This is a bad idea. Small government does not mean the State has no role, nor that it should not have assets. The Thatcher revolution which brought about the privatisation of state enterprise was a very good idea, but like many good ideas, it lacked the judgement to know when to stop. Thus we ended […]
It has taken a very long time and a very distinguished Commission to arrive at the same conclusion as a great many did months ago. I wrote about it in my book in 2009 and have been blogging about it ever since. Although we still have to wait until September for the official report, Sir […]
The Irish government is collapsing before our eyes, like some fictional administration in a rather weak soap. The Irish people deserve better than this. Their country is at the point of financial dysfunction, their banks are bust and they are in debt up to their necks. But they are patriotic and determined, they are absorbing cuts in […]
What a performance! He will become one of the most discredited politicians of history and for good reason. It is all very sad. He had such promise and there were such high points, the Good Friday Agreement being perhaps the highest. He then became addicted to war, entirely without any strategic grasp, as an instrument of […]
This story has now really taken off, yet I think it is of much greater interest to the media than to ordinary people. Evidently the police saw an enormous can of worms, involving various levels of spying on celebrities to pick up gossip to sell more newspapers, and thought they had better things to do […]
Leaks and rumours abound. A policeman has been put under investigation. This is clearly a very difficult time for the former shadow chancellor. It also explains his apparent difficulties in that role. There will be some distressing times ahead for him, but he will have a good deal of public sympathy, especially among the grass […]
There are two big mistakes each side can now make. The Government would be in grave error if it did not acknowledge that Ed Balls has the power to land very damaging blows, especially as the cuts begin to bite. The Opposition would be in equally grave error if it did not recognise that it […]
Twice if not more, this blog has pointed out to Ed that his top team were all in the wrong jobs and he has now acted. Good for him. The new line up is much better and will make politics much more lively. Ed Balls is currently the best advocate for Labour’s economic policy, which is one, nevertheless, with which this […]
David Cameron and the government are right to champion NHS reform. When there is a crisis emergency it is superb, when it goes about its daily business it is shambolic. Shambolic in the way it wastes the full potential of the dedication and expertise of its medical and nursing staff; shambolic in its relationship with doctors […]
Scrapping this excellent benefit is one of the Coalition’s more serious mistakes. This claims to be a government with education at the heart of its programme (don’t they all!). Some of its tinkering with school structures are simply meddlesome and pander to minority pressure groups. Others, like making sense of a stressful and inefficient exam […]