Author: Richard Haviland

Ugly language, ugly outcomes – this government is a danger to us all

Richard Haviland

When I look back over the last eight years, one image dominates: September 2019, and Paula Sherriff ‘s pleas to Johnson to tone down his language – language being quoted back to her colleagues in death threats – is dismissed as ‘humbug’ It wasn’t the day the ugliness started – heaven knows there’d been enough […]

‘It could never happen here’: the normalisation of the unthinkable

Richard Haviland

For many years, Alastair Stewart was an ever-present on ITV news. He always had a likeable demeanour, a pleasant voice, and a professionalism that made sure he never betrayed his political allegiances. He was everything a news presenter should be. But at last week’s Tory leadership hustings in Manchester, we saw a different Stewart. Freed […]

Rishi closes his eyes to think…

Richard Haviland

Rishi closes his eyes to think. This time next year he’ll have left this all behind. California. Sunshine. No annoying questions from annoying journalists. Surrounded by people he can relate to. Despite all the damage, Rishi knows he has the chance to do one good thing today. This culture war stuff was never really his […]

In another life…

Richard Haviland

You will need to be on top of the Tory horror show to get every reference in this thought-provoking piece from Richard Haviland, but even if you aren’t, you’ll soon pick up the theme: the casual cruelty, bigotry and hypocrisy of this government and its ministers. In another life, a man with a security fetish […]

Culture wars: the battle for Britain’s values which we must win

Richard Haviland

The other day I heard Sir John Hayes MP, close confidant of Suella Braverman, saying that the “culture wars” are an important aspect of politics because they are about values. The implication being that they are a good thing. I also heard him saying that – in any case – it was the “other side” […]

Foreign Secretaries since 2016: has the UK been well-served? UPDATED

Richard Haviland

The position of Foreign Secretary is one of the Great Offices of State. It requires tact, command of a brief, outstanding communication skills, and a real interest in the wider world. Here’s a look at recent incumbents, picking a random starting point of June 2016. In January 2017, Boris Johnson accused the then French president […]

Labour – your silence on so many issues carries a price

Richard Haviland

I learnt two things about the subject of child grooming gangs on Monday’s edition of The News Agents podcast.  Firstly, there’s no evidence of over-representation of any ethnic group within these gangs. Secondly, some allegations have indeed been ignored because of “cultural sensitivities”. It's right to be horrified by the latter while recognising the vitally important […]

We CAN talk about morality and compassion and we MUST

Richard Haviland

The aim of so much of the ‘commentary’ which blights today’s UK is to persuade people there is no legitimate public conversation to be had about morality or compassion. To persuade them that there is only “virtue signalling”, “wokery” and “sanctimony”. Once enough people accept that premise, you are in deep trouble. Think about it. […]

The Oakeshott WhatsApp leaks – beyond black and white

Richard Haviland

For a few weeks in 2009, when I worked for DFID and it looked as if the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic might be of a similar scale to what we’ve seen with Covid-19, I attended official-level cross-Whitehall coordination meetings. The meetings were huge, drawing on civil servants from across Whitehall, often multiple people from one […]

Refugees: how to normalise the abnormal

Richard Haviland
Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem

Refugees: how to normalise the abnormal in 75 easy steps. 1) Flood public discourse with falsehoods and straw men, to ensure there are no commonly accepted facts; making serious discussion of a complex issue impossible. 2)Relentlessly conflate asylum with immigration, knowing that the media will play along. 3)Call legitimate asylum seekers “illegal migrants”, confident that […]

‘Clumsy’, Clarkson? Really? A non-apology is never enough

Richard Haviland
Jeremy Clarkson

Richard Haviland on the Clarkson incident. For those who do not know what he said and wish to, you can read it here. Be warned. It cannot be unread. No decent editor would have let it go to press. Ed Even by the usual standards of non-apologies, it was dire. A classic non-apology will tell […]

Platforming bile: not just nasty. Dangerous

Richard Haviland

Yesterday I sent this tweet, in dismay at hearing Nigel Farage’s voice, once again, on the radio – in this case BBC World at One. I wondered afterwards if I’d been right. So I listened again, to see what it is about Farage I find so dangerous, and ask whether I was reasonable to suggest […]

The 101 damnations: Johnson’s ‘principles’ of government

Richard Haviland

To mark the final day in office of a unique prime minister, here are my definitive, expanded, 101 Johnson principles of government. 1 Accept responsibility for nothing. 2 Blame others for things that are your fault. 3 Take credit for things that aren’t your doing. 4 Preach unity and sow division. 5 Always speak with […]

Compassion must win out against the drip feed of propaganda

Richard Haviland

Recent years have led many of us to question what we once felt about this country. But one thing I do believe is that most people, whether here or elsewhere, feel instinctive compassion for those in need when they are not being subjected to a drip feed of propaganda. But the drip feed of propaganda […]

How to facilitate an autocracy in six years – an MP’s tale

Richard Haviland

How it’s done, little by little… In accepting the vote, pretend you now think Brexit is a great idea even though you were a strong advocate for remain. Claim that any debate about the nature of Brexit is anti-democratic. Conflate opposition and scrutiny, on any issue, with attempting to thwart Brexit. Conclude that all opposition […]

Pride and shame

Richard Haviland
Union flag

Some years ago, while staying in the Loire Valley, we were taken by our French host to visit a memorial to seven crew members of an Avro Lancaster shot down over the Commune of Grez-Neuville in June 1943. It was special to him, since he was responsible for its upkeep, a role in which he […]

If Johnson’s Conservatives wrote the constitution…

Richard Haviland
a row of evil clowns

Many will feel that the need for a written, enforceable constitution must surely be beyond doubt. But imagine if Johnson’s government decided to write it? [They’d want to ensure they were in power forever, thereafter, for sure. Ed] 1) When a prime minister or minister breaks the ministerial code, an apology will suffice instead of […]

The Johnson guide to government

Richard Haviland
Cartoon of Boris Johnson with A Pinocchio nose and flying Peppa Pigs

On a day (29 March 2022) when the PM has made it clear he has no interest in mass law-breaking, on his watch, in his office, here’s my revised essential Johnson guide to government: Accept responsibility for nothing. 2. Blame others for things that are your fault. 3. Take credit for things that aren’t your […]

The smell of corruption

Richard Haviland
figure in gas mask with toxic orange smoke

In 2020, I wrote in The Times that, if the pattern continued of the Johnson government refusing to be held to account, “corruption – both political and financial – will seep into the national bloodstream” Today you can smell corruption in the words and deeds of far too many of the Conservative Party. Not just […]

The red light is flashing for our democracy

Richard Haviland
Polling station sign fixed to mesh fence

Former civil servant Richard Haviland sets out a chilling and all-too-possible vision of a bleak future for the UK with a hollowed-out faux democracy. Ed With all the red lights flashing at the state of the UK’s democracy, I’ve seen it said we shouldn’t assume the next general election will even happen. The issue, though, […]