Leading Articles
Leading article: A public glimpse of private attitudes that should jolt us out of complacency
Published: 20 January 2007
Leading article: Some unpalatable medicine
Published: 20 January 2007
Our revelation last week that the average take-home pay of a family doctor is now considerably more than £100,000 a year has prompted quite a reaction. We have been inundated with correspondence from GPs defending their pay. Some make valid points. It is true, for instance, that most GPs are now more "productive" in several ways than they used to be.
Leading article: Homespun philosophy
Published: 20 January 2007
At the Gandhi memorial in Delhi this week, Gordon Brown announced: "I could never compare myself to Gandhi." But in true politicians' style, the Chancellor of the Exchequer then went on to do pretty much that.
Leading article: The BBC must adapt to changed circumstances
Published: 19 January 2007
It has been a disappointing few months for the BBC. In November came the surprise defection of Michael Grade, the corporation's chairman, to ITV. And now, three years of negotiations with the Government have resulted in a licence fee settlement substantially smaller than the BBC requested
Leading article: Haunted by Iraq
Published: 19 January 2007
When Peter Hain, the Northern Ireland Secretary, laid into US foreign policy in an interview with the New Statesman magazine, he knew exactly what he was doing
Leading article: A saga of failure and grandiose follies
Published: 18 January 2007
An internal inquiry is looking into the fiasco at the Home Office over prisoner records, but we already know that at the root of this problem was a simple failure by the police to process information
Leading article: An unflattering mirror to our society
Published: 18 January 2007
Put a group of self-centred, egotistical, ignorant people in a confined space such as Channel 4's Big Brother household and it is not altogether surprising that something unpleasant emerges
Leading article: Israel and Syria: a deal that will have to be done
Published: 17 January 2007
The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, is halfway through a trip to the Middle East, trying to drum up support for President Bush's new Iraq policy
Leading article: Image and reality
Published: 17 January 2007
British Petroleum and its chief executive, Lord Browne of Madingley, have long enjoyed a favourable image here in Britain
Leading article: Take a close look at the produce on offer
Published: 16 January 2007
Have the executives of these retailers, after years of indifference, suddenly become green activists? Up to a point. The M&S plan is projected to cost £200m over five years. That is less than 0.5 per cent of its annual turnover.
Leading article: Misfits, bigots and malcontents
Published: 16 January 2007
The accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union has brought about one unfortunate consequence. The entrance of six reactionary Romanian and Bulgarian representatives to the European Parliament means that the far-right parties of the continent now control enough seats to form a recognised political group.
Leading article: Personal privacy and the power of the State
Published: 15 January 2007
The Government has not given up its intention to find out more about us. This time, though, ministers are taking care to present the project as being more for our benefit and convenience than theirs
Leading article: Hopes and fears about M. Sarkozy
Published: 15 January 2007
Nicolas Sarkozy has achieved the first stage of his ambition to be France's next President by winning the nomination of his party, the centre-right UMP. The coming election campaign, however, will probably not be as straightforward in practice as it looks just now on paper.
Leading article: Not a fair exchange
Published: 15 January 2007
Cultural exchange between Britain and the United States has taken weird and wonderful forms over the years. We gave them slavery, they gave us rock 'n' roll; they gave us TS Eliot, we gave them Herman's Hermits.
Leading article: Brown's duty to the forces
Published: 14 January 2007
We are in a twilight period of politics, where Tony Blair makes the arguments but Gordon Brown makes the decisions. Recently, the Prime Minister made the argument for keeping open the option of renewing the Trident nuclear weapons programme, while the Chancellor nodded and agreed to honour the cheques.
Leading article: Don't gamble with addiction
Published: 14 January 2007
Governments should not try to prohibit gambling, just as they should not try to ban drinking or - and this newspaper took an unfashionably liberal view on this - smoking. But that does not mean that a free-for-all is a good idea, either.
Leading article: Trust to nature
Published: 14 January 2007
Warm for the time of year, isn't it? The traditional cheery question now triggers a chill of apprehension. Global warming is happening, even if it may not be directly responsible for the wild daffodils in Cornwall.
Leading article: A mendacious attack by Mr Blair
Published: 13 January 2007
Leading article: Golden years, golden awards
Published: 13 January 2007
Successful film actresses have long complained that when they hit their fifth decade the offers of work tend to dry up. Just when they are reaching the peak of their talents it seems there are no good roles available. The reasons are easy to guess. The male-dominated Hollywood studio system is likely to be a major factor.
Leading article: There's more to life ...
Published: 13 January 2007
Is something extraordinary happening in the business world? Andrew Harvey, the chief executive of Britain's biggest insurance firm, Aviva, is stepping down to devote himself to charity work in Africa. Richard Dixey, the boss of the pharmaceutical company Phytopharm, is leaving to "spend more time being a Buddhist".
Leading article: Mr Bush's masterplan: to spread the blame
Published: 12 January 2007
It was a chastened US president who addressed his fellow countrymen on Iraq on Wednesday, a president who accepted responsibility for mistakes made, called the situation "unacceptable" and ordered an about-turn
Leading article: An unhealthy way to operate
Published: 12 January 2007
General practitioners now rank among our most well-rewarded public servants. As we report today, the average earnings of Britain's GPs has soared to £118,000
Leading article: A failure that has been concealed for too long
Published: 11 January 2007
The antipathy in some sections of the Labour Party to private education is clearly as strong as ever
Leading article: Five years of injustice and shame
Published: 11 January 2007
Vigils and demonstrations are being held around the world to mark the fifth anniversary of the first transfers of prisoners to the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay
Leading article: One last, desperate, throw of the dice
Published: 10 January 2007
At any other time in the past six years, the nationwide television address that President George Bush is to make tonight might justifiably have been described as make-or-break
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