What do you see in the images below? Each is iconic in its own peculiar sort of way, strange illustrations conjuring the worlds of science fiction, famous stills pulled from reels of old films, capital landmarks or grand historical gestures well rooted in the popular culture, a culture which we all to a greater or lesser degree must share. Yet…
Whether you’re an orange-sucking mafioso or a leopard-print-wearing MP, surely every leader knows the adage about keeping your friends close, but your enemies even closer. Theresa May is no Don but she must at least be dimly aware of the concept, yet perhaps eager to show herself apart from the political game, it is one which she seems resolutely willing…
If Atlanticist politicians in the United Kingdom opted to borrow the inaugural ball or correspondents’ dinner from the United States, perhaps on the coronation of Theresa May somebody could have co-opted a Don Rickles joke, witheringly complimenting the departing David Cameron by telling the gathered hangers-on ‘He’s a wonderful guy. You talk to him, it’s like being alone’. The ‘wonderful’ would be…
When Liam Fox isn’t masquerading as a charity or holidaying in Sri Lanka with Adam Werritty, his bestest chum, he likes to run his mouth in front of think tanks and lobby groups amenable to his far-right, Atlanticist, military-industrial point of view. There’s money to be had in dodgy defence deals and fake reconstruction projects, not to mention buttressing climate change deniers and…
It’s the rule rather than the exception when it comes to British politics, but the case of grammar schools offers an especially egregious example of wealthy, typically ageing and privately educated Conservatives telling the working class to forego their principles and do as they say if they wish to be better off. The sole argument in favour of the grammar…
When it comes to the economic consequences of Brexit, there were always two things to consider. The first was and remains the very real long-term consequences involved in foregoing the freedom of movement, leaving the single market, and subjecting Britain to regulatory barriers in its trading relationship with the EU. The second was the financial sector’s propensity to shoot itself and…
Chuka Umunna has kept more or less to the shadows since withdrawing last spring from the race for the Labour leadership – just three days after he announced his candidacy, when he realised to his horror that by running he might draw the attention of the press. He has remained politically active, but has largely carried himself within the confines of…
Scottish hearts bled last week, and for anyone who felt inclined to sample the viscous body fluid, the taste was unsurprisingly sweet. But on this occasion it had nothing to do with Irn-Bru and Mars Bars, for at stake were some of Scotland’s other prides and joys. Scotland’s berries were under attack from those down south. Tesco, Britain’s biggest supermarket,…
Let’s face it, amid all the brouhaha surrounding Jeremy Corbyn vs. Virgin Trains, you don’t need to think that the Labour leader lied outright or took advantage of the situation to feel your gorge rising in sheer contempt for the man. You already probably didn’t like him, and whether he passed over available seating or scurried at the sight of reserved…
As the government continues to wage both covert and overt war on the NHS – leading figures in the Cameron and May ministries like Michael Gove, Oliver Letwin, Greg Clark, and Liam Fox have previously called for dismantling the service, much of the year has been spent in a row with junior doctors which forced a series of strikes, and now draft sustainability…
