OpEd - SubScribe14

The commentators 14-07-14

...on British politics

It’s not the gender of Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg or David Cameron that most alienates voters. It’s that all of Britain’s leading MPs have spent most of their lives worrying about opinion polls or press releases. Voters see politicians wanting to win elections rather than solve problems. Only true outsiders will rescue politics from the lifetime politicians.
- Tim Montgomerie, The Times

The PM is so desperate to counter the Tory gender problem by advancing photogenic women that Cameron Diaz and Shakira may well have been sounded out for portfolios, though the more-reliable gossip contends that Esther McVey, Liz Truss and Nicky Morgan are due to join the Cabinet. Also expected to be promoted are a host of other women and members from ethnic minority backgrounds.
- Matthew Norman, Independent

Ministers move from one job to another, everybody insists it means something, whether women have been hurriedly promoted or Michael Howard is the next EU commissioner, detailed to do nothing but look mean (actually pretty good casting, but that's not relevant). It is as ponderous and bloodless as a renaissance pavane; it is unfathomable how unresponsive and unaware of itself Westminster has become.
- Zoe Williams, The Guardian

There there is one way in which the trade unions could still cause real damage to our country. That is through the election of a Labour government next year. The unions remain Labour's paymasters, providing more than 80 per cent of the party's funding.
- Leo McKinstrey, Daily Express

Vote for your favourite commentators

Stevie Spring

The annual Editorial Intelligence comment awards were officially launched yesterday with the announcement of the seventy-strong panel of judges to be led by Stevie Spring, chair of Children in Need.
They include Lorraine Heggessey, Nihal Arthanayake, Karren Brady, Damian Barr, Lynne Franks, Nicky Gavron, Laura Kuenssberg, Adrian Monck and Kirsty Lang.
Anyone is invited to nominate their favourite commentators for the awards, which are divided into 16 categories. There is no charge for entry.

The categories