7 June 2018 The fate of the UK family silver What would you do with £400 million? by Frank O’Nomics Fancy paying some extra Council Tax to help your cash strapped borough? I thought not. How about giving the state a slug of cash to help the ease the burden of the National Debt? From… Continue reading Issue 157: 2018 06 07: The UK Family Silver
Article Category: Comment
Issue 157: 2018 06 07: Jowell Silence Heckled
07 June 2018 Jowell Silence Heckled The solids in the pool. By Robert Kilconner Most people, whether members of the Labour Party or not, will be disgusted at the heckling which interrupted the one-minute silence held at a meeting of the Hampstead and Kilburn Constituency Labour Party to commemorate Tessa Jowell. Of course some will… Continue reading Issue 157: 2018 06 07: Jowell Silence Heckled
Issue 157: 2018 06 07: Diary of a Corbynista
7 June 2018 Diary of a Corbynista The people assemble by Don Urquhart 31 May Michael Gove promised us a brave new world of free schools being demanded by parents in areas ill-served by the “blob” of local authority bureaucracy. The reality is predictably quite different. A study from the Sutton Trust social mobility charity… Continue reading Issue 157: 2018 06 07: Diary of a Corbynista
Issue 156: 2018 05 31: Exclusion From Galileo
31 May 2018 Exclusion From Galileo An unwise stick. By John Watson If the work of Galileo threw light into dark places, the row over the satellite system which is named after him promises to do the same. Galileo is the EU’s answer to the American Global Positioning System, and once up and running it… Continue reading Issue 156: 2018 05 31: Exclusion From Galileo
Issue 156: 2018 05 31: Italy
31 May 2018 Italy 88 days and counting. By Neil Tidmarsh What has happened in Italy? What is happening in Italy? Nothing. Nothing? But the newspapers have been full of it this week: all the comings and goings at the president’s palace on the Quirinal Hill in Rome; dramatic falls in Italian markets; cries of… Continue reading Issue 156: 2018 05 31: Italy
Issue 156: 2018 05 31: Stop It Right Now!
31 May 2018 Stop That! Stop It Right Now! Interfering loses elections. By J R Thomas W E Gladstone was very clear what caused the dramatic and unexpected loss of office by the Liberal Party in the 1874 election. Said he: “We have been borne down in a torrent of gin and beer…” That, perhaps… Continue reading Issue 156: 2018 05 31: Stop It Right Now!
Issue 156: 2018 05 31: Diary of a Corbynista
31 May 2018 Diary of a Corbynista A Third Way on Brexit by Don Urquhart 24 May A report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Health Foundation said the NHS would need an extra 4% a year – or £2,000 per UK household – for the next 15 years. We have to deal… Continue reading Issue 156: 2018 05 31: Diary of a Corbynista
Issue 156: 2018 05 31: Turbo-Giving
30 May 2018 Turbo-giving Three steps to greater charity. By Frank O’Nomics What if I told you that you could, at no extra cost to yourself, increase your charitable giving by 125%? Wouldn’t the satisfaction of charity be so much greater if you could get the tax man and corporate UK to supplement your generosity? … Continue reading Issue 156: 2018 05 31: Turbo-Giving
Issue 156: 2018 05 31: The French Village
31 May 2018 The French Village What is its future? By Richard Pooley I was back in England at the end of April, most of the time with my in-laws. They live in a sprawling village of 818 people between Stroud and Cirencester. It has a primary school, a pub and a village shop/sub-post office.… Continue reading Issue 156: 2018 05 31: The French Village
Issue 155: 2018 05 24: Lens on the Week
24 May 2018 Lens on the Week UK ROYAL WEDDING: Since the Shaw Sheet believes that the wedding between Prince Harry of Wales and Meghan Markle has already had adequate coverage in the press, we do not propose to add to it, save to wish the couple a happy future. SPEAKERS CORNER: Doesn’t anyone ever… Continue reading Issue 155: 2018 05 24: Lens on the Week
Issue 155: 2018 05 24: Seizing the High Ground
24 May 2018 Seizing the High Ground The Great Game and Iran. By J R Thomas The ex-President may be staking his claim in virtual reality, but it is the current President who has hands on the levers (on the button even) and he claims the right solutions are not always the obvious and easy… Continue reading Issue 155: 2018 05 24: Seizing the High Ground
Issue 155: 2018 05 24: The Beautiful Island
24 May 2018 The Beautiful Island Taiwan and Beijing. By Neil Tidmarsh Two weeks ago, I saw the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre perform their new production, Formosa, at Sadlers Wells. At least, I think I did. I’m not so sure now. Cloud Gate is a contemporary dance company from Taiwan. Taiwan is, of course, an… Continue reading Issue 155: 2018 05 24: The Beautiful Island
Issue 155: 2018 05 24: How Good Is Whitehall?
24 May 2018 How Good Is Whitehall? Are the mandarins competent? By John Watson Just how good are they, really? No, not the politicians who make the policy decisions but the civil servants who implement them. It is of course usual to be fulsome about their intelligence. “Oxbridge’s finest”, “They even fart firsts”, that sort… Continue reading Issue 155: 2018 05 24: How Good Is Whitehall?
