21 October 2021 Taxing Business International action at last. By John Watson It doesn’t exactly stir the blood. There is no derring-do. There are no scantily clad foreign adventuresses with a revolver in one hand and a dry martini in the other. It is unlikely to terminate any political careers or lead to any executions… Continue reading Taxing Business
Article Category: Comment
Tale of 2 Governors
21 October 2021 A Tale of Two Governors Texas and Virginia. By J R Thomas Outsiders forget that the United States of America are just that: states, united within a large chunk of the American continent. This huge country – so vast its spaces, sparse its original populations and impossible its communications – started that… Continue reading Tale of 2 Governors
Vaccination Update
21 October 2021 Lies, Damned Lies and Coronavirus Vaccination update by David Chilvers This week, the House of Commons Health and Social Care, and Science and Technology Committees published an interim report on the lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic. The report was critical of many aspects of how the pandemic was handled but praised… Continue reading Vaccination Update
Battle of Ideas
21 October 2021 Battle of Ideas A chance to debate. By Lynda Goetz A fortnight ago I had never even heard about this event. A week ago, I dropped everything to attend. For those who share my recent ignorance, this is an annual event, which has been happening since 2005 (with a break for obvious… Continue reading Battle of Ideas
Hearts and Minds
21 October 2021 Hearts and Minds Saving the planet. By Neil Tidmarsh Remember the cold snap at the beginning of this month? There was no heating here in our block of flats, even though it usually comes on at the beginning of October each year. My shivering neighbours and I sent desperate emails and texts… Continue reading Hearts and Minds
Diary of a Corbynista
21 October 2021 Diary of a Corbynista Is PR our salvation? By Don Urquhart 7 October How many care workers are we short of? Well the Apthorp Care Home in Barnet is making 93 staff redundant so where are the job offers? In The Guardian Simon Jenkins reports that we are short of 100,000 care… Continue reading Diary of a Corbynista
Elvis Was Right
21 October 2021 Elvis was right all along A study in plastics. By Paul Branch Let’s start with a little teaser which we’ll get back to eventually: What links Greta Thunberg, Her Majesty The Queen (no, not Carrie… the real one), and the One and Only King, Elvis Presley? In the meantime (and yes, this… Continue reading Elvis Was Right
Fuel and Gas
21 October 2021 Fuel and Gas More fat needed? By Robert Kilconner It is a general rule of classical drama that hubris is followed by nemesis; so when, a year or two ago, I was offered the opportunity to buy energy from a company run by Islington Council I passed it up. Yes, that did… Continue reading Fuel and Gas
Issue 296: 2021 10 07: Reforming the Police
7 October 2021 Reforming the Police Letting in some light. By John Watson It is quite understandable that the appalling circumstances of Sarah Everard’s death have shaken everyone and one would have thought the less of the British public had they not. Still, the time has come to move from sorrow to learning lessons and… Continue reading Issue 296: 2021 10 07: Reforming the Police
Issue 296: 2021 10 07: Antipodean Insanity
7 October 2021 Antipodean Insanity Covid time-travel. By Lynda Goetz “Australia’s borders are currently closed”, it says very clearly on the Australian Government website. This has been the case since 20th March last year, 2020, in response to the Covid crisis. Borders were closed in New Zealand at almost exactly the same time and have… Continue reading Issue 296: 2021 10 07: Antipodean Insanity
Issue 296: 2021 10 07: The Three Year Plan
7 October 2021 The Three Year Plan Sir Keir Starmer. By J.R.Thomas It took Tony Blair three years to save the Labour Party. Now Keir Starmer has three years to do the same. And in spite of all the tosh about the disaster of the Brighton conference you may have read in the British press… Continue reading Issue 296: 2021 10 07: The Three Year Plan
Issue 296: 2021 10 07: Lorry Drivers
7 October 2021 Lorry Drivers Making it pleasanter. By Robert Kilconner At first blush it sounds rather horrible. Eastern Europeans employed to drive lorries on British roads at salaries which are insufficient to attract British drivers but look quite good in the context of pay levels back home; facilities for lorry drivers well below European… Continue reading Issue 296: 2021 10 07: Lorry Drivers
Issue 296: 2021 10 07: Can It
7 October 2021 Can It Waste not, want not. By Neil Tidmarsh “Sewage blights half of England’s main rivers” choked a gagging headline in The Times last Tuesday. The charity Rivers Trust has just reported that over half of our waterways are “polluted with sewage pumped out by water companies”. Water UK, on behalf of… Continue reading Issue 296: 2021 10 07: Can It
