“I will assert the privilege of yielding to the force of argument and conviction, and acting upon the result of enlarged experience. It may be supposed that there is something humiliating in making such admissions; Sir, I feel no such humiliation. I have not so much confidence in the capacity of man to determine what is […]
OPINION
Back to square one with the Brexit constipation
Who should we blame for the bizarre and humiliating indecision in which the Mother of Parliaments finds itself, having kept the government in power when it cannot deliver its programme? Well, first, the cabinet, for failing to force the Prime Minister to listen – as she finally claims to be doing – or at least […]
How the West lost influence in the middle east
By Renaud Girard in Beirut Since the start of the decade, the movement known as the ‘Arab Spring’ has represented a clash between two ideologies, the liberal western ideology and the Islamist ideology of movement of the Muslim Brothers. This is war where neither will emerge as a victor. It is a war that has […]
Building homes in a no-growth economy
In England, we have come to rely upon a comfortable time-lag of fifty years between the perception that something ought to be done and a serious attempt to do it. H. G. Wells Those of us without a vested interest in growth, now see increasing symptoms of no growth, especially in prosperity. The goings on […]
Such an incompetent government? No, it’s worse than that
Have we ever had such an incompetent government? Isn’t it so embarrassing? That is how the chattering classes seem to be reacting to the admittedly dire performance of our own government when it came to rising to the challenge of Brexit. But I have to say: I don’t really agree with their fundamental analysis. The […]
Central bankers are not deities
The US Federal Reserve seems to be doing a slow U-turn on its previously hawkish monetary policy stance. Jerome Powell’s latest calming words have reassured financial markets and led to a small stock market rebound (at least for the moment). Is this a good thing? The first question that arises is the extent to which central […]
Why the Lib Dems will benefit from rival centre parties – in the end…
At one of my family gatherings over Christmas, I found myself arguing a somewhat radical position about what is likely to happen to the shape of politics in the UK over the course of this new year. I was a little surprised at myself, having not previously been aware that this is what I thought. […]
Why 2019 is a sad half century anniversary for the German SPD
The German SPD Social Democratic party is in deep crisis. A reluctant coalition partner once again with Angela Merkel’s CDU, poll ratings place the SPD currently at 14 per cent at a Federal level, about the same as the far-right AFD and far short of the Greens at 20 per cent. While a number of SPD ministers are […]
We are on the verge of a whole new political era, no matter what happens. So why doesn’t it feel like it?
This is a very, very strange time for British politics. The Article 50 period runs out in a mere 81 days. Having thought it through, I don’t see how we’re not on the verge of a new political era, very different even to the one we’ve inherited since June 24th of 2016. Yet it doesn’t […]
How badly do we need the Ashdown style now?
Of all the unlikely pieces of news that have belaboured us in recent weeks, the news that Paddy Ashdown has died – with all his drive and vitality – seems in some ways the most unlikely. I admired him enormously, perhaps too much to know him as well as I would have liked. But he […]
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