Section: Politics

“Trump disgusts me!” (Tory former defence minister)

Mike Zollo

Trump’s Cards Everyone seems to have been shocked by the disgusting, disgraceful conduct of Trump, Vance and their political and journalist cronies in the Oval Office on 28 February; it has been referred to as an ambush, a mugging, an invective-laden attack. I have yet to meet or hear of anyone who disagrees with this […]

Say ‘NO!’ to the Trump state visit

Mark Kieran

Last month, I wrote to the Speaker of the House of Commons asking for confirmation that Trump would not be given the honour of addressing Parliament during any upcoming State Visit. The Speaker replied, confirming that no such request had been received – at that time. Since then, however, Donald Trump has announced that he expects to return to […]

Ridiculous cuts at Derriford Hospital – letter to Anna Gelderd MP

Carl Garner

Dear Anna I am deeply concerned about the announcement this week that Derriford Hospital is expected to save £67m recurrently from its budget.  The trust has taken away staff cups of tea and raised staff parking fees, but this is a drop in the ocean.  The only way these cuts are truly possible is to […]

The Farage traps

Mark Kieran

One of the government ministers I worked for in a former life used to say, “For every major political problem, there are at least five solutions that are, a) obvious and common-sense; b) quick and easy to implement; and c) absolutely the wrong thing to do from the perspective of the national interest.” His words […]

Motivation

Laurence Bristow-Smith

Like everyone else, I have been watching and waiting to see what Donald Trump will do next. I have been shocked at his apparently soft approach to Russia and hostility towards Ukraine. I have been amazed at his absurd demands to annex Greenland and make Canada the fifty-first state. I have been appalled and staggered […]

Democracy that delivers: what the UK must learn from America’s local revolt

Mark Kieran

Britain’s democracy is visibly malfunctioning. A government elected with just over a third of the vote now holds almost two-thirds of the seats in Parliament. Meanwhile, millions of people feel ignored, misrepresented, or completely shut out of decisions that affect their lives. The result? A political system that delivers neither fairness nor results. Our public […]

Most European countries are in the EU or want to be

Jon Danzig

President Trump calls it “Liberation Day” – but what he’s launching is a global trade war. Sweeping US tariffs are provoking retaliatory ones from around the world. Everyone, including Americans, will end up poorer. Contrast that with the EU’s approach: cooperation, not confrontation. The Single Market offers tariff-free, frictionless trade among its 27 members. It’s […]

When the world changes…

Mark E Thomas

Our government faces stiff challenges and if it is to meet them and deliver the promised national renewal, it will need a rapid and significant shift in mindset. Before the 2024 General Election, Sir Keir Starmer explained that the UK needed a decade of national renewal. He was undoubtedly correct. The Chancellor recently commented that:  “The world […]

Brexit is causing a severe medicine shortage in the UK

Jon Danzig

The UK is grappling with its worst medicine shortage in four years, and the evidence points squarely at Brexit as a central cause. In 2024 alone, drug companies reported 1,938 supply disruptions to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) – a sharp rise from 1,634 in 2023. The worst-hit medications include essential treatments […]

Millionaires urge MPs “tax us, the super rich” to avoid cuts and invest in Britain. The van will be in the southwest this afternoon. Report to follow

Editor-in-chief

“Tax our wealth” – that’s the message from millionaires across the UK who are taking their campaign out on the road ahead of the Government’s Spring Statement. Patriotic Millionaires UK has commissioned a fleet of mobile billboards to tour towns and cities across the country to tell people and constituency MPs: a tax of two […]

When billionaires play politics

Mark Kieran

In an era where democracy feels increasingly fragile, the story of how American tech billionaire, Elon Musk, casually sparked an internal meltdown in one of Britain’s rising political parties offers both a cautionary tale and, perhaps, a glimmer of hope for those of us concerned about the far-right’s recent momentum. It started, as so many […]

‘Mr Trump, remember that you are dust…’

Chris Tehan

As the priest traced a cross on my forehead with ashes during the Ash Wednesday service at Buckfast Abbey, he said “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return”. As every Ash Wednesday, these words provoked an empty feeling inside me, or rather a deep sensation of humility. The ashes are the […]

International Women’s Day: there’s work still to be done

Sharon O'Dea

It was International Women’s Day on March 8, and after taking a break from calling out corporate hypocrisy last year, I’m back at it. Why? Because with DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) under attack, pay gaps persisting, and women’s rights rolling back globally, this work isn’t done. Last year, I stepped back, focused on building […]

Denying refugees citizenship? How low can we go?

Richard Haviland

The Labour leadership can and must do better Imagine your son came home from school one day making derogatory comments – clearly picked up in the classroom – about a refugee kid in his class who had just acquired a new British passport. Knowing your son was well-meaning but easily led, you might encourage him […]

‘Tell them to pack up and go.’ Letter to the editor

Editor-in-chief

Dear Editor, The Munich Security Conference and yesterday’s TV mugging of President Zelensky could hardly make clearer where US government loyalties lie. And yet there are still over 60,000 US troops stationed in Europe. Whose side are they on? What is the danger that they may potentially stand aside in the event of Russian aggression, […]

“it seems selfish NOT to do this if you have a choice”

Sarah Finch

“To members of the judiciary: you are all climate judges now… Lawyers have a responsibility to adopt a climate-conscious, not climate-blind, approach in daily legal practice”, UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen told the UK Bar Council in 2021. While some lawyers and judges took her words to heart, others didn’t. Climate campaigners have won some […]

The list of words that could get scientists’ grants pulled in the US

Editor-in-chief

With thanks to Darby Saxbe, Professor of Psychology at University of Southern California: neuroendocrinology of close relationships, particularly plasticity across the transition to parenthood. Writing the book ‘Dad Brain’ for Flatiron Books, about the neurobiology of fatherhood. Darby got this information from a program officer at the National Science Foundation ((NSF): a list of keywords […]

‘2073’: film and live Q&A session with director Asif Kapadia and George Monbiot, 5 March , Ashburton Arts Centre

Editor-in-chief

Asif Kapadia’s dystopian drama explores where current events and politics could lead over the next few decades. It’s the year 2073 and the worst fears of modern life have been realized. Surveillance drones fill the burnt orange skies and militarized police roam the wrecked streets, while survivors hide away underground, struggling to remember a free […]

Diplomacy and vanity

Laurence Bristow-Smith

Just over ten years ago, I wrote a biography of the British diplomat and writer, Harold Nicolson. Nicolson was an acknowledged expert on the theory and practice of diplomacy. In his 1939 study of the subject, called simply ‘Diplomacy’, he wrote: “The dangers of vanity in a negotiator can scarcely be exaggerated. It tempts him […]

Under siege: fighting for America’s future

Carly Marburger

I am an American. I wake up each morning to a country I barely recognize, gripped by a fear that no longer fades with the dawn. The streets aren’t filled with tanks, yet we are under siege. The attack is quieter, but just as ruthless. It marches with every presidential executive order that tears at […]

ID cards and Labour’s ill-advised tactics on “fighting Reform”

Daniel Sohege

Let’s break down a few things, both about ID cards and Labour’s ill-advised tactics on “fighting Reform”. First off, I personally don’t think ID cards would work in UK, because we are objectively bad at things like this, but they work elsewhere so this isn’t about them per se. Fairly obviously ID cards have zero […]