The system's a carve-up May 14 2005
When Margaret Thatcher embarked on a Cabinet reshuffle following her second general election victory in 1983, she memorably commented: "I'm no butcher, but I have learned to carve." more
Joe Public's jab jolts Blair victory May 7 2005
Well, whatever the opinion polls said, it never felt like landslide territory out there, and sure enough, Tony Blair has been returned to power with the dramatically reduced majority that some of us had long anticipated. more
The Blair-faced truth Apr 30 2005
Over the past two and a half years, one issue above all has dominated the political agenda - the question of whether Tony Blair misled the country when he took us to war in Iraq. more
Will tax make a difference to result? Apr 23 2005
First off this week, a confession. Thanks to a typing error, I managed to misrepresent Labour's tax policies in last week's column by implying that people earning £20,000 a year paid the same rate of tax as those earning £2m. more
Spotlight on the faith of a PM Mar 26 2005
Nearly two years ago, in April 2003, Tony Blair took part in an interview with Vanity Fair magazine to mark his 50th birthday in the course of which he was asked about his Christian faith. more
Riding in to the rescue Mar 19 2005
Were this any other week of the year, I might have found myself writing today about what, for the North-East, must surely be the least astonishing political revelation of the year so far. more
Labour gags on a dose of its own medicine Mar 12 2005
Back in 1992, the Labour Party carried a now-infamous party election broadcast about a young girl awaiting hospital treatment that kicked off what became known as the War of Jennifer's Ear. more
Farce over wedding damaging monarchy Mar 5 2005
Over the past couple of weeks, this column has focused on the forthcoming General Election and, specifically, how centre-left voters can use it to draw a line under the discredited Blair era. more
The way to boost Brown Feb 26 2005
At the conclusion of last week's column I posed the question whether voters at the forthcoming election could engineer a result which delivers the premiership not to Tony Blair, but to Gordon Brown. more
Left need to get this one right Feb 19 2005
At the end of last week's column, I described Tony Blair's spin doctor Alastair Campbell as a walking reminder of why Britain, as well as Iraq, now needs regime change. more
Spins, smears and maybe the odd policy Feb 12 2005
Tomorrow, Prime Minister Tony Blair will stand up in The Sage Gateshead and deliver a speech he hopes will be the launchpad for a third successful election campaign. more
Will the Mafia rise again? Feb 5 2005
When Tony Blair became Prime Minister in 1997 - the first MP from a North-East constituency do so since the 1930s - there was much talk around Whitehall of a "North-East Mafia" running the country. more
Howard's way sails away from North Jan 29 2005
For most of the past 40 years, there was a consensus across the British political spectrum that to raise the issue of immigration in any form would merely give succour to extremists. more
Do you want a region at all? Jan 22 2005
Ever since the November 4 referendum decision against establishing an elected North-East Assembly, a big unanswered question about the future of the region has hung in the air. more
Blair-Brown squabble reaches new peak Jan 8 2005
Last Wednesday, at 12 noon, the nation stood still as millions paid their respects to the victims of the South-East Asian tsunami earthquake disaster by observing a three-minute silence. more
Blair the survivor as Brown waits Dec 18 2004
Back in November 2003 - or so we are led to believe - a secret meeting took place at Westminster attended by Prime Minister Tony Blair, his deputy John Prescott, and Chancellor Gordon Brown. more
Let's turn back from London Dec 11 2004
When asked before the 1997 general election what his priorities would be in Government if elected, Tony Blair famously replied: "Education, education, and education." more
Why Blair really needs to keep Blunkett Dec 4 2004
When I first came across the name of David Blunkett in the mid-1980s, it is fair to say the then leader of Sheffield City Council ranked among the people I most admired in politics. more
Tony Blair turns to the politics of fear Nov 27 2004
Politicians used to try and sell us dreams of a better future, but now they just promise to protect us from nightmares - or so said the plug for a recent BBC documentary series. The programme in question, which claimed that the American neo-conservatives had more or less invented the threat of al Qaida for political purposes, was tendentious to say the least. more
Another reason why Tony's in for a taxing time Nov 20 2004
One of the oddest and yet potentially most significant stories that have appeared in The Journal over recent months was the revelation that Michael Howard has written off the North-East. more
