Amidst all the talk of Johnson being a one nation Conservative we have the admission, it seems, of a complete break from the EU on WTO terms. That puts both Industry and Local Authorities in an unbelievably difficult position. See, for example, Claire Wright’s speech in Devon County Council’s recent session, which means they have… Read more
Category:
UK
Authoritarian Capitalism
CoronaVirus could possibly, spell the end for some Eurozone banks as by pushing the Eurozone ito recession it could make their lives very difficult. It is certainly true that the German economy particularly, export orientated as it is, has suffered since the Chinese downturn and CoronaVirus cannot be helpful. I would not be surprised if… 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
A Fond Farewell to the UK from an EU27 citizen? – part II (Education, Industry and Media)
Introduction In Part I, I discussed origins, but three cultural and historical differences struck me fairly immediately when I came to work in England in 1981. First, many scientists I met seemed to have little knowledge of the humanities. Correspondingly, knowledge of science seemed lacking among non-scientists. I was hardly the first to notice. C.P…. Read more
Midland or Northern Lords…
Well, at last a Tory idea I can agree with… shift the Lords! Of course appointed patronage should not exist as such – but, given that it does, what is not to like about giving them a sojourn in Brum – for example? Whether in Brum or the North it is much more central to… Read more
Ensuring children understand their futures
Following on from my article mentioning that resonating quote that “We are too much inclined to treat voters as consumers who are are always right, rather than voters who have a civic duty to inform themselves.” I’m increasingly inclined to suggest that people should have to pass an exam before voting. I’m certainly aware that… Read more
The Atlas of Economic Complexity and UK and Irish Exports over the past decade
Introduction Previously the MIT based Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) has featured in PP posts, but another resource (Harvard), the Atlas of Economic Complexity, (AEC) has not. It is a useful trade resource and well worth exploring as it seems to have more visualisation options than the OEC. Much of the underlying data is the… Read more
Trying to understand the right wing mind – continued
There is a revealing recent article in the FT where it is suggested that Clare Foges, who was a speech writer for former UK prime minister David Cameron, argued that to help people climb the ladder we should teach them to “emulate the ease and studied informality of the privileged”. Ms Foges has described how,… Read more
Extinction Rebellion, the Police purpose – and us
According to the most recent ‘Sunday Times’, the joint founders of the Extinction Rebellion, Roger Hallam of King’s College, London and Gail Bradbrook, have spent the last three years researching one hundred years of reform movements and were convinced that the overwhelming evidence for successful reform came about by peaceful protest. Good for them. Instictively,… Read more
Demographic Reversal in These Islands
Introduction Over the past century two ratios which have been positive, the ratio of Irish in the UK and visa versa and the ratio of Protestants to Catholics in Northern Ireland, are likely to invert. Currently there are more Irish in the UK and more Protestants in Northern Ireland than visa versa. Irish in the… Read more