Following Charlie Kirk’s murder, there’s been a lot of media discussion about ‘the right way’ of talking about politics, which I find hard to connect with Kirk’s career. It’s not just that I disagree with his view of the world, but that I disagree with his way of doing politics, prioritising the pursuit of victory... Continue Reading →
Political leadership comes in different forms. Even focussing very narrowly on the American left, Elizabeth Warren has spent her career building technical regulatory solutions to consumer problems such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, whereas Bernie Sanders’ appeal has been advocating big, transformative ideas, building strong public support for policies such as a Green New... Continue Reading →
I began writing this blog in September 2018, though I have only written four blogposts since October 2019, when I wrote a blogpost looking back at my first year writing the blog. Over the past three plus years, this blog has served three purposes. Firstly as an intellectual outlet, to allow me to try and... Continue Reading →
I know a little bit about football. I’m by no means an expert, and would certainly perform worse than any of the 92 managers of Football League teams were I to take their jobs. But I know a little bit. For instance, if a football manager announced his intention to play without a goalkeeper, then... Continue Reading →
Boris Johnson is a liar – it’s the thing that we can be most certain about when it comes to our current Prime Minister. He has twice lost jobs specifically for lying – first for inventing an academic's quote about 14th century royalty when working at The Times (leading the academic - his godfather -... Continue Reading →
Many members of the modern Republican party are willing to say things that are blatantly untrue. In fact it often seems a requirement rather than a flaw. This tendency does not just apply to matters surrounding Donald Trump, but the discussion of basic political terminology, as Rand Paul proved when being interviewed on The Daily... Continue Reading →
The problem with Brexit is that it has never been clearly defined. The messaging put out by the official Vote Leave campaign during the referendum reassured voters that we would still be in “a free trade zone stretching from Iceland to the Russian border” after Brexit. This is the European Economic Area, membership of it... Continue Reading →
It's just over a year since I first posted on this blog, having set up associated Twitter and Facebook accounts at the same time. My aim was to set up a little political project that's all my own - to give myself a place for self-indulgent writing, and hopefully spread a little information to counter... Continue Reading →
Apologists have argued that, as Parliament closes down for conference season during September and October, only six days' debate will be lost. This is inaccurate as, while the headline business of the House of Commons shuts down for conference season, other methods of scrutiny including Select Committees and the House of Lords continue. These will... Continue Reading →
Earlier this month Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro referred to scientific data showing an increase in fires in the Amazon as "lies". He fired Ricardo Galvão, the director of Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE), the body who gathered this inconvenient data, drawing condemnation from the Union of Concerned Scientists. “I am convinced the data... Continue Reading →
* The Northern Ireland - Republic of Ireland have a 'soft border'. This is partially because a lot of people live in one country and work in another, partially to fudge the conflict over whether Ireland should be united - to calm tensions. * If the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is... Continue Reading →
One of the many downsides to Brexit is that it will leave the UK in a weaker position when negotiating trade deals with other countries. According to the Financial Times, Japanese negotiators are demanding more favourable terms from the UK than they agreed to in the recent Japan-EU treaty. American Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross... Continue Reading →
Happy Sisyphus 