Author Archives: Sarah Mulley

The Independent View: Rifts on immigration demonstrate real challenges for the Government

By Sarah Mulley | Fri 15th April 2011 - 5:42 pm

David Cameron’s speech on immigration has unleashed a wave of criticism and debate, both inside and outside the coalition government. Although some of the fallout tells us more about the political dilemmas facing coalition partners who must now fight an election campaign against each other than it does about immigration, today’s discussions have neatly illustrated some of the challenges facing the Government on this issue.

The first is how to best engage in the public debate. David Cameron is right to say that “the role of politicians is to cut through the extremes of this debate & approach the subject sensibly …

Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged david cameron and immigration | 3 Comments

The Independent View: International development beyond aid – an opportunity to change the political debate

By Sarah Mulley | Tue 9th March 2010 - 4:15 pm

Sarah Mulley is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr). Before joining ippr, she was coordinator of the UK Aid Network.

A major shift in political attitudes to international development has occurred in the UK during the last decade. There is now strong cross-party commitment to meeting the UN target to give 0.7% of GDP as aid, and DFID’s place in government as an independent department now seems secure.

But the cross-party commitment to aid, and to DFID, is not as clear cut as it might first seem.

First, the question of what counts as aid is crucial. …

Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged international development | 1 Comment