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John Harris

John Harris

The Guardian

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Almost 40 years on, the miners’ strike still casts a long shadow over UK politics today

I n early 2014, I went to South Yorkshire to find Arthur Scargill. It was the 30th anniversary of the miners’ strike that had begun in 1984 – a...

27.08.2023 8

The Guardian

John Harris

Where have all the buses gone? Their neglect is an English national failure

O nce again, the spectre of the “motorist” is haunting Westminster. The Conservatives’ narrow win in last month’s Uxbridge and South Ruislip...

06.08.2023 6

The Guardian

John Harris

Youth hostels are a muddy, joyful miracle. Losing them to Brexit and the cost of living would be a tragedy

J ust over a month ago, a news story broke that spoke volumes about our crisis-ridden times, and the great wealth sitting undisturbed while some of...

30.07.2023 6

The Guardian

John Harris

As Greece burns, we see the existential climate crisis dragged into shoddy UK party politics. That can’t happen

O ne news story defines this summer: the fact that average global temperatures have recently reached record-breaking levels. Baking European weather...

23.07.2023 60

The Guardian

John Harris

If Labour changes little when in power, what social forces will it unleash?

A s Rishi Sunak and his ministers bounce from crisis to disgrace to mishap, the likelihood of a change in government feels like it is hardening into...

16.07.2023 70

The Guardian

John Harris

I spoke to teachers preparing to strike. Their trauma was palpable

I love my mum,” said last Saturday’s headliner on Glastonbury’s West Holts stage. But then, as the London-born hip-hop artist Loyle Carner...

02.07.2023 2

The Guardian

John Harris

Britain is used to crises now. But this widespread hopelessness is new – and frightening

I n 15 years of on-the-ground political reporting, I don’t think I have ever experienced a more forlorn and frustrated public mood than the one...

25.06.2023 4

The Guardian

John Harris

Conspiracy theories are festering in Britain – and our politicians are making it worse

O ver the past five years or so, one aspect of talking to the public about politics has become more and more pronounced. In the wake of some story or...

18.06.2023 3

The Guardian

John Harris

Cold, cynical and paranoid: if this is Labour in opposition, what will it look like in power?

O n both the right and left of the Labour party, one article of faith has always seemed to be set in stone: the idea that you can pursue progressive...

11.06.2023 100

The Guardian

John Harris

We desperately need a government who will say it: Britain is still reeling from Covid

O f all the factions and cliques in and around the modern Conservative party, none is grimmer than the small gang who think that Boris Johnson is the...

29.05.2023 100

The Guardian

John Harris

A lost generation are stuck living with their parents – and Tory talk of housebuilding won’t help them

A huge social shift is happening that has barely been noticed, let alone understood. Earlier this month, the Office for National Statistics revealed...

22.05.2023 70

The Guardian

John Harris

Westminster forgot its promises to ‘coastal communities’, and left them to rot

A bout a decade ago, politicians and journalists were suddenly confronted with an issue that had always festered at the edge of the national...

14.05.2023 10

The Guardian

John Harris

Britain is changing – the idea of Tories and royals as our natural rulers is gone

T he ardent crowds gathered in the London drizzle presumably got exactly what they had come for, but among the coronation’s garish costumes,...

07.05.2023 80

The Guardian

John Harris

They call it ‘national conservatism’ but it’s a divisive, far-right movement. Why are Tories embracing it?

I n a fortnight’s time, a remarkable two-day political conference is going to be happening in central London. The people speaking in its debates...

30.04.2023 100

The Guardian

John Harris

Learning-disabled and autistic people are being neglected and tortured. How much longer?

I magine a chain of scandals focused on a huge number of very vulnerable and fragile people. Picture a horrific mixture of mistreatment and neglect...

24.04.2023 300

The Guardian

John Harris

Starmer's path to power Dear Keir, the polls are tightening and frankly, people are worried. You have to raise your game

O nly six weeks ago, Keir Starmer’s Labour party seemed locked into the mood of optimism and quiet delight that had started to cohere over the...

16.04.2023 100

The Guardian

John Harris

In the post-Brexit wreckage, just one Tory strategy remains: the theatre of cruelty

F ive years ago, I went to Coventry to meet a married couple from Sri Lanka who were stuck in the UK’s asylum system. Under the auspices of a deal...

02.04.2023 300

The Guardian

John Harris

There’s more to life than work – as everyone but the Tories and Kim Kardashian knows

L ast Thursday marked three years since the start of the first British lockdown – and by implication, the third anniversary of the start of a...

26.03.2023 100

The Guardian

John Harris

In an isolated world, humans need to dance together more than ever – but we’re running out of places to do it

O ver the last 10 years, the UK has suffered a huge cultural loss. To some extent, it is part of the great shrinking of shared and collective space,...

19.03.2023 100

The Guardian

John Harris

Memories of the Iraq war may have faded, but it shaped the diminished UK we know today

P olitics is in the midst of a New Labour revival. Keir Starmer draws huge inspiration from his party’s landslide win back in 1997. Tony Blair...

12.03.2023 40

The Guardian

John Harris

The Guardian view on local journalism’s decline: bad news for democracy

T here are probably fewer local newspapers in Britain now than at any time since the 18th century. More people get local news and information – or...

06.03.2023 100

The Guardian

John Harris

The Guardian view on Dutch farmer protests: a European test case

U ntil relatively recently, Dutch farming prowess was hailed as one of the wonders of the global economy. In 2017, a National Geographic article...

06.03.2023 100

The Guardian

John Harris

House prices are in freefall – and so is Britain’s national faith in property ownership

F rom leaked messages suggesting that Matt Hancock thought his job as health secretary was to “frighten the pants” off the public to Boris...

05.03.2023 70

The Guardian

John Harris

A union renewed, two-party politics revived: is this the new Restoration? Sunak and Starmer hope so

E ight long years ago, British politics began its passage into a new era of disruption and upheaval. The Scottish independence referendum of 2014 had...

26.02.2023 20

The Guardian

John Harris

To understand the Zahawi story and Tory sleaze, look no further than Britain’s posh cliques

Government failure stems from a network of private schools and elite universities, says Guardian columnist John Harris

29.01.2023 400

The Guardian

John Harris

Ludicrous ideas, perpetual scandal: the Conservatives are in absolute freefall

The force that once thought itself the natural party of government has become a cult of bitterness and denial, says Guardian columnist John Harris

22.01.2023 60

The Guardian

John Harris

The story of Britain’s pools and leisure centres is one of neglect, decay and the lies of levelling up

As the NHS buckles and public health plunges, our cheap and accessible fitness facilities are being shuttered, says Guardian columnist John Harris

15.01.2023 100

The Guardian

John Harris

Sweeping social care reforms can wait – homes need money and workers right now

Hospitals can’t discharge patients because councils don’t have the funds to facilitate care afterwards. It’s a perfect storm of neglect, says...

08.01.2023 200

The Guardian

John Harris

The wreckage of Brexit is all around us. How long can our politicians indulge in denial?

If both parties ignore the uncomfortable facts, politics will be flooded with dangerous conspiracies and betrayal myths, says Guardian columnist John...

01.01.2023 200

The Guardian

John Harris

In 2022 we needed ways to connect with ourselves: thank God for the guitar

The democratic magic of six strings, two hands and an electric current – a means of self-expression as perfect as it has ever been, says Guardian...

25.12.2022 40

The Guardian

John Harris

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