The scenes of hundreds of people lying on the floor trying to rest after hours of delay to their flights because of snow are truly shocking. In a world shrunk by air travel it is simply unacceptable that this appalling confusion is the repeated consequence of a snowfall in the London area. This was not […]
Cameron’s much delayed, over spun and partially leaked speech on Britain and the EU has been delayed as the nation waits in anxiety for bad, perhaps very bad, news from Algeria. Although this is right and proper, the unavoidable postponement can only feed mounting uncertainty about the future direction of the UK economy. It would […]
From Australia The position of the Church of England, after the latest announcement that clergy in civil partnerships can become bishops if they promise to be celibate, is literally preposterous. Having made a complete fool of itself over women bishops, it now reveals itself, yet again, to be an organisation seriously depraved by an obsession with […]
From Australia The headlong dash to the fiscal cliff has shuddered to a messy compromise at the very edge. America’s dysfunctional system of federal government has managed to cobble together a deal which has brought relief to the markets. Politicians of all sides preen themselves for behaving like statesmen and women in the national interest. But what […]
From Australia The shocking killings of children, teachers and fire fighters which have traumatised America, are not unique to that country. A crazed attack by a rampaging gunman can happen anywhere, even in the best ordered and most enlightened societies, as Norwegians know to their terrible cost. The difference is that in America these numbing assaults on […]
From Australia Many commentators, including this blog, did not expect the euro to end 2012 in one piece. It seemed likely that some major re-configuration would be required to set the single currency onto a secure path and that might include some weaker members dropping out. Instead what has happened is that just enough has […]
This blog is visiting family in Australia for the Christmas period and will not be posting regularly.
To those who live on the mainland of Britain, the sectarian tensions of Northern Ireland are hard to understand, not because of their complexity, but because of their ability to inflame. This is Westminster’s, rather than Belfast’s, fault. For far too many decades successive British governments have been unwilling to face down the loyalists in […]
George Osborne did well in the Commons yesterday and Ed Balls did badly. That, however, is not that. Those who have time to unpick who said what, may find that in Ball’s halting and at times confused delivery, there was an element of truth. They may also find in Osborne’s polished and confident performance a […]
When Osborne stands up in the House of Commons today, three realities will be in play. The first is that although it is not working out as planned, the UK economy is under better control than most others laid low by the crisis. The second is the plan can never solve the underlying problem, although […]