Month: June 2014

As if neatly to point up the serial failures of Obama’s foreign policy, yesterday the UN announced the highest-ever refugee count of the postwar period.I know. I am just a lowly blogger and not even one of Obama’s electors. But these things matter to all of us. The reality is, we all still depend on the… Continue reading Obama, chickens, roost

If recent events in Ukraine were not disturbing enough for those who might occasionally worry about the future for their children and grandchildren, one need only now look towards the Middle East, and a little further. The aftermath of the Arab Spring. Egypt. Syria. An isolated Israel that seems to have lost all hope of… Continue reading A decade has passed and the world is in chaos. For all our sakes, can we all move on from 2003, please?

The row between Michael Gove and Theresa May has – in Westminster, at least – somewhat overshadowed the immeasurably more important news that extremists are operating in our schools. A report out today is expected to put six schools into special measures. With a weary predictability, an idiot writer for – guess who? – the Guardian tried… Continue reading Trojan Horse: politicians from both sides to blame for mismanaging extremism in schools

If you work for a political party at some point in your life, you soon learn that the results of by-elections, as a rule, should not have too much attention paid to them. They are often special cases, with protest voting, or whatever other topical factor. However, every now and then they can throw up… Continue reading Newark. Not good.

The local and Euro-elections are done. As always happens in the unfailingly cyclical business of politics, we take a breather and start thinking about the next one. This year, of course, our normal annual cycle is disrupted by that pesky little referendum. Yes, the one that could conceivably break apart the United Kingdom and throw… Continue reading A No for Scotland may not be as positive for Labour as we might think