Section: Politics

Reset. What reset? After a much-heralded Downing Street ‘reset’ following the departure of Cummings and Cain, it soon become evident that it was business as usual.

This government doesn’t do irony, does it? Hypocrisy? Yes! In spades! Sadie Parker goes a bit deeper into the Patel Bullygate scandal. Ed The Anti-Bullying Alliance was all ready to go with an impressive package of events, resources and merchandise in support of anti-bullying week, which this year fell on 16-20 November. Their aim: to […]

As you may know, we sometimes reproduce Twitter threads for the benefit of those not on the platform. This thread caught our eye and, though it makes rather grim reading, thought our readers might appreciate it. Imagine this You wake up in bed with your partner, your little ones are asleep in their bedrooms. It’s […]

Earlier this week I imagined, not altogether seriously, how Boris Johnson came to create his ten point plan for the climate, or the green industrial revolution, if you like. At the time, there was no detail other than the prime minister’s article in the Financial Times and a shortish press release. Now the government has […]

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. There are precious few upsides to Brexit, but here’s one. We’re coming out of the EU’s dysfunctional system for regulating genetically modified (GM) crops! What do we know? It’s a quarter of a century since the first GM crop, a tomato modified to prolong its […]

Dr Cathy Gardner and Ms Fay Harris’ case goes to full trial. So said the QC representing Dr Cathy Gardner and Ms Fay Harris whose fathers died in care homes after Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospitals earlier this year. A woman discharged from hospital to Dr Gardner’s father’s care home had previously tested positive. […]

Boris Johnson is failing, and Tories are already sniffing around for a replacement. It used to be a shoo-in for Sunak, cos he’s been Mr Giveaway. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/nov/20/rishi-sunak-warned-not-to-freeze-public-sector-pay-in-mini-budget But soon he’ll be Mr PayItBack, and his star will fall. So who’s next? Here are the runners and riders… Priti Patel, Home Secretary and Horcrux. Nurse Ratched […]

Priti Patel’s contempt for ethical standards is what put her in her job – it was never going to give Boris Johnson reason to sack her. When Dominic Cummings announced he would be leaving Downing Street, some excited commentators speculated that this might signal a fresh new phase in Boris Johnson’s government. “Will the departure […]

Not content with fiercely resisting calls to provide our poorest children with free school meals twice this year, the conservative government is charging headlong into a Brexit that risks all our school children going hungry in Brexit Britain. On Tuesday 17 November 2020, the Department for Education (DfE) released guidance on how schools should prepare […]

Like many others I have spent all too many hours recently gazing at CNN, willing those voting numbers to change, and remove President Trump from the White House. In the process I have learned a great deal about the geography, sociology and politics of the United States, thanks to their excellent and informative coverage. This […]

Miles King reimagines Boris Johnson’s latest week.  Imagine the scene. Our fearless prime minister is holed up in his flat above No.11 Downing Street, self-isolating. He’s fuming, having received a message from Dido’s fabulous test ‘n’ trace app that he has been exposed to Covid-19, again. The perpetrator of infection is none other than hard […]

Unpacking Johnson’s messaging about his need to self-isolate: Johnson’s messaging to colleagues by Twitter and WhatsApp after he was contacted to self-isolate demonstrates a Trump-like understanding of Covid-19.

The relief, and even joy, at Joe Biden’s win in the US elections has been somewhat tempered by the spotlight it has shone on something that has been lacking in our politics for years, but is now more obvious than ever by its absence. Respect. And by that I mean respect for the opposition. As […]

The going of Cummings: Whilst Johnson ponders the bigger picture, his Cabinet settles down to urgent business. At the end of the day, Dilyn the dog and Larry the cat reflect on what came to pass as Cummings and Cain left No 10 on a very special Friday 13th.

What an extraordinary week the first week of lockdown turned out to be. We have become so used to catastrophe with this ‘camorra’ of a government (a group united for nefarious or traitorous ends), that this week’s ‘eucatastrophes’ (sudden fortuitous events) will have come as a surprise. Perhaps you became a ‘mouse potato’, spending far […]

It is the Autumn of 2026. The general election of late 2024 produced historically low voter participation and resulted in no overall parliamentary majority for any single party. A Government of National Unity has now been formed, following a protracted period of bitter in-fighting amongst Tory MPs about the dire consequences of Brexit on the […]

Grassroots campaign group Save Our Hospital Services (SOHS) says Devon’s health services are under attack. They are holding a public meeting (via Zoom) on the threats to health Services in Devon. The public are invited to learn more about the future of their health service in a Zoom meeting on 10 December organised by campaign group, […]

“After many years of campaigning,” tweeted Priti Patel, “I am delighted the Immigration Bill, which will end free movement on 31st December, has today passed through Parliament.” She then went on to assert, “We are delivering on the will of the British people” – an extraordinary falsehood given that polling has consistently shown a higher […]

Cornwall-based author Catrina Davies offers some tips for leading a better life on this beautiful planet – and for changing the broken system that is driving poverty and environmental destruction. Last Saturday I was on the BBC, talking to Simon Reeve about Cornwall and housing. Many of you have written to me about it, via email […]

Is the fat lady really singing for Dominic Cummings? Twitter is sceptical. First there was euphoria. Then a 90’s movie reference to Gwyneth Paltrow’s head being in the cardboard box Cummings carried out of No.10 Downing Street, in what looked like a very stage-managed way. (The movie was David Fincher’s neo-noir, Se7en, by the way. […]

If the close-run election in America should teach us anything at all, it is that we have a much better chance of unseating this crooked government if we stand together. Whether you voted remain, like me, or leave, we have all become victims of what I can only describe as a coup. I like my […]

Leading historians of fascism are warning that Trump will stop at nothing to retain power, and there are ominous signs that he is preparing for violence. What is the point of history is we do not learn from it? It’s a question that’s been very much on my mind in the aftermath of the US […]

After writing to my local MP, James Heappey, about the threat to food and farming posed by US agricultural interests, I received his standard acknowledgement and holding reply. It contained, as usual, the lines “I receive a large number of emails each day and whilst we do aim to respond in the order that we receive […]

A hard-hitting thread was posted on Twitter yesterday by composer and broadcaster, Howard Goodall. He called it the “Bad News Advent calendar.” Brexit is going to make life doubly difficult for the thousands of people working in the performing arts, just when they are already seeing their livelihoods wrecked by Covid-19. This is not just […]

For those of you not on Twitter we are pleased to reproduce Repubblica journalist Antonello Guerrera’s helpful compliation of highlights from Sir John Major’s barnstorming speech, 9 November, Middle Temple. Thank you, Antonello. BREAKING. Sir John Major: “Complacency and nostalgia are the route to national decline” “We are no longer a great power. We will […]

The world – and its dogs – heave a sigh of relief as sanity and empathy triumph in the US Election. Trump was the first President for 130 years not to have a Presidential dog.

If the events of the past few days have shown us anything, it is that, in the end, truth really must and will prevail. Big whoppers, small fibs – doesn’t really matter. A lie is a lie is a lie and spinning it as a half truth won’t wash. Let’s just consider the circled text […]

Hello lockdown, my old friend; I’ve come to walk with you again. How are we all feeling? You may have awoken early in a state of uhtceare (pronounced uht-kay-ara; the ‘h’ is as in ‘loch’), an Anglo-Saxon expression for the ‘sorrow before dawn’ when you lie awake in the darkness and worry about the day […]

This article is reproduced by kind permission of The Federal Trust 70 years ago, on 4 November 1950, the European Convention on Human Rights was signed in Rome. The ECHR was a remarkable achievement. Like its better known cousin, the EU, it has become a foundation stone of post-war peace and stability in Europe. We […]

Despite the best efforts of the Lords, despite the emails and tractor protests and the efforts of the campaign to Save British Farming, only one of our region’s Conservative MPs had the guts to stand up for farmers and try to guarantee them a level playing field in any trade deals. ONE. Simon Hoare, MP […]