What an extraordinary week the first week of lockdown turned out to be. We have become so used to catastrophe with this ‘camorra’ of a government (a group united for nefarious or traitorous ends), that this week’s ‘eucatastrophes’ (sudden fortuitous events) will have come as a surprise. Perhaps you became a ‘mouse potato’, spending far […]
It is the Autumn of 2026. The general election of late 2024 produced historically low voter participation and resulted in no overall parliamentary majority for any single party. A Government of National Unity has now been formed, following a protracted period of bitter in-fighting amongst Tory MPs about the dire consequences of Brexit on the […]
“After many years of campaigning,” tweeted Priti Patel, “I am delighted the Immigration Bill, which will end free movement on 31st December, has today passed through Parliament.” She then went on to assert, “We are delivering on the will of the British people” – an extraordinary falsehood given that polling has consistently shown a higher […]
Cornwall-based author Catrina Davies offers some tips for leading a better life on this beautiful planet – and for changing the broken system that is driving poverty and environmental destruction. Last Saturday I was on the BBC, talking to Simon Reeve about Cornwall and housing. Many of you have written to me about it, via email […]
Is the fat lady really singing for Dominic Cummings? Twitter is sceptical. First there was euphoria. Then a 90’s movie reference to Gwyneth Paltrow’s head being in the cardboard box Cummings carried out of No.10 Downing Street, in what looked like a very stage-managed way. (The movie was David Fincher’s neo-noir, Se7en, by the way. […]
If the close-run election in America should teach us anything at all, it is that we have a much better chance of unseating this crooked government if we stand together. Whether you voted remain, like me, or leave, we have all become victims of what I can only describe as a coup. I like my […]
Leading historians of fascism are warning that Trump will stop at nothing to retain power, and there are ominous signs that he is preparing for violence. What is the point of history is we do not learn from it? It’s a question that’s been very much on my mind in the aftermath of the US […]
After writing to my local MP, James Heappey, about the threat to food and farming posed by US agricultural interests, I received his standard acknowledgement and holding reply. It contained, as usual, the lines “I receive a large number of emails each day and whilst we do aim to respond in the order that we receive […]
A hard-hitting thread was posted on Twitter yesterday by composer and broadcaster, Howard Goodall. He called it the “Bad News Advent calendar.” Brexit is going to make life doubly difficult for the thousands of people working in the performing arts, just when they are already seeing their livelihoods wrecked by Covid-19. This is not just […]
For those of you not on Twitter we are pleased to reproduce Repubblica journalist Antonello Guerrera’s helpful compliation of highlights from Sir John Major’s barnstorming speech, 9 November, Middle Temple. Thank you, Antonello. BREAKING. Sir John Major: “Complacency and nostalgia are the route to national decline” “We are no longer a great power. We will […]
The world – and its dogs – heave a sigh of relief as sanity and empathy triumph in the US Election. Trump was the first President for 130 years not to have a Presidential dog.
This article is reproduced by kind permission of The Federal Trust 70 years ago, on 4 November 1950, the European Convention on Human Rights was signed in Rome. The ECHR was a remarkable achievement. Like its better known cousin, the EU, it has become a foundation stone of post-war peace and stability in Europe. We […]
Greetings, everyone. We are enjoying a bit of Indian summer here with temperatures in the 80s, and far too many politicians invading our state. Now I had not really planned to write this article, but it just so happened that I received my Medicare summary notice today in the mail, and thought I would share some […]
Late again! Originally intending to hibernate until after the US election, EuroDog had to come out of hibernation to comment on the PM’s latest U-turn.
Nigel Farage’s ‘new’ Reform Party is doing exactly what the far-right has always done: exploiting misery, chaos and toxic conspiracy theories. In 1919, with the world reeling from the impacts of the recently ended Great War and a devastating flu pandemic, Benito Mussolini was contemplating his future. As Denis Mack Smith writes in his History […]
I’ve been reading quite a bit by Fintan O’Toole, lately… talks on YouTube and most recently his book Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain. For me, he really helps my understanding of all things Brexit, the history of Ireland/Northern Ireland, and much more. I find he makes the ‘warp and weft’ of it […]
The findings of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on antisemitism in the Labour Party have set social media ablaze. According to the report, the Labour Party is responsible for three breaches of the Equality Act (2010) relating to (1) political interference in antisemitism complaints, (2) failure to provide adequate training to those handling […]
Historically, the City has leaned heavily to the Tories. In part, this was ideological with practitioners mostly believing in free enterprise capitalism, the small state and low taxes. In part, too, it historically reflected the background of most of its leading figures: male, privately educated and upper middle class. The frontier between finance and the […]
Michael Tomlinson, Conservative MP for Mid-Dorset North Poole (Government Whip) By convention, Whips do not speak in parliament, so Michael Tomlinson’s spoken contributions are rare, and there were none this half-term. Nor were there any written questions. Whips also tend to be circumspect outside of Parliament and avoid the press, although Tomlinson did speak out […]
Editor: When Priti Patel smirks her delight at the ending of free movement, she neglects to remind UK citizens that, whilst our European friends and neighbours have been denied the unfettered freedom to move to the UK, we have lost our rights to live, love, work and retire freely in the EU member states. 27 […]
Tobias Ellwood, Conservative MP for Bournemouth East (Chair, Defence Committee) Tobias Ellwood (elected 2005) is arguably Dorset’s most influential MP. He is a good orator, radiates gravitas and brings an energetic enthusiasm to his work. Perhaps his most memorable moment these past six weeks was labelling Boris Johnson’s trade negotiation strategy with the EU ‘Nixonian […]
It’s the last day for responses to the Government’s latest proposals to reform the planning system, to “level up” and solve the housing crisis, if you believe the spin. The proposals include zoning land (at a large scale) for development and could create a cash bonanza for landowners, as illustrated by this local story. A couple […]
When I was alerted to the fact that the public administration and constitutional affairs committee (PACAC) of the House of Commons had produced a survey asking members of the public about priorities for a constitution, democracy and rights commission, I sought it out. Like many, I think there are serious flaws in our democratic processes […]
Hear, interpret, respond: After deciphering what is going on behind the news, EuroDog decides to ride out the current storm until a silver lining turns up next week – paws crossed….
The Agriculture Bill comes back to the House of Commons on 4 November amidst growing concern from rural communities up and down the UK over the government and Conservative MPs’ stubborn refusal to enshrine food and animal welfare standards in law. Peers have voted again to beef up protection for farmers and consumers. Farmers are […]
Editor: We like to bring you Twitter threads which you may have missed or will otherwise never see because you aren’t on the platform. This is a gem. Shocking.If you have not already done so, please sign Marcus Rashford’s petition. The 322 @Conservative MPs who voted against extending Free School Meals during holidays have themselves […]
Anthony Mangnall M.P. House of Commons London SW1A 0AA 26 October 2020 Dear Mr Mangnall I’m writing this open letter to you in reply to yours of 27 July 2020, which reprimands me for calling Brexit out as a “resurgence of the disease of fascism”. Be in no doubt: that’s exactly what Brexit is. […]
Farmers will be better off if we vote to leave the EU, they said. We’d decide our own rural strategy, abolish the hated basic payment system, pay farmers more, keep and maybe even enhance farmers’ subsidies just as Switzerland, Norway and Iceland do. And we’d get rid of those pesky regulations — all while improving […]
Amazingly, this is my third #TheWeekInTory in 7 days, and if anybody wants to pay for me to go somewhere comparatively sane and relaxing for a week, I’m up for it. I hear Mogadishu is nice. Anyway, buckle up, here we go… 1. Previously on The Week In Tory: the government campaigned for Brexit so […]
On 23 October, we published an article on North Devon MP Selaine Saxby’s insensitive but revealing comment on the free school meals issue. You can read the article here. Ms Saxby has attempted to defray the criticism of her (speedily deleted) Facebook post elicited thus: Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m never very […]