On the face of it this by-election (I do prefer the more old fashioned spelling bye-election) has something for everyone. Labour had a good win so Ed is given a boost. If his party had scraped home or perhaps lost, he would have been in trouble. Nick would have even more problems on his plate if […]
Opinion is divided as to whether the MPC was right to leave interest rates at the present level. This Blog is of the persuasion that it has made a mistake. The arguments for holding rates at this historic low are well known and well rehearsed. The problem is that our inflation rate is back to the old […]
There is a plus and a minus today for and againt the government. Michael Gove has introduced the new English Baccalaureate. This brings this country in line with countries in the world which have much higher educational standards than our own, for whom the idea of a core of academic skills which will lift the […]
The President of the United States, in what may be remembered as the greatest speech of his Presidency thus far, spoke to and for all Americans. Cynics and opponents will find fault, but this President has demonstrated, again, that he ranks among the greatest and most poetic orators of his county’s political history. It an atmosphere charged […]
This saga will soon end with an outcome. It may very well be the government loses the fight. If it does it will be shot at from all sides. This will be entirely its own fault for two reasons. The first is that it constantly raised the hopes of an angry people that it would […]
At key points before and after the election in May 2010, the constituent parts of the Coalition variously said: There would be no increase in VAT Child Allowance was safe with them They would vote against an increase in tuition fees Bank bonuses would be curbed The banks must be broken up There would be a […]
At a human level for a small community of innocents, going about their day in the Arizona sunshine in that bustling family atmosphere typical of a Saturday morning, the carnage at the grocery store can hardly be imagined worse. Among the dead is an eight year old girl. This makes a bad thing truly dreadful. The thoughts […]
The word is coming out that after talks with the bankers, the government is resigned that there is little they can do to stop the payments. It will be given the sop of a promise to lend more to small businesses and have to swallow the big payouts which are often disguised as salary increases […]
The fear of a double dip recession is mis-placed, not because there will be one, but because, in the big picture, it does not matter if there is. What does matter very much is not getting the re-modelling of the economy properly completed. Without that there will be no lasting recovery. Moreover there will be […]
The new U.S Congress is assembling, with Republicans once again in control of the House. This time, however something is different. This is more than a swing of the political pendulum in a two party electoral system. It is the re-awakening of an old divide in the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. It is about […]