It will be 55 years this month since the Beatles’ iconic, rooftop performance on Saville Row. This was the end of an era, end of a dream. With any luck, this year will see the end of a nightmare.
Blog
Alan SimpsonIn the Land of the Bland …
COP28 has been a retreat from nativity into pantomime. For the real world, it drifted closer to tragedy. As the deadline approached, climate activists held their breath but fossil lobbyists held the pursestrings. A host...
Who will save Israel from itself?
The world breathed a sigh of relief at the ‘pause’ in the Gaza bombings. Most shared something of the relief expressed by families of the released hostages and of the aid getting into Gaza. Many connected with the...
From the river to the sea – how global politics has abandoned the Middle East
I can barely decide whether to write or weep. The relentless bombing of Gaza is a tragedy of epic proportions. Nothing excuses the atrocities committed by Hamas. But as things stand, a Palestinian child is being killed...
The Sound of Silence
A politics beyond breakdown It’s hard to focus on anything other than Gaza at the moment. Its incessant bombing won’t have had anyone celebrating Paul Simon’s 82nd birthday by singing “Hello darkness, my old friend…”...
The Unravelling
When systems break down, contradictions pour out everywhere. Just as the flood waters washed whole districts of Derna (Libya) into the sea, former Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, claimed it was...
Broken Britain
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...
The 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...
