In his recent blog http://www.progressivepulse.org/brexit/the-state-of-the-unions-between-england-scotland-and-northern-ireland my fellow PP blogger, Sean Danaher, makes his usual excellent dissection of recent polls on the subject of Brexit and the way this may impact relations between the various countries of the UK and Ireland, and specifically the potential for creating opportunities for a united Ireland and independent Scotland. Sean also… Read more
Category:
Politics
The essence of our age – Reverse Luddism
There is rather an interesting article in the London ‘Evening Standard’. I know it is now highly suspect as a source – and additionally of course, it is nominally at least, edited by George Osborne. This piece however, is really opinion and I think it is actually opinion worth considering. It certainly has a bearing… Read more
Neoliberalism is driving us nuts
– if we live to realise it at all. Interesting short article in (remarkably) the ‘Telegraph’ from the Health Foundation think tank. People, since 2010 (I wonder what happened then?) have been – and, as far as I can see, this is unique in Europe – been living less long, and so too, are current… Read more
The secrecy of the secret ballot
Having been uneasy at the recent voting identity trials which were completely unjustified by the evidence, I wrote to my MP, taking advantage to raise at the same time the question of a lack of any actual secret ballot – as an identifying number is put on each ballot paper stub. To my surprise he… Read more
Justice for Serco?
Oh dear. It seems the replacement Justice Minister for Philip Lee is a former top boss of outsourcing firm Serco, which enjoys millions of pounds from UK government contracts and which manages five prisons in England and Wales. As far as I can remember it is still under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office over… Read more
Minister Resigns on Principle Shock
Philip Lee, the – Secretary of State for Youth Justice in the Justice Department resigned yesterday, Tuesday 12 June. Whilst most attention shone on what it meant for the Prime Minister, the man himself had, in his resignation statement, some interesting things to say, which are well worth highlighting. …as the [Brexit] negotiations are unfolding,… Read more
“The UK’s bargaining power, with A50 untriggered, would have been much greater.”
The title is a quote from a recent Simon Wren Lewis blog on the disastrous Brexit performance of our current, so called government. I’ve always maintained that Theresa May is easily the worst Prime Minister since the Second World War. I’m, in an odd way, reassured that Simon Wren Lewis has written an excoriating article… Read more
Windrush convictions
It appears that our new home secretary, Sajid Javid, has yet to get to grips with his new position. He was on yesterday’s Andrew Marr programme suggesting that 32 of those ‘Windrush’ arrivals found by the government to have been wrongly deported were in fact “serious offenders”, so would not be entitled to compensation. Apart… Read more
Potholes, neglect and the wanton vandalism of local infrastructure
No one who uses any form of road transport can have missed the appalling condition of roads in England. But here I need to add an immediate qualifier: I’m talking specifically about urban, suburban and rural roads that fall under the responsibility of local highway authorities (i.e. local councils). I’m not talking about the motorways… Read more
Burning tallies – and what bankers have forgotten
I mentioned the burning down of Parliament in my earlier post on a federal Britain. Famously it took place to general approval of the rubbernecking public. As Thomas Carlyle put it, “A man sorry I did not anywhere see.” I doubt it would be different now – although JMW Turner’s painting would doubtless be replaced… Read more