12 December 2019 War and Peace Russia’s week. By Neil Tidmarsh Crimea, 2014: Who are these mysterious armed men, speaking Russian and wearing military battledress without any insignia – not a pip nor button nor cap-badge – to tell us what regiment or division or even army they belong to? What are they doing here?
12 December 2019 Diary of a Corbynista Democracy at the Brink by Don Urquhart 5 December As one might have predicted the black propaganda from the Tories has increased dramatically. I include in this the redacted submission of the Jewish Labour Movement to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission which has been dignified joyfully as
4 December 2019 Home Straight Deep Straits by J.R.Thomas No, not a typo. The election contenders may be in the home straight, but it would be fair to say that the parties will complete the home straight – only to end up in deep straits. A bold commentator would put much of the family
06 December 2019 The Public Thick as pigshit? By John Watson In Roman times the trick to winning elections was the provision of bread and circuses. In the 18th century the best course was to treat your supporters to beer and sandwiches at a local hostelry. Now you have to make a long list of
5 December 2019 Snoozin’ and Boozin’ Election Night Trading by Frank O’Nomics Election nights – A time for staying up and shouting at the telly? Or getting an early night on the basis of que sera sera? For UK government bond (gilt) traders there may be little choice. Leaving the market at the close on
05 December 2019 Going, Going, Gone Bye bye, dear leader. By Neil Tidmarsh The last few weeks have given us dramatic proof that a general election isn’t the only coconut shy in a democracy. Mr Morales was the first to be knocked off his pedestal; he was evicted from Bolivia’s presidential palace last month and
05 December 2019 ‘Woke’ vs ‘Open’ 21st century inquisition. By Lynda Goetz In a busy week news-wise, my son sent me a slightly longer and more detailed version of the following humorous explanation of how taxes work (you may have already seen it; it has been around for a while): Ten friends decide to get together
5 December 2019 Diary of a Corbynista Hoping for a Late Swing by Don Urquhart 28 November The billionaire press and media are deceiving the population. I am indebted to Twitter’s StrongerStabler for this item. On LBC, Boris Johnson was struggling to justify his lack of a social care plan. Forgetting he was on film,
05 December 2019 The Scottish Choice How to Vote? By Antoninus How do you vote in Scotland, a country riven by constitutional conflict? OK, I’ll start that again. How do you vote in a country riven by two constitutional conflicts? If you thought Brexit was the big political divide, spare a thought for Scots going
28 November 2019 Labour’s Manifesto A flawed document. By John Watson The Labour Party’s manifesto is 107 pages long and amounts to a list. The authors have apparently thought of everything which doesn’t work well in our society, mentioned it and said that they will deal with it. Sometimes it is a new institution. Sometimes
