Posts by Alan Simpson

…neoliberalism’s unstoppable implosion Don’t be distracted by the pantomime of Liz Truss’ resignation. A bigger game is in play; the complete implosion of the Conservative Party. Ever since the days of Margaret Thatcher, the Tory Party has been embroiled in an internal war between competing ideologies. Now the gloves are off. Neoliberal outriders stalked John…

the politics of Truss and turmoil Forget celebrating the government’s screeching U-turn over plans to cut the top rate of tax on high earners. The Truss administration is already a car crash with few survivors. Once Tory MPs found that even in the most loyal areas they couldn’t go down the street without being abused,…

  Step aside from traditional pro/anti monarchy arguments for a moment. There’s a more interesting space to dig into. Public expressions of loss and insecurity are entirely rational. We have much to feel insecure about. Energy price rises, food shortages, floods, fires, famine, toxic air, sewage discharges and business collapse queue up threatening to trash…

The politics of complete confusion As the Tory leadership race tediously draws to a close, even Conservative Party members are hoping that any knock on the door comes from Jehovah’s Witnesses rather than Truss or Sunak. At least God’s canvassers admit to having no political connection to the temporal crises we are locked into. The…

Easter Island may now be a World Heritage site, but its once complex and integrated society finally collapsed in an orgy of civil war and cannibalism. In today’s Britain, this is replayed in the Conservative Party Leadership race. The direction of travel is not much different. Arrogance and over consumption brought a once-prosperous society to…

Britain swelters in an unprecedented heatwave. Tens of thousands of people across Europe flee from fires that defy public control. The Climate Change Committee reports that Britain is falling behind in its existing climate commitments. And scientists warn that even if we meet the 1.5°C target todays heatwaves are likely to become the summer norm.…

‘Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ Resist the temptation to wallow in the civil war Conservative MPs are embroiled in or the resignation of yet another of Boris Johnson’s Ethics Advisors. Johnson lurches between sophistry and stupidity, and Labour may think all its Christmases have arrived at once, but more serious issues hang…

Just over 40 years ago, on 26th April 1982, Margaret Thatcher weaponised the word ‘Rejoice’. It became a term that would forever divide the nation; the assassin’s kiss Thatcherite zealots would use, as much against their own ‘One Nation’ Tories as against Labour and the poor. Thatcher’s ‘Rejoice’ announced Britain’s first ‘victory’ in the Falklands/Malvinas…