Melanie McDonagh
Citizens’ Assemblies let the elite skew public debate
To produce a particular outcome from a Citizens’ Assembly, choose with care how you recruit to it, who you get to chair it, and who you allow to present their case to the members
An island that has forgotten the art of the backroom deal
‘Since the referendum, the attitude of the Irish government to the result—contemptuous, disbelieving, disrespectful—has grated. Leo Varadkar, a conformist individual, was in office at just the time when a fixer was what was needed’
Unholy Mess
The Vatican misjudged the public mood over Richard Williamson, but secular commentators don’t understand the idea of excommunication
How Top Boys topple down crime’s ladder
Too many prisoners rejoin society with no education, stable housing or job prospects. No surprise that more than half reoffend within a year
In the bleak midwinter
Christmas can be a bleak time of year. While some feel isolated, others are overwhelmed by the need for a perfect family Yuletide when their reality is different
My warnings to our spy watchdogs
Britain is under attack from Russia. And the government is blocking a Parliamentary report that details it