This proposition has moved from the fringe of British politics to centre stage. That is good. Scotland is now and always has been, a separate country. Its tribal origin is different to England. It was never conquered by the Romans, nor the Normans. It has its own legal and educational systems. It issues its own banknotes. […]
This blog tries to remain impartial in its criticism or praise of party leaders, but it also has a record of giving comfort to those in trouble. We have been recently dismissive of Ed. The time has come to think a little deeper. There is no doubt that Ed’s performance as a barnstorming leader, harrying […]
Of the three main party leaders, Cameron has ended 2011 on an unexpected high. He has had a difficult year dogged by judgment questions, made HD by his misplaced loyalty to Coulson and his slow reaction when phone hacking went viral. Libya could have been a disaster, but for the time being appears a success. […]
The dynamic of politics, as the New Year approaches, is in some ways unexpected. The Coalition remains focused with a clear agenda and policies to give it effect. These policies may not be popular, but there is an aura of firm government and pursuing the national interest, even if there is argument as to what […]
The upcoming year is one of the most difficult to predict in terms of outcome. Instead this blog lists a few things which need to happen. Eurozone We have to have some clarity here. The ECB has come up with some medium term loans for banks which were hoovered up by these cash strapped institutions, many […]
Gradually irresistible logic and common sense are beginning to drive decisions. It is no longer assumed the euro will survive and everybody is now beginning to plan for its demise, if not totally, in its present form. If it does survive all countries remaining in it will have to adopt economic polices and rules set down by […]
The fallout form the Veto continues. Of much greater importance is the outcome of the summit itself. This may turn out to be the last summit at which there was any prospect for the survival of the Euro. Looking back since the crash and especially over the last two years there has been meeting after […]
This dynamics surrounding this unexpected move by Cameron, taken in the middle of the night, following a long day, are still rather obscure. In the end it looks as if he felt he had to do something to appease the huge eurosceptic wing of his party. It would surely have been better to say that […]
The dynamics of these historic events are now too fluid for any prediction of the outcome. The latest declaration by France and Germany about the need for a treaty change and closer economic integration is to state the obvious cause of the crisis, but it useless to resolve it. This is because this is not […]
The reason why we have arguments about pensions is because there is an unreal approach to a benefit which should not be the financial responsibility of the state at all. Neither should private companies be required or expected to contribute to employee retirement schemes. Instead there should be universal reform on these lines. Every worker in whatever […]