Duncan Robinson

As The Economist’s political editor, Duncan Robinson (via his Bagehot column) offers commentary and analysis on British politics, policies and societal trends. His work is thought-provoking, informed and unfailingly original.

In ‘The idolatry of victimhood’, a piece which went viral, he explored how an obsession with victims leads to bad policy, dire politics and more pain for the people it is meant to protect. Robinson argued that victims have become “apex stakeholders”, petrifying politicians and turning societal problems into individual ones, where only those who were directly affected count.

In ‘Britain’s big squeeze: middle-class and minimum-wage’, Robinson dug into the impact of wage compression, revealing how middle class jobs had become minimum-wage jobs, given the tightening gap between low and middle earners. In doing so, he turned an overlooked economic trend into a viral one that was later picked up by other publications.

A piece focused on Nigel Farage’s health and frequent brushes with death (‘A world without Nigel Farage’) discussed how “a world without Nigel Farage is a world without Reform”. Robinson dragged the quiet – and desperate – discussion in Westminster about Farage’s health into the open, revealing that SW1 has no idea how to deal with Reform, other than hoping for the worst.

Judges’ comments: “Meticulously well researched and original..  A great variety of topics covered.”