What happens when everything falls apart? The roof is falling in on the British economy. For over 150 schools in England this is a literal as well as a figurative truth. On the eve of the autumn term, schools were...
Blog
Alan SimpsonThe Battle of Hastings and beyond
August is the silly season in British politics but behind the scenes something important is happening. There’s a new ‘Battle of Hastings’ brewing. This has nothing to do with the Norman conquests. But its consequences...
A Feast of Fools
What happens when politics gets lost? British politics has lost the plot. Rishi Sunak isn’t a clever charlatan like Boris Johnson. He’s more superficial; a cartoon ‘bear with little brain’. His grasp of issues is mainly...
Bridge(town) Over Troubled Waters
Sometimes you have to look for inspiration elsewhere if you want to get out of a mess. Right now, Barbados would not be a bad place to start. Its Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, has successfully persuaded global leaders...
Shadowlands: the next tsunami
Forget Boris Johnson. He is a sideshow in the disintegration of human values surrounding us. Greater self-deceiving dishonesties are to be found in the institutions that claim to hold society together. Of course Johnson...
Sunak’s Hunger Games
Britain’s descent into dystopian democracy The government is desperate. Its latest attack on refugees is the pursuit of small minds not ‘small boats’. Division, distraction and prejudice are the only electoral cards the...
A (hospital) bed for the night
I hear that in New York At the corner of 26th street and Broadway A man stands every evening during the winter months And gets beds for the homeless there By appealing to passers-by. … A few people have a bed for the...
Escaping the Matrix
a search for post-fantasy politics Few people would ever mistake former Tory Health Minister, Matt Hancock for Keanu Reeves. However, his involvement in the ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here’ TV series has become...
All the King’s horses
…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...
The Winter of Our Discontent
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...
