So many times people have asked me the same question when talking about Brexit, ‘Do you not respect the referendum?’ My position is clear when it comes to whether we should leave the union or not though it is severely challenged by such a question. Yes, I respect it as a referendum though I think … Continue reading Respect the Referendum
Divisive language
The language of politics is becoming more divisive. Soundbites fall like stones in a pond and the ripples spread around the world at the speed of social media. It seems the more outlandish and provocative, the more likely they are to be taken up, liked, retweeted and shared. Every phrase is dissected by the media … Continue reading Divisive language
Until the referendum
I came across this on Quora Digest, an app where people can ask questions for others to answer. Politics looms large in the content they send me. It was from Marco Geleijnse, who studied at Radboud University Nijmegen ‘Until the referendum in 2016 I couldn’t care less about the EU. I thought of it like … Continue reading Until the referendum
Rent in twain
The veil of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. Brexit has rent this country in two. Gone are the traditional party lines of boss versus worker, white versus blue collar and in has come a new schism. You are either a leaver or a remainer. The referendum of 2016 … Continue reading Rent in twain
Collaboration is good
Another distasteful outcome of the current political crisis is the poisoning of the English language. Words that have perfectly good meanings have become tainted. Obvious ones such as leaver and remainer have become tarnished with age, color and educational attainment. Each side of the argument uses these innocent words as pejorative. That, however, is the … Continue reading Collaboration is good
The New European
I am continuing my peregrinations into the printed media. On a periodic basis, though not as regularly as I would like, I have been visiting my local newsagent or supermarket to buy a newspaper. I have not gone for the same paper, instead buying those which I have not bought before or in a … Continue reading The New European
Brexit as a chaotic system
Who knows what to believe these days? Come 1st November we are either going to be out of the Europeen Union or still in. We are going to be at the start of a golden era for a resurgent United Kingdom or floundering like a banana republic. We will be living in the land of … Continue reading Brexit as a chaotic system
Weapon of choice
Is Facebook the new Prime Minister’s weapon of choice? It seemed an odd choice of platform to use when he announced his latest wheeze, an unofficial Prime Minister's question time, apparently online. The headlined idea was to allow real people to ask questions of him which he could then answer. Of course, I imagine the … Continue reading Weapon of choice
An English Civil War
I know that times are very different from the middle of the seventeenth century but could we be heading for another English Civil War? It may sound far fetched but I wonder. The country is riven in two, between the europhobic and europhilic contingents with a split that is not far from 50:50, if you … Continue reading An English Civil War
Winners and losers
I understand that in an election, certain people win and get elected and that the opposite of winning is to lose. I accept, therefore, that in an election, candidates win or lose but I have never understood the premise that among the people, democracy has winners and losers. In our form of representative democracy, members … Continue reading Winners and losers
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 