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...
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Alan Simpson
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
