We recently received an email criticising this blog for focusing too much on “an undifferentiated English radical tradition” and on influences from America and Eastern Europe at the expense of our own native Wessex political tradition. The Clubmen, argued our correspondent, were a distinctively Wessaxon movement, the Levellers were not. Whilst we make no apologiesContinueContinue reading “Wessex political thinkers: William Barnes”
Tag Archives: Economy
A Wealth of Possibilities
Last week, BBC1 aired a programme called Millionaire Basement Wars. It described how, over the past decade, some 2,000 new basements have been excavated beneath high-value properties in central London, most notably in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. The buildings are often listed, so there’s little scope to extend up or out. ThatContinueContinue reading “A Wealth of Possibilities”
Green as Gravel
Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Green Party in England & Wales (& Cornwall) was one of the panel on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions? this week. To the amazement of anyone concerned about the ecological crisis we face, she launched into an impassioned defence of massive urban development and a rejection of those measures thatContinueContinue reading “Green as Gravel”
The People v. The Profit
In Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell painted a picture of the future as a boot stamping on a human face, forever. The boot now has a name. TTIP. The Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership. Hammered out in secret talks between Europe and the USA, it will make democracy illegal, by giving corporations the right to sue governmentsContinueContinue reading “The People v. The Profit”
Scared As A Bully
On 9th November 2014, Catalonia voted 4 to 1 for independence from Spain. Madrid isn’t ready to begin talks on separation. Instead, it’s determined to prosecuteCatalonia’s leading nationalists for organising the vote. Will David Cameron protest? Will there be airstrikes? On 20th November 2014, the French Parliament voted to abolish many of the historic regionsContinueContinue reading “Scared As A Bully”
Reasons to be Regional
Two common objections to regionalism are that another tier of government means more politicians and more cost. It needn’t in fact mean either. First though, let’s be a bit more broad-minded. We need government to be more effective and efficient – but to achieve that you need to invest, politically in the right people andContinueContinue reading “Reasons to be Regional”
Receiving The Water Bill
DEFRA – to some cynics the Department for Eliminating Farming and Rural Activity – is piloting a Bill through the Westminster Parliament to change how the water and sewerage industry is regulated. It tells us that “privatisation of the water industry has been successful in attracting over £116 billion of investment… Without this investment, waterContinueContinue reading “Receiving The Water Bill”
Wallace versus Wonga?
The Anglican Bishop of Portsmouth, speaking on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday, warned of the social consequences of ending naval shipbuilding in the city, including that jobless families could turn to loan sharks as the lenders of last resort. Cue Labour’s latest, greatest initiative. And what an odd policy announcement it was: Ed Miliband commitsContinueContinue reading “Wallace versus Wonga?”
Anchoring the Future
Popular history has it that the Royal Navy was founded by King Ælfred the Great. It’s not quite accurate – his father, King Æthelwulf also had a fleet of some sort – but the idea of England’s first sailor-king has maintained its powerful hold on the imagination. So if naval shipbuilding in England began inContinueContinue reading “Anchoring the Future”
Stampede at the Sales
MK Leader Dick Cole bloggedthis week about the sell-off of Royal Mail, which has now taken place despite the opposition of two-thirds of the public. (Unsurprisingly, the strongest support for the sale came from an urban environment, London, but even there it was little more than a quarter of those polled.) He pointed out notContinueContinue reading “Stampede at the Sales”
Wessex Regionalists 