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Boris Johnson won the December 2019 UK general election on the promise that he had an “oven-ready deal” to “get Brexit done.” But while the UK did leave the EU in January 2020, Johnson’s deal included a deeply contentious protocol governing the special trade status of Northern Ireland. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s successful negotiation […]

Posted 02 Mar 2023 in Blog
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Far-right populism is not dead, but it can be defeated. Are Europeans up to the task? Read my latest for Project Syndicate

Posted 16 Nov 2020 in Blog
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Denmark’s Social Democrats won the election there this month on an anti-immigrant platform. So is immigrant bashing a vote winner for Europe’s beleaguered progressives? Read my latest for Project Syndicate

Posted 18 Jun 2019 in Blog
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With the next few months set to be dominated by unseemly haggling over top EU jobs, starting with the presidency of the European Commission, it may feel like business as usual in Brussels. But if you take the longer view, there are good reasons to hope that EU democracy may be evolving in a positive […]

Posted 18 Jun 2019 in Blog
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I contributed to a symposium published by The International Economy here. “Populist” is often used as a derogatory label for any popular political view that someone deplores. But although populism can take many forms, it has a specific meaning: populists claim to stand up for “the people” (their supporters) against the elites (their opponents, whom […]

Posted 29 Apr 2019 in Blog
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A big reason why Western politics is in such disarray is voters’ pessimism about the future. 60% of Westerners believe today’s children will be “worse off financially than their parents”. Europeans are particularly gloomy. To paraphrase Hobbes, they expect youngsters’ lives to be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish – and long. When people doubt that progress […]

Posted 01 Jun 2018 in Blog
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Read my latest briefing for OPEN. Join our mailing list to stay updated!

Posted 09 Mar 2018 in Blog
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I posted the following thread on Twitter earlier. While some voted Labour cos they wanted Corbyn to win, many did so cos they thought he couldn’t. Doubt he cd win election except by accident 2. Clearly, some in UK r hard left. Many r fed up with austerity. Corbyn mobilised students & some who feel left […]

Posted 10 Jun 2017 in Blog
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Celebrate Emmanuel Macron’s victory, but beware of pitfalls ahead. Populism is far from dead. My latest column for Project Syndicate

Posted 11 May 2017 in Blog
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Theresa May is likely to win the UK’s snap election on 8 June. A big parliamentary majority and not having to face voters again until 2022 could give her more flexibility in negotiating and implementing Brexit. But contrary to what she claims, that wouldn’t strengthen her negotiating position vis-a-vis the EU; if anything, it would […]

Posted 20 Apr 2017 in Blog
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I was interviewed about the French elections by Spanish newspaper La Razón. Read it here

Posted 14 Apr 2017 in Blog
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Far-right populists pose a grave threat to Europe’s open liberal societies. Here’s how to defeat them. My column for Project Syndicate

Posted 25 Mar 2017 in Blog
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I was interviewed by Michael Cottakis of the 1989 Generation Initiative for Euractiv

Posted 04 Feb 2017 in Blog
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One consequence of the Paris attacks is that Britain’s renegotiation of its EU membership has been delayed. With the risks of Brexit rising by the day, David Cameron’s priority should be to complete the renegotiation as quickly as possible, declare victory, and start campaigning vigorously on the broader reasons why Britain should stay in the […]

Posted 15 Dec 2015 in Blog
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My column for SvD on why the December Agreement between Sweden’s mainstream political parties is a mistake. The Sweden Democrats may have been marginalised in parliament, but they have been strengthened in the country as a whole

Posted 14 Sep 2015 in Blog
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An excellent pamphlet by Jeremy Cliffe, The Economist’s new Bagehot columnist, explains how a number of long-term trends are likely to create a cosmopolitan liberal majority in Britain. This poses big challenges, and big opportunities, for existing political parties. I wrote a response to the pamphlet for Policy Network and argued in CapX that while Labour […]

Posted 26 Aug 2015 in Blog
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Spanish voters are deserting corrupt, incompetent establishment parties. It’s time for a change. My column for Foreign Policy

Posted 30 May 2015 in Blog
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Britain’s election today is wide open. But whether we end up with a Conservative or Labour-led government, the SNP looks set to be a big winner in the years ahead. My column for Foreign Policy

Posted 07 May 2015 in Blog
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I spent the weekend in the Irish city of Limerick, where a wonderful group of citizen activists organised Limerick Spring, to encourage others to become politically active and change Ireland – and Europe – for the better. Thank you for inviting me. While I was there I was interviewed by the Irish Times on Greece’s […]

Posted 20 Apr 2015 in Blog
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My article for Brussels Times

Posted 10 Mar 2015 in Blog