politics

Image thanks to The Independant Two lessons that I have learnt about tax and politics this week:  You can never trust what politicians say about future taxation (not that I did anyway)It is stupid for politiocians to make any promises about tax rates in the future as they hold themselves hostage to fortune and it … Continue reading Old age tax

Image thanks to Motor Transport I was coming out of a local shopping mall recently and saw a poster encouraging people to come and work for a well known parcel distribution company. Having experienced some shortages at the supermarket, though nothing significant, I am aware that attracting and retaining drivers is a hot button issue.  … Continue reading Want to be a delivery driver?

In the New European a few weeks ago there was an article about conspiracy theories and how easy and common it is to fall for them. Of the eight or so it listed there was one that I partially believed, while my wife leant to five or six. The one that made me think was … Continue reading Money as a global government

Image thanks to US News If the situation in Afghanistan has shown us anything, it is that there are significant limits to democracy, limits that severely question its legitimacy as a political system. While he is no hero of mine, it was Churchill who said that ‘democracy is the worst form of government – except … Continue reading The limits of democracy

Image thanks to Sky News Some of the best advice I have seen on Twitter this week was to do with the situation in Afghanistan. The author said basically that if you don’t know what you are talking about then don’t comment. I haven’t got a clue what is happening there and while I have … Continue reading What is going on?

Back in the day The miners’ strike may have seemed to be a distant memory by now, yet a crass comment has opened up old wounds.  Though from a strong mining area, I have never had any direct connection to the industry. At the time it all kicked off we were living in Oxford, trying … Continue reading The miners’ strike

Image thanks to LinkedIn There are some areas in which I agree with this government. The need to level up is one of them. The UK is very unequal. It is a rich country filled with poor people with a large disparity between those who have and those who have not. On average things look … Continue reading Levelling up

Image thanks to Prospect magazine We’re at war! Nobody told me, when was it declared? Who are we fighting and why? It’s a culture war apparently, where society splits into two based upon some arbitrary and random issue. It’s a bit like a civil war but without guns. Yet! We’ve had them before. They’re meant … Continue reading A culture war

Now that the dust has settled, I can say that I was the one who didn’t watch it. On Sunday night rather than sitting in front of the football, I went to bed. I couldn't stand the tension. I think some of  it was the hype and hubris that surrounded the team as it progressed … Continue reading Football!

Image thanks to Sky News Quite rightly, our newspapers are filled with stories of political and human rights abuses from around the world. We may well worry how the Chinese government continues to tighten its grip on the people of Hong Kong and is determined to quash any pro-democracy movement as we see it. We … Continue reading How loud?