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I don't know what annoys me more - that a high-level Labour politician can have such misguided ideas, or that the outcome of an event is reported in such a one-sided manner in the press. I am referring to The Guardian's report on today's…
If last week was the week of Cameron's walk out, this week has been the week of recriminations, with newspaper column inches full of talk of Nick Clegg involved in spats with Tories and France. While in some way it is good that EU politics…
If you are in favour of the UK remaining a Member State of the European Union, this week's summit was a disaster. If you want Britain to leave the EU there are some reasons to rejoice. It's that simple. The agreement is that the 17 Member…
No-one can have expected the fissure in the UK's relationship with the EU to come so soon, but the stormy discussions at the European Council in Brussels last night confirm a parting of ways that has probably been inevitable. The exact…
7000 attendees, more than 500 delegates, dozens of well known German and European politicians, and one notable elderly man in a wheelchair - Helmut Schmidt. Today is the start of the SPD Partietag in Berlin (live news in German here), the…
This week I was invited to speak at Exeter University Debating Society, opposing the motion "This house believes Britain is better off out of the European Union." I had agreed to participate before knowing the identity of the two speakers…
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen has today announced he is standing down as President of the PES. Over a period that has been one of relative decline for the left across Europe, Poul has been a voice of determination and reason; I'm sad to see him go…
When I joined the Labour Party as a wide-eyed 16-year old I'm pretty sure it was not with the aim of just being pragmatic. It was because governments of Thatcher and Major had made a mess of the town where I had grown up and there was a…
On the day before Labour Party Conference, Ed Miliband announced a policy that Labour would restrict student fees to £6000 rather than the Tories' £9000 level. Everyone shrugged. Here was a short term, tactical announcement that made no…
Another week, and another remarkable series of events in the Eurozone. Lucas Papademos was sworn in Friday as Prime Minister of Greece, prompting a market surge. The day after, Berlusconi resigned as Italian PM, with former European…
In yesterday's Observer Ed Miliband wrote a piece entitled “business, finance and politics are out of touch with people”, talking of how the protests at St Paul's have highlighted the growing gulf between the values of ordinary people and…
The government talks about repatriation of EU powers. What does this actually mean, and could it work? The only solution the government seems to be able to offer to its braying backbenchers in light of last week's debate on an EU referendum…
