A Benign Dictator

Over the last few months I have been in many conversations about the problems we have with democracy in this country, in that it is not democratic. Often people have said to me that they have lost faith in democracy and that it would be better to have a benign dictator, someone who is mild … Continue reading A Benign Dictator

Forget forecasts

The art of forecasting is falling out of favour. Its usefulness as a prediction of the future has come under severe pressure. This is especially true in the world of political forecasting and for one reason, forecasts in this sense are invariably wrong. They have now become synonymous with the other meaning of the word, … Continue reading Forget forecasts

Pants on fire

In politics these days, the truth is a very fluid concept. Time and time again, leading politicians have been shown to say things that are wrong. This is understandable as we live in a highly dynamic world where no one can be expected to get everything right. What is unacceptable however, is when these ‘facts’ … Continue reading Pants on fire

Failing state

Grayling has managed to live up to his reputation again. He has failed to secure the lead of the Intelligence and Security Committee. At least this time he managed to fail before being given the job instead of during it. Instead, another Conservative MP, Julian Lewis has won the position. This is not the real … Continue reading Failing state

Why voting should not be mandatory

Voter turnout in this country is not great. At the 2019 general election 67% of the people that are eligible actually put their mark on a ballot paper. So what happened to the other third? Why did they not vote and what can be done about it? One way of solving the problem would be … Continue reading Why voting should not be mandatory

The existential threat of nationalism

I have been listening to ‘The End of the World with Josh Clark’ a podcast on iHeartRadio. It was recommended to me by my eldest daughter and while I am fairly new to podcasts, I am enjoying the experience, even if the series is very disturbing. I won’t spoil it for you but each episode … Continue reading The existential threat of nationalism

PPE

No one should be criticised for not being able to see the future but criticism is valid when a vision of a likely future is laid out and those responsible do not take action. This is the accusation against the government and its seeming inability to provide the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to the … Continue reading PPE