10:23am
On Tuesday, I presented the Orwell Prize for journalism to brave Jenni Russell, who used the occasion to go public on her battle against cancer. She had not been well enough to apply for the award herself, but her son had selected her best articles and she was a worthy winner.
Here’s the official tribute to her work: “Jenni Russell was the stand-out journalist in an outstanding field. Her empathy for the world beyond Westminster gives her writing an extra dimension often lacking in political insiders. There is an overriding...
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4:06pm
There was a really interesting piece in the Observer business section this weekend balancing up the value of degrees and apprenticeships. “A perception prevails, particularly among middle-class families, that choosing a path other than university is a mark of failure, a fact that concerns both employers and advocates for vocational education such as City & Guilds,” wrote Tom Bawden.
This government (and indeed the last) was very keen to encourage young people to do an apprenticeship. But I wonder how many MPs went down this route or would encourage their children...
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12:26pm
Nick Clegg's time as the country's darling was always likely to be fleeting. But poor Vince Cable was consistently feted as the man who got it right on the economy. But he has looked miserable from the moment he entered government. Why is this?
I can't be the only politico to have heard Vince say before 2010 that he would never enter government with the Tories. Oddly enough, he was far more polite about them than he has been on the radio this morning. The whole point about two-party politics...
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11:29pm
David Cameron has been gracious in victory and Nick Clegg has been dignified in defeat, while Ed Miliband has felt like something of a bit-part player. The only real explanation of the drubbing of the Lib Dems is that their own voters have deserted them. The real story of election night is that the Tory vote held up so well. Conservative ministers will feel emboldened in their cuts-reform double whammy agenda. The fact that their Coalition partners no longer have a mandate should give them pause for thought. But it probably won’t. At this...
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5:36pm
It couldn’t have been a more extraordinary bank holiday for news and spectacle. But now the fuss is beginning to die down it’s possible to compare and contrast the hysteria that greeted the Royal Wedding and the death of Osama bin Laden. There has been a certain amount of squeamishness about the “frat boy” reaction to the death of the al-Qaeda leader. But I have to say I find the celebrations at the death of the 21st century’s most notorious mass murderer far easier to comprehend than the astonishing outpouring of feudal deference for...
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4:49pm
Easter/Pesach is always a good time to be at the Jewish Chronicle with all the combined holidays. This year it is all the more congenial now the Pope has been so kind as to absolve the Jews of blame for the death of Christ. A time for reflection, perhaps, and a reassessment of history. I am still mulling over the peace process simulation I took part in earlier this month, playing the role of Jibril Rajoub, the PLO enforcer. You can read my account the event
here.
My "Palestinian" delegation was led...
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