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The commentators                    30-07-15

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View image | gettyimages.com

...on Calais

By the end of this year Turkey will be accommodating 1.9 million Syrian refugees. That’s 1.9 million. Lebanon, with only four million inhabitants, currently has nearly 1.5 million. Even at its current peak Calais is home to only 5,000. It is not surprising that this situation is causing resentment in the host countries. What is surprising is that it’s not causing much more. Actually, with proper arrangements, we could take every single person in the Calais Jungle and hardly notice it. We could turn those rangy, scary young men into electrical engineers
- David Aaronovitch, The Times

The “Calais problem” cannot be solved in Calais because it is not a Calais problem. It is a small part of a European, or world, problem which has no obvious solution either. More should be done to prevent these young men from leaving their homes in the first place. And Britain should offer – as it did in 2002 – to take in some of the most deserving and qualified. Neither is likely to happen. Neither would solve the problem for long if it did happen. That is what makes Calais such a never-ending tragedy. Everyone is right and everyone is wrong
- John Lichfield, The Independent

Among all the discussion of “secure fencing” and “delayed journeys”, our human compassion has deserted us. We have it in spades when we are reminded of suffering that doesn’t interfere with our holidays or freight:remember the collective horror earlier this year when desperate migrants had to be saved by gunboats in the Mediterranean? Where is it now?
- Emma Barnett, Daily Telegraph

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Theresa May and David Cameron ought to tell their French counterparts to get a grip. Instead, both seem content merely to parrot the usual cliches about working closely with our French friends, doing all we can, and so on ad nauseam. To put it bluntly, though, this is just not good enough. Mr Cameron’s predecessors managed to keep out Napoleon and Hitler, both of whom had gigantic armies and an entire continent behind them. So he really should be able to cope with a few thousand exhausted migrants — shouldn’t he?
- Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Mail

The UK government may be left with no option but to close the border with Calais, until immediate action is taken. The safety of British holiday makers and truckers should be the government’s primary priority. We must isolate it and then deal with the issue in hand
- Stephen Woolfe, Daily Telegraph

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The only reason this case from Shoeburyness reached the public consciousness was because someone mentioned age. That turns out to have been a side issue, and we shall probably never know the full story. That may be right and proper, a family's private traumas should not be aired for public entertainment. 
But if women are being coerced into signing away the right to look after their children when they are not mentally fit, in order that councils can meet adoption targets - as the grandparents' lawyer and MPs suggest - then we need to know.
The journalists covering this story have fallen for the clickbait angle and missed the real issue.
Editor's blog: Grandparents' tale of woe

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Comment Awards 2015

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Anyone can nominate their favourite writer

Friday 12 June, 2015 Are the comment pages and columnists too Londoncentric? And if they are, what is the solution when the financial and political powerhouses are based in the capital? 
Does the character or personality of the writer matter? Should we read columnists with whom we violently disagree  or is it, as Eleanor Mills suggested, good for the soul but bad for the blood pressure? 
Why did the so-called political experts get it so wrong in calling the general election? And will they - and Rupert Murdoch - influence the result of the EU referendum?
All these points and more were addressed under the guidance of Dr Anthony Seldon at the launch of the 2015 Comment Awards last night. Seldon will chair the judging panel for the awards, now in their seventh year.
Nominations are now open and anyone can put forward anyone writing in the UK media - broadcasting, print or online  - by submitting the URLS of three articles published between August 1, 2014 and July 31 this year, which is the closing date for entries.
The 17 awards include four new categories:  Comment piece of the year for a single piece of excellent writing; Young commentariat; Society and diversity commentator; and Technology and digital commentator.
There is no charge for entries. Details and the nomination forms can be found here.
Oh yes, and who was the most frequently mentioned columnist at last night's event? Matthew Parris? Andrew Rawnsley? Stephen Glover? No. By a country mile, the most discussed writer was Katie Hopkins. 

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Comment archive, 2015

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April 24 General election
April 23 General election
April 22 General election
April 21 Drowned refugees
April 20 Scottish National Party

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April 10 General election
April 9 General election
April 8 General election
April 7 General election

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March 27 Prince Charles's letters
March 26 UK politics
March 25 Cameron's exit strategy
March 24 Lee Kwan Yew
March 23 UK politics

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March 13 UK politics
March 12 Jeremy Clarkson
March 11 UK politics
March 10 UK politics
March 9 UK politics

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February 27 UK politics
February 26 Minor party leaders
February 25 Natalie Bennett
February 24 Rifkind and Straw
February 23 World affairs

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February 13 UK politics
February 12 UK politics
February 11 UK politics
February 10 UK politics
February 9 Politics

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January 30 Rape law
January 29 UK politics
January 28 UK politics
January 27 Greece
January 26 UK politics

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January 16 World politics
January 15 Election debates
January 14 Charlie Hebdo
January 13 Charlie Hebdo
January 12 Charlie Hebdo

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April 17 General election
April 16 General election
April 15 General election
April 14 General election
April 13 General election

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April 2 General election
April 1 General election
March 31 General election
March 30 Depression 

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March 20 UK politics
March 19 The Budget
March 18 UK politics
March 17 Race in Britain
March 16 UK politics

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March 6 Scotland and the election
March 5 Isis
March 4 UK politics
March 3 Radicalisation
March 2 Russia

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February 20 UK politics
February 19 Chelsea and racism
February 18  UK politics
February 17 UK politics
February 16 Copenhagen 

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February 6 UK politics
February 5 Isis atrocity
February 4 UK politics
February 3 UK politics
February 2 UK politics

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January 23 UK politics
January 22 Chilcot inquiry
January 21 Page Three
January 20 Anti-semitism 
January 19 Religion and freedom

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January 9 Charlie Hebdo
January 8 Charlie Hebdo
January 7 UK politics
January 6 UK politics
January 5 UK politics

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For EI daily digests from June to December 2014 please click here

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Comment digest courtesy of
Editorial Intelligence

July 29
Labour
July 28
Lord Sewel
July 27
Labour

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July 24
Labour
July 23
Labour
July 22
Labour
July 21
Counter-terrorism
July 20
Boris Johnson, Greece

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July 17
UK politics
July 16
UK politics
July 15
Iran
July 14
Greece
July 13
Greece

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July 10
Budget
July 9
Budget
July 8
The Budget
July 7
Greece
July 6
Taxation

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July 3
Grexit
July 2
Heathrow
July 1
Grexit
June 30
Grexit
June 29
Tunisian massacre

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June 26
Monarchy and Brexit
June 25
UK politics
June 24
UK politics
June 23
Greece
June 22
Greece

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June 19
Greece and Europe
June 18
UK politics
June 17
Politics
June 16
Social mobility
June 15
Politics

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June 12
Politics
June 11
Politics
June 10
Politics
June 9
Europe
June 8
Politics

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June 5
Fifa
June 4
Politics
June 3
Charles Kennedy
June 2
British politics
June 1
Fifa

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May 29
Fifa
May 28
The Queen's Speech
May 27
Europe
May 26
UK politics

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May 22
UK politics
May 21
UK politics
May 20
The Labour party
May 19
The NHS
May 18
UK politics

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May 15
Ukip and Labour
May 14
The Labour party
May 13
The Labour party
May 12
UK politics
May 11
Scotland

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May 8
General election
May 7
General election
May 6
General election
May 5
General election

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May 1
General election
April 30
General election
April 29
General election
April 28
General election
April 27
General election

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