Rose Morelli
It’s a landslide… of contributor talent! We’ve reached the end of another General Election cycle – and what a cycle it’s been. With just six weeks to complete its run, we saw gaffes, milkshakes and Ed Davey’s outdoor sports prowess like never before. And while none of our fathers are toolmakers, we did make our own political strides in the last six weeks – we were lucky enough to commission some excellent political op-eds.
Here are some of our favourite pieces on the 2024 UK General Election.
Lucy Matthews on ‘Personality Polling’
Lucy Matthews is a reliably hilarious writer who often comments on pop culture. She has a real talent for wrangling hyperbole to make a point – she makes risky, ambitious jokes but knows how to manipulate word choice and tone so they land.
For this piece, she matched some solid political analysis with her trademark humour. In addition to delving into what makes a good statesman, she embarked on a hilariously hyperbolic exploration of how Starmer and Sunak would fare on a desert island. The result is a really entertaining, thoughtful read, with plenty of personality and a profound point at its heart.
Faraday Gamble-Gittings on TikTok Campaigning
Faraday Gamble-Gittings has a real knack for marrying up style with substance, and her take on the political TikTok campaign trail was no exception. She’s particularly notable for her descriptive talents and the ease with which she can create a sense of place.
In this piece, she embarked on a really intelligent exploration of youth political culture and TikTok’s place in it. She draws thoughtful comparisons between what politicians expect of their young audiences and how those audiences navigate political and social media spheres. She writes with substance and control, wielding a wide vocabulary and knowledge.
Emily Bird on Labour’s Great British Energy
Emily Bird has written some excellent political op-eds for us before, and has a knack for deploying dry sardonicism and smooth, snappy phrases. She writes with a great deal of passion, always pitching topics that she genuinely cares about – and the love she has for her craft really shines through.
For this piece, she challenged herself to marry two important topics—the climate crisis and helping low-income households. It can be challenging to wrangle two topics, but she did it within 800 words, with thought and style. The result is a very considered, controlled piece of writing with plenty of great research and technical knowledge, but feels restrained and relevant throughout.
Elisabetta Laurence on the Youth Vote
Elisabetta Laurence has a really verbose and musical style of writing. She uses her impressive vocabulary to write with colour and verve and always packs a hilarious punch while she’s at it. What’s great about Elisabetta’s writing is that you can tell she had fun while she wrote.
In this piece, she deployed her fabulously sarcastic and mordant voice to make a point about the mainstream parties’ indifference to youth. With intelligence and aplomb, she probes Sunak and Starmer’s track records on youth policy. The result is an engaging, entertaining read with lots of laugh-out-loud jokes along the way.
Georgia Wells on the Future of the Rwanda Asylum Plan
Georgia Wells is the writer you go to for a forensic, probing article. She has a very analytical writing style, which is well suited to dense, often emotionally heavy politics, and she’s able to really effectively balance her own humanity and empathy with rigorous legal thinking.
In this article, she tackles Sunak’s Rwanda asylum plan and its future under a potential Starmer government, as well as the UK’s attitude to immigration in general. Free from sensationalism or scapegoating, Georgia wields her wide political knowledge, full of nuance and thought—the result is a very humane, mature assessment.
Jasmine Howard on Youth Voter Exclusion
Young voters are being excluded in the UK – can we not have anything?
Jasmine Howard‘s writing has a very engaging, ‘on-the-ground’ style. She knows how to insert herself into her writing without distracting from her subject, which can be a really hard balance to strike. Primarily covering entertainment, Jasmine knows how to marry up pep with solid analysis.
For this piece, she looked at the disproportionate exclusion of young voters. There’s a real sense of urgency and involvement in her writing – she uses her natural zing to connect with younger readers. The result is very persuasive writing, tailor-made for its audience and furnished with a voice they can relate to.
Rose Morelli on Nigel Farage’s Latest General Election Gambit
Our Head of Opinions doesn’t need any praise. We’re just proud of her for getting out of bed these days.
Photo courtesy of Number 10 on Flickr. No changes have been made to this image. Image license available here.
