Ian Bell
Herald Scotland
Contact Ian
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Ian:
The voice that was a guide to our nation. Ian Bell in his own words.
Hilary Benn's speech (The dismantling of Hilary Benn's empty war rhetoric, December 6, 2015) It isn’t often that a rousing speech on socialist internationalism is rewarded with a full transcript in the Spectator. In fact, it never happens. The Tory Party’s newsletter is funny like that. → Read More
Ian Bell: Ukraine and Europe, an unfinished story with lessons for Scotland
The first sentence of Serhii Plokhy’s introduction ought to earn him a point or two in this part of the world. It should also give a thoughtful… → Read More
Ian Bell: heavy price paid for failing to meet climate change costs
If modern lives were measured in unprecedented weather events, we would all be 200 years old. Defences against floods that were supposed to… → Read More
Ian Bell: The dismantling of Hilary Benn's empty war rhetoric
IT isn’t often that a rousing speech on socialist internationalism is rewarded with a full transcript in the Spectator. In fact, it never… → Read More
What's the problem with city council and marking the Easter Rising?
Glasgow City Council has a keen sense, it seems, of what is or might be controversial. When the rest of us imagine that a handful of words to… → Read More
Ian Bell: a war that will leave us with a hellish mess
War, then. Another war. Still another war begun because the last guaranteed-conclusive war produced consequences that made one more shot in the… → Read More
Ian Bell: Do the right thing, Prime Minister – don't bomb Syria
IN dark times, begin by giving the Prime Minister a bit of credit. Unlike a certain predecessor, David Cameron has accepted that there needs to… → Read More
This moment is far too important for weary Left-Right Labour
If the bookies are right, Jeremy Corbyn is the political equivalent of a nice slice of wholemeal, browning fast. He’s toast. Smart money,… → Read More
Ian Bell: Osborne's plans to eradicate budget deficit dissolve into puddle of excuses
War is the great distraction. Right or wrong, foolish or wise, it suspends all the usual political and economic rules. Suddenly a chancellor who… → Read More
Ian Bell: tricky home truths we have to tackle to defeat Islamic State
Vladimir Putin is probably right. You won’t often find those words in a sentence, but with 224 passengers of an A321 flight dead in Sinai, the… → Read More
You don't need a degree to know class matters when it comes to university access
There’s a chance that universities, like most things, have changed a bit since I was bluffing my way around Edinburgh’s George Square. It’s… → Read More
Terrifying truth behind the occupation of Paris
When France fell in six short weeks in the summer of 1940, just 10 per cent of its land mass was under Nazi control. French soldiers and their… → Read More
Ian Bell: I look at Cameron's woeful EU tactics and despair
With the battle lines drawn, an old warhorse of a quotation can probably be trotted out. To paraphrase the apocryphal words of the Duke of… → Read More
Ian Bell: Let's end the war on drugs by making them legal
IT could be a pub quiz question. What do Armenia and Argentina have in common? The Czech Republic and Chile? Paraguay and Poland? The answer… → Read More
Doctors, the NHS and a headache for Jeremy Hunt's prescription
On Thursday, the British Medical Association began to send out strike ballots to England’s 45,000 junior doctors. If you believe one online… → Read More
Ian Bell: Tackling poverty and inequality? Fairness matters more than ever
When Nicola Sturgeon delivered her inaugural speech as leader of the Scottish National Party a year ago, she made a promise. She said:… → Read More
George Osborne presides over another shambles
The word omnishambles, you might remember, was chosen by the Oxford English Dictionary as its Word of the Year in 2012. It is defined online as… → Read More
How Cameron is seeking to divide and conquer
Strangely, I don’t hear many of the usual defenders of the Union exulting over English votes for English laws. People who generally have plenty… → Read More
The hypocrisy in world-class grovelling to a brutal regime
Somewhere in darkest Cheltenham, confusion must surely reign. You might have thought the people in the GCHQ “Doughnut” would be used to… → Read More
U-turn traps McDonnell in Osborne's austerity cul de sac
Anyone can make a mistake. Even politicians have a right to change their minds. It helps, though, if you reserve your errors for trivial matters.… → Read More