Why are Jewish people hated by so many people?Recent cases in Golders Green are just an up-to-date reminder of the hatred that some people absolutely show against Jewish people. In the latest case someone stalked the street with weapons looking for someone who looked Jewish and then attacked him. Shame on the Green Party leader who originally condemned the police for their swift and heroic actions before apologising. "Jewish communities are feeling unsafe," but went on to say, "There's a conversation to be had about whether it's a perception of unsafety or whether it's actual unsafety, but neither are acceptable." Let me separate here the difference between being ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1512Chris Dillow lays bare the stupidity of Westminster politics: "If your final shortlist for a job comprises Mandelson, George Osborne (and maybe Bear Grylls) but not anyone with direct relevant experience such as career diplomats then you've probably not even bothered to do a detailed job description; you've not asked 'what's the shape of the hole we want to fill and who is that shape?' One of the most prestigious jobs in government seems to have been filled with less care than an investment bank would take over the hiring of a junior analyst." "Every child is met at the ... (more) |
Observations of an Expat: Special RelationshipThe phrase "Special Relationship" was coined by Winston Churchill in postwar triumph. It survives today in strain. The call for Britain and America to continue their wartime alliance was a clarion call to defend against Soviet aggression. It worked. The West won the Cold War and in the post-Cold War years the two countries have seen advantage - Britain more than the US—in continuing to cooperate in military and intelligence matters to counter terrorism and rogue states such as Afghanistan. Of course, over 80 years, the "Special Relationship" has had its ups and downs. At the moment, it is having ... (more) |
Government both sacks Capita and gives it a new contractThe latest edition of my email newsletter about work in Parliament, A Lord's Eye View, is out and you can also read it in full below. But if you'd like to get future editions emailed direct to you as soon as they are published, sign up now: Oh Capita. Familiar to Private Eye readers for decades under another name for its repeated major public sector contract disasters, Capita nonetheless keeps on getting awarded new contracts by the government. What is going on? Just before Parliament was prorogued I had a chance to dig into this. Read on to find out ... (more) |
When Swansea had its own racecourseThe area of Swansea where I live and which I have represented on the council for over 42 years was originally developed by the Mansel family as homes for workers in the nearby steelworks. There are still pockets of land owned by the Manselton Estate, as well as the freeholds of homes, originally leased out on 99 year leases, though this latter category is diminishing in number. There are two notable restrictive covenants that apply to the estate. One of these is that any alterations to people's homes need to get the consent of the estate agent, the second is ... (more) |
Finedon was once one of Northamptonshire's four largest townsAt the time of the Domesday Book the four largest settlement in Northamptonshire were Northampton, Brackley, Rushton and Finedon. The first two are still towns (one a great deal larger than the other) and Rushton is now a small village near Desborough Finedon, where I went today, is described as a town, though its population at the 2021 census was only 4552 and there are few shops left in its historic heart. The pub proved to be closed until six - as it was a Friday, that suggests to me that it's more of a restaurant these days - and ... (more) |
Latest voting intention and leadership ratings opinion pollsWelcome to my summary of the latest national voting intention polls for the next general election, along with the latest MRP projections and party leadership ratings. If you'd like to find out more about how polls work, how reliable they are and how to make sense of them, check out my book, Polling UnPacked: the History, Uses and Abuses of Political Opinion Polls, or sign up for my weekly email, The Week in Polls: General election voting intention polls PollsterConLabLDGrnRefLab leadFieldwork Find Out Now 18% (+2) 16% (+1) 11% (nc) 20% (-1) 24% (-1) -8% (4th, vs Ref) 29/4 GB ... (more) |
Christmas donkeys 7 months earlyAt 10.30pm on Wednesday evening, I had just finished my dinner and just watched one of my favourite episodes of Dr Who (Genesis of the Daleks) when the phone rang. It was a resident of Streetgate, advising me that there were three donkeys on his drive! He asked me if I knew who owned them. The only donkeys in the Streetgate area are housed in stables near my farm. I guessed they had escaped from (more) |
Gentrification and the rise of the pro-bedtime left in the NinetiesThe term "the anti-bedtime left" is in vogue as a way of disparaging people in the Labour Party who still have ambitions to set the people free rather than police them more closely. But I am old enough to remember the days when there was a pro-bedtime left. And this press cutting from The Scotsman (18 November 1996) is a relic of it: Bedtime Stories Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise, says New Labour. The shadow home secretary Jack Straw has called for firmer discipline at home, including set bedtimes to stop ... (more) |
The Greenland episode from BorgenThe latest edition of the email newsletter for my podcast, Political Fictions, is out and you can also read it in full below. But if you'd like to get future editions emailed direct to you as soon as they are published, sign up now: [IMG: Greenland] Greenland. Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash. The latest episode of Political Fictions is out: Mark and Cory talk about Scandi Ballot Box dramas for the first time. They discuss the Borgen episode in which there are revelations about how Greenland is being used for CIA rendition programmes. They talk about whether photogenic politicians ... (more) |