It’s good news that Tory misgivings over half-baked proposals for Lords reform may now mean a LibDem veto over proposed changes to constituency boundaries. In our view, MPs, if we really have to have them, must represent the will of communities, not arbitrary blocks of territory filled with numbers.The LibDem proposals for the Lords wereContinue reading "Changing Tack"
Raining On Their Parade
After tomorrow, it all kicks off. How much better can it get? Can you contain your excitement? Bought the official Olympic flag to wave (beware of imitations)? Wondered where we’d be without the stern authority of the IOC and the generosity of public-spirited corporate sponsors? Stopped whining, as Boris demands? Faced with a series ofContinue reading "Raining On Their Parade"
Bye Bye Beauty
Last week saw the first results published from the 2011 census of England (& Cornwall) & Wales. (We’ll call that ‘ECW’ for short.) The results are interesting both for what they say and what they don’t. There’s a gap of maybe a few million who aren’t included and therefore have to be estimated. It’s anContinue reading "Bye Bye Beauty"
Rights & Wrongs
“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticise.”VoltaireThe London regime has invited comments on a UK Bill of Rights. But where do ‘rights’ actually come from? The official line is that they’re concessions made by government towards the governed. Politics is defined by the struggle of theContinue reading "Rights & Wrongs"
Trust Not
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty is a bit bogged down just now. It finds itself embroiled in an unholy row over an allegedly pro-creationist display at the new visitor centre for the Giant’s Causeway. It’s said that it came under financial pressure from Democratic Unionists in government to doContinue reading "Trust Not"
Tax – and Spend Better
“Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.”Oliver Wendell HolmesWhat defines a community? Among other things, it requires trust. It requires it because it calls for a lowering of the barriers that separate the private from the public. At whatever level, it’s about sharing. Time. Money. Identity.One reason for believing that corporate capitalism is NOTContinue reading "Tax – and Spend Better"
Boat or Boot?
Mebyon Kernow’s Leader, Cllr Dick Cole, blogged yesterday about the election to the French Parliament of Paul Molac, the first Breton autonomist to make that breakthrough, albeit with valuable support from the Greens and the Socialists.His victory comes after the success of the Union Démocratique Bretonne in elections to the Brittany Regional Council in 2004Continue reading "Boat or Boot?"
Themes, Memes & Ideology
“Not just the mere organization of a new party is becoming increasingly difficult – so is the expression of a new political idea or doctrine. Ideas no longer exist except through the media of information. When these are in the hands of the existing parties, no truly revolutionary or new doctrine has any chance toContinue reading "Themes, Memes & Ideology"
Money to Burn
In the midst of ‘austerity’, the Coalition has gone shopping for new submarines, from which to launch WMDs against the morally challenged. The purchase price comes to at least £20 billion: that’s £3 billion already spent, £3 billion committed and £14 billion awaiting clearance as the ‘now too costly to cancel’ argument. On top ofContinue reading "Money to Burn"
Devon’s Difference
Racial purity is a fancy term for in-breeding. Those who like that sort of thing will carry on doing it. And those who don’t, won’t. In a free society, politicians shouldn’t normally be that bothered either way.Genetics becomes politicised when it is used to bolster or attack treasured historic identities. Such identities should be strongContinue reading "Devon’s Difference"
Wessex Regionalists 