Category: Politics

The Foundations of Geopolitics: Putin has been doing it by the book

Anthea Simmons
Aleksandr Dugin

This is Alexandr Dugin, a Russian philosopher, strategist, political analyst and author of a several books including Foundations of Geopolitics (1997), and who in 2014 called for the eradication of the Ukrainian identity, following disappointment that Putin did not come to the aid of pro-Russian insurgents. As I highlight some key elements of the book […]

What should sanctions look like?

Richard Murphy
street art of Putin in a skip

Boris Johnson announced sanctions against Russia on 22 February in response to its invasion of Ukraine that made him and his government look like a laughing stock. Five banks and three oligarchs, each of whom had already been sanctioned in the USA for some time, will now face UK sanctions that are likely to have […]

I see you, Sheryll Murray – a day with Steve Bray outside Westminster

Nicola Tipton
Banner: 'self-serving liars are destroying our democracy'

Steve Bray will be familiar to anyone who watches the news or current affairs programmes. His anti-Brexit, pro-democracy protests have upset the government so much (touching endless raw nerves) that Priti Patel even tried to write a specific clause in the Policing Bill to outlaw his presence. You might wonder what he does each day, […]

Carl Garner is spot on: Russia, Johnson and defence

Carl Garner
Biliard balls with the white on the spot

Carl lives in Cornwall and his MP is Sheryll Murray, Conservative. He has cause to write to her frequently… Dear Sheryll, Now that Russia has finally decided to invade Ukraine, a sovereign state and friend, Boris Johnson has announced his humorous (to the Kremlin at least) threats of sanctions against Russian interests. I believe he […]

Tough times for Putin’s fellow travellers in the UK

Tom Scott
Dressing table with a Putin commemorative plate

Expressions of support for Vladimir Putin by various leading figures of the Brexit movement, and their connections with his mafia state, are coming back to haunt these ‘useful idiots’, writes Tom Scott. In 2017, I worked with the Green MEP Molly Scott Cato on a website that examined the motives and connections of various leading […]

It’s not a Ukraine crisis – it’s a Russian invasion

Tomasz Oryński

When it comes to modern hybrid war, the propaganda is almost as important as the troop movements on the ground and the language has as much power as bullets. When it comes to hybrid war that Putin just waged against the West, Britain is already losing by giving up to Russia’s narrative, argues Tomasz Oryński. […]

Brexit, meritocracy and the retreat from reason

Mick Fletcher
Private Eye cover Leave special

Chris Grey, who blogs about Brexit and related matters, is someone well worth following. A recent post explored the fascinating links between the ‘partygate’ scandals currently engulfing the Johnson administration and the ideas and individuals that drove Vote Leave. It raised again a central paradox of current politics – that while Brexit and populism as […]

Au revoir to au pairs from Europe?

Tamsin Beadman
white black and brown hands on EU flag

“Carrero Blanco was blown up two streets away,” Isabel, my señora, mentioned casually on a chilly Madrid afternoon in December 1983 as we sat in her luxurious flat on Calle Hermosilla. “Have you heard of him? Ten years ago today, ETA blew up his car in Claudio Coello and it flew right over a church. […]

What Steve Baker’s take on a US trade deal tells us about the world view of a part of the Conservative party

Gavin Barwell
Steve Baker MP

A thread on this article by @SteveBakerHW and what it tells us about the world view of part of the Conservative Party: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/time-to-step-up-negotiations-on-a-us-trade-deal-q6r65l9fq [paywall] On the face of it, the article is about enabling a trade deal with the US by accepting their regulatory standards (“it’s not for us to dictate how others regulate provided […]

Reading the mind of Vladimir Putin

Tom Scott

With a massive Russian force encircling Ukraine, how should we interpret Putin’s intentions? One key thing to remember is the Russian president’s years as a KGB operative, writes Tom Scott. An adjective that often crops up in discussion of Vladimir Putin is ‘inscrutable’. It’s not just because of the Russian president’s typically stony-faced demeanour and […]

“Not a complete clown…”

Jon Danzig
Johnson as a clown

‘He’s not a complete clown’ says PM’s new press chief’. No. Boris Johnson is a completely dangerous clown. Boris Johnson is “not a complete clown”, his new communications director Guto Harri said this month adding, “he’s a very likeable character.” Really? I would say instead that Boris Johnson is a completely dangerous clown, and nothing […]

The smell of corruption

Richard Haviland
figure in gas mask with toxic orange smoke

In 2020, I wrote in The Times that, if the pattern continued of the Johnson government refusing to be held to account, “corruption – both political and financial – will seep into the national bloodstream” Today you can smell corruption in the words and deeds of far too many of the Conservative Party. Not just […]

Democracy and human rights: both in grave danger in the UK

Editor-in-chief
woman holding placard 'we demand democracy'

Our latest edition has a focus on democracy and human rights. What follows is the rationale for putting this front and centre of our efforts to reach beyond the bubble and tell people what the mainstream media will or may not about the relentless undermining of these two vital pillars of a healthy society by […]

EU referendum broke ‘rules’ set by former Brexit Secretary

Jon Danzig

The EU referendum was entirely flawed according to criteria set by former Brexit Secretary and ardent Brexiter, David Davis, on how referendums should be “done properly”. In July 2016, Tory MP, Mr Davis, accepted the result of the EU referendum and the dual-role of Brexit Secretary and Chief Brexit Negotiator in Theresa May’s new government. […]

Brexit’s impact on Bournemouth

Sarah Cowley
UK and EU flags on jigsaw puzzle pieces, held apart

Perhaps the journalist for Bournemouth Echo had guessed that Jacob Rees-Mogg was about to be handed the ‘exciting’ challenge of proving the advantages of Brexit. None seem to be immediately discernible. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) released a report on 9 February, which revealed that “the only detectable impact so far is increased costs, paperwork […]

“Will you condemn the lie, Sheryll Murray?” Letter to the editor

Editor-in-chief
Johnson at PMQs

This same letter could be sent to the majority of Conservative MPs in our region who have failed to condemn Johnson’s appalling lie. Ed Dear Sheryll The shocking and disgusting attacks on the leader of the opposition by far right extremists today are the direct result of the widely debunked fake news that our so-called […]

The value of being citizens of Europe

Jon Danzig
young man face painted with EU flag

It was 30 years ago today – 7 February 1992 – that the Treaty of the European Union was signed by 12 EU member states in the Dutch city of Maastricht. The treaty was fully debated and democratically passed by our Parliament in Westminster – as were all the treaties of the EEC/EU during our […]