British Politics Need to Return to Traditions, Not Break Them

Something Must Be Done, Contentions, May 4, 2010. "A.A. Gill’s much-forwarded piece in the Times on Britain’s election is a delightfully readable mixture of wrong-headedness, error, and sputtering confusion, with some sensible ideas and superb acidity mixed in. There is a case to be made that the House of Commons is too big — though reducing it would only mean larger constituencies, and thus an even more tenuous connection between MPs and those constituencies. And there is an even better case to be made that, as the expenses scandal revealed, the Commons has been far too concerned with feathering its own nest. On the other hand, some of his ideas are revealing in their errors."

Why A British Debate's A Bad Idea

British Politics Will Be the Big Loser if Leaders go Head to Head in TV Debate, Yorkshire Post, October 5, 2009. "David Cameron wants to have a debate. Nick Clegg wants one, too. Gordon Brown did not, but has now changed his mind. This only makes him look weak. Every time Number 10 mentions the issue, it recalls the indecision of the 2007 General Election that never was. Brown's reluctance is rational. He does not have the kind of record as Prime Minister that any politician would want to defend in an unscripted debate. He has taken his party through a staggering local election defeat, suffered resignation after resignation, and wasted billions of pounds of public money. After 12 years in power, Labour has run out of excuses. Participating in a debate is no way to find a new one. But yet, there is something in the media's enthusiasm for a debate that does not sit well." This op-ed was written in my personal capacity.