Apr 2011: Inside Cameron's Number 10

Inside Cameron's Number 10

Anthony Seldon 01 Apr 2011

In the first serious analysis of Downing Street under David Cameron, Anthony Seldon, biographer of the last four prime ministers, reveals the people on the inside who really have the ear of the PM.

Anthony Seldon is the biographer of the last four prime ministers. The latest book in his series on Number 10 was 'Brown at 10' (Biteback, 2010).

Constitution and government

Why it doesn't really matter who wins

John Curtice 03 Apr 2011

For the first time ever in Britain, on 5 May 2011, voters will decide how the House of Commons is elected. The referendum vote would seem a welcome extension to … » more

John Curtice is Professor of Politics, Strathclyde University.

Devolution just got serious

James Mitchell 03 Apr 2011

Scottish devolution's time has come. The Conservatives are back in power at Westminster. Scots voted for devolution in 1997 in reaction to eighteen years of Conservative rule. It was seen … » more

James Mitchell is Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University.

A Scotland Bill with no black hole

Murdo Fraser 03 Apr 2011

The Scotland Bill, currently being steered through the House of Commons by Michael Moore MP and David Mundell MP, implements the proposals of the Calman Commission. The tax changes in … » more

Murdo Fraser MSP is Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives and Health Spokesman.

Business and finance

A flawed budget that nonetheless signals the right way forward

Patrick Minford 03 Apr 2011

Thirteen years of Labour rule has left us with a business environment in need of repair. Latterly we got the 50 per cent top tax rate, in blatant contradiction of … » more

Patrick Minford is Professor of Applied Economics, Cardiff Business School.

We've been here before, George, so don't plan on this making any difference

Mark Tewdwr-Jones 03 Apr 2011

The reference to the problems of the planning system as outlined in George Osborne's Budget statement on 23 March 2011 should seem remarkably familiar to parliamentarians and students of politics … » more

Professor Mark Tewdwr-Jones is at the Bartlett School of Planning, UCL, and was previously a member of the Foresight Land Use Futures 2060 project 2008-10.

Tax will always be taxing; but we can make it simpler than it is

Michael Jack 03 Apr 2011

In 1853, members of parliament urged the then Chancellor, William Gladstone, to make income tax law intelligible to everyone. He replied that this was ‘far from being easy’ because ‘the … » more

Rt Hon Michael Jack is Chairman of the Office of Tax Simplification.

Simpler tax law might mean lengthier tax law

Bill Dodwell 03 Apr 2011

Tax specialists have become used to two rallying calls from those that pay tax: Simplification and Tax Avoidance. Everyone seems to want a crackdown on the latter and lots more … » more

Bill Dodwell is a tax partner with Deloitte and heads their Tax Group.

Their Lordships touch a regulatory nerve

James Roberts 03 Apr 2011

At the end of March the House of Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs reported on the audit market and auditors’ roles. The report got a lot of media coverage … » more

James Roberts is Senior Audit Partner at BDO LLP.

Defence

Lessons from Libya

Andrew Dorman 03 Apr 2011

For all the criticism levelled at it, the UK's 2010 Strategy Review — National Security Strategy (NSS) and Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) — made a series of difficult … » more

Dr. Andrew Dorman is an Associate Fellow at Chatham House and a Senior Lecturer in the Defence Studies Department, King's College London based at United Kingdom's Joint Services Command and Staff College.

About time we put jaw before war into law

Graham Allen 03 Apr 2011

The recent House of Commons debate on Libya and UN Security Council Resolution 1973 proved to be intelligent, challenging and, at times, quite emotional. It was, truly, a testament to … » more

Graham Allen is MP for Nottingham North and Chair of the Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee.

Taming the wild frontier of cyberspace

Dave Clemente 03 Apr 2011

In recent years, governments, international organisations and the private sector have become increasingly focused on cyber security and aware of the urgency connected with it. Every time large bundles of … » more

Dave Clemente is a Researcher with the International Security Programme at Chatham House and co-author of the Chatham House report 'On Cyber Warfare'.

Prevention trumps cure — especially with cyberwar

David Betz 03 Apr 2011

In the beginning, if you believe the Bible, when God created the Earth it had three natural domains — sea, air and land, although it took awhile for mankind to … » more

Dr David Betz is a Senior Lecturer in the War Studies Department, King’s College London where he heads the Insurgency Research Group. His book, ‘Cyberspace and the State’ will be published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in

Health and welfare

The tough test for the NHS isn't cost but care

Richard Cookson 03 Apr 2011

In order of decreasing importance, the NHS has three main goals — equity, quality and cost containment. As this third goal continues to concentrate minds in the coming years of … » more

Dr Richard Cookson works in the Centre for Health Economics at the University of York.

Does Mr Gove think schools should be run like the NHS?

John Howson 03 Apr 2011

So far Michael Gove has been a Secretary of State in a hurry; two Education Bills, a white and green paper; new forms of academies and a completely new type … » more

Professor John Howson has been a commentator on the education scene for many years, and is a vice President of the Liberal Democrat Education Association

Foreign affairs

Cash-gap that dooms millions of children to die

Anna Ford 03 Apr 2011

In March 2011 children in Mali were immunised against pneumonia through their public health services for the first time and children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are due … » more

Anna Ford works for Save the Children www.savethechildren.org.uk — for information about GAVI go to www.gavialliance.org

After 2015, global development will be in a 'hostile climate'

Andy Sumner 03 Apr 2011

The deadline for the MDGs is 2015. Then what? There will still be almost a billion poor people even if the MDGs are met. Lessons learnt from the MDGs aside, … » more

Andy Sumner is a Fellow in the Vulnerability and Poverty Reduction Team at Institute of Development Studies.

The unknown crisis in Africa

Alun McDonald 03 Apr 2011

Large parts of the Horn and East Africa region are facing a potentially severe drought, following a failure of rains late last year. The situation in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and … » more

Alun McDonald is Oxfam’s Regional Communications Officer, Nairobi, Kenya.

Nuclear

Tough choice on energy, now made even tougher

Malcolm Grimston 03 Apr 2011

I suspect that for many people following the unfolding Japanese tragedy, that moment when the outer building of Fukushima Daiichi exploded will be one of those flashbulb memories, maybe even … » more

Malcolm Grimston is an associate fellow with the Sustainable Development Programme at Chatham House.

New thinking now needed for new-build nuclear

Steve Thomas 03 Apr 2011

Public interest in Britain’s plans for new nuclear power plants

Steve Thomas is Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Greenwich.

Fukushima and a truly global nuclear industry

Gordon MacKerron 03 Apr 2011

The extraordinary events at Fukushima in the past few weeks have led to major activity in assessing their implications for other countries. This seems natural enough in the case of … » more

Gordon MacKerron is Director at SPRU, Science and Technology Policy, University of Sussex.

Afghanistan

Should Britain take over the Afghan police from the Germans?

Cornelius Friesendorf 03 Apr 2011

International donors regard the strengthening of the Afghan National Police (ANP) as a precondition for the eventual withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan. But the problems are huge. There are … » more

Dr. Cornelius Friesendorf is a member of the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt

Apr 2011: Inside Cameron's Number 10

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