The Independent - Leading Articles RSS Feed

Leading article: Little and large

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

There is something that intrigues us about a mismatch. The imagery of the little guy vs the big guy appeals to our imaginations. You see it recurring time and again in history and legend: David and Goliath, George and the Dragon, Tom and Jerry.

Leading article: Murder and integration in America

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

A spell back home should be a time of quiet and safety for soldiers fighting in gruelling foreign wars. Instead, Fort Hood in Texas on Thursday became a place of carnage. The rampage, apparently perpetrated by an army psychiatrist, may be the worst instance of soldier-on-soldier violence in modern US history. The casualty count of 13 dead and 30 wounded would have been shocking enough on the battlefields in Iraq of Afghanistan. In the event, this took place on a base which has already lost some 500 men killed in those two conflicts.

Leading article: A deal on climate change must not be postponed

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

So near and yet – apparently – so far. All governments now accept the science of man-made climate change. They agree too on the urgency of stemming the rise of carbon dioxide emissions. There is also broad consensus on the means of doing that. The need for equitable emission cuts, an international system of carbon trading and aid transfers from the rich world to developing nations to help them bear the cost of greening their economies is widely understood.

Leading article: Cultural diplomacy

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Sino-British relations have had their share of ruptures over the centuries, from the Opium Wars to the disturbed progress of the Beijing Olympic torch through London's streets a few years ago. And until yesterday it looked as though The X-Factor had created another awkward diplomatic incident. There were reports that the Chinese ambassador, Madam Fu Ying, had been annoyed by the noise from the fans of the ITV show's contestants (who are being housed near Madam Fu's London residence). But not a bit of it.

Leading article: How to serve the rights of the victim

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The Chinese have a saying: "He who seeks revenge should dig two graves". It is a caution against placing justice in the hands of the victim. That can be bad not just for the victim but also for wider society. A crime harms not just its immediate victim but also does violence to the social fabric, to the nexus of relationships and trust upon which a society depends. That is why the punishment of crime must always remain as matter for society rather than becoming the prerogative of an individual.

Leading article: A tale of bad faith and bailouts in the car industry

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

One almost has to admire the chutzpah of General Motors. Earlier this year the hobbled US car manufacturer accepted a bridging loan from the German state on the understanding that it would sell off its European operation, which includes the Vauxhall and Opel marques.

Leading article: Male model

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Do men have a "need" to poke small white balls into holes in the countryside in the company of other men?

Leading article: Forked-tongued Tories

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The ability to execute an elegant U-turn is an essential part of the politician's repertoire. And David Cameron was masterly in explaining why he was now going back on what many had believed was his firm promise to submit the Lisbon Treaty to a referendum.

Leading article: The case for withdrawal from Afghanistan is not yet made

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Yesterday was a black day for the British Army and the Western mission in Afghanistan.

Leading article: An anthropologist for our age

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

When Claude Lévi-Strauss was feted on his 100th birthday last year, the surprise for many was that he was still alive. The surprise on his death, 11 months later, is that, despite becoming the first centenarian among France's immortels, his days had been numbered after all.

Leading article: The value of higher education

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Much of what the Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, had to say on higher education policy yesterday is the logical and direct consequence of allowing universities to levy fees and then not excluding the possibility that they would rise. This was bound to change the relationship between university and student, and it has. But the students (and the Government) have been rather swifter to recognise the change than most of the universities.

Leading article: The Government's banking policy is a confused mess

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The great banking bailout is far from over. Yesterday, the Government unveiled plans to pump an extra £39.2bn of public funds into the domestic banking system; £33.5bn for the Royal Bank of Scotland and £5.7bn for Lloyds. Putting money into these banks represents an investment. But make no mistake: this investment represents a very real risk to the public purse. It by no means guaranteed that the state will break even when it comes to sell its stake in the banks in the coming years.

Leading article: Playing the man and not the ball

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

There are times when all the disinterested observer can do is to stand and stare open-mouthed at this Government's ability to tie itself in knots. The sacking by the Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, of Professor David Nutt, chairman of the Government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, is a case in point.

Leading article: A strategy in urgent need of an overhaul

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan grows more dangerous by the day. Hamid Karzai was declared the elected Afghan president yesterday after his challenger, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew, claiming that the second round of voting due to take place at the weekend was likely to be rigged.

Leading article: Goodbye to Guy?

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

American grey squirrel comes in, British red squirrel goes out. American crayfish comes in, native crayfish gets crunched – quite literally. American mink comes in... you get the picture.

Leading article: Closing the gap on organs

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The shortage of organs in this country is critical. Of the 8,000 people who were waiting last year for transplant operations, the lack of available organs meant less than half that number underwent transplant in 2008-9.

Leading article: Karzai is burying our hopes of ever leaving Afghanistan

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The decision by Abdullah Abdullah to pull out of the run-off in the presidential election in Afghanistan should come as cold comfort to the incumbent, Hamid Karzai, whose claim to legitimacy as head of state, never wholly accepted abroad or at home, looks weaker than ever. As for Western strategists, particularly those in the US and Britain – the two countries that supply most foreign troops to Afghanistan – this is the nightmare scenario.

Leading article: Whistleblowers welcome

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Faltering steps towards openness in the public service have been taken over the years, yet there is still so much farther to go. The Freedom of Information Act tilted the presumption in favour of disclosure – to such an extent that MPs were caught unawares by their own law over their expenses claims. And the Public Interest Disclosure Act of 1998, the so-called whistleblowers' charter, is supposed to protect public servants that report mistakes, maladministration and corruption. But in practice, the Act is a long way from an effective mechanism for encouraging honest and open feedback from people working at the front line.

Leading article: Unfair dismissal

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Professor David Nutt was sacked yesterday as head of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. The Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, accused Professor Nutt of stepping over the line which separates advice and policymaking in a public lecture this week.

Leading article: A more connected and equal world

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

In the wake of a recession that has gripped much of the world and threatened to turn national economies in on themselves, it is cheering to find that in one area globalisation is alive and flourishing.

Leading article: The door is still open for success at Copenhagen

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The success or failure of the United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen in December will probably hinge on a single question: is the industrialised world prepared to provide serious financial help for developing nations to reduce their carbon emissions?

Leading article: Radio star

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

For Radio 4 yesterday, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. On the one hand, the latest Rajar figures showed the station is attracting its largest audiences for a decade. On the other hand, the day also brought the sad news of the death of Norman Painting, who provided the voice of Philip Archer, on the station's much-loved drama serial, The Archers. Radio 4 has a unique position in our national life. The station is treated like a mildly delinquent child in many homes: cherished and scolded in equal measure.

Leading article: A troubling lack of transparency

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Lord Ashcroft, the deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, is an individual with an unusual level of influence in our national political life. The businessman turned politician has been a generous donor to Conservative Party coffers for almost three decades.

Leading article: The US is out of recession but the misery is not over

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Finally, America's deepest and most painful downturn since the Great Depression is over, technically at least. The preliminary estimate that the US economy expanded at an annual pace of 3.5 per cent in the third quarter is marginally better than forecasters expected. That figure may subsequently be revised upwards or downwards. But the broad-based nature of the recovery that emerges from the figures leaves no doubt that after shrinking for the best part of two years, the world's largest economy is growing again (leaving Britain the last of the world's advanced economies still mired in recession). The question is, will this will be a real recovery, that breeds jobs, confidence and new prosperity – or just a statistical curiosity?

Leading article: Truth to power

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Last week the House of Lords defeated an attempt by the Government to replace open inquests into controversial deaths with secret official "inquiries". This week we were given a graphic illustration of why it is so vital that inquests remain free from official interference and open to public scrutiny.