I’ve had a couple of weeks to reflect on the short time I spent in northern Iraq. I am one of those many Labour party members who backed Tony Blair over Iraq. In retrospect, I can see what all the intelligence agencies and governments of the world couldn’t see at the time, that Saddam Hussein …

I write this in the rosy afterglow of the local election results, but before the tempest in London and Glasgow. It is always a mistake to rush to instant analysis, especially after so little sleep, but I’m going to do it anyway. First, it is encouraging that Labour is doing well in the council areas …

There’s a breathless, somewhat desperate, tone to the Liberal Democrats’ website appealing for council candidates. It’s like a low-rent dating site. The site says: ‘By joining the Liberal Democrats, and by becoming a councillor, you will become an active part of a political party that believes in engaging with communities, in creating a free and …

The lesson we need to learn from the Bradford West by-election, as our deputy leader told us this morning, is to learn the lessons. The problem is: what lessons? A spectacular coup, such as that carried out last night by the newly elected member of parliament for Baghdad West, is so unusual, such an aberration, …

The Labour party has become an effective opposition. As someone who desperately wants to see our party back in office, that’s a terrifying prospect . Every step we take towards being an effective opposition runs the risk of taking us further away from being a government-in-waiting. An effective opposition does what Labour has achieved in …

The tragic death of PC David Rathband reminds us that the victims of crime are so often wearing uniforms. Whatever the circumstances of David Rathband’s death, he was murdered by Raoul Moat. I can’t imagine what David Rathband’s life was like following his shooting. He showed colossal courage in dealing with his injuries. It appears …

It’s easy to scoff at Andrew Lansley’s hapless handling of his NHS bill. From the day he walked into Richmond House, with his bill already written, it’s been a masterclass in how not to reform public services. He didn’t listen to his officials. He assumed the support he’d received from the health professional bodies, such …

While holed up in the Travelodge, Euston last night (oh, the glamour) I caught the end of a discussion on Radio 4 with Jonathon Freedland, who, writing as Sam Bourne, has a new thriller out. It’s called Pantheon, and it’s about wartime Oxford, with its checkpoints, spies and blacked-out windows. The protagonist delves into a …

There’s more than a whiff of the League of Nations about the UN this week after China and Russia’s veto of a resolution which would have demanded President Assad’s abdication. The resolution was backed by the other 13 members of the security council, and drawn up by the Arab League. The world is rightly angry …

The latest opinion poll in London shows Boris Johnson’s lead over Ken Livingstone evaporating. In a few months, by banging on about issues that don’t matter much to Londoners, Boris has squandered his eight-point lead. On the key indicator of being ‘in touch’, Livingstone is now streets ahead of Johnson. It is, as they say, …