the age of austerity - It's easy to mock the hysteria of a royal wedding, but state occasions help reveal what kind of country we are - 17th November The cuts to legal aid are closing the law to all but those with money - Equal access to the law is being restricted by the coalition's deficit-cutting mania, and Labour must resolutely oppose this - 17th November This bid to rehabilitate Bush must be defeated: he left a trail of destruction - The former president's memoir may seem to be all about the past, but it is most emphatically about America's present - 10th November Midterm elections: Whatever happens, Obama needs to co-opt Republicans to stay the course - The president has lost sight of his post-partisan message. He should check the Bill Clinton playbook to show he can get results - 3rd November Credit to Obama for sticking with the Middle East. But it's gone very wrong - A whiff of desperation is evident in US attempts to push Israeli-Palestinian talks. The president must start changing course - 27th October Osborne will escape public wrath if Labour lets him win the blame game - The myth needs nailing that Brown, not bankers, caused our economic woes. Then the case against cuts can be made- 20th October In Cameron's pay-as-you-go state, a degree is about earning, not learning - Higher education was once seen as a social good – now its worth is measured in how it boosts future salary - 13th October The problem with David Cameron's 'big society' is that the Tories don't buy it - David Cameron's attempt to shift responsibility from state to citizen was too abstract for an underwhelmed Tory audience - 7th October Blair left Downing Street years ago, but his ghost haunts all our politics - If the child benefit cut is a calculated attempt to provoke the Tory base, then it comes straight from Tony's playbook - 6th October David Miliband has left frontline politics – but for how long? - David Miliband is not so much making an exit from frontline politics as taking a break - 30th September Ed Miliband's speech consigns some (not all) of New Labour to the bin - Into the dustbin went some signature New Labour deeds, from the Iraq war to a deregulated City, from tuition fees to a tin ear on immigration - 29th September Ed Miliband won because he was neither Blair nor Brown - Labour's 18th leader won by a razor-thin margin because he emerged unscathed from the party's past battles - 26th September In Manchester Labour's new leader must respect the lessons of Liverpool - Mocking Lib Dems will bring easy laughs – and suits Cameron. The Tories are the real enemy, cuts the real battleground - 22nd September I see why 'double genocide' is a term Lithuanians want. But it appals me - To equate Soviet and Nazi crimes is dishonest and historically false. Why has this poisonous idea taken such deep root? - 15th September An economy kept afloat by mafia cash is not just the stuff of Le Carré thrillers - Until we find the political will, the establishment will be happy to ignore the dirty crimes behind today's dazzling fortunes - 8th September Tony Blair's memoirs: verdict - What he learned in Northern Ireland about peacemaking - 1st September Labour needs the credibility of David and the freshness of Ed - The Milibands' fight has highlighted their flaws but left many in the party asking: why can't we have the best of both? - 1st September 100 days of the coalition government - David Cameron and Nick Clegg have reached their first big milestone in power. How are they doing? And, perhaps more crucially, how will they look after 100 weeks? - 18th August To beat Boris in London, Labour must bide its time - Choosing the mayoral candidate now is premature. Given longer, someone better than Ken or Oona might emerge - 4th August The Israeli right has a new vision – Jews and Arabs sharing one country - The one-state solution, once associated with extremists and dreamers, is finding new support in unlikely quarters - 28th July There's a good idea in Cameron's 'big society' screaming to get out - Labour must seize this flawed initiative from the Tories, reclaim its Labour origins and then set about improving it - 20th July A two-faced coalition is hard to fight but Labour needs to find a way, quick - The opposition can best do its job by getting over the Blair-Brown rift – and nailing Tory claims that it caused the current crisis - 14th July Israel has never lacked enemies but now it risks losing its friends - Netanyahu went into his meeting with Obama believing he has time on his side. But he's wrong: the clock is ticking - 7th July Labour should lay off the Lib Dem bashing - Campaigning against AV would look like knee-jerk oppositionism. Labour should focus its attacks on the Tories instead - 3rd July We know Rwanda is the story that matters. Yet still we turn to Rooney - Faced with depictions of horror abroad, the urge too often is to switch off. But perhaps these stories are not so foreign after all - 30th June Bloody Sunday: Saville missed the chance of deeper healing – seeing killers admit the truth - Belfast legal authorities now must try to balance priorities of peace and justice. That dilemma could have been avoided - 16th June (Bloody Sunday: summary) Why the outrage over The Killer Inside Me? Domestic violence really is brutal - Michael Winterbottom has made a moral film, not a misogynistic one - 9th June For Cameron, for Clegg, and for leaderless Labour, the opening chapter is crucial - The long shadows of 1997 offer lessons for both the government's first steps and Labour's leadership race - 19th May David Cameron's clause IV moment – a bid to seize centre ground permanently - How, runs the logic, could anyone dispute the liberal credentials of the new prime minister now? - 13th May As a fraught Tory-Lib Dem era begins, Labour must renew itself once more - Cameron has limped into No 10 and Clegg may pay heavily. Recast as truly progressive, Labour can forge itself a bright future - 12th May (Cif at the polls) So much for the sandal-waving uprising over a Con-Lib pact - Many still believe, against the evidence, that the Lib Dem faithful won't stomach Nick Clegg dealing with the Tories - 11th May Nick Clegg gets an invitation to dance in the dark with Labour - The trouble for Nick Clegg is that he has no idea over who his dance partner could be - 11th May Gordon Brown waits for Birnam Wood to advance on No 10 - Gordon Brown's fate has been to resemble not just one but several Shakespearean tragic heroes - 10th May Remember 1983? I warn you that a Cameron victory will be just as bad - I would like to make a positive case for Labour, but the hour is late, and now it is Neil Kinnock's famous words that stir me - 5th May Gordon Brown's barnstorming Citizens UK speech: what took so long? - Brown should have been delivering this kind of pitch everywhere - 4th May Leaders' debate: barring an earthquake, David Cameron is on his way to No 10 - Brown was solid, of course, but most of the time he spoke a technocratic language that most Britons simply don't speak - 30th April The left-leaning voter's paradox: for a radical change, go the same old way - Our electoral system's insane reality is that Lib Dem dreams will depend on the Labour party still doing well at the polls - 28th April Election 2010: Lib Dems get their moment in the sun - The overnight: While Nick Clegg's party enjoyed the spotlight, his rivals had a chance to prepare for today's important debate - 15th April This election shouldn't be close. That it is shows up Cameron - By April 1997 Tony Blair's Labour had dispelled any haze of uncertainty. The same cannot be said of the Tories in April 2010 - 7th April Israel slapped America – and may have jolted Obama awake - The row over Joe Biden's visit gives Washington the chance to dispense with endless talks about talks and push for real peace- 17th March The Innocent smoothies of politics are still the party of the rich - The green, matey, ethical stuff went down well for a while. But the new Tory brand can't survive many more ugly revelations - 10th March The BBC is caving in to a Tory media policy dictated by Rupert Murdoch - Mark Thompson is jumping from the second storey because he fears a new government may throw him from the roof - 3rd March (see: BBC: summary) Prime minister wanted for Britain – only superheroes need apply - Huge responsibility and unprecedented scrutiny have put the role of British prime minister beyond any mere mortal - 24th February Revelations about Brown are damaging, but they hold no surprises for voters - If anybody in Labour's upper reaches says they don't care about the revelations serialised in the Observer, they're fibbing - 22nd February Palestinians may not trust Netanyahu yet. But they would do well to test him - Allies of the Israeli prime minister insist that he is ready to talk peace. If his bluff is called, he'll be forced to do just that - 9th February Cameron wobbles and weaves – but the media barely lays a glove on him - Strings of U-turns and revelations put the Tory leader's judgment in doubt. Tough questions aren't yet being asked - 3rd February The change we need now is a rougher, more radical Barack Obama - A soaring speech will be futile if the US president aims to court the centre. He must instead lay out a series of bold new moves - 27th January Brown is right to testify on Iraq - The political rewards of appearing in front of Chilcot are manifest. But there are risks, too, of inconvenient revelations - 22nd January The election of a lifetime: maybe not. But the stakes are too high to tune out - If Britain's contestants are no Obama or Palin, the ideological divide is real. This election shouldn't be won on flimsy grounds - 20th January Campbell may be a true believer, but Iraq has poisoned our faith in politics - Today's corrosive sense of powerlessness was born in the spin doctor's dossier. At Chilcot or not, we need a reckoning - 13th January One by one, Downing Street defused all the bombs - While the rest of the country tried to clear the snow, the Labour tribe was discovering whether it had ice in its heart - 7th January There is more than cowardice that stands between Labour and regicide - With no clear challenger and no ideological drive to oust Brown, seasonal rumours of a coup are likely to remain just that - 6th January

Articles: 2009 The perfect gift? How about an end to loneliness – and not just at Christmas - A remarkable experiment is getting people visiting one another again, and its radical lessons could boost public services - 23rd December Obama is not saviour of the world. He's still an American president - The reality is that this man must represent the contradictory interests of a country still way behind on climate change - 16th December The debt, excess and exploitation is not Dubai's alone. We've all been at it - The glitzy Gulf state is a modern parable for a world living on tick. How much better the wealth could have been spent - 2nd December The Swiss ban makes me shudder - I can't help imagining how I would feel if the attitudes reflected in the minaret vote were directed at my own community - 1st December Don't crown Cameron just yet. There's one way Labour could still trip him up - Brown's political obituary is written. The new PM waits in the wings. But – don't laugh – some see cracks in that crystal ball - 18th November The coffins will keep coming until we conquer our amnesia on Afghanistan - Barack Obama is about to make his most crucial military decision. He should remember what took us to war in the first place - 11th November Miliband critics a Con job - Those who have attacked David Miliband for criticising Kaminski do not represent the Jewish community – they're partisan Tories - 10th November Obama's year of vitriol and rebuff at home, deadlock abroad. Not a bad start at all - Obama's victory speech at Grant Park may seem a distant mirage. But for all the failings, the president can point to real progress - 4th November Urban angst, Disney style - Far from being cynical marketing exercises, animations like Up go where others fear to tread - 24th October I knew the day of Holocaust 'debate' would come. Just not in my lifetime - Why is it left to the US to confront the Tories on an alliance with those who distort historical truth and defend Nazi collaborators? - 21st October The bonds of trust have frayed away. Now masochism is the best strategy - The expenses row has left MPs in public contempt. That's why Conservatives think the way forward is to propose the unpopular - 14th October Blair draped himself in blue: now Cameron clothes himself in red - Many Guardian readers would have found themselves undergoing a new experience: nodding along at regular intervals to a speech by a Tory leader - 9th October Once no self-respecting politician would have gone near people such as Kaminski - Conference season 09: There is plenty of ground to attack Cameron on, a man aligned with those who excuse or celebrate history's darkest events - 7th October Enough of these media hyenas - Politicians should expect press scrutiny and tough questions. But this sledging of Gordon Brown is ugly and undemocratic - 30th September The NHS is a collective endeavour - A new public services: Some like to describe the NHS as a government-run insurance scheme. But that hardly captures the essence of a public service - 30th September The age of New Labour is over. The only question is what will survive - Gordon Brown yesterday ditched many of the old doctrines. But the party still can't decide what worked and what failed - 30th September Obama may have lost some face in the Middle East, but don't write him off yet - The Bibi-Abbas photo-op said it all. If the US president is to turn things around, he'll need to press the reset button - 23rd September If Obama can't defeat the Republican headbangers, our planet is doomed - One year on, the world still looks to the US and holds its breath. The fate of a global climate treaty rests in American hands - 16th September In the great argument of 2010, the Tories are wrong and deserve to lose - Talk of an age of austerity has offered Cameron the pretext to retreat to his party's comfort zone of slash and burn - 9th September BBC support shows we still love Auntie - The Guardian/ICM poll shows the BBC is admired and trusted, although there is work to be done on the licence fee question - 5th September Don't let Murdoch smash this jewel. The BBC must act to save itself - Rupert's son is bent on continuing the war his father started. But he'll find Auntie matches the NHS in public affections - 2nd September Peace plans come and go. Obama may have to try a wholly new approach - Unless talks address the core, existential issues of 1948, optimism about a new Middle East effort is likely to fade fast - 26th August Don't just howl with rage. Try an idea that does away with banks altogether - If our leaders won't curb bankers' megabucks, an old progressive scheme updated for the web era could bypass their greed - 19th August (See: Zopa) I never understood people's fixation with cricket. Now I've joined them - Sport gives the catharsis, pain-free drama, clarity and resolution that the world outside cannot. And nobody gets hurt - 12th August Heard the one about a rabbi, an imam and a priest, who walk into a bank? - A rare alliance of faith leaders today will deliver an overdue message to the City, reviving an idea as old as money itself - 22nd July Barack Obama, a voice from within - The solidarity and home truths in Obama's speech to the NAACP shows his potential to achieve what his predecessors could not - 17th July Brown may be flawed and weak. But he's no Nixon – or even Blair - For all the venom aimed at the PM, he is guilty of little compared to other leaders – no Watergate, Vietnam, nor even Iraq - 8th July Now we have seen Iran's human face, a military attack is unthinkable - Once cast as part of the 'axis of evil', Iranians have shown they are real people, not collateral damage in waiting - 1st July After a global howl of outrage, we have returned to business as usual - The nation watches and either feels its veins bulge with rage or shrugs with resignation, despairing at society's inability to change - 24th June Seismic events in Iran and Israel have set a critical test of Obama's resolve - One weekend has seen the Middle Eastern landscape transformed – and the US president's critics are already circling - 16th June Gordon Brown can sigh with relief - Though it may not last, the prime minister is finally back on the terrain he likes best – the issue of spending plans - 12th June Recovering cannot be done through theatre. Action is the only solution - To win back the voters of the broken heartlands, Labour must remind the public what it's for. But I fear it won't be enough - 10th June Gordon Brown lives to limp on, but no one pretends the threat is gone - The plot to replace Brown lacked two essentials: an alternative candidate and an alternative programme - 9th June Plotters and plotted-against are both weak - The prime minister staggers like a wounded, exhausted bull, multiple knives in his flesh - 6th June Barack Obama in Cairo: the speech no other president could make - President demonstrates trademark eloquence and an ambition to bridge divide between Islam and the west - 5th June Vote Green tomorrow but beware of getting rid of Gordon today - A coup d'etat, a Johnson coronation, an early election – all the options for saving Labour are now fraught with risk - 3rd June Elect the second chamber - A new politics: At present, people have no say over half the legislature that governs their affairs. The time for putting off reform is over - 20th May The Speaker exits with revolution in the air. I say, bring it on - The great expenses fraud is a symptom of a larger disease. We need a new constitution, with the people as sovereign - 20th May Progress is doomed if Obama is merely a cleverer version of Bush - At next week's US-Israel summit, a change in mood music will not be enough. A radical shift in strategy is needed - 13th May Expenses abuses make deselection the natural choice - As UK politics is embroiled in borderline malfeasance, we could learn from how the US cleansed itself of corrupt politicians - 12th May Labour's spineless MPs should stop blaming Brown and show some fight - Whatever the PM's faults, the party that anointed him so recently would do better to rally round – or face electoral wilderness - 6th May Labour's sorry fate can remind Obama to keep using all his power now, fast - The US president has seized his first 100 days to remake the landscape. Blair and Brown can look back on wasted chances - 29th April A return to class politics - but will Cameron dare to fight for the rich? - Alistair Darling has cast himself as the protector of the vulnerable - 23rd April Labour's route out of the black hole has to be green, with just a hint of blue - Today, rhetoric on the climate needs to become hard reality. And an old idea stolen by the Tories should be reclaimed - 22nd April It's not the Cadillac tailfins, it's the clarity - that's why we love Mad Men - We may have no desire to return to the hypocricies of the past, but there's still an appeal to a world of absolute certainties - 8th April G20: When Gordon met Barack - The US president was not on sparkling form at Wednesday's press conference, but nothing could spoil Gordon Brown's party - 2nd April Where is the new JFK we expected? He's stuck in a rut with Gordon Brown - Obama was meant to sweep into town looking unassailable. Instead he arrives beleaguered, with an awful lot to prove - 1st April Bibi has done for Labour - By joining Netanyahu's coalition, Ehud Barak and his party colleagues are shown to be unprincipled mercenaries and hacks - 26th March (see: Israeli elections 2009) Call it 9/15 - the day the crucial divide in the post-Blair/Brown era took shape - The future of the Labour party rests on conflicting readings of the economic calamity, and a reckoning with what went wrong - 25th March Discard the mythology of 'the Israel Lobby', the reality is bad enough - They are not all-powerful, but Israel's advocates in the US do play hardball - often hurting the cause they are meant to serve - 18th March The lost kingdom of King Arthur - Scargill at full cry is still a force of nature, but the industrial working-class solidarity he invokes belongs to a bygone era - 14th March After a flurry of early activity, the Obama doctrine is taking shape - We're only 50 days in, but it's not too soon to discern a refreshing thread of logic in the president's foreign policy - 11th March Brown can again come back from the dead. First, he needs to accept fault - The refusal to take any blame was repeated yesterday at the White House. But Labour needs its moment of catharsis - 4th March The anti-war president - Barack Obama's early opposition to the Iraq war is what allows him to present now a straightforward plan for how it will end - 28th February The sagging Brown image can only benefit from a shot of Obama botox - Plenty can be gained from a photo-op, but both leaders would do well to heed the lessons of the Bush-Blair era - 25th February Israel election: 'A big loser is the Israeli political system itself' - Audio report on the inconclusive Israeli election result - 11th February Two parties claim Israel victory - but the kingmaker will be the man in third place - Centre-left is crushed, and right disappointed. Now Lieberman waits in wings - 11th February Will Israel make the Right choice? - The likely outcome is another centre-right coalition – unless ultra-nationalist Avigdor Lieberman redraws the political map - 10th February As British Jews come under attack, the liberal left must not remain silent - It should be perfectly possible to condemn Israel's brutal action in Gaza while taking a stand against antisemitism - 4th February With the Lords' old tunes ringing hollow, it is surely time for reform - The lobbying scandal leaves the case for change as strong as ever. But attempts at wholesale overhaul could backfire - 28th January All the conservative trappings freed Obama to frame a radical message - The inauguration was brimming with tradition – just the platform for a president who could be truly transformational - 20th January Magical spell that will open a new American era - Excitement intense as straitlaced Washington DC awaits Obama's transformation into head of state - 20th January Amid the horror and doom of Gaza, the IRA precedent offers hope - The Northern Ireland example is instructive. Through dialogue even the most implacable of enemies can make peace - 14th January Gaza after a Hamas rout will be an even greater threat to Israel - Amid the rubble there would be a leadership vacuum, opening the door for Somali-style warlords or even al-Qaida - 7th January (see: 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict) Israel has plenty of tactics for war, but none for peace - A leadership dazzled by its own military might ignores the political reality and believes the only solutions lie in force - 3rd January

Articles: 2008 For a PR man, Cameron's blunders are catastrophic - The Tories should be charging ahead. But they keep on getting knocked back by a great force: their leader's lack of judgment - 24th December 2008 Seasonal forgiveness has a limit. Bush and his cronies must face a reckoning - Heinous crimes are now synonymous with this US administration. If it isn't held to account, what does that say about us? - 24th December 2008 Deep Throat's big impact - Mark Felt may not have had a wonderful life but spilling the beans on the Watergate scandal was a wonderful achievement - 20th December 2008 An accord with the entire Arab world would be a prize worth Israel's effort - With a four-state problem impeding any two-state solution, the best hope for peace may be to make the stakes even higher - 17th December 2008 By all means hold Obama's feet to the fire, but it's a bit early to cry betrayal - Uproar on the left is premature. There are real grounds for optimism in the new plans outlined by the president-elect - 10th December 2008 In this recession, we want comfort culture to go with our comfort food - From Billy Elliot to JK Galbraith, our taste in a downturn satisfies one of two appetites: escape or understanding - 3rd December 2008 Obama's choice of a team of rivals says much about the president he will be - Tough, unsentimental, no naive liberal: the next leader has picked people to carry out his vision. But will Hillary play ball? - 26th November 2008 In this topsy-turvy political terrain, Dr Brown needs a long-term patient - The PM is counting on a lingering crisis. Tories are gambling on a change in public mood. And talk of an early election is back - 19th November 2008 The president-elect is not a dove - he is just a much smarter hawk - It'll be hard to demonise the Great Satan led by Barack Hussein Obama. But peaceniks shouldn't assume a kindred spirit - 12th November 2008 A few thoughts on how to handle the world's most potent political weapon - A new president is at his strongest with a fresh mandate. To succeed in the enormous tasks ahead, act without delay - 5th November 2008 Brace yourselves - George Bush will soon be free to do just what he wants - The raid on Syria is a dark portent. The current president has three long, unaccountable months to cement his legacy - 29th October 2008 All sides are behaving as if Obama has it in the bag. And yet, and yet ... - In a flurry of chicken counting, Democrats are gazing at a radical new dawn while Republicans ready to attack the victor - 22nd October 2008 When old dogmas die, there is room for all kinds of radical new thinking - Shorter working weeks, lower consumption, and banks working for us - this crisis could prove a chance for a fresh start - 15th October 2008 Our leaders are impotent to tame the beast: this crisis is one of democracy - Politicians' limitations have been laid bare during these tumultuous weeks. If ever they can assert strength, it is now - 8th October 2008 Osborne has the potential to leave Labour floundering - Saddled with a religious conviction in the free market, it is action not rhetoric that will get the Tories out of a corner - 27th September 2008 Red Gordon. The leader the party had dreamed of - In a speech performed with greater skill than any of his previous efforts the prime minister at last reminded the Labour party of why they had once admired him so much - 24th September 2008 The two-state solution is nearly dead. But there's one last chance to save it - The arrival of a new Israeli leader must bode well for the peace process, right? Wrong, say veteran negotiators - 17th September 2008 The world's verdict will be harsh if the US rejects the man it yearns for - An America that disdains Obama for his global support risks turning current anti-Bush feeling into something far worse - 10th September 2008 Who knows if Palin will bring victory or defeat? But the culture wars are back - The furore surrounding McCain's running mate is a return to the old American politics of red state versus blue state - 3rd September 2008 The Big Dog can still hunt - Bill Clinton did brilliantly what other Democrats had failed to do - make the case for President Barack Obama - Guardian.co.uk, 28th August 2008 Clinton disarms her troops - Hillary Clinton did a brave and unusual thing in Denver - she directly confronted her own supporters over their motives - 27th August 2008 Why the camping revival? Something to do with, ahem, the call of nature - Urban living has more and more of us seeking out authentic, elemental holidays - even if it means non-flush toilets - 20th August 2008 Forget the myth-making. Obama is just what the Middle East needs - Neither Israel-pandering hawk nor Arab-loving appeaser, the Democrat would bring active, engaged diplomacy - 23rd July 2008 Short-term he gets, and long-term, too. But Brown's lost on the bit in between - Neither fixation on the headlines tomorrow nor wisdom on the decades ahead will win an election two years from now - 16th July 2008 Why back a man who claims society is broken but admits he can't fix it? - David Cameron now says that there is no top-down remedy to Britain's social problems. Voters will expect more from him - 9th July 2008 Obama's shuffle to the right suggests this man is ruthless enough to win - 2nd July 2008 The west has to tackle Tehran - before Israel sends in the bombers - 25th June 2008 A year in, it's clear: we got Brown wrong. He is simply not up to the job - Tragically, the prime minister has been held back by his lack of the quality that most fascinates him - courage - 18th June 2008 McCain's attack lines against Obama have already been written by Clinton - Now the phoney war is over. The election that counts has only just begun - and it will hinge on a battle of definition - 4th June 2008 Labour needs voters to start asking tough questions of the Tories too - The Conservative party seems to have changed, but its policies won't make good on any new concern for the poor - 28th May 2008 Attacks on toffs will ring hollow until Labour proves its meritocratic mettle - The top hat and tails stuff has backfired in Crewe, but class can stillwork for the party - if it admits its failure on social mobility - 21st May 2008 Better Labour lose power in 2010 than end up exiled for a generation - Downing St optimists still think they can win, but a spell in opposition could perhaps let the party redefine its purpose - 14th May 2008 As it turns 60, the fear is Israel has decided it can get by without peace - 7th May 2008 Eleven years after it promised a new dawn, Labour's dusk has finally arrived - 3rd May 2008 It's Labour stalwart versus Tory fop - dress rehearsal for the really big one - the London mayoral result is a portent for the general election - 30th April 2008 It is not a shift to the left to insist that entry to schools should be fair - 9th April 2008 With 29 days to go, Ken, there's no time for pussyfooting around - 2nd April 2008 Brown and Straw's best bet is to go out like Butch and Sundance - 26th March 2008 London's election holds the future for progressive politics, not just Ken - 19th March 2008 To rescue the two-state solution, Israel must make peace with Syria - 12th March 2008 There's only one winner from this Democratic battle - the Republicans - 6th March 2008 Imagine Super Thursday contests in sunny Cornwall or pivotal Yorkshire - 27th Februaury 2008 For Palestinians, the power of mass non-violence would be undeniable - 20th February 2008 X Factor politics will only hit home if Brown tackles what holds people back - 13th February 2008 It's no beauty pageant - there are real differences between the candidates - The US campaign has been painted as all about image, but there are policy distinctions - and they do matter - 6th February 2008 The free-marketeers abhor the crutch of the state - until they start limping - 23rd January 2008 Better candidates who row over race than candidates who hardly care - 16th January 2008 2008 will be the year of decision - and survival depends on getting it right - 2nd January 2008 The face - Tony Blair looms over the post-2000 period - though not in the way he would like - 2nd January 2008

Articles: 2007 If Clegg gets it right in 2008, he could bring the Lib Dems into government - 19th December 2007 This circus marks the end to politics played out in the shadow of terror - the US presidential campaign marks a focus on serious questions and one that trancends partisan lines - 12th December 2007 We would be fools to banish global business from the great climate debate - 5th December 2007 A small, slender chance for peace in the Middle East - 29th November 2007 The sheer gormlessness of Discgate threatens Labour's claim to power - 21st November 2007 In the delicate geometry of Iran lies the big test of Brown's political agility - 14th November 2007 Brown's in a deep hole - and here's how he should get out of it - 7th November 2007 Ministers seeking inspiration should talk to Pam about prewar Peckham - 31st October 2007 At last, consensus in the Middle East: all agree these talks are bound to fail - 24th October 2007 Now the Lib Dems must decide what they want to be when they grow up - 17th October 2007 You've had long enough to work it out. What is your vision, Gordon? - 10th October 2007 Cameron must today prove he is the Tories' general, not their antagonist - 3rd October 2007 For the timing of our elections to be in the sole hands of the prime minister is destabilising and grotesquely unfair - 26th October 2007 Team Cameron are convinced their leader's moment is already here. But they've made errors in timing before - 19th Sepember 2007 We're divided and now confused by the McCann investigation - and in real danger of losing our common decency - 12th September 2007 The British exit from Basra palace, remarks by the US defence chief and fledgling peace talks are all telling signs of change - 5th September 2007 They might make us feel indispensable, but mobile email gadgets are bad for relationships, bad for work and bad for the soul - 22nd August 2007 More bulldog than poodle, Brown has signalled a new special relationship 1st August 2007 Brown's first month, and his carefully signalled priorities, look like a success, despite the unexpectedly tough start - 25th July 2007 The rise of Tehran has petrified Arab capitals - and intensified debate in the US and Israel about the use of force - 18th July 2007 If cast as rational rival to Cameron's man of emotion, Brown is sure to lose - 11th July 2007 Gordon Brown's plan to reshape the balance of power reveals a grand ambition: to tie islands of individuals into a nation - 4th July 2007 The debacle of Iraq ought to have made a dignified exit impossible. But if his departure is bizarre, so too is Brown's arrival - 27th June 2007 There are huge dangers in offering Palestinians a choice of statelets - it will only push Hamas further into Iran's orbit - 20th June 2007 Brown's bane will be getting dragged into an American attack on Iran - 13th June 2007 OK, let's have a Britishness test. But it must be for everyone, migrant or not - 6th June 2007 The web could yet bypass government and existing political communities, and either expand democracy in the process - or stifle it - 30th May 2007 Victory in 1967 was as much curse as blessing. It paved the way for 40 years of mortal, political and moral disaster - 23rd May 2007 Brown needs to make sure there's a contest - and a hearing for his critics - 16th May 2007 Don't be fooled by Europe's mood. Globally, the left is reawakening - 9th May 2007 The crisis triggered by Israel's report on its war with Lebanon may end up putting the Arab League initiative centre stage - 2nd May 2007 Scotland is Brown's testing ground for his campaign against Cameron - 25th April 2007 The debate on climate change at the UN top table is a sign that the big powers are at last beginning to see sense - 18th April 2007 The revolutionary public space that online debate represents is in danger of becoming stale and claustrophobic - 11th April 2007 The standoff with Iran over 15 British captured sailors has revealed much about both countries - and the wider conflict - 4th April 2007 The Arab League should bypass Ehud Olmert and go directly to the Israeli people with its offer for a Palestinian settlement - 28th March 2007 An unprecedented plea from 14 UN humanitarian bodies on behalf of the people of western Sudan has been roundly ignored - 14th March 2007 A united Ireland is being created, not by arms but by the lure of cash - 7th March 2007 We lecture the world on democracy, but still don't elect our upper house - 28th February 2007 Brown will never pass the barbecue test - but he can still beat Cameron - 21st February 2007 Only negotiations with both main Palestinian parties can deliver the peace deal that the two peoples now support - 24th January 2007 The Tory leader wants us to love his new party, but his version of social responsibility would be a disaster for the poorest - 17th January 2007 Like a deluded compulsive gambler, Bush is fuelling a new cold war - 10th January 2007 The world is a scary, violent place and we're wrecking the planet, but I refuse to be grumpy - there's light in the gloom - 3rd January 2007

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