The commentators                    25-09-15

...on UK politics

Britain needs to choose where we have green space. We can have it at the edge of our cities — out of sight and often poorly managed. That’s what we have now. By protecting the green belt we are turning our capital city, in particular, into one of the most congested urban centres in the world. Simultaneously we are forcing families to live in some of the smallest rabbit-hutch homes in Europe. There’s another way. We can build on the ugliest and not-so-green parts of the green belt
- Tim Montgomerie, The Times
This is what should worry us: not teenage parties but lack of attention to detail and the squandering of potential. But while the Prime Minister’s relaxed governing style has yielded plenty of tragicomedy, it also has its successes: he hired brilliant people and let them be. Michael Gove’s school reforms; Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare reforms; the fall in crime; the fall in taxes and consequent economic growth. The single most extraordinary fact about the last five years is that the British economy created more jobs than the rest of Europe put together. Cameron failed, abysmally, to claim proper credit for this – but his detractors have to ask: was all this a coincidence?
- Fraser Nelson, Daily Telegraph
Martin Kettle
Labour has created a new situation for itself. It may not survive. But it will not survive if it reverts to old-fashioned centralism, whether democratic or managerial. Only Corbyn and his deputy Tom Watson, acting together at Brighton to banish centralism from the party in its current turmoils, can prevent this from happening. If, as a French king said to explain his conversion to Catholicism, Paris was worth a mass, the viability of the Labour party is worth an accommodation with internal pluralism
- Martin Kettle, The Guardian
Jeremy Corbyn’s central analytical argument should be that power in Britain has fragmented. All that was solid has melted into air. He should confront directly the accusation levelled at him by the ignorant scribblers in the newspapers that he is uninterested in power. On the contrary, the original purpose of the Labour party was to seek, through representation in parliament, a better deal for the workers. That is and will forever be the purpose of the Labour party, but power is a many-splendoured thing and those who style themselves as modernisers are horribly out of date. Labour now has to work with people, not do things for them. Leadership has to be inclusive and thoughtful, not draconian
- Philip Collins, The Times
Liam Byrne’s description of Jeremy Corbyn as a “craft ale” might have been well-intentioned – “authentic with strong flavours” – but it was also hopelessly off the mark, both as a metaphor for the message Byrne was trying to convey and for Corbyn himself. Say craft beer and most people think genteel nerdery: someone with the time and dedication to devote themselves to the subtleties of the micro-breweries. The only possible crossover between Corbyn and a craft beer is that both might be described as “specialist tastes”. To me, Corbyn looks like a man who might put value before taste: a man who would wander up to CostCutter and buy four Polish beers on special offer at £1.99. Happy memories of his motorcycle trip in the old Eastern bloc and all that.
- John Crace, The Guardian
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Corbyn needs to get to grips with the mainstream media. Shunning Andrew Marr and the Sun is not a strategy that will lead to electoral success.
But the Press, too, must rethink. If people are offended by Corbyn's singalong choices or dress sense, it is fair that they are reported. If his oratory leaves something to be desired, it is fair that that, too, is commented upon. But let's get this into perspective. Those are side issues; the first job of the Press is to report the news, so when a new leader makes his first important setpiece speech, it would be good if newspapers told us what he said rather than what they thought
- Editor's blog: All singing from the wrong hymn sheet

Comment Awards, 2015

Yomi Adegoke
Yomi Adegoke: two nominations
Sathnam Sanghera
Sathnam Sanghera: four nominations
Thursday 17 September, 2015 The Financial Times and The Times again lead the way in this year's ei Comment Awards, with eleven nominations apiece in the shortlists announced today.
Sathnam Sanghera is responsible for four of those Times nominations  - featuring in the media commentator, diversity, technology and individual comment piece categories.
Freelance Yomi Adegoke  who founded Birthday Magazine for black teenage girls, is among four writers shortlisted in two categories - in her case young commentariat and media commentator. 
George Monbiot of the Guardian completes the media line-up and is also nominated as science commentator and Gillian Tett of the FT is listed in both business and economics.
Her colleague Janan Ganesh is shortlisted for political commentator and the big prize - commentariat of the year, where he is up against the two most recent winners David Aaronovitch (also nominated for comment piece of the year) and Caitlin Moran.
SubScribe is honoured and surprised to find a place on the individual blogger shortlist, and fully expects to come third behind Barrister Blogger Matthew Scott and Stuart Forster of Go-eat-Do.
You can see all the shortlists here.

Comment archive, 2015

June 5 Fifa
June 4 Politics
June 3 Charles Kennedy
June 2 British politics
June 1 Fifa
labour leadership contenders
May 22 UK politics
May 21 UK politics
May 20 The Labour party
May 19 The NHS
May 18 UK politics
ballot box
May 8 General election
May 7 General election
May 6 General election
May 5 General election
Sturgeon and Salmond
April 24 General election
April 23 General election
April 22 General election
April 21 Drowned refugees
April 20 Scottish National Party
Westminster
April 10 General election
April 9 General election
April 8 General election
April 7 General election
Ed Miliband
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
Jim Murphy, Scottish Labour party conference
March 13 UK politics
March 12 Jeremy Clarkson
March 11 UK politics
March 10 UK politics
March 9 UK politics
Rifkind and Straw
February 27 UK politics
February 26 Minor party leaders
February 25 Natalie Bennett
February 24 Rifkind and Straw
February 23 World affairs
Merkel and Putin
February 13 UK politics
February 12 UK politics
February 11 UK politics
February 10 UK politics
February 9 Politics
Alexis Tsipras
January 30 Rape law
January 29 UK politics
January 28 UK politics
January 27 Greece
January 26 UK politics
Hebdo demo
January 16 World politics
January 15 Election debates
January 14 Charlie Hebdo
January 13 Charlie Hebdo
January 12 Charlie Hebdo
Picture
May 29 Fifa
May 28 The Queen's Speech
May 27 Europe
May 26 UK politics
New Tory MPs
May 15 Ukip and Labour
May 14 The Labour party
May 13 The Labour party
May 12 UK politics
May 11 Scotland
Picture
May 1 General election
April 30 General election
April 29 General election
April 28 General election
April 27 General election
manifestos
April 17 General election
April 16 General election
April 15 General election
April 14 General election
April 13 General election
dissolution parliament
April 2 General election
April 1 General election
March 31 General election
March 30 Depression 
George Osborne
March 20 UK politics
March 19 The Budget
March 18 UK politics
March 17 Race in Britain
March 16 UK politics
Boris Nemtsov
March 6 Scotland and the election
March 5 Isis
March 4 UK politics
March 3 Radicalisation
March 2 Russia
Copenhagen
February 20 UK politics
February 19 Chelsea and racism
February 18  UK politics
February 17 UK politics
February 16 Copenhagen 
education
February 6 UK politics
February 5 Isis atrocity
February 4 UK politics
February 3 UK politics
February 2 UK politics
Pope Francis
January 23 UK politics
January 22 Chilcot inquiry
January 21 Page Three
January 20 Anti-semitism 
January 19 Religion and freedom
Charb
January 9 Charlie Hebdo
January 8 Charlie Hebdo
January 7 UK politics
January 6 UK politics
January 5 UK politics
For EI daily digests from June to December 2014 please click here
Comment digest courtesy of
Editorial Intelligence
Cameron and pig
September 24
Volkswagen
September 23
Politics
September 22
"Pig-gate"
September 21
Politics
Jeremy Corbyn
September 18
Labour
September 17
Jeremy Corbyn
September 16
Jeremy Corbyn
September 15
Jeremy Corbyn
September 14
Jeremy Corbyn
September 11
Jeremy Corbyn
September 10
Migrant crisis
September 9
Drone strikes
September 8
Migrant crisis
September 7 
Migrant crisis
European integration
September 4
Migrant crisis
September 3
Migrant crisis
September 2
Europe
September 1
Politics
Kings College Cambridge
August 28
Virginia TV shootings
August 27
Jeremy Corbyn
August 26
Politics
August 25
Politics
August 24
Labour leadership
Labour leadership candidates
August 21
Politics
August 20
Student debt
August 19
Labour leadership
August 18
Labour leadership
August 17
Labour leadership
Jeremy Corbyn
August 14
Labour leadership
August 13
Politics
August 12
Politics
August 11
Politics
August 10
Labour leadership
Camila Batmanghelidjh
August 7
Kids Company
August 6
Kids Company
August 5
Labour leadership
August 4
Labour leadership
August 3
Calais
Calais
July 31
Calais
July 30
Calais
July 29
Labour leadership
July 28
Lord Sewel
July 27
Labour leadership
Jeremy Corbyn
July 24
Labour leadership
July 23
Labour leadership
July 22
Labour leadership
July 21
Counter-terrorism
July 20
Boris Johnson, Greece
Picture
July 17
UK politics
July 16
UK politics
July 15
Iran
July 14
Greece
July 13
Greece
Picture
July 10
Budget
July 9
Budget
July 8
The Budget
July 7
Greece
July 6
Taxation
Greek debt
July 3
Grexit
July 2
Heathrow
July 1
Grexit
June 30
Grexit
June 29
Tunisian massacre
Alexis Tsipras
June 26
Monarchy and Brexit
June 25
UK politics
June 24
UK politics
June 23
Greece
June 22
Greece
Labour hustings
June 19
Greece and Europe
June 18
UK politics
June 17
Politics
June 16
Social mobility
June 15
Politics
Merkel, Obama G7
June 12
Politics
June 11
Politics
June 10
Politics
June 9
Europe
June 8
Politics
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