It is now nearly six months since my last posting. I have been taking a break from writing, concentrating instead on family, keeping fit, exploring nature and taking stock. I have learned a lot. I have also been watching in writer’s silence as my country, of which I am increasingly embarrassed, even ashamed, has blundered […]
The scale of the mess we are in is way beyond just figures and forecasts. In fact it is hard to recall a forecast which turned out to be right. But our biggest problem is about the ability of government to function independently when crafting the economic management of its country. We saw under the […]
In 2008 at the height of the financial crisis I wrote this book, setting out new ideas for the future governance of our country. Some of these have not stood the test of time but some have, including many key ideas covering the economy, education, the NHS and foreign affairs. And, especially now when governance […]
Until we see what the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has to say in his Autumn Statement next Thursday, there is little point in pontificating about the mess we are in, save to say it is of our own making, not Putin’s or the Chinese or whatever. But what I would like to do now is to […]
The NHS is probably the most comprehensive health service in the world. But it is now in crisis at every level and in every sphere. From time to time I plan expose what I believe are fatal flaws, which hobble its outcomes and frustrate both its selfless, overworked and dedicated staff as well as its […]
All my (quite long) life, I have been a keen observer and sometimes participant in the political merry-go-round which is the politics of democracy. By its nature democracy is undisciplined and unpredictable, which is exactly what it needs to be, otherwise it could not and would not be free. But it has to be grown […]
Boris sees himself as the mega hawk about Putin and his intentions. He proclaims a determination to see Putin beaten back from Ukraine and warns of going soft on Russian aggression. Without discussing the merits of either case, it seems to me that the ordinary people of Ukraine have suffered enough and that diplomacy needs […]
The move by the tennis authorities to cut Wimbledon from the ranking points system in retaliation for the ban on Russian players is right. I absolutely disagree with the current fever for banning individuals from sport, or anything else, just because they are Russian. Individuals are not their government and to ban or punish people […]