Editor: The media and government bandy big numbers around and make some of us a bit blithe about the scale. Given the eye-watering sums being lost, squandered or directed to mates and donors, it’s important to get our heads round millions, billions and trillions! I find it helps to think of it like this: 1 […]
Editor: This is the first in a series of articles about the privatisation/monetisation of a number of aspects of social and health care. For every pound that was once spent directly on providing a service and those being cared for by that service, a chunk will now go to shareholders. With a profit motive driving […]
Boris Johnson press conference. He just said the UK will have the worst performance in the G7 next year cos “we came out of the pandemic first, so had a faster recovery”. So [deep breath] we’re doing badly because we’re doing so well. Then he said we need to build 300,000 more homes. Then he […]
As news comes out that Johnson boasted to MPs that far from regretting the partygate scandal/crime, he “would do it again”, it is not hard to see why this excerpt from The Wind in the Willows has been doing the rounds on social media. It’s all part of Johnson’s modus operandi: apologise ostentatiously and fulsomely […]
Let’s start with Brexit. These are the latest figures from the OBR. UK trade levels collapsed during the pandemic and have failed to rebound, unlike those of other G7 countries. 2/ Pre-Brexit, the UK was a world leader in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) – and had been since the 1970s. Between 2017 and 2020, […]
Contains strong language! Well, it would be hard not to, wouldn’t it? Editor The Horny Honey Monster is on the ropes, so I think it’s time to take a quick look at the runners and riders poised to take over from Boris Johnson. It's an inspiring list. Liz Truss The kind of foreign minister you'd […]
I’ve asked myself the same question endlessly; as we all no doubt do. Of course the voting system is a particular root cause. But, for me, the ultra-significant factor is the quality of political education and understanding of the electorate. This frustrates and depresses me in about equal measure. We disgorge our 17 and 18 […]
The BBC opted to dial down the boos when they repeated footage of Johnson arriving at Friday’s service in a later part of the live broadcast. There are claims that this is all to do with video editing to prioritise the new commentary, but it does not get away fron the fact that the booing has been suppressed. Laura Kuenssberg’s replacement, Chris Mason went so far as to suggest the boos were orchestrated. This is, frankly, disturbing and feels like another step in our descent towards an authoritarian state more akin to Putin’s Russia or Kim Jong-Un’s North Korea than a modern European democracy.
The wannabe world king must know by now that it’s game over for his plans to force the UK into a dictatorship, under his chaotic, narcisstic rule. As Sam Bright wrote: “Iconic political moment here. The moment Johnson and the Conservatives surely must realise they’ve lost the people.” “This is a crowd of royalists – […]
Okay, let’s have the debate shall we? Let’s have the debate about who you would look in the eyes and say it is fine for them to be tortured or drown in the channel. Let’s have the debate about whose kids you think should be denied a parent. Let’s not pretend it is a “left/right” […]
The phrase ‘the sick man of Europe’ originally applied to the Ottoman Empire and has been used to describe various countries since, including the UK in the 1960s and 1970s as well as Italy, Greece and even Germany following unification. The UK lost the label after joining the EEC and concentrating on trade within Europe […]
Thought I’d take a look at what some of the esteemed minds that were elected to run this country were tweeting about this fine Sunday morning… First up, we have Andrew Rosindell retweeting about how it is “common sense” to regress over fifty years: Here we have Fabricant, Redwood, and Karl McCartney apparently completely unaware […]
Dear Sheryll Boris Johnson has again proven his unsuitability for office. Having first lied about breaking the law during Covid lockdowns, followed by breaking the ministerial code when actively lying about it in parliament, he has now changed the ministerial code so that lying and lack of morality is no longer a resignation offence. No […]
How it’s done, little by little… In accepting the vote, pretend you now think Brexit is a great idea even though you were a strong advocate for remain. Claim that any debate about the nature of Brexit is anti-democratic. Conflate opposition and scrutiny, on any issue, with attempting to thwart Brexit. Conclude that all opposition […]
What do despots do to hang on to power? Silence their enemies. Shut down critical media and fill the rest with propaganda. Surround themselves with cronies, sycophants and the enslaved compromised. Bung public funds to private donors. Normalise corruption. Suppress opposition votes. Shut down protest. Play the patriotism card. Blow the racist dog-whistle. Politicise the […]
We are delighted to publish this re-writing of Kipling’s If by formidable political journalist, Julian Haviland. Written in July 2019, it resonates even more strongly today – more’s the pity. If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you If you can take offence at all […]
Unfortunately, it will do this all too literally, by driving up new oil and gas extraction while doing far too little to address the acute poverty that now faces millions. Tom Scott lays bare the shocking truth. The U-turn in government policy that everyone was expecting finally arrived today, when Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a […]
I recall a conversation with a Boris fan when I was on a street stall, campaigning for a second referendum to review the Brexit deal and decide whether it was what the country wanted. “I’m backing Boris!” he shouted gleefully, as he skipped past the Brexitometer with its mass of stickers in the “No to […]
Dear Sheryll Murray I noted a tweet by Kwasi Kwarteng and other Conservative ministers today telling us, in effect, to move on from the series of events known as Partygate. He said that the government had important things to get on with. Reflecting on a selection of current crises: the cost-of-living crisis was created […]
Truth doesn’t matter? Integrity doesn’t matter? Honour doesn’t matter? Is all that matters remaining in power to prosecute an agenda of enrichment for cronies and supporters, a grave reduction in human rights and a whole slew of policies which will serve to widen the inequality gap and deepen poverty and deprivation? It would seem so […]
There are any number of ways of seeing the photograph’s issued yesterday of the party Boris Johnson attended on 13 November 2020. Denis Swayne MP managed to call it a work event yesterday, which was no excuse. No doubt Grant Shapps will destroy any remaining credibility he has by telling the morning media round some […]
It is obvious why those who have never seen themselves as Conservative should not support this government. This article explains why those who do see themselves as traditional Conservatives should take a stand against this government: This government shares none of the values that traditional Conservatives hold dear; Traditional conservatives prize pragmatism and competence; this government is reckless […]
It’s hard trying to raise awareness of governments’ failure to manage the pandemic properly. It shouldn't be, but it is. Why, and why keep going: 1. There is a small but powerful minority who want the public to forget about Covid, even if that means more death and disability. Consumer confidence is hit hard when […]
Please read, watch and share. She’s right. For a party that prides itself on the economy, the Tories have a shocking record of running it. Our economy has the slowest growth in the G7. We have greater regional inequality than almost any other developed nation. Food banks now do the job of Government in providing […]
As a former diplomat and civil servant, I tend to distrust the media when complex things like the Northern Ireland protocol are concerned. So, since returning from France – where I heard a lot of views on Brexit and its consequences from people as diverse as market traders, hoteliers, long term British residents and random […]
After successive changes to the student loan regime in England it is difficult to remember that it started out as a reasonable idea. Graduates benefit considerably from gaining a degree, despite the nonsense about ‘Mickey Mouse’ subjects that regularly surfaces in the right-wing press. It was not irrational to ask them to meet some of […]
On 25 February 2014, the European Parliament voted on an EU fund to provide food aid to those suffering extreme poverty in the EU. The EU offered up to £22 million to help subsidise Britain’s food banks, but the money was blocked by the UK government. Thirteen million people live below the poverty line in the UK. […]
This is the text of Jenny Jones’ speech in the House of Lords’ Queen’s Speech debate. You can read all the speeches on Hansard, including the powerful words of Lord Judge who asked: “…what is the point of us being here if, when we identify a serious constitutional problem, we never do anything about it […]
Dear West Country Voices, I saw this chap on TV the other day. Odd cove, but apparently one of us, albeit with a strange haircut and not quite the right accent. Lee something or other. Anyway, he said that we can feed ourselves for 30 pence per meal, if we can be bothered to cook […]
It seems almost certain that the government will announce legislation to abandon the Brexit Northern Ireland protocol in the next few days. No coherent lawyer I have yet noted has suggested that this is anything but a breach of international law. The Attorney General has suggested parliament is supreme in the UK and can as […]