Articles

A week ago, I was at the Swift Festival in Trim, Co Meath, where, as I blogged at the time, journalist John Waters interviewed me in front of a good crowd of Irish politicians, thinkers, journalists and otherwise generally very nice people. John became the latest in a long line of journalists to make the [...]

Michael Gove cut a rather sad figure with Apology Number 1, in the House of Commons, and an even sadder one with Apology Number 2, at a local government conference where he looked lonely on stage, and the normal liveliness had vanished from his effervescent Scottish tones. The conference was just unlucky timing, coming directly after [...]

I promise I am not coming over all girly, in a ‘does my bum look big in this?’ kind of way, but I am on the lookout for a few quickfire diet ideas. Having just stepped on the weighing scales – something I have avoided doing since sensing my heavier weight coming on and staying, [...]

I was surprised during the election that the parties did not get pushed harder to define what they meant by ‘frontline services.’ As the election fall-out continues, it would seem from Michael Gove yesterday that in relation to education, it means paying teachers and classroom assistants. If, however, they are operating in makeshift portakabins and [...]

As readers of my diaries know – keep on plugging son, keep on plugging, because it helps flog books and winds up the ones who would never buy one - Fiona and I enjoy (or at least endure) a good row every now and then. The latest – a mild version it must be said, nothing [...]

I’m speaking at a conference on ICT and education tomorrow, and was invited because the organisers saw me as ‘a leader’ no less in the embracing of all the new techology stuff. Truth be told, I am still pretty ice age compared with a lot of people, but I do give it a go. However, I [...]

This coalition malarkey is proving to be even more consensual than we thought. It now appears that whatever immigration policy people voted for, what they are probably going to get is neither the one the Tories campaigned on, nor the Lib Dems’, but Labour’s. Business appears to have won the argument that the Tories’ idea [...]

Breakfast in London, lunch in Berlin, so a chance to read the Fussball-mood now that England and Germany are drawn together in the last 16 of the World Cup. On yesterday’s outings, you would have to give it to Germany if football was the only judgement. Their win over  Ghana was one of the fastest, [...]

In this spin-free (sic) world of the new coalition government, I draw your attention to a piece in today’s Guardian. It is but a tiny molehill amid the mountainous coverage of George Osborne’s first and, alas, not last Budget. It is tucked away at the bottom of page 5 beneath the headline ‘Osborne’s £104,000 claim [...]

You may remember during the election that I was somewhat dubious about Labour targeting George Osborne as the Tories’ ‘weakest link’. What you saw today was a right-wing Tory Chancellor setting out, with considerable confidence, a major package of measures that fit with his right-wing Tory view of the world. Nick Clegg may be deputy [...]