Many commentators talk about when ‘the upturn comes’ as though recovery to former prosperity is a certainty for the UK but what guarantee is there that the historic pattern will be followed? What if the results of the banking crisis are actually the trigger to a new pattern? Continue reading
What is fighting actually doing?
Any person who cares about their country wants to support the armed forces who are the ultimate protection against foes, current or future, but are our defence forces being used inappropriately on the territories of other countries. Is the cost, in terms of human lives and national resources a price worth paying and is there another approach to achieve better results? Continue reading
The ultimate disposable political party
The failure of our party-political system to cope with the demands of government have become all too apparent over several decades now. As the policy makers are hardly going to vote themselves out of office by changing the basis on which they are elected, it is time to establish a new dominant but elected grouping that has only one objective: changing the machinery of representation. Continue reading
A series of hard landings
The world has already seen national flag carriers in the airline industry being absorbed by operators from other countries and that trend is bound to accelerate as the effects of recession escalate. Losses during 2008 are estimated by Iata at over ten billion dollars and they have just revised their forecast for 2009 in the upward direction. Continue reading
You can’t save all the dinosaurs
The British and American economies grew to their modern status through world-beating industrial expansion but their productive capacity in terms of actual goods is declining in an accelerating downward curve and it can be argued that the Credit Crunch is a manifestation of the tipping point in terms of greatness. Continue reading
Constitutional crisis and the chance to change
The other day a professor of politics at Oxford University was interviewed on the radio and was asked if we need a written constitution. Yes, was his reply, but only after we have sorted out the current crisis and brought in any necessary rules, structural changes and regulatations. Continue reading
Qualified for the job they hold?
How well would you expect a brain surgeon to be qualified? What about the engineer who designs the bridge you are about to cross – you hope rather better than just a pass (one statistic I found says less than 9% of Honours Degree students get more than 70%). So how about the people who are supposed to determine our national policies? Continue reading
When a winner isn’t
Can any politician really want to win the next UK General Election? The next time the nation goes to the polls, the party with the most votes will inherit a massive headache and sorting it all out will be either impossible or massively unpopular – or both. Continue reading
Politicians in denial
The government continues in its blinkered approach to the seriousness of our economic situation. This is now manifest in the greatest folly: Gordon Brown telling the Governor of the Bank of England to stop his team being so pessimistic. Gordon, try telling that to Standard & Poor’s as well. Continue reading
Eye off the ball?
Once again the nation is in uproar about the wrong subject. The media and private conversations are discussing the claiming of excessive expenses by Members of Parliament and that is being described as a crisis for democracy.
Unfortunately, the more that the topic is discussed, the more the issues become blurred. Continue reading