Michael Gove has told LBC he has ‘on occasion’ driven to check his eyesight, but the Minister said he was ‘not an authority on driving.’ But he doesn’t believe in experts so why on earth does that matter? Perhaps, driving whilst checking your eyesight – it is of course only a mere suggestion – is… Read more
Category:
Constitution
Lost property: moral compass
I think it appropriate to add this screen shot of a civil service tweet – since. of course, deleted ( I’m told it lasted only ten minutes but got 33,000 retweets) – that went up very soon after Johnson’s lying press conference today, which showed contempt for the rule of law, never mind contempt for… Read more
What is democratic government for?
I thought that the Tax Research idea of a National Wealth Service was inspired. I commented and said exactly that. A ‘National Wealth Service’ sums up both how we pay for it and where it comes from. (I was inspired enough to suggest that the ‘National Wealth Service’ might even be the slogan for the… Read more
Constitutional defence
There is an interesting piece in the London Review of Books by Ferdinand Mount, Mrs Thatcher’s former policy advisor (and another Old Etonian), on Johnson’s government and, what has become a recurring theme on PP, his fascist tendencies. The article suggests: ‘Hobbes told us long ago, and everyone now understands, that there must be a… Read more
The sunlit uplands of England – as defined by Scotland
Another interesting moment from the recent Billy Bragg interview was how, as a good Essex boy, he called England a blank sheet which was currently largely defined by Scotland. England is of course home to more Scots than the populations of Scotland’s first and third cities combined. Dissent, he suggested, is a thread which runs… Read more
Absolute power depends on our outdated voting system
I feel obliged to point out, since I really think we must beware of our new government, that on a vote of only 44% of the actual voters, it has, as a result of our absurd voting system, been delivered power which is likely to be absolute. The old adage of absolute power corrupting is… Read more
The PM himself surrenders
This is in an encouraging blog from David Allen Green, the ‘intermittent’ FT legal correspondent. The article on yesterday’s Scottish court judgement is well worth reading – even though I’m rather unsure if he – or I – should ever refer to the act as the surrender act… Nevertheless, the conclusion is pretty devastating: British… Read more
Misusing the Monarch …
This was recent letter to the Times which makes a very good point: The Cummings Johnson constitutional wrecking ball would appear to be being used again – and Her Maj is collateral damage – again. It is deliciously ironic that her least favourite PM will have been a Tory. But it is rather worrying that,… Read more
UK Constitution unchanged by Supreme Court
That the Supreme Court has opined in the way it has, seems to be a surprise to many. I have to say not so much to me. They had to make the judgement they did – otherwise they would in fact have CHANGED the UK constitution. Parliament is supreme – not the Executive – aka… 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