Alistair McAlpine Freelance
Building
,
Stories by this contributor.
-
The race for second place
2005 issue 09
Waking up to find that the Tories have regained popularity is certainly a strange feeling. Maybe they can fail a bit better this time
-
Glory days
2004 issue 47
Our building sites are bloodless descendants of the sites of the roaring 50s, when men were men, lavatories were buckets and passers-by were fair game
-
Bleeding edge design
2004 issue 28
The construction industry is in a state of permanent revolution, which puts a lot of pressure on those of us who have to build things
-
Why the Tories will win
2004 issue 13
The government's refusal to treat the construction industry as the special case it is has made it very difficult for Labour to triumph in next year's election
-
Gruel intentions
2003 issue 30
With the corporate killing bill on the way, should company directors be going on courses preparing them for a life of snout, slopping out and table tennis?
-
Machiavelli's advice
2003 issue 25
What does the future hold for contractors? History can give us some of the answers – and so can a well known renaissance philosopher
-
Our blood, our money
2003 issue 15
The battle for contracts in Iraq has begun. As we were in the firing line, we ought to get a fair share of the work – before the French find a way back in
-
O'Rourke's drift
2003 issue 06
So Ray O'Rourke's fusiliers are going to make £55,000 a year while they put up Terminal 5, are they? Maybe, but they'll have to win some battles first …
-
Eyes wide shut
2002 issue 44
If we're going to seize our inauspicious economy by the horns, companies need to stop kidding themselves that things are better than they really are
-
Business as usual
2002 issue 16
The City largely ignores construction, believing it to be far too risky an enterprise. We should return the compliment and just get on with making money
-
Why Blair should worry
2002 issue 08
Scandal to a politician is like manure to a pig farmer – an inevitable, if not enjoyable, part of the job. However, it can prise power from the strongest PMs
-
A leaf from their book
2002 issue 01
Europeans have a great deal to teach us about the arts, politeness, preserving cultural differences – and about a taste for real food
-
Backtrack
2001 issue 47
Railway privatisation has been an almighty cock-up. To put things right, the government will have to bite the bullet and spend, spend, spend
-
Cometh the hour …
2001 issue 39
If Iain Duncan Smith's election was remarkable, so are the global and national challenges he'll have to face. And he might just be the man for the job
-
Let's stay together
2001 issue 30
Ken Clarke and Iain Duncan Smith should make a deal, rather than spending the summer slugging it out with each other. Some chance …
-
What a shower!
2001 issue 24
The Tories' performance in the election was embarrassing, hopeless, abysmal – which isn't surprising when you look at the calibre of those in charge
-
After the fire
2001 issue 14
Alistair McAlpine - That we have turned the countryside into a charnel house is horrific. It is also a unique opportunity to create a less polluting, more humane farming system
-
A death in the family
2001 issue 07
First person - There isn't exactly a rush to buy Laing, but with funeral costs mounting, the owners need to appoint an undertaker soon.
-
Management buyout is the best hope for a secure future
2000 issue 47
MORE than 150 years ago, John Laing started his construction company; now it is up for sale, writes Building columnist Alistair McAlpine.
-
Limited opposition
2000 issue 45
With so many chinks in the government's armour – everything from cows to petrol – why are the Tories failing to strike?
-
Double trouble
2000 Issue 37
First person After recent takeovers and mergers, it’s worth remembering that few acquisitions in construction have really prospered.
-
Losing at Wembley
2000 Issue 28
First person It’s no wonder the national stadium keeps hitting obstacles: it has the wrong price, the wrong client and the wrong location.
-
Keep your boots muddy
2000 Issue 17
First person The dot-com-dominated City is no place for contractors. They should opt out and take ownership into their own hands.
-
Letter from America
2000 Issue 08
First person Construction in the USA is booming, but British contractors thinking of rushing over there are contemplating suicide.
-
Watch the warning signs
1999 Issue 47
First person Builders should be wary of signing contracts with public sector clients that may leave them singing for their money.
-
Conservative measures
1999 Issue 41
Good riddance to John Major’s Tory government; a warm welcome to New Labour’s new conservatism.
-
Care for the community
1999 Issue 34
The government needs to help us shape our own communities before British cities become totally segregated by wealth.
-
The selective approach
1999 Issue 28
Prime contracting is a great idea, but only for projects that lend themselves to the approach. Not all do.
-
Prudence is back in town
1999 Issue 22
First person Self-regulation is the best regulation and the anti-cowboy taskforce report is the industry putting its own house in order.
-
Fashion victim
1999 Issue 16
Construction should stop slavishly following trends dictated by clients and take a little pride in its performance.
-
Domesday scenario
1999 Issue 10
If the Millennium Dome isn't a success, its rotting corpse could blight the Greenwich Peninsula for years to come.
-
Here we go again
1999 Issue 04
First person Faced with a combative workforce and a fast-approaching deadline, how should the government handle the Jubilee Line?
