Yesterday was the big showdown within the Labour Party regarding what stance would be taken on bombing Syria. As a politics nerd, I was on the edge of my seat. Oh the drama! McCluskey’s intervention, Corbyn remaining resolute pre-shadow cabinet meeting (rumour has it, egged on by Milne), the meeting in question getting shoved back […]
The current security situation is where the two sides of the right are now clashing
In the wake of the Paris attacks, the Met have issued strong warnings to the Chancellor around police cuts. Some of the planned cuts to the police have been spelled out by Lord Blair, the former Met commissioner in some pretty stark words: “This is the most perilous terrorist threat in our history. The British […]
Is there a solution to the Syria situation?
One thing everyone can agree on, whether they be dove or hawk, liberal or conservative, is that Syria is a nightmarish mess. Paris and November 13th have brought all that back into focus for the West – even if we thought there was a simple solution to the migration crisis (which there isn’t), no one […]
Although it pains me to say it, the Obama administration’s foreign policy has been pretty bad overall
I was one of those people who shed a little tear when Barack Obama was elected president of the United States of America on November 4th, 2008. There were a lot of reasons the election of the man gave me hope: partly it was that the notion that “anyone” could become president had finally been […]
Instead of closing borders, we just need to finish off Daesh once and for all
After the horror of the Paris shootings, social media gave me some idea of people’s initial reactions. There was a lot of Islamophobia as you might expect – and by that I don’t mean Islamophobia in the way people on the Left often use the phrase and which annoys other people since it is supposedly […]
The western press has developed a cavalier approach to liberal democracy of late, hasn’t it?
Late last week, social media alerted me to a TIME article entitled, “Azerbaijan Is an Oasis of Tolerance in the Middle East“. If that title didn’t cause you to at least raise your eyebrows if not laugh out loud, you probably don’t know much about Azerbaijan. I have spent time in Caucasian country in question, […]
The Liberals winning in Canada is a victory for liberalism, not leftism
As one who grew up in Canada, I was heartened to see this week’s election got some attention in the UK. Most of this seemed to revolve around those on the centre-left praising the fall of Harper and the rise of Trudeau Jnr. While I can agree with them that seeing the back of Harper is […]
The latest Russian moves in Syria show how much the West has failed in the region
I’ve found the recent Russian intervention in Syria so depressing, I’ve had to stop reading about further developments on it. I just think about the death toll; all those people in Syria who have fought against the Assad regime in the hopes of a democratic future for their country; those who thought the US would […]
Here’s one time I’m glad Cameron has a habit of backing down
Every once in a while, an image so powerful it can change public opinion, or turn it even further in one direction, comes along. The day before yesterday, we were given one such image: that of a small boy lying face down on a beach, dead. If you have children of your own – and […]
The Iran deal is such a no-brainer, opposition to it is incomprehensible
According to a poll, 58% of Americans are against the nuclear deal with Iran. Given it was pretty much the only realistic option available to the American government, on the surface of it this majority opinion is rather odd. Let’s run through the basics of the deal briefly: in 2002, the Americans obtained solid proof […]