I am a retiree in my sixties, having spent most of my career as a senior NHS manager and CEO. Politically, I am in the centre ground and have never been a member of a political party. I was a committed European and, as such, the 2016 Referendum result, and the way the vote was […]
A reminder for the Conservatives annual conference – share 4-minute video: 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗦 Conservatives, have you forgotten what your party in power used to stand for regarding Europe? For most of the past seven decades, Tory governments did more than any other to bring us closer to our continent. After all: It’s because of the Conservatives […]
Second #TheWeekInTory in 4 days cos … oh god, you know why! 1. KamiKwarzi Kwarteng supports crypto so much, he’s turned Sterling into a new one called Shitcoin. 2. He fulfilled his promise to wipe out Stamp Duty by making it impossible for anyone to get a mortgage anyway. 3. These exuberantly stupid inanities had […]
The turn in the polls has been sudden – but Phil Syrpis does not think it is a surprise to see Tory fortunes plunge under new PM Truss. I’ll offer four reasons why they are on the slide; each alone would have an impact, together they are devastating. The only place to start is with […]
You can expect to see a fair few articles from us on the latest incarnation of the Blukip/ERG Conservative government, each one seemingly more crazy and disastrous than the last. Currency traders are referring to Truss as “Daggers” : as in Dagenham, two stops past Barking… Funny, but not funny. Not funny at all. We […]
But who’s consulting local residents on whether they want their areas turned into free-fire zones for developers and predatory corporations, asks Tom Scott. The government says that it is in discussions with 38 local authorities that have expressed an interest in having so-called ‘investment zones’, as announced in Kwasi Kwarteng’s special fiscal operation on 23 […]
The Conservative Party have now been in power in the UK for 12 years. Over that time huge economic and social problems have emerged. It is clear that the UK needs a change in direction. And this is what Truss and Kwarteng promised. They have now shown very clearly how they intend to tackle these […]
Johnson has a strong claim to be the worst UK PM so far in terms of “… wages, economy, COVID, poverty, … preserving democracy, etc, …” But before the history books are written, he will be eclipsed by Truss, argues Mark E Thomas. It is true that Truss has inherited (and played an active part […]
Our thanks to Alexandra Hall Hall, former diplomat and ambassador, for her kind permission to reproduce this thought-provoking piece. Ed Many will know I’ve been going through a slowly unrolling identity crisis, as I try to grapple with the UK I thought I knew, and the UK I’m beginning to see with fresh eyes. The […]
As Mikhail Gorbachev’s funeral took place on 3 September, commentators on his legacy praised his bravery in taking bold decisions that were right for a country in decline, albeit at the expense of political doctrine. As we get our new prime minister, we can only dream of a UK government that might take a lesson […]
Yesterday [6 September 2022] was bad. It was, in fact, very, very bad. If Johnson was a disaster, Truss has set out to be worse. Richard Murphy very much doubts that any prime minister has set out to create so many conflicts from the outset of their premiership in the way that Truss has. The […]
To mark the final day in office of a unique prime minister, here are my definitive, expanded, 101 Johnson principles of government. 1 Accept responsibility for nothing. 2 Blame others for things that are your fault. 3 Take credit for things that aren’t your doing. 4 Preach unity and sow division. 5 Always speak with […]
A retired school teacher living in Lostwithiel has been selected to read her poem “I want my country back “at a major rally in Parliament Square on Saturday 10 September. Nicola Tipton, a retired drama teacher, has been asked to read out her poem in front of thousands at the first national Rejoin the EU Rally. […]
Assuming Tim Shipman’s tweet is true, let’s do a quick #TheWeekInTory style tour of our (probably) new cabinet. It is a thrilling prospect. Liz Truss Margarine Thatcher. Gilead Commander’s wife who did three U-turns during her campaign, making Liz Truss a more effective opponent of Liz Truss than Rishi Sunak was. Is her own worst […]
Here’s a tribute with a difference to our outgoing prime minister, Boris Johnson. Well, I say tribute… a review, at least. Hum the tune of “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” as you read. The lyrics have been modified to reflect Boris Johnson’s “achievements” as Britain’s worst prime minister since World War II (according to a […]
Britain’s imminent energy Armageddon, and how to avoid it: in a long read, Andrew Levi warns that the scale and nature of the crisis is still widely misunderstood, and the measures needed to address it woefully underdeveloped. Brexit, a unique act of self-harm, worsens the UK’s situation. Without great good luck, only radical immediate action […]
We rarely publish unsolicited press releases but this is an important insight into the challenges farmers face. Truss or Sunak? When it comes to food, farming and the environment –what should be the top policy priority for the next PM? The race to become the UK’s next Prime Minister is almost over. As the two […]
Dear West Country Voices, Last week, Rishi Sunak said the government gave too much power to scientists during Covid lockdowns and was not honest about the potential downsides. His recollection differs from mine. I remember the anxiety I felt on a journey on a crowded Piccadilly line, on my way back to Dorset after a […]
The last, dark days of his premiership have shown that Johnson has only one care in the world: to salvage his own reputation, argues Tom Scott. When Boris Johnson insisted that he would stay on as a ‘caretaker’ prime minister, despite having lost the confidence of his own MPs, there were many who were sceptical […]
What Emily Maitlis seemed to me to be saying in her Edinburgh lecture was that there are truths that need to be told that can be stated as facts without requiring rebuttal. A short thread to discuss this….. There is, for example, a phenomenon called climate change. No broadcaster need balance that opinion with the […]
Look, it has to be said, Mr. Rushforth is sorry about your poke bowl or whatever it is you have instead of a decent breakfast, but ever since word got out that a majority of Tory MPs, including our Prime (pork and cheese) Minister-in-waiting, Liz Truss, voted against amending a bill to stop water companies […]
I am fed up with Tory attacks on lawyers who defend people against injustice, discrimination, abuse and deportation using the laws parliament has created when they say nothing about those right-wing lawyers who spend their time attacking almost everything of value. This cover from The Mail today is typical of the attacks on lawyers. In […]
A group committed to a crude, self-serving, brutal worldview, derived from the writings of 20th-century neoliberals, controls the cabinet and will likely continue to, says Andrew Levi. Its members are determined to transform Britain radically. They want a Hayek Brexit: a constitutional hijack. A road paved with bad intentions What are Charter Cities? And are […]
The ‘flash to bang time’ is one of those useful pieces of military shorthand that derives from the delay between the muzzle flash as a piece of artillery fires, and the bang as the shell arrives. From there, it has become an expression used to describe the delay between starting an activity and bringing it […]
The reserved Mr Rushforth is not the kind of person to blazon such things abroad, but his index finger is worn down to a stub and he is otherwise entirely used up and depleted, for he has been doing Liz Truss all week long. Mindful of her incipient pre-eminence to World Leader (as selflessly appointed […]
For many years now, I have had the habit of recalling Hiroshima on 6 August. Ironically, for people of faith this is the day when we recall the feast of Transfiguration, the occasion when Jesus on the mountain was revealed as divine in the presence of a couple of his friends. Over time this event […]
There are moments in the Comedy when Dante burns with righteous anger. One of them is his encounter with the simoniac popes. Strictly defined, simony is the buying or selling of spiritual gifts, offices or artefacts. A form of corruption, it’s named after Simon Magus, a first-century sorcerer who is said to have asked the […]
Dear Mr Stride, Ukraine takes much of our attention these days, but I am sure that you share my conviction – without being uncaring about Ukrainian suffering – that two other issues should concern us even more deeply. They are the coming starvation and institutional collapse that we will experience here, and the global climate […]
Politicians whose only response to desperate times is to resort to fantastical mythologising, scapegoating of imaginary enemies and suppression of protest should be seen as truly dangerous, argues Tom Scott. In June, the eminent historian of Nazism, Timothy Snyder, was interviewed by Ukraine’s Euromaidan Press. Professor Snyder, who has also written extensively about the threat […]
Update: the mainstream media is finally waking up to the impact of Brexit on dental care provision. We were writing about this more than a year ago. Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw (Labour) posted a tweet drawing attention to the astonishing statistic that 78,000 people in Devon and Cornwall are waiting to get onto an NHS […]