politics

Image thanks to Haggis_UK By-elections are never a good indicator of what will happen at a general election. The two in June, however, have got the Tory’s rattled and quite rightly. Wakefield is in the so-called red wall of former Labour seats while Tiverton and Honiton is at the opposite end of the country, both … Continue reading Dishonest pact

The signing of the Withdrawal Agreement is a fantastic moment, which finally delivers the result of the 2016 referendum and brings to an end far too many years of argument and division. Boris Johnson 24 January 2020. Here we are, two and half years later, some six years after the referendum and it still feels … Continue reading Protocol

Perhaps it's the circles I move in but most of my colleagues are against having a monarchy and have avoided any ‘celebrations’ over last weekend. Even those who did join in did so less from a sense of support for royalty but to enjoy the spectacle. There is a growing republican movement in this country … Continue reading Time for change

I'm a republican, a citizen not a subject. I believe that the concept of monarchy, where power is passed on by an accident of birth, is an anachronism and an insult to democracy. You can imagine then, that this is an interesting, difficult, and conflicting time for me. The country seems to be swept up … Continue reading Long live the…

Well, there’s a sentence I never thought I would write. It’s true, at least in part. Last Friday’s headlines screamed ‘WHAT A FARCICAL WASTE OF TIME AND £460,000’ referring to the ongoing PartyGate scandal and the subsequent ‘investigation’ by the Metropolitan Police. The whole affair has without doubt been an incredible waste of time and … Continue reading I agree with the Daily Mail

I wish the Queen well, she is obviously not well yet her lack of attendance at this year’s Queen’s Speech once again highlights the mockery we have of a democratic system. According to a statement from Buckingham Palace, “The Queen continues to experience episodic mobility problems, and in consultation with her doctors has reluctantly decided … Continue reading The Queen’s Speech

Image thanks to Brighton Journal According to a poll, 42% of people aged 18-24 are not aware local elections are taking place on 5th May. Should we be worried? (BTW I can’t actually find the poll but it’s all over Twitter so it must be true.) Perhaps but not necessarily in the way the headline … Continue reading Should we be worried?

Easter has been and gone for another year. I hope you managed to have a nice break. Not everyone did as it was plain to see that the vitriol in politics never took any time off. It has now become a tradition at Easter for politicians, especially Conservative ones, to post a message proclaiming their … Continue reading A basic lack of understanding

The Prime Minister broke the law, his own law, one that he banged on and on about at the almost nightly COVID briefings. Not that anyone was listening. Clearly he wasn’t . The Chancellor broke the law, the same law as did almost fifty others. Downing Street is awash with law breakers. The two most … Continue reading Law breakers

One of the biggest challenges of democracy is its ability or inability to make difficult decisions. Turkeys rarely vote for Christmas yet it is clear that there is an increasing number of difficult decisions that lie ahead, both for the country and globally. Issues such as how will we pay for an ageing population and … Continue reading Difficult decisions