Rachel Sylvester
Prospect Magazine
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Past articles by Rachel:
Even in departure, Jacinda Ardern is a politician like few others
By bowing out on her own terms, New Zealand’s prime minister exemplifies the kind of attitudes we desperately need from more of those in high office → Read More
Hunt and Sunak have set out a clear dividing line. Are they on the right side of it?
This week’s Autumn Statement was an attempt to look responsible but it may not be enough when the economic pain mounts → Read More
Sunak has appointed Braverman to appease the hardliners. It won’t work
Attempting to keep the Tory right-wingers at bay will only embolden them to demand more → Read More
The Tory coalition is fracturing without Johnson—and it will only get uglier
Neither Truss nor Sunak has found a solution between the ideological split in the Conservative Party → Read More
Boris Johnson told one lie too many
The man who thought he was above the rules will be brought down by the fundamental one: politicians must tell the truth → Read More
Two disastrous byelection results prove Johnson is no longer a winner
Tory MPs chose Johnson because of his perceived popularity with the public. Now he has to go → Read More
Boris Johnson can’t cling to power for much longer
The prime minister may survive his fixed penalty notice but he’s still on borrowed time → Read More
The war in Ukraine doesn’t give Johnson a free pass on Partygate
While Boris Johnson’s leadership crisis has abated because of the Russian invasion, the public have not yet forgiven him → Read More
Boris Johnson has re-toxified the Tory brand
The prime minister’s cavalier rule-breaking confirmed the public’s worst suspicions about the Conservative Party → Read More
Starmer has promoted his party’s best communicators—but that alone won’t win an election
Labour needs a credible message, not just good messengers → Read More
Ministers made real progress on social care. Now they risk blowing it
A planned change to the calculation of care costs would hit the poorest hardest → Read More
“Levelling up” is meaningless without education reform
If Johnson is serious about narrowing the gap between rich and poor, he should start with schools → Read More
Our political system is based on fragile trust. The Tories’ protection of Owen Paterson will damage that
The North Shropshire MP was found to have “egregiously breached” the paid advocacy rules. So why has the government intervened to stop his suspension? → Read More
Sajid Javid’s CV makes him ideally placed to fix the social care crisis
The new health secretary’s experience of running the Treasury can help him break the deadlock between Sunak and Johnson over how to fund reforms → Read More
The false economy of cutting aid
Cynical penny-pinching will come at a cost, not only for British diplomacy but at the ballot box too → Read More
In politics, the ends cannot justify unethical means
Cummings and Johnson both believe in bending the rules for what they see as a greater cause. But integrity of process is vital in a democracy → Read More
Labour needs to embrace aspiration to appeal to the whole country—not just the “red wall”
Voters across the UK want pragmatic optimism from politicians, not anger and condescension → Read More
Line of duty: What does Cressida Dick really want?
The first female and first openly gay Metropolitan Police commissioner is known to be cool-headed. But with challenges coming from all political sides, will that last? → Read More
Line of duty: What does Cressida Dick really want?
The first female and first openly gay Met Police commissioner is known to be cool-headed. But with challenges coming from all political sides, will that last? → Read More
Greensill shows it’s time to clean up government. Start with politicians’ private messaging
Successive governments have sought to circumvent civil service bureaucracy by using private communication channels. But these shortcuts remove necessary checks on political power—as the Greensill scandal shows → Read More