01 September 2016 With Autumn Comes Brexit The seconds will soon be out of the ring. by John Watson All in all it has been a good summer. The sun has shone and Team GB has done spectacularly well at the Olympics. A new government has moved into place with a minimum of fuss, and… Continue reading Issue 69: 2016 09 01: With Autumn Comes Brexit (John Watson)
Tag: John Watson
Issue 68: 2016 08 25: The Lessons of Rio (John Watson)
25 August 2016 The Lesson Of Rio The resurgence of British sport gives us an example. By John Watson When, in the early 1930s, a director of Cunard was asked by King George V what name the company proposed to give to its new liner, instead of replying “The Queen Victoria”, he said “We propose… Continue reading Issue 68: 2016 08 25: The Lessons of Rio (John Watson)
Issue 67: 2016 08 18: The Child Sex Abuse Inquiry (John Watson)
18 August 2016 The Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry Saving something from the wreckage. By John Watson Another disaster: another enquiry. Last week saw the publication of the Chilcot enquiry into the war in Iraq. It ran to more than 1 million words and related to events which occurred more than ten years ago. There was an… Continue reading Issue 67: 2016 08 18: The Child Sex Abuse Inquiry (John Watson)
Issue 66: 2016 08 11: Fiddling With Our Abbreviations (John Watson)
11 August 2016 Fiddling With Our Abbreviations An unforgiveable impertinence and condescension. By John Watson The Chilcot report takes nine days to read. That may or may not be a record but there is no doubt that the increasing length of government documents is beginning to pose a problem. It isn’t just the waste of… Continue reading Issue 66: 2016 08 11: Fiddling With Our Abbreviations (John Watson)
Issue 65: 2016 08 04: Computers and Risk (John Watson)
04 August 2016 Computers and Risk Could what went wrong in banking go wrong elsewhere? by John Watson When Kevin Rodgers states that traders get better with age, he is wholly convincing. His book “Why Aren’t They Shouting?” (Random House Business Books 2016) takes you through his career as a banker specialising in foreign exchange… Continue reading Issue 65: 2016 08 04: Computers and Risk (John Watson)
Issue 64: 2016 07 28: University Education (John Watson)
28 July 2016 University Education The need for reform. By John Watson It was inevitable, I suppose, that universities would eventually lift charges to their students to take account of inflation. It was also inevitable that their ability to do so would be linked to the quality of the teaching. After all, if the student… Continue reading Issue 64: 2016 07 28: University Education (John Watson)
Issue 63: 2016 07 21: Mrs May’s Strategy (John Watson)
21 July 2016 Mrs May’s Strategy Can Johnson’s skills get Britain’s views through to the European public? by John Watson As chalices go, the one passed by Mrs May to Boris Johnson and David Davis gets five stars in the Borgia international poison league. As they sit together at Chevening, the country house which they… Continue reading Issue 63: 2016 07 21: Mrs May’s Strategy (John Watson)
Issue 62: 2016 07 14: The Chilcot Report and Mrs May (John Watson)
14 July 2014 The Chilcot Report and Mrs May Why there must be no general election. by John Watson “Cripes!” as the late Boris Johnson might have put it. Oh, no, I’m not sure that I got that quite right. It is in “Game of Thrones” that losing generally leads to violent death. Boris is… Continue reading Issue 62: 2016 07 14: The Chilcot Report and Mrs May (John Watson)
Issue 61: 2016 07 07: The Rules of the Game (John Watson)
07 July 2016 The Rules of the Game The tactics of the dispute within Labour and the Brexit negotiations. by John Watson It may be the great speeches which become recorded as history but, in truth, politics are often governed by mechanics. Take the struggle in the Labour Party as an example. Mr Corbyn has… Continue reading Issue 61: 2016 07 07: The Rules of the Game (John Watson)
Issue 60: 2016 06 30: The Morning After (John Watson)
30 June 2016 The Morning After Reflections on the referendum. By John Watson A deep dark cloud of gloom has descended over the London Borough of Islington. Here in the citadel of Remain, in an area full of lawyers, bankers and doctors, the Referendum result has hit us like an exploding shell. How could 52%… Continue reading Issue 60: 2016 06 30: The Morning After (John Watson)
Issue 59: 2016 06 23: A Jolly Voting Day (John Watson)
23 June 2016 A Jolly Voting Day Quiet, too damned quiet! by John Watson In most parts of Britain, voting day is an oasis of peace. Before it, came the last stages of the campaign, the opposing factions shouting their wares like coster-mongers in a Victorian engraving. Afterwards will come the recriminations and the wrangling… Continue reading Issue 59: 2016 06 23: A Jolly Voting Day (John Watson)
Issue 58: 2016 06 16: The Time Is Out Of Joint (John Watson)
16 June 2016 The Time Is Out Of Joint The need for reform goes far beyond the EU. By John Watson In or Out, Remain or Leave, next Thursday will be a day of decision and whichever way the vote goes the watchword of the winners will be “Reform”. What that means will depend on… Continue reading Issue 58: 2016 06 16: The Time Is Out Of Joint (John Watson)
Issue 57: 2016 06 09: No to the eruv (John Watson)
09 July 2016 No to the Eruv Camden should not be allowed to sow religious division. By John Watson Perhaps it is because my family converted to Christianity some generations ago but, although I am a Jewish, I had not previously heard of an “eruv” and had to turn to Wikipedia in my efforts to… Continue reading Issue 57: 2016 06 09: No to the eruv (John Watson)
