Judging by left of centre news outlets and social media, the proposed Garden Bridge across the Thames is the worst thing since George Osborne. Thus we find ourselves in an odd situation: the Right championing a piece of public expenditure based on greenery, one the Left seems to hate the very idea of. Why? Is […]
Archives for January 2016
A new book by a friend reminds me of how laws made in the grip of hysteria can have unintended consequences
A new book by David Boyle entitled Scandal: How Homosexuality Became a Crime has just been published. It is about how a sex scandal in Dublin in 1884 led directly to homosexuality becoming a crime across the UK (sodomy was illegal already, but not any and all homosexual activity until the amendment passed in 1885 off the […]
There is a huge difference between Keynesianism and socialism that many on the left fail to comprehend
I’m getting very tired of reading articles in left leaning outlets in which Keynesianism and socialism are either conflated or worse, mixed together in a big bowl of philosophical mush. The reason for my annoyance in this regard is simple: the two are incompatible. Explaining the theories of John Maynard Keynes in any depth would […]
Whatever else is happening under Corbyn, Scotland clearly isn’t returning to Labour under his leadership
There was a new poll Holyrood election poll that was published late last week: SNP 52% LAB 21% CON 16% LD 7% OTHER 4%. Other than seeing again the by now predictable massive Nats lead, what does this poll tell us? Principally that whatever else Corbynites are constantly saying about what Jeremy will do for the electoral prospects […]
The unspoken problem regarding the junior doctor’s strike for the Left
Jeremy Hunt v junior doctors is a battle that continues to rage. Corbyn’s Labour Party have taken an unequivocal position: the junior doctors can strike as long and as deep as they like. Usually, a Labour opposition in this position would cover its backside, just in case someone dies as a result of the whole […]
Why the word “moderate” is so powerful in politics
I remember when I became totally convinced that Barack Obama was going to be re-elected president of the United States for a second term: it was in January, 2012, and I watched Newt Gingrich try and insult his rival for the Republican nomination, Mitt Romney, by calling him “a timid Massachusetts moderate”. Every word in […]
Finally! An English national anthem is discussed to replace “God Save the Queen”
It was announced yesterday that MPs are to debate changing the anthem sung by specifically English teams at relevant sporting events from “God Save the Queen” to something else. Hoo-bloody-rah, I say: finally. It should be stated that we have been here before – both 2006 and 2007 saw early day motions on the topic […]
Why I became a First Past the Post convert
As someone who worked on the AV referendum campaign and for the Electoral Reform Society, I don’t write this article lightly. I have been on the coalface of attempts to change the voting system in this country on more than one occasion. But for some time now I’ve known something and been looking for the […]
Ted Cruz and Canada: why the Obama “birthers” thing has me more confused than ever
During the almost seven years of Barack Obama’s presidency of the United States of America, various people on the right of American politics have repeatedly tried to assert that he isn’t fit for office because he was, according to them, not born in the US but rather in Kenya. This has to do with a […]
Talk around the Trade Union Bill is amazingly subdued considering what its consequences might be
It hits the news this morning that the Trade Union Bill, which has cleared the Commons already and is facing its second reading in the Lords today, could cost Labour up to £6 million pounds a year in terms of funding. To put this in perspective, the Labour Party spent £35 million in 2014, a […]