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Philip Stephens

Philip Stephens is a commentator and author. He is Associate Editor of the Financial Times where as chief political commentator he writes twice-weekly columns on global and British affairs. He travels widely in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the US.

He is a director of the Ditchley Foundation for the furtherance of transatlantic understanding, a Fulbright fellow and is on the board of the Franco-British Colloque. He is a regular contributor to political and foreign affairs journals and radio and television news and current affairs programmes. He was named Political Journalist of the Year in the 2008 British Press Awards.

He joined the Financial Times in 1983 after working as a correspondent for Reuters in Brussels and has been the FT’s Economics Editor, Political Editor and Editor of the UK edition. He is the author of Politics and the Pound (MacMillan), a study of the British government’s relations with Europe since 1979, and of Tony Blair (Viking/Politico’s), a biography of the former British prime minister.

He was educated at Wimbledon College and at Oxford university, where he took an honours degree in modern history. He was winner of the 2002 David Watt Prize for outstanding political journalism. He was named in 2005 as Political Journalist of the Year by the Political Studies Association of the United Kingdom, representing political scientists throughout Britain. Philip Stephens lives in London with his family. - -

Relax, Mr President. There’s no need to rush

For Obama’s critics on the right, diplomacy and engagement have become synonyms for vacillation and weakness. He should stand firm: many of the problems he faces, foreign policy in particular, will not be harmed by leaving some time to consider them, writes Philip Stephens

Pay parliamentarians the rate for the job

The uproar about MPs’ expenses threatens more serious damage than holding up the nation to ridicule. It promises to rob politics of the people it needs, writes Philip Stephens

The future or the museum? Europe’s moment of choice

The debate about who should be chosen as the first president of the European Council has become a proxy for this more fundamental choice. Economic power is now shifting eastwards on a scale and at a speed beyond our previous experience, writes Philip Stephens

Storms lie ahead for politics’ odd couple

Mervyn King and George Osborne are united in condemnation of the government’s handling of the financial crisis. For now, the relationship works to mutual advantage. It may not always be so

Turkey turns east as Europe clings to past

The country, frustrated at the efforts of certain EU leaders to prevent its accession to the bloc, is assuming a role in line with its status as a fast-rising power at the strategic crossroads of east and west, writes Philip Stephens

A five-step programme to save the BBC

In a spirit of constructive criticism, here is a plan that might persuade the politicians that Britain still needs a vibrant, albeit rather slimmer, BBC, writes Philip Stephens

Bankers, bonuses and the market: plus ça change

As the financial crash fades in the memory, the question is how long its repercussions will continue to affect the world. The answer should be obvious, writes Philip Stephens. Everything has changed; and nothing has changed

Enough of the politics of pessimism

For all its troubles, the Britain of my experience does not seem to be sliding into economic and social chaos writes Philip Stephens

Little Englanders are of little use to America

David Cameron should not expect open arms in Washington if opposition to the Lisbon treaty leads to a rupture with Europe, writes Philip Stephens

Europe loses its Lisbon hiding place

Lisbon has provided governments with an alibi. As long as they were arguing about majority voting or the size of the Commission, they could sidestep the issues of substance pressing down on the Union, writes Philip Stephens. But Europe cannot escape the existential choice of the coming decade

Small change despite call for change

Time for Gordon’s last throw of the dice

Four things you must know about the global puzzle

Is this the Liberal Democrat moment?

The west’s finger-wagging will not force Iran into line

Coyness trumps candour in spending debate

A misreading of the past holds a lesson for future

Murdoch rides to the rescue of the BBC

The global consensus is starting to crack

Cut the banks (and bonuses) down to size