Mind the Gap
I was happily enjoying a solitary lunch in an Italian restaurant the other day (a very nice minestrone as it happens), when my solitude was interrupted by the proprietor wanting to chat – it was a quiet day. Well, you have to be polite so I indulged him even though his English is only marginally better than my Italian. He wanted to talk politics, so having stumbled through Brexit (he’s in favour) and Boris (I’m…
The Nation Waits
Following the first round of the Conservative leadership election, in which Boris Johnson received more votes than the next three most popular candidates put together, Tory leadership hopefuls have refused to step down from the contest so that Boris can be anointed leader, and instead insist on continuing with the protracted process of choosing a new Tory leader, despite it being obvious they have no real prospect of beating Boris and despite it being obvious…
No Laughing Matter
I never was a great fan of John Cleese, his style of humour being a bit too manic for my liking, but I have to hand it to the old boy for stirring up a hornets nest a few days ago. You’ll remember the enormous stink that ensued when he said that London was “no longer an English city.” He has inevitably been accused of racism by the usual suspects including Piers Morgan and someone…
Trump, Brexit, Immigration & Genuine, 100%, Copper-bottomed, ‘Fake News’!
In the manner of all good farces and melodramas, these passed ten days have seen Prime Minister Theresa May ambush her cabinet at Chequers in the most Machiavellian fashion, cowing them momentarily with threats of short shrift, sackings and mini-cab rides home if they didn’t submit to coercion over the Brexit deal she has planned, only for a series of high drama resignations to follow, and for her to be wrong-footed by an all guns…
Commonwealth or Common Woe?
I’m not sure whether or not the Commonwealth conference has quite finished yet. I thought it had, but then caught something on the radio the other day about a related function or reception, but as my interest in the institution is limited I didn’t really pay attention. Perhaps I should have, because this seemingly moribund organisation is coming back to bite us. It is not by coincidence that the conference was overshadowed by the Windrush…
As the Dust Settles … Europe on the Brink
Three weeks on from the fateful day when the British people finally managed to throw off the death grip that the EU held us in, we can look back on a turbulent period during which money markets and stock markets have see-sawed violently and during which several major politicians, and some minor, have seen their career prospects first raised up, and then dashed upon the rocks. Now however, as the dust settles, we find Boris…
Further Reflections on Brexit
Well, we did it. A first, indispensable, step has been taken towards the healing of our nation. The generations of the First and Second World Wars gave everything to save Britain from foreign domination and invasion, but the fear that the present generation might throw away their sacrifice has proved unfounded. We should thank God, rejoice and enjoy it for a day or two – and then get down to the arduous, long term business of completing the healing…
Boris Again
By Frederick Dixon: Boris Johnson, we hear, has queried whether the rapid increase in our population would cause so much concern if it was due to a high birth rate among White Anglo Saxon Protestants. This, needless to say, is a not-so-subtle hint that those who complain about immigration into our tightly packed little island are not really concerned about our resources and environment but are actually “racists” or even (whisper it quietly) “Nazis” who really want to deport all…
Further reflections on Boris’ Britain
By Frederick Dixon: In his excellent article on this website “Tory Toffs, Cosmopolitanism and Greed” Max Musson said of Boris Johnson’s 28th November speech “Deprived of racial, religious or national identity, the truly cosmopolitan individual has no real sense of community with any of the population groups among whom they live”. Boris’ speech was a vindication of Thatcherism delivered in his very own inimitable style; rousing, spirited, amusing, persuasive, and in his remarks about immigration…
Tory Toffs, Cosmopolitanism and Greed
By Max Musson: Boris Johnson delivered a speech yesterday revealing much about the spirit motivating the Conservative Party and the upper echelons of our society currently. Johnson, who is of course the Mayor of London and who comes from a privileged background with lineages extending back to British royalty as well as to continental aristocrats, likes to project the rather eccentric image of an affable, well-meaning, and oftentimes inspired buffoon and ‘man of the people’,…