It’s beginning to look as though Labour are either determined to demonstrate either that they are a) metrocentric (as opposed to London-and-wealthy-donor-Conservatives) or b) that they simply do not have any understanding of what goes on in the lower population-density rural areas of England. First there was the more-than-clumsy mishandling of the farmers’ inheritance tax […]
The past few days have seen a new low in British politics, where one of the most sensitive and most troubling crimes – child abuse – has been politicised by two parties, the Conservatives and Reform. Any person with an iota of common decency will acknowledge that child abuse, in any of its forms, by […]
Just before the EU referendum, the then USA President, Barack Obama, visited the UK and said he hoped that Britain would stay in the EU. Nigel Farage was having none of it. An American President, he said, had no right to meddle in British affairs. The President, in short, should “butt out”. The Daily Mirror […]
Going on the evidence of the Daily Mail’s behaviour over the festive season, the answer to the question is not looking good… On the ‘Betwixtmas’ weekend, I happened to find myself in WHSmith’s in Bournemouth. Walking up the stairs from the book department, I could hear a family near the newspaper stand, which is next […]
Starmer, baby, just slip a few new bills under the tree… The Climate and Nature Bill…second reading January 24. Please back it and give us a future – a GREEN future! Embrace the petition calling for a public consultation on freedom of speech and disinformation! If you aren’t up to speed with what disinformation is […]
I believe Keir Starmer when he says that under Labour we will not be joining the EU again, or its Single Market, or customs union. He has been saying that since he became Labour leader and now since he became Labour Prime Minister. He had quite a different view of migration and FOM back in […]
Back in 2019, David Milliband delivered the annual Fulbright Lecture at Pembroke College, Oxford University. The speech was titled ‘The New Arrogance of Power’ and he argued people were no longer protected from abuse by their leaders by international law and standards of behaviour and that this, in turn, had led to appalling humanitarian horrors. […]
May Puckey is a 17-year-old from East Devon who is passionate about the environment and politics. We are very keen to encourage young citizen journalists, so please get in touch if you want to have your writing considered for publication. The media has focused on what Donald Trump’s second term of office as president will mean […]
Some context: “Starmer wins backing of billionaire BlackRock chief: ‘He offers hope to British politics’ The Independent’s headline from October 2023 Dear Editor, The Bank of England base rate is 4.75 per cent. Effectively the UK can borrow slightly below this.BlackRock private debt fund currently advertises a yield (gross profit) of 8.4 per cent, which […]
On the wet weekend of November 23-24, 2024. a parliamentary petition demanding the government ‘Call a General Election’ really took off, and has been getting many people, especially those on the right, very excited! The petition states: “I would like there to be another General Election. I believe the current Labour Government have gone back […]
If the last ten years or so have taught us anything, it should surely be that the era of the ‘good chaps’ theory of government is well and truly over, and ‘it’ (authoritarianism/oligarchy/fascism) could very easily happen here – if we don’t take steps to prevent it. It is, frankly, dewy-eyed to think otherwise and […]
Petitions did not get very far under the Conservatives, but maybe Labour will be different? Let’s see! Here are some petitions that at least seek to raise the profile of some of the deep concerns we have about the direction of travel in the UK and suggest ways to address them. Please sign if you […]
The profound and relevant insight in the title is from American poet, Robinson Jeffers (1887 – 1962). Does this explain one current issue; the inability of a section of UK voters to see and hear that our self-harming Brexit vote continues to bleed our economy and to warp our society? All reliable economic institutions including […]
A few days ago, George Monbiot posted that he was considering leaving the site and suggested that maybe we all leave in a co-ordinated fashion. We agreed and the original thought was that a mass exodus on Inauguration Day might make a point. But….and it’s a big but… the idea of hanging around a moment […]
Dear Editor I cannot thank you enough for your ongoing support over the years for 3.8 million UK taxpayers who were excluded from parity of Covid-19 financial support by the previous government. There are so many ExcludedUK members, like me, who are still far from recovered from the pandemic and are still struggling to claw […]
Tomorrow, Americans may elect a fascist president. Tom Scott explores the disastrous impacts this would have on the world beyond the US. Last month the astute American commentator and expert on authoritarian kleptocracies Sarah Kendzior posted a hauntingly brilliant essay to her Substack. It included this memorable passage, which may well prove – like much […]
The Budget is critically important. If it is well-formulated, it gives ministers the space to address the issues facing the country; if it is not, then whatever promises they may make, they will not be able to keep. Frequently, Budget analysis in the media does not look at it this way and instead focuses on […]
It starts with a flicker, almost imperceptible—a creeping shadow stretching across the soul of a nation. Books burned quietly at first, pages curling to ash in bonfires of so-called “unpatriotic” ideas, just as they did nearly a century ago, when German citizens watched words by Hemingway, Einstein, Freud—voices of the free mind—disintegrate into smoke. And […]
Anyone who has read Rory Stewart’s book, Politics on the Edge, will have learned the uncomfortable, shocking truth that MPs frequently go through the division lobbies with little or no knowledge of the content, purpose or justification for the proposed legislation on which they are voting. Unless they have a particular personal interest or are […]
Roz Savage MP has selected the CAN Bill in the Private Members’ Bill Ballot, and now has the chance to progress all the way. This is a golden opportunity to pass a Climate and Nature Act—but it’s critical that there are as many supporting MPs as possible to help it succeed. It’s especially important to […]
Yes, this is just about wine, but it serves to highlight what a ludicrous, category one mess-up Brexit is and always will be. Ed I think it’s time for a reminder of the reason why you the consumer are continually screwed over by the elites in the UK. As a front line business exposed to […]
One could feel sorry for the residents of central London for the endless demonstrations that interrupt their life every weekend save that, judging by the number of sightseeing buses, there seem only to be tourists in central London. And I am sure that they were delighted to see the colourful and noisy crowd of Rejoiners […]
While in opposition, Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer spoke of the need for a decade of national renewal; and since they have taken office, the evidence of the need for that renewal has grown even stronger. They have also spoken about a “financial black hole, the £22bn of unfunded spending commitments, concealed from our country by the […]
The Observer: ‘Boris Johnson faces ‘serious questions’ over new business with Uranium entrepreneur. Former prime minister also under fire for hiring ex-aide Charlotte Own as VP despite her lack of energy sector experience’ Carol Cadwalladr, The Observer, September 8 2024 How many of us read that headline and think ‘nothing will happen. He always gets […]
“Big Bill” Tilden – the 1920s equivalent of Roger Federer – said, “Never change a winning game; always change a losing one.” Almost always, that is sound advice – but not right now, not for Labour. Labour won the general election, in no small measure due to their ‘small target’ strategy. But sticking to it […]
Reform UK are ditching their ‘Contract for Voters’. Pre-election, they dismissed other parties’ manifestos as lies. I think they now realise their Contract is utter fantasy. How ironic! They proposed that no-one earning under £20k would pay tax – guaranteed to be popular! However, they also proposed large tax cuts for the extremely wealthy (benefitting […]
Editor’s comment: I read this originally on X/Twitter and approached the author, who agreed to us publishing it here. I then had quite an internal debate about whether or not to trust my impulse to share it with a wider audience and have come to the conclusion that the time for skirting around this subject […]
This month, dogs were all the rage at your local polling station. Are teenagers next? The new prime minister promises to lower the voting age to 16; however, 51 per cent of Britons oppose such a move, with just 24 per cent in support – that’s all Britons whose opinion is relevant (those over 18 […]
The 2024 general election, in which the Labour party secured a 174 seat majority with just 34 per cent of the popular vote, has boosted interest in different electoral systems. Famously, our British First Past The Post (FPTP) system is shunned by almost all of our European neighbours (with Belarus as the one exception). But […]