7th January 2015
These days everyone seems to be in a hurry. Having a “busy schedule” has almost become a badge of honour of modern life. Employees rush from one meeting to the next; parents try to cram in lots of activities for their children; we hardly have time to stop and appreciate the world around us. It […]
2nd January 2015 London, UK
Quick EU pop quiz. Which European leader said in December: “As the European elections showed, the people do not think that Europe must do everything. Europe must do the things that can be done better than we do them in the nation states.” You might imagine it would be someone from the Netherlands – we […]
1st October 2014
Three weeks ago the Economist’s front cover pictured a drooping Union Jack with the headline: UK RIP? Fortunately the dismemberment of the United Kingdom didn’t happen. Scots voted by a 10% margin to retain the union. But it was a close run thing. If the campaign for independence had been successful, the impact of Scotland […]
17th September 2014
I’ve lost count of the number of times we have been exhorted to “think outside the box”. Worthy management gurus parroting clichés and senior managers trying to sound trendy have turned it into a hackneyed and meaningless phrase. The approach it advocates is also self-defeating. It suggests that the box – and the constrained and […]
17th July 2014 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
I think it’s fair to say that historically, the Foreign Office has struggled to recruit staff from diverse backgrounds and has suffered from a perception of being elitist and detached. In fact, I remember the reaction of some members of my extended family when I told them in 2002 that I would be joining the […]
23rd June 2014
On 18 September, voters in Scotland will be asked “Should Scotland be an independent country?”. The UK and Scottish Governments agree that the question is for people in Scotland to decide. The UK Government strongly believes that Scotland’s future is better staying within the United Kingdom, but it has of course pledged to respect the […]
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3rd June 2014 Chennai, India
It’s just 2 weeks since I got back from the annual Leadership Conference which draws together all our Heads of Mission from across the world. It’s the 6th I have attended in a row, which does lead me to reflect on how they’ve evolved. As always, it was extremely useful to hear from and share […]
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30th May 2014
The referendum on Scottish independence draws ever nearer and the debate is intensifying on both sides. As part of that debate, the UK government has published its 14th paper in a series of analyses, which set out the case for Scotland’s continued Union with the rest of the UK. The focus of this latest paper […]
23rd May 2014 London, UK
Ukraine is trying to find democratic solutions to the challenges it faces, and the international community must give it time to do so Trust in the ability of people to make decisions about their own future is a fundamental tenet of democracy. On Sunday, the citizens of Ukraine go to the polls to elect a […]
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16th May 2014 London, UK
With the eyes of the world focused on events in south-east Ukraine, it would have been easy to miss what has been happening in Crimea in the weeks since its illegal annexation by the Russian Federation. Take the case of Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev. He has led an extraordinary life. He was exiled as […]
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