The front pages
Saturday 15 March, 2014
Mysteriouser and mysteriouser The hunt for the missing Malaysian airliner becomes more bizarre and more fascinating by the day. After Thursday's random collection of theories - including a British shoe bombing, a white dot in a black sea and cracks in the fuselage - there is a measure of consensus today that the 777 continued to send out automatic 'ping' signals for four hours after all other contact with the ground had been lost. This raises the possibilities that the jet may have been hijacked, that it could have landed in some remote spot, and that at least some of the passengers and crew may still be alive. This story just keeps getting better and better.
The day after Bob Crow died, SubScribe asked how soon was too soon to speak ill of the dead. Max Hastings was the first to break cover in print, waiting 24 hours. No such moratorium for Tony Benn: Alison Little was gentle in the Express, Benedict Brogan in the Telegraph and Matthew Parris in the Times were unforgiving. The 'four most likely to' give Benn pride of place on the front - the Independent even splashed on him, an odd decision for a story that broke so early in the day - the Telegraph has another terrific Matt cartoon as a cross ref, but there's no room for him on the other five fronts. The Mail, however, pushed the boat out with six-pages of even-handed coverage.
So who will Osborne be helping or hurting this week? The i says he's going to snub the middle classes, the Times that the Tories will offer the squeezed middle a tax reprieve. It's all a question of selling to your market. The stories are in fact the same: they agree that there will be help for lower paid this time round but the Times says the Tories' next election manifesto will promise to address the number of people in the 40% bracket. The Telegraph continues banging on about the 40p tax rate: after yesterday's strictures from Nigel Lawson, today we're getting advice from Norman Lamont. That's two former chancellors who saw interest rates rise to 15% on their watch.
Cressida Bonas is another 'pay your money and take your choice' story, and another that is short on facts and long on speculation. The Telegraph says she's not ready to become engaged to Prince Harry; the Mail tells us how she snared the Prince - so it's presumably still reckoning on a betrothal sooner rather than later.
Probably the most important story from the clutch is the slow-burner that is the Co-op car crash. This has been lurking on the business pages for too long, with occasional forays into news. Today the Guardian goes full pelt.
The result is scary.
The day after Bob Crow died, SubScribe asked how soon was too soon to speak ill of the dead. Max Hastings was the first to break cover in print, waiting 24 hours. No such moratorium for Tony Benn: Alison Little was gentle in the Express, Benedict Brogan in the Telegraph and Matthew Parris in the Times were unforgiving. The 'four most likely to' give Benn pride of place on the front - the Independent even splashed on him, an odd decision for a story that broke so early in the day - the Telegraph has another terrific Matt cartoon as a cross ref, but there's no room for him on the other five fronts. The Mail, however, pushed the boat out with six-pages of even-handed coverage.
So who will Osborne be helping or hurting this week? The i says he's going to snub the middle classes, the Times that the Tories will offer the squeezed middle a tax reprieve. It's all a question of selling to your market. The stories are in fact the same: they agree that there will be help for lower paid this time round but the Times says the Tories' next election manifesto will promise to address the number of people in the 40% bracket. The Telegraph continues banging on about the 40p tax rate: after yesterday's strictures from Nigel Lawson, today we're getting advice from Norman Lamont. That's two former chancellors who saw interest rates rise to 15% on their watch.
Cressida Bonas is another 'pay your money and take your choice' story, and another that is short on facts and long on speculation. The Telegraph says she's not ready to become engaged to Prince Harry; the Mail tells us how she snared the Prince - so it's presumably still reckoning on a betrothal sooner rather than later.
Probably the most important story from the clutch is the slow-burner that is the Co-op car crash. This has been lurking on the business pages for too long, with occasional forays into news. Today the Guardian goes full pelt.
The result is scary.
Friday 14 March, 2014
After two weeks of Rebekah Brooks testimony, the phone-hacking trial makes a guest appearance on the front pages - thanks to the late Diana Princess of Wales. The Express must have been in seventh heaven as Clive Goodman gave evidence yesterday. The Mirror, Guardian and i are concerned about nurses' pay, the Telegraph and Times about the Budget. Bad practice really to have an instruction as a splash heading, especially without any quotes or attribution. It turns out it's not the Telegraph, but Lord Lawson of Blaby issuing the order. Come now, Nigel, you had your turn; lots of turns, in fact. At 82 perhaps it's time to sit back and play with the grandchildren. The Independent and the Guardian are both daring to talk about GM crops, while the Mail is looking to the supermarkets for cheaper food.
The Sun tells us that the lottery winner Adrian Bayford has become engaged to a stable girl called Samantha Burbidge after a six-week courtship. This is a cruel blow for the Mail. Bayford and his wife Gillian separated last year and the Mail was consumed with interest in rumours of an affair between Mrs B and the hired help. Wrong. After the divorce she moved up to Scotland where she apparently has a new love. We learnt that when Mr B was seen at Stansted aiport two weeks ago with a young Polish woman called Marta Jerosz. He said that she was his driver and that he was off to Scotland to see his children. But the Mail was again abuzz with rumours of romance.
Some things were just never meant to be.
The Sun tells us that the lottery winner Adrian Bayford has become engaged to a stable girl called Samantha Burbidge after a six-week courtship. This is a cruel blow for the Mail. Bayford and his wife Gillian separated last year and the Mail was consumed with interest in rumours of an affair between Mrs B and the hired help. Wrong. After the divorce she moved up to Scotland where she apparently has a new love. We learnt that when Mr B was seen at Stansted aiport two weeks ago with a young Polish woman called Marta Jerosz. He said that she was his driver and that he was off to Scotland to see his children. But the Mail was again abuzz with rumours of romance.
Some things were just never meant to be.
...and the commentators on the Prince Charles letters...
Andreas Whittam Smith (Independent) It looks as if the Attorney General’s unspoken motive in opposing publication of the letters is that they really do show that Prince Charles had been crossing the line. We urgently need to be able to judge that for ourselves.
Harry Hodges (Express) Strict political neutrality is a firm constitutional requirement of each and every member of the Royal Family. That is true for Prince Charles now and will be even more crucial when he becomes king. This makes the details of his political manoeuvrings in Whitehall – as outlined in 27 separate letters to seven different government departments – of central importance to his millions of future subjects in Britain and across the world.
Caroline Jowett (Express) Let’s get one thing straight: this is not about the content of two dozen ranty letters written by a Prince to the government more than 10 years ago. It’s about the future of the monarchy. This nine-year court battle driven by The Guardian is just another example of its anti-monarchy anti-privacy agendas.
Valentine Low (Times) says that if Charles, passionate and sincere though he may be, has been leaning on ministers, we should be told: has he been preparing for kingship or changing the rules?
Harry Hodges (Express) Strict political neutrality is a firm constitutional requirement of each and every member of the Royal Family. That is true for Prince Charles now and will be even more crucial when he becomes king. This makes the details of his political manoeuvrings in Whitehall – as outlined in 27 separate letters to seven different government departments – of central importance to his millions of future subjects in Britain and across the world.
Caroline Jowett (Express) Let’s get one thing straight: this is not about the content of two dozen ranty letters written by a Prince to the government more than 10 years ago. It’s about the future of the monarchy. This nine-year court battle driven by The Guardian is just another example of its anti-monarchy anti-privacy agendas.
Valentine Low (Times) says that if Charles, passionate and sincere though he may be, has been leaning on ministers, we should be told: has he been preparing for kingship or changing the rules?
Thursday 13 March, 2014
Half the papers are on a health kick, the others are fascinated by the missing Malaysian jet - and of course Cheltenham still commands acres of space.
The i splash head about the hunt for the airliner descending into farce is spot on if you look at the rest. First: No; the Mirror's white dot in a sea of black (which looks much the same as the white dot in a sea of black in the Star on Monday) is not the wreckage. Second: No; British shoe bomb probably didn't blow up jet. When you get to the Star's inside story, the assertion has turned into a question based on a throwaway line about a possible 2002 Malaysian terror plot from a man who was jailed along with the shoe bomber Richard Reid more than a decade ago. Third: Airlines warned about cracks in missing plane. No; not this specific airliner, but 777s in general. The plural 'airlines' is the giveaway. Still a fair story - a warning that the 777 was liable to cracks in the fuselage that might cause a dramatic midair drop in pressure was issued by American aviation authorities six months ago. But before publishing, it might have been an idea for the Times to make a few phone calls to find out whether the warning had reached Kuala Lumpur and whether any action had been taken.
Not a good one for the Times. Having missed the Twitter-busting Oscars selfie, it has now put this grotesque copycat image on the front. Ben Kingsley and Joan Collins don't have quite the cachet of Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence et al. And as for that puff: 'How the web changed my life by Daniel Finkelstein'. I'm sorry, Danny is many things, but a selling point on the most important development in international culture he is not.
Moving on, the Telegraph is continuing its efforts to to turn into the Express with a combination of statins and a Camilla photograph that will launch a thousand caption competitions and pitch for the cover of Private Eye. The genuine article is meanwhile so delighted about the prospect of ten days of sunshine that statins are relegated to a puff. Well, we have had statins twice this month and this is the first weather splash for a fortnight. That must be some kind of record.
That's enough of the curmudgeon. Give the sub who wrote the Sun's splash headline a bottle of fizz.
The i splash head about the hunt for the airliner descending into farce is spot on if you look at the rest. First: No; the Mirror's white dot in a sea of black (which looks much the same as the white dot in a sea of black in the Star on Monday) is not the wreckage. Second: No; British shoe bomb probably didn't blow up jet. When you get to the Star's inside story, the assertion has turned into a question based on a throwaway line about a possible 2002 Malaysian terror plot from a man who was jailed along with the shoe bomber Richard Reid more than a decade ago. Third: Airlines warned about cracks in missing plane. No; not this specific airliner, but 777s in general. The plural 'airlines' is the giveaway. Still a fair story - a warning that the 777 was liable to cracks in the fuselage that might cause a dramatic midair drop in pressure was issued by American aviation authorities six months ago. But before publishing, it might have been an idea for the Times to make a few phone calls to find out whether the warning had reached Kuala Lumpur and whether any action had been taken.
Not a good one for the Times. Having missed the Twitter-busting Oscars selfie, it has now put this grotesque copycat image on the front. Ben Kingsley and Joan Collins don't have quite the cachet of Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence et al. And as for that puff: 'How the web changed my life by Daniel Finkelstein'. I'm sorry, Danny is many things, but a selling point on the most important development in international culture he is not.
Moving on, the Telegraph is continuing its efforts to to turn into the Express with a combination of statins and a Camilla photograph that will launch a thousand caption competitions and pitch for the cover of Private Eye. The genuine article is meanwhile so delighted about the prospect of ten days of sunshine that statins are relegated to a puff. Well, we have had statins twice this month and this is the first weather splash for a fortnight. That must be some kind of record.
That's enough of the curmudgeon. Give the sub who wrote the Sun's splash headline a bottle of fizz.
- Read what the commentators have to say about Bob Crow and Ed Miliband here
...and some more opinions on Crow and Miliband...
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Max Hastings (Mail) Bob Crow did untold harm to the interests of the travelling public and was shameless in admitting that he did not care a fig about the pain and financial damage he caused. We need not now express such hopes as Crow did about Thatcher, for an afterlife of misery. May he rest in peace. But none of us, save his fellow-comrades beneath the Red Flag, should have to pretend that Britain is a worse place without him.
Seumas Milne (Guardian) Crow died on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the start of the miners' strike. It is doubtful that even death will win Arthur Scargill the national treasure treatment currently being given to Crow, given the scale of his vilification and the extent of the challenge he represented to political and economic power from the 1970s to the 1990s. But the 1984-5 strike, the decisive social and economic confrontation of Britain's postwar era, is how we got to where we are today. Suzanne Moore (Guardian) Although he was derided as an anachronism, Crow understood that for capitalism to function, for the city to rev up, the skillsets of RMT members are vital. He was either |
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looking back or, indeed, to the future in keeping wages buoyant. This is in sharp relief to those he fought against, those whose aim is always to lower wages to maximise profit.
Peter Obone (Telegraph) Ed Miliband is highly skilled at conciliation, and bringing all sides together to create a common point of view. He has tried to do this with a new strategy on Europe, designed to please both Tony Blair and Ed Balls, big business and the unions. The result is a practical and intellectual nonsense that will delight the Conservative Party, please Ukip and profoundly damage Labour. Leo McKinstry (Express) Miliband constantly trumpets his commitment to “nation” politics. Tragically that nation is not ours. It is the European Union’s federal superstate. This is the truth behind his wilfully obscure rhetoric about Britain’s relationship with the EU. David Aaronovitch (Times) Labour does not need to promise an EU referendum. Europe is a Tory problem that Miliband is right to ignore. Ed's right to chill. |
Wednesday 12 March, 2014
Tim Berners-Lee's call for a bill of rights to protect the internet is the story of the era, something that affects everyone, and it's an ideal splash for the techie Guardian.
The two versions of the Independent go for the same lead in Miliband's announcement that there will be no referendum on Europe unless the EU tries to change our terms, and good photographs of Bob Crow, whose sudden death was a text-book hard news story. Crow is also the picture choice for the Guardian and he makes a guest appearance next to the Cheltenham puff in the Mirror. The Telegraph, which has a 'didn't we all know that?' lead headline about interest rates, uses a Matt cartoon to point to Crow coverage inside. Several political cartoonists picked the same subject, but they all went in much the same direction. Matt, as ever, is a breath of fresh air. For more on the Bob Crow coverage click here.
The Sun is still into Cheryl's return to X Factor and the Star goes back to the big boss's favourite subject for its sliver of editorial. To have that headline, one sentence of text that doesn't name the 'secret hooker' and a photograph of Davina McColl is just plain wrong.
The Mirror has its teeth into Phil Hammond for putting a buy-to-let home in his wife's name. In fact, he did this two years ago, and it's not a sign of a dodgy MP with his snout in the taxpayer's trough, it's the sort of fiscal manoeuvring recommended by accountants to double home-owners in all walks of life. It is, however, disingenuous - to put it generously - for the minister to say he hasn't gifted the property to Mrs H for tax purposes. Why else would he do it? Is he anticipatiing a divorce?
The Express can't make up its mind whether we're losing our pensions or getting bigger ones. Today it's the good news day. We were last promised bigger payouts on February 4, but there have been three blows to our nesteggs since then.
The Mail, too, is riding a favourite hobby horse in this Cheltenham week - GPs. It also has a wonderful double-whammy attack on we inadequate mothers. First Sarah Vine is writing about ADHD, which was yesterday deemed to be a load of hooey. Needless to say, these uncontrollable children have been produced by working mothers who are seeking a medical diagnosis to explain away behaviour caused by their own bad parenting. Working fathers are not apparently culpable. Then there is Zara Tindall, having the nerve to go out and enjoy herself at the races, leaving baby Mia at home. This is complimented by a masterpiece of bitchiness inside, where we find another picture of Mrs T in her rather unflattering white coat with an inset of the blessed Kate on her first outing after the birth of Prince George. No words necessary.
The two versions of the Independent go for the same lead in Miliband's announcement that there will be no referendum on Europe unless the EU tries to change our terms, and good photographs of Bob Crow, whose sudden death was a text-book hard news story. Crow is also the picture choice for the Guardian and he makes a guest appearance next to the Cheltenham puff in the Mirror. The Telegraph, which has a 'didn't we all know that?' lead headline about interest rates, uses a Matt cartoon to point to Crow coverage inside. Several political cartoonists picked the same subject, but they all went in much the same direction. Matt, as ever, is a breath of fresh air. For more on the Bob Crow coverage click here.
The Sun is still into Cheryl's return to X Factor and the Star goes back to the big boss's favourite subject for its sliver of editorial. To have that headline, one sentence of text that doesn't name the 'secret hooker' and a photograph of Davina McColl is just plain wrong.
The Mirror has its teeth into Phil Hammond for putting a buy-to-let home in his wife's name. In fact, he did this two years ago, and it's not a sign of a dodgy MP with his snout in the taxpayer's trough, it's the sort of fiscal manoeuvring recommended by accountants to double home-owners in all walks of life. It is, however, disingenuous - to put it generously - for the minister to say he hasn't gifted the property to Mrs H for tax purposes. Why else would he do it? Is he anticipatiing a divorce?
The Express can't make up its mind whether we're losing our pensions or getting bigger ones. Today it's the good news day. We were last promised bigger payouts on February 4, but there have been three blows to our nesteggs since then.
The Mail, too, is riding a favourite hobby horse in this Cheltenham week - GPs. It also has a wonderful double-whammy attack on we inadequate mothers. First Sarah Vine is writing about ADHD, which was yesterday deemed to be a load of hooey. Needless to say, these uncontrollable children have been produced by working mothers who are seeking a medical diagnosis to explain away behaviour caused by their own bad parenting. Working fathers are not apparently culpable. Then there is Zara Tindall, having the nerve to go out and enjoy herself at the races, leaving baby Mia at home. This is complimented by a masterpiece of bitchiness inside, where we find another picture of Mrs T in her rather unflattering white coat with an inset of the blessed Kate on her first outing after the birth of Prince George. No words necessary.
...and the commentators' views on Bob Crow
Boyd Tonkin (Independent) Crow was in some respects a thoroughly modern figure. In one area – London’s public transport, and especially the Underground – he delivered a long-term masterclass in small-scale, hi-tech unionism.
Barrie Clement (Independent) This geezer was the genuine article. A proper working-class trade unionist with knobs on.
Trevor Kavanagh (Sun) For millions of exasperated commuters Bob Crow's legacy will be needlessly higher fares but for bus and Tube drivers it will be the pleasure of being among the best-paid workers in Britain.
George Galloway (Guardian) Most people liked Crow because they knew he was authentic, in the age of the blow-dried speak-your-weight machine, and that he faithfully served the interest of those who elected him. He had no other master than them; and as the British ruling class used to say, he was the type of man with whom one could go shooting tigers.
Kevin Maguire (Mirror) In the era of the politically bland, people loved that Bob called a spade a bloody shovel.
Barrie Clement (Independent) This geezer was the genuine article. A proper working-class trade unionist with knobs on.
Trevor Kavanagh (Sun) For millions of exasperated commuters Bob Crow's legacy will be needlessly higher fares but for bus and Tube drivers it will be the pleasure of being among the best-paid workers in Britain.
George Galloway (Guardian) Most people liked Crow because they knew he was authentic, in the age of the blow-dried speak-your-weight machine, and that he faithfully served the interest of those who elected him. He had no other master than them; and as the British ruling class used to say, he was the type of man with whom one could go shooting tigers.
Kevin Maguire (Mirror) In the era of the politically bland, people loved that Bob called a spade a bloody shovel.
Tuesday 11 March, 2014
And they're off: The Cheltenham Festival is here and the Mirror and Star have given up on news. They have each given their splash less than a quarter of their front pages, less than half the space occupied by the Cheltenham puffs. It's a big meeting attracting anything from 250,000 to 500,000 punters - depending on who you believe - but SubScribe suspects the overwhelming coverage has more to do with newspaper executives' annual outing to the races than readers' great passion for the meeting. Both the Star and its big sister the Express carry Paddy Power adverts on the front and offer readers a free £10 bet. The Mail, too, offers a tenneer, the Mirror a fiver and the Sun creeps in at the back with a pound. They all have 'essential' pullouts. Whether all this emphasis on gambling is a good idea is a matter of opinion.
When Jenny Jones won Britain's first Olympic medal on snow (a bronze) she could not compete with the Duchess of Cambridge or Manchester United drawing with Fulham for a place on the front or back pages. Yesterday the skier Kelly Gallagher went two better and won Britain's first Winter Paralympic gold. Did she fare any better for newspaper coverage? Not a bit of it. She made the front-page pictures on the Times and the Guardian, but for the rest, jumping horses, men in suits, ugly mugshots, an old picture of Abba and yet another photograph of Susanna Reid were more appealing than a successful minority (?) sport athlete. The Telegraph even preferred a ginger cat called Jock who has done nothing more remarkable than have a white bib and socks and be chosen to live at Churchill's Chartwell estate.
The Sun does at least have a valid excuse for ignoring Gallagher - a proper scoop on Cheryl Cole returning to X Factor, which is not remotely of interest to SubScribe, but of intense interest to an awful lot of other people. Cheryl and the obligatory-but-restrained Cheltenham puff left no room on the front for the second Check 'em Tuesday. Perhaps the campaign just so last week? No, it reappears on page 3 and again in the "me" pages, although with less enthusiasm than might be expected.
After the tabloids' bumper crop of celebrity sex trials, it's the heavies' turn today with the Independent and Guardian both splashing on the former deputy speaker's court appearance on a series of charges relating to parliamentary aides. This time it's dressed up as politics, with both papers pointing up the fact that senior Tory officials knew about the allegations against Nigel Evans, including one of male rape, and yet allowed him to stay in office. One of his alleged victims is said to have gone to the whips to demand that Evans resign, only to be persuaded to say nothing because the general election was round the corner.
The Telegraph's Lockerbie splash feels uncomfortable in the light of the missing Malaysian jet. The story does not tell us anything that followers of the PanAm103 saga will not have read before, except this time the claim that Ayatollah Khomeini hired Syrians to carry out a revenge attack after the loss of an Iran Air Airbus comes from a named former Iranian intelligence officer.
The failure so far to find the wreckage of Saturday's Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 to Beijing is leaving the papers lost for words. A big jet has fallen out of the sky with 239 people on board and no one knows where (apart from the Daily Star, which reported yesterday that the wreckage had been found), so all anyone can do is report the Chinese authorities' frustration and a shedload of baseless speculation from aviation "experts".
When Jenny Jones won Britain's first Olympic medal on snow (a bronze) she could not compete with the Duchess of Cambridge or Manchester United drawing with Fulham for a place on the front or back pages. Yesterday the skier Kelly Gallagher went two better and won Britain's first Winter Paralympic gold. Did she fare any better for newspaper coverage? Not a bit of it. She made the front-page pictures on the Times and the Guardian, but for the rest, jumping horses, men in suits, ugly mugshots, an old picture of Abba and yet another photograph of Susanna Reid were more appealing than a successful minority (?) sport athlete. The Telegraph even preferred a ginger cat called Jock who has done nothing more remarkable than have a white bib and socks and be chosen to live at Churchill's Chartwell estate.
The Sun does at least have a valid excuse for ignoring Gallagher - a proper scoop on Cheryl Cole returning to X Factor, which is not remotely of interest to SubScribe, but of intense interest to an awful lot of other people. Cheryl and the obligatory-but-restrained Cheltenham puff left no room on the front for the second Check 'em Tuesday. Perhaps the campaign just so last week? No, it reappears on page 3 and again in the "me" pages, although with less enthusiasm than might be expected.
After the tabloids' bumper crop of celebrity sex trials, it's the heavies' turn today with the Independent and Guardian both splashing on the former deputy speaker's court appearance on a series of charges relating to parliamentary aides. This time it's dressed up as politics, with both papers pointing up the fact that senior Tory officials knew about the allegations against Nigel Evans, including one of male rape, and yet allowed him to stay in office. One of his alleged victims is said to have gone to the whips to demand that Evans resign, only to be persuaded to say nothing because the general election was round the corner.
The Telegraph's Lockerbie splash feels uncomfortable in the light of the missing Malaysian jet. The story does not tell us anything that followers of the PanAm103 saga will not have read before, except this time the claim that Ayatollah Khomeini hired Syrians to carry out a revenge attack after the loss of an Iran Air Airbus comes from a named former Iranian intelligence officer.
The failure so far to find the wreckage of Saturday's Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 to Beijing is leaving the papers lost for words. A big jet has fallen out of the sky with 239 people on board and no one knows where (apart from the Daily Star, which reported yesterday that the wreckage had been found), so all anyone can do is report the Chinese authorities' frustration and a shedload of baseless speculation from aviation "experts".
...and what the commentators have to say...
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Chris Roycroft-Davis (Express) Attacks on Ukip prove it is a real force in politics. Would you be more likely to vote for someone you would be comfortable having a pint with or a two-faced political huckster like Nick Clegg?
Rachel Sylvester (Times) The rise of Ukip reveals a deeper truth that cannot be laughed off or ignored. Britain is still two nations. Benedict Brogan (Telegraph) Michael Gove appears to be generating hostility rather than admiration among both his parliamentary colleagues and his fellow ministers. It is almost as if patience with him is running out in sections of the party or, at the very least, that he is “off his game at the moment”. Polly Toynbee (Guardian) A panic measure that would allow trust special administrators to close any hospital or A&E department with only 40 days' notice - and no meaningful consultation until it's all over - faces a cross-party rebellion in the Commons today. |
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Labour will be joined by a bunch of Lib Dems and maybe some Tories seeking to strike it out. Every MP should consider carefully how they vote today as this may come back and bite them hard in their own backyard.
Gideon Rachman (FT) A few weeks ago, even Europeans were paying little attention to events in Ukraine. Now the whole world is watching. This is because the Russian incursion is widely seen as a direct challenge to the US-led world order. If President Putin gets away with it then other governments, such as China and Iran, may decide that defying America is getting less risky. Vali R. Nasr (International New York Times) America has played down its difficulties with Russia for too long. Russia now poses a clear and present strategic challenge to the US that is at least on par with any from Iran or China. American foreign policy needs to accept the challenge and pivot to Russia. Read more from Editorial Intelligence here |
Monday 10 March, 2014
...and some snippets from the opinion pages
Melanie Phillips (Times) that trust in the Metropolitan Police is now said to be at risk of collapse. But Macpherson played no small part in the crisis now engulfing the police.
Owen Jones (Guardian) Londoners need a force devoted to protecting their security, which treats all sections of the community equally, and which enjoys the consent and trust of everyone. It’s all over for the Met, and time to debate the police force that London deserves.
Peter Neyroud (FT) Control of the police should be delegated to local authorities in the area where they work. We need a chartered profession, with tough standards and a clear route out for those who fail to meet them.
John McTernan (Times) The way government works is that you get the ministerial office, the car and the red box. And you get the blame as well. What the Liberal Democrats are trying to do is to decouple themselves – not from the Tories, which is understandable, but from their real record in office
Read more from Editorial Intelligence here
Owen Jones (Guardian) Londoners need a force devoted to protecting their security, which treats all sections of the community equally, and which enjoys the consent and trust of everyone. It’s all over for the Met, and time to debate the police force that London deserves.
Peter Neyroud (FT) Control of the police should be delegated to local authorities in the area where they work. We need a chartered profession, with tough standards and a clear route out for those who fail to meet them.
John McTernan (Times) The way government works is that you get the ministerial office, the car and the red box. And you get the blame as well. What the Liberal Democrats are trying to do is to decouple themselves – not from the Tories, which is understandable, but from their real record in office
Read more from Editorial Intelligence here
Sunday March 8, 2014
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