This is my stand on The Radical Centre: A Ten-Point Guide. It is a seven-point programme for a radical centre 1) Introduce seriously representative democracy to replace the present pretence. This involves reasonable precision in the polling booth and mechanisms to ensure that (almost) all votes count one way or the other. It means ending the stranglehold […]
OPINION
When emotion, reason and economics collide, emotion invariably wins
Let us take the case of Germany, often believed to be a paragon of hard-headed rationality and good economic management. When the Berlin Wall came down, East Germany was freed from Soviet rule just like the other Soviet satellite states. A surge of emotional, national feeling pushed Helmut Kohl to pursue an expensive reunification project. […]
Does the West wish to offer up Russia to the Chinese?
On June 6, celebrating the 75th anniversary of their landing in Normandy, the Great Western Allied Powers had invited Germany to the festivities. But no invitation had been sent to Moscow. Yet it was the Russian army that destroyed 80 per cent of Hitler’s divisions during the Second World War (with the support of Western […]
When the Conservative Party splits…
You can’t help noticing, looking back at the past century or so of UK political history, that a split in the Conservative Party can be extremely damaging to those who are entirely innocent of it. Like now. Or like the period before the First World War, when the Conservatives were outrageously encouraging mutinies in Ulster […]
Story investment and political performance
Several years ago, I remember meeting one particular investment manager and asking him what his investment approach was. He said: ¨We avoid everything that the market thinks of as exciting¨. The strategy was based on investing in tried and tested companies that generated free cash flow. They did well. Lately, a new term has come […]
Re-imagining our societies 4: Rethinking town planning – by valuing the vested interests
“Any change is resisted because bureaucrats have a vested interest in the chaos in which they exist.” Richard Nixon There doesn’t seem to be any discussion about fundamental change of town planning development control. From the current top-down system of town planning development control. Top-down town and country planning (T&CP) has created unintended vested interests. Maybe […]
NHS hysteria bites again
The latest meme that is taking flight is that a UK trade deal with the US would somehow mean giving up the NHS. This was fueled by an interview the US ambassador gave on the Andrew Marr Show. Sound bites about the NHS being on the line have started flooding the twittersphere and other outlets. […]
Iran-America: how to avoid war
On Sunday, on an official trip to Switzerland, the US Secretary of State said that the United States was ready to talk to Iran “without preconditions”. This is an important statement, capable of initiating a pathway to peace between the two most militarily powerful nations in the Persian Gulf. As absurd as it may seem, […]
The speech Boris might have given (but can’t)
Let us imagine, for a moment, that Boris had backed Remain. He announces he is due to deliver a keynote speech. He is still a popular figure having “stuck to his guns” since 2016. The press cadre pack the room and a hush descends as the tousle-haired, shirt-tailed, blond, Churchill-discipled,classicist-manqué approaches the lectern. This is […]
The radical centre: a ten-point guide
“What people want in this country is action and not too much talk.” Rory Stewart What is the radical centre? This is suddenly a more important question than it was, now that Chuka Umanna has linked the future of his Change UK party to this idea, and – even more – since Conservative leadership candidate Rory […]
