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Steve Richards

Steve Richards: David Cameron should not be deceived by all the applause. There is trouble ahead Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 09 December 2005

The struggles with his party's instincts, and sometimes his own, should be liberating for the timid Government

Steve Richards: David Cameron is ready for opposition, but is he able to prepare his party for power? Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 07 December 2005

The Conservative Party has voted for a venture into the unknowable led by the unknown. David Cameron's recent ubiquity obscures how little the new leader has revealed about his future intentions. With a Blairite flourish, he says he wants his party to change. The scale of his victory suggests that his party is willing to change. What is far from clear is what form the change will take.

Steve Richards: A new era signals that the battle to win the next election is already underway Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 06 December 2005

The last election was held only last May, but already it seems like a distant historic event. The outlines of the next one are visible and suddenly the future seems to matter more. Michael Howard retires today. Tony Blair will be gone at some point before the next election. Almost certainly, Gordon Brown will be Prime Minister. Unlike previous pre-budget reports yesterday's exchanges had little to reveal about economic policy, but in political terms they were highly charged and revelatory.

Steve Richards: David Cameron has style, but does he have the policies to return the Tories to power? Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 02 December 2005

No longer will a Conservative leader fall into the trap of moving further to the right of Mr Blair

Steve Richards: Reviews, referendums and ministers who are too timid to take tough decisions Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 29 November 2005

Lord Turner should not have the star role in the pensions debate, even if politicians put him there

Steve Richards: The false divide between self-proclaimed reformers and weak-kneed conservatives Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 25 November 2005

They show off their commitment to 'reform' like teenage boys posturing about sexual experiences

Steve Richards: They have so much political space, but has anyone seen the Liberal Democrats? Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 22 November 2005

A third party has never had it so good - and yet it is in the political doldrums

Steve Richards: Sir Ian Blair says the police are stumbling around in the dark. They are not alone... Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 18 November 2005

No one has come to terms with the decline of elected institutions and the rise of unelected ones

Steve Richards: Amid all the doom and gloom, there are signs of a way out of this mess Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 15 November 2005

Most internal critics do not want to see Blair, and probably Labour's electoral prospects, go down in flames

Steve Richards: Blair has a new role: leader of the people against parts of his party and parliament Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 11 November 2005

What he needs is an exit strategy that leaves him and his party more or less at one

Steve Richards: Does Mr Blair realise the seriousness of his back-bench opposition? Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 08 November 2005

In his final phase as Prime Minister, he has no choice but to refocus the priorities that have shaped his career

Steve Richards: It cannot be in Gordon Brown's interest to take over from a defeated Tony Blair Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 04 November 2005

The timing of Mr Blair's departure is less important than the context in which he leaves

Steve Richards: Can Blair recover his authority after these setbacks? Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 03 November 2005

The downfall of David Blunkett is an epic tale, a heady concoction of casual misjudgement, wild romance, high politics and frenzy in the media. The destructive romantic twist has already been an easy hit for satirists. The political origins matter more. They will continue to have ramifications for a government going through its most febrile and precarious phase since the 1997 general election. Incomparably more damaging than Mr Blunkett's resignation was yesterday's revolt by Labour MPs against government anti-terrorist proposals, which has implications for Mr Blair's future.

Steve Richards: Trident missiles, nuclear power, Olympics - where will Gordon Brown find the money? Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 01 November 2005

Tax and Spend remains the most explosive policy area in British politics

Steve Richards: Does the smoking ban mark the return of cabinet government? I don't think so... Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 28 October 2005

Most ministers are conditioned to be servile. Their role is to carry out the wishes of Blair or Brown

Steve Richards: The last thing Labour needs is the Tories supporting Blair on education Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 25 October 2005

Cameron is the first Tory to see the advantage of backing Blair when he's at odds with his party

Steve Richards: These are heady times for the Tories, but their new leader faces a huge challenge Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 21 October 2005

Cameron is in the contorted position of knowing his party must change yet still supporting vote-losing policies

Steve Richards: It's the second toughest job in British politics, but this has been a trivial contest Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 18 October 2005

Sections of the Tory party have behaved as if out of their minds on intoxicating substances

Steve Richards: Why is Gordon Brown hectoring us all about Europe and the need for change? Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 14 October 2005

He delivers a familiar message: I am pro-European so long as Europe moves in our direction

Steve Richards: David Blunkett's problems with blondes are irrelevant to the challenge of welfare reform Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 11 October 2005

I do not believe that Blunkett is as vulnerable as he seems, at least in terms of his private life

Steve Richards: There were two stars in Blackpool. One was David Cameron; the other was Tony Blair... Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 07 October 2005

They respect and admire the PM far more than some of those who attended the Labour conference

Steve Richards: The Tory party itself is on trial at Blackpool as much as the leadership candidates Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 04 October 2005

The Tory Party must demonstrate whether it prefers power or the purity of eternal opposition

Steve Richards: The new orthodoxy: we need choice in public services - to help the poor Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 30 September 2005

Who exactly is being empowered by the autumnal fashion sweeping through the political parties?

Steve Richards: Did PM fail in bid to secure three more years? Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 28 September 2005

First there is Brown's speech and then there is Blair's. This stormy sequence is an annual ritual at Labour's conferences. The first two days are dominated by the ambitions and hopes of Gordon Brown. Blair then delivers his response to Brown with his speech on the Tuesday afternoon. I am told the two of them are barely on talking terms at the moment. On Monday, Brown's purpose was to set out implicitly the case for an early change of leadership. Yesterday, Blair made the case, again implicitly, for his continuing presence in No 10 for several years to come. At the end of the speech I bumped into one of his ministerial allies who declared joyously: "There's so much to do. He cannot leave for years". Such was the giddily rapturous tone I thought he was going to declare: "He cannot leave forever".

Steve Richards: Gordon Brown is in a surreal leadership contest against himself until 2008 - or later Independent Porfolio Content

Published: 27 September 2005

Beneath the surface calm of Labour's conference a battle is being fought. The mood is much more febrile than it seems. Behind the scenes and to some extent on the conference fringe there is a heated ideological contest. The divide is potentially explosive largely because it connects with the unfulfilled and conflicting ambitions of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

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