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Andrew Marr

Andrew Marr Books

Journalist

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“It is possible that John Major... will be able to suspend the battle for Scotland with an armistice on Unionist terms. But my guess is that he will not be able to bring about permanent political peace. To do that would require an unpredicted and irreversible shift in Scottish feeling - a shrugging off of real history and a retreat from real politics altogether... A Scotland genuinely at ease with itself would be an argumentative, grown-up Scotland with a lively parliament as well as a strong economy - a conscience and a tongue, as well as limbs and a body. And when it does speak, its voice will be sharp and fresh. And its views will perhaps surprise us.”

ScotlandUnionismDevolution1992Scottish ParliamentJohn Major
Book:The Battle for Scotland
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“If the headline asks a question, try answering 'no'. Is This the True Face of Britain's Young? (Sensible reader: No.) Have We Found the Cure for AIDS? (No; or you wouldn't have put the question mark in.) Does This Map Provide the Key for Peace? (Probably not.) A headline with a question mark at the end means, in the vast majority of cases, that the story is tendentious or over-sold. It is often a scare story, or an attempt to elevate some run-of-the-mill piece of reporting into a national controversy and, preferably, a national panic. To a busy journalist hunting for real information a question mark means 'don't bother reading this bit'.”

MediaNewsJournalismPropagandaHeadlinesNews MediaQuestion MarkReportingHeadlineNews Story
Book:My Trade: A Short History of British Journalism
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“The great background question about the Labour governments of the sixties is whether with a stronger leader they could have gripped the country's big problems and dealt with them. How did it happen that a cabinet of such brilliant, such clever and self-confident people achieved so little? In part, it was the effect of the whirling court politics demonstrated by 'In Place of Strife'.”

PeopleLittlesSelfCountryProblemBigsGovernmentHappensLeaderEffectsStrongerCourtBrilliantCleverBackgroundsLabourSixtyStrifeCabinetsBig ProblemsSelf Confident
Book:A History of Modern Britain
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