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Philip Stephens

Director of the editorial board and chief political commentator

Philip Stephens is associate editor of the Financial Times and director of the editorial board. As chief political commentator he writes on global and British affairs.

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 was educated at Wimbledon College and at Oxford university.

He won the David Watt Prize for Outstanding Political Journalism; Political Journalist of the Year by the UK Political Studies Association; and Political Journalist of the Year in the British Press Awards.

Email Philip Stephens @philipstephens (link opens in a new browser window)
Email Philip Stephens @philipstephens (link opens in a new browser window)

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  • Thursday, 6 May, 2021
    G7
    The west is in a contest, not a cold war, with China

    To restore their relevance the G7 rich democracies need to come up with a better offer than Beijing

  • Thursday, 29 April, 2021
    Scottish independence
    Boris Johnson’s Tories have given up on saving the UK union

    The Conservative advance in Labour ‘red wall’ seats underscored the party’s tilt to English nationalism

  • Thursday, 22 April, 2021
    European Super League
    JPMorgan Chase has scored a Super League own goal

    The failed plan to reorganise Europe’s most popular sport spoke to the arrogance of anything-goes globalisation

  • Thursday, 15 April, 2021
    Geopolitics
    Biden will not change Putin but is right to talk to him

    The US president is striking a balance between democratic values and pragmatic engagement

  • Thursday, 8 April, 2021
    US politics & policy
    Europe has a lot to learn from Joe Biden’s audacity

    The US president’s expansive economic strategy stands in stark contrast to the EU’s defensive incrementalism

  • Thursday, 18 March, 2021
    Globalisation
    Supply chain ‘sovereignty’ will undo globalisation’s gains

    The search for national ‘resilience’ can too easily tip into protectionism

  • Thursday, 11 March, 2021
    UK politics & policy
    Squandering trust is no route to a ‘Global Britain’

    By seeking to renege on his Brexit commitments, Boris Johnson has made the UK an unreliable ally

  • Thursday, 4 March, 2021
    Brexit
    Leavers will forever blame Brussels for Brexit’s failure

    Hubris, resentment and insecurity still loom large in Britain’s attitude to the EU

  • Thursday, 25 February, 2021
    US foreign policy
    Joe Biden has a lesson in democracy for Angela Merkel

    US president’s call to arms against authoritarianism challenges German chancellor’s business-first approach

  • Promoted Content
  • Thursday, 18 February, 2021
    Macroeconomics
    Why economists kept getting the policies wrong

    After decades of market liberalism and fiscal fundamentalism, policymakers are returning to Keynes

  • Thursday, 11 February, 2021
    US foreign policy
    Joe Biden should look to Emmanuel Macron for a European ally

    Angela Merkel’s Atlanticism ranks behind Germany’s business interests in China and Russia

  • Friday, 5 February, 2021
    ReviewNon-Fiction
    Britain Alone: the Path from Suez to Brexit, by Philip Stephens

    The FT journalist brings much-needed substance to the overly emotional debate over the UK’s global role post-empire

  • Thursday, 4 February, 2021
    Scottish independence
    Tories must choose between Boris Johnson and the Union

    Prime minister is viewed by Scottish National party as its not-so-secret weapon in the fight for independence

  • Thursday, 28 January, 2021
    UK foreign policy
    The UK is partner and prisoner in US special relationship

    Falling further into the arms of Washington does not amount to a post-Brexit foreign policy

  • Thursday, 21 January, 2021
    Geopolitics
    The right answer to Xi Jinping is a one-China policy

    To counter Beijing’s strategy of divide and rule, the US and its allies need consistent policies

  • Friday, 15 January, 2021
    Life & Arts
    From Suez to Brexit and back again: Britain’s long search for a role

    Britain’s departure from the EU reopens a difficult debate over its place in the world

  • Thursday, 14 January, 2021
    US economy
    Joe Biden needs an America-first foreign policy

    The new president’s most important decisions will be about the domestic economy

  • Thursday, 7 January, 2021
    Geopolitics
    Emmanuel Macron’s France is a post-imperial power in search of a role

    Germany has assumed the position of European leadership it once promised its neighbour

  • Thursday, 31 December, 2020
    Brexit
    Brexit’s second act may break the UK union

    Scottish independence is not inevitable, but the only alternative is a new, federal settlement

  • Thursday, 17 December, 2020
    Brexit
    The UK will now count the cost of Brexit sovereignty

    Boris Johnson’s government is about to exchange real power for a chimera

  • Thursday, 10 December, 2020
    Populism
    Like the financial crisis, Covid is a gift to populists

    Trumpism may yet get a second wind if society’s left-behinds pay the price for the pandemic

  • Thursday, 3 December, 2020
    Chinese politics & policy
    Europe must take sides with the US over China

    Beijing’s great power politics are a bigger threat to the EU than to the US

  • Thursday, 26 November, 2020
    UK foreign policy
    Nostalgia is no substitute for a post-Brexit foreign policy

    The UK has plenty to contribute to global security but first it must be comfortable in the present

  • Thursday, 19 November, 2020
    US foreign policy
    The case for a Biden-Putin thaw

    Warmer relations with Moscow make sense only if the Kremlin is willing to play by the rules

  • Thursday, 12 November, 2020
    US foreign policy
    The ‘special relationship’ has run out of time

    Joe Biden is unlikely to bear a grudge against Boris Johnson, but the UK is losing its relevance

Previous You are on page 1 Next

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