Mathew on Monday: the UK and Europe must show moral leadership in today's London talks on UkraineAs leaders gather in London today for urgent talks on Ukraine, one truth should sit at the heart of every discussion: this is not simply a diplomatic meeting, it is a moral test – for the UK, for Europe, and for every democratic nation that claims to stand for freedom. Nearly three years into Russia's brutal and illegal invasion, Ukraine continues to pay the highest price imaginable. Cities still scarred by missile strikes, families scattered across continents, children growing up under the shadow of war -these are not abstract foreign-policy concerns, they are the lived reality of a people fighting, ... (more) |
Starmer must address the NationIn case the message hasn't quite got through to our European Leaders, you can't voice it more starkly than in the new U.S. National Security Strategy. The new strategy shows the U.S. administration's contempt towards the European Union (unsurprisingly, given it is a powerful economic competitor). It believes the EU is endangering European civilisation (e.g. "migration policies", "loss of national identities", "censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition"), and declares that the U.S. will therefore "cultivate resistance" to save us, which will de facto lead to increasingly interfering in our internal politics to encourage right-wing governments getting elected. ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1446Cicero's Songs, making a welcome return, has naught for your comfort: "The decadence of the American Empire is upon us, and the consequences will be dire, unless the EU can manage to secure the defeat of Putin without American support. Quite possibly the USA may now seek to obstruct the Europeans in their attempts to bring Putin's murderous misadventure to a close." The allegations against British special forces operating in Afghanistan will not go away, argues Mark Urban. John Sweeney says Reform's 19-year-old leader of Warwickshire County Council is skating on thin ice: "[George] Finch's comments have the potential to ... (more) |
Barbarism and DecadenceNo one is quite sure which Frenchman in the 1920s suggested that "the United States is the only country that has gone from barbarism to decadence, with out the usual interval of civilization". It may have been a right wing French newspaper, it may have been Georges Clemenceau, though in any event it was treated as more a witty riposte to some US policy than a serious description of the then burgeoning power of the USA. The point was that the election of Warren Harding in 1920 had upended American foreign policy. Instead of joining the League of Nations- a ... (more) |
Weekly Road Report - West End Ward #dundeewestendDUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 8 DECEMBER 2025 Old Hawkhill - road closed from approximately 50m south of Hunter Street (building defect) from 9 October 2025 for approximately 3-6 months. Peddie Street - give and take traffic control from Monday 8 December 2025 for 2 weeks for lighting works. Perth Road (near Ninewells Avenue) - temporary traffic lights on Tuesday 9 December (9.00am to 4.00pm) for Scottish Water work. Nethergate (at West Marketgait) - off‑peak (9.30am to 3.30pm) temporary traffic lights and lane closures on Wednesday 10 December ... (more) |
Following the Russian playbookThe Guardian reports that at least eight MEPs elected for Ukip or the Brexit party are now known to have been the focus of efforts by jailed, former Welsh Brexit Party leader, and close associate of NIgel Farage. Nathan Gill. The paper says that three more British MEPs from Nigel Farage's bloc are alleged to have "followed the script" given to Gill, who was being bribed by an alleged Russian asset, according to prosecutors, as a police investigation into the affair continues: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has named Jonathan Bullock, Julia Reid and Steven Woolfe, saying they followed the ... (more) |
Tories and Reform have big falling out in Leicestershire over alleged threats of violenceEmbed from Getty ImagesLeicestershire's Reform UK and Conservative parties have entered into a public spat over alleged threats of violence, reports the Leicester Mercury: Reform UK leader of Leicestershire County Council Dan Harrison used a speech at the full council meeting on Wednesday, December 3, to level accusations against the deputy leader of the authority's Conservative group. He claimed that Councillor Craig Smith had "threatened" him with "physical violence", including alleged threats to "knock [Cllr Harrison's] block off" if the leader "hurt someone" Cllr Smith "cared for". And so on and on. It's worth reading the full report if you ... (more) |
Giant purple dinosaurs, giant chickens and CCTVUnusually, the contest for our Headline of the Day Award has ended in a tie, as the judges found themselves unable split two entries that share a common theme. So our congratulations go to BBC News for:Giant purple dinosaur caught fly-tipping on CCTVand to Sky News for:CCTV footage shows giant chicken replacing a car (more) |
The Additional Member System and its overhang problemThe Additional Member System (AMS), otherwise known as Mixed Member Proportional (MMP), is one of the leading contenders as a Proportional Representation system for UK General Elections. However, as this piece describes, it can turn alarmingly disproportional when the number of parties in contention increases to the levels we are seeing today: five parties in England, and six in Scotland, are now polling at over 10%. AMS/MMP has been used for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, and for the London Assembly, since devolution came in in 1999 - though the Welsh Parliament (Senedd) has decided to use a closed List ... (more) |
Jethro Tull: A New Day YesterdayIt's 1978 and my favourite LPs, along with Kate Bush's The Kick Inside, are Songs from the Wood and Heavy Horses. So when I see Repeat: The Best of Jethro Tull Vol. II in a record shop, I naturally buy it. I was expecting more songs about ley lines, poaching and outdated modes of agriculture, but what I got was the late British blues. I wanted to like it, and soon I did. (more) |