I think we should note that Extinction Rebellion are looking to blockade the Port of Dover on Saturday. Whilst I think their protests are important – and also usually clever and impressive – just look at this poignant picture of a funeral march for the climate a couple of months ago in Exeter, further described here…. Read more
More light on sweetness
I confess this is not my usual read but if David Davis, a former employee of Tate & Lyle, sponsors of the Tory Party, and one of the few companies in favour of Brexit, can cast aspersions on Britain’s public health policy then I think I might suggest that the game is up! The only… Read more
Some analysis on the recent Northern Ireland Lord Ashcroft Poll
Introduction The latest Lord Ashcroft poll or Northern Ireland was published on the 11th September. The results agrees closely with previous polls by Lord Aschroft, Delta Poll and Lucid Talk. Support for a United Ireland (UI) remains at around 50% and for the backstop around 60%. Historically support for a UI had run at around… Read more
The King hath no prerogative other than that the law of the land allows him
The title is from the Case of Proclamations which dates back to James I ironically – or indicatively? – England’s first Scottish king. So the idea that the prerogative to prorogue Parliament is not ‘justiciable’ should be for the birds. So far, the current case in the Supreme Court has mentioned nothing of this –… Read more
Johnson’s humanity and Cameron’s lack
There has been much controversy over a recent Guardian editorial on the ‘privileged pain’ of David Cameron using the health service. Following what the media refers to as an outcry the editorial has been much modified. Even modified, there is much to agree with: No one should be blamed for their parents or their luck…. Read more
Unconstitutional oligarchy
The essence of the judicial system is to be wise after the event even if there is usually a certain effort to imply that judges knew all along. In our current constitutional crisis it will be difficult to imply prior knowledge of any sort as otherwise there would be no crisis. Yet surely the Supreme… Read more
Hoping for slacker fiscal rules..
Chris Giles is the FT’s economic correspondent and in a tweet he has said “I’ve suggested a looser fiscal framework than John McDonnell and Sajid Javid.” Perhaps he’s just listened to Alexei Sale on Radio 4 “Austerity is the idea that the global financial crash of 2008 was caused by there being too many libraries… Read more
Livestock turns food we cannot eat into protein
I think that we should really take this American graphic on board. They, unlike the UK, have lots of factory farms and their normal method of raising livestock is to finish them by fattening them on grain. And isn’t it funny how everyone knows this but does not seem to recognise that eating grain is… Read more
Advice for Mr Farage…
There is a very interesting article in the Wall Street Journal on Immigration in Hungary. As Jonathan Portes would say, immigrants have to ‘want to come to your country’. But to Hungary? With a declining population and a prosperous EU economy the Oxford educated (yes, really) Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, has little choice. It seems… Read more
The Divine Right of Government
In difficult times, I’m being conceited enough to suggest that this [necessarily edited] post on Taxresearch.co.uk is worth emphasising…. I doubt very much whether the EU would wish to get involved in the UK constitutional arrangements. I’d suggest they are far more likely to give us a unilateral extension to enable us to sort it… Read more
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