The Left had much to celebrate over the long weekend: not only was the Conservative Party routed in Britain’s local elections, the triumph of Hollande over Sarkozy in France and the success of socialist and social democratic parties in Greece and Schleswig Holstein suggest that the political tide is turning red. Austerity has been discredited; […]

As the final results of the 2012 local election were tallied and reported, London was the place to be. I hadn’t planned nor scheduled it this way: it was a mysterious happenstance that meant that just before Boris Johnson’s re-election as Mayor was confirmed, I was making my way back to my hotel in the […]

The Trafford Centre is an undeniably impressive place. I could see its large glass dome from the motorway. The areas allotted for car parking are vast. I went in along with my other half via an signpost marked “The Orient”: this was followed by a set of tall columns and a stone statue bearing gilded […]

George Galloway shouldn’t be a Member of Parliament. Apart from his overblown theatrics, his comic turn as a cat on Big Brother, and his incessant desire for the limelight, he simply is not an effective representative for his constituents. As the non-partisan “They Work for You” website makes clear, when he was the MP for […]

On Monday, David Cameron made a rather rambling and long winded speech; my other half and I watched snippets of it on the BBC News at Ten. I sighed; she said, “I’ve been to so many of these,” with a touch of weariness in her voice. While I don’t have her experience of working for […]

The media generated fanfare surrounding Super Tuesday is over. The candidates, no doubt, have retreated to their hotel bedrooms, have taken off sweat stained shirts, hung up media friendly ties, washed off pancake makeup and now lay in bed, asleep. This may be the one time that they are disconnected from the demands of ambition. […]

[AMAZONPRODUCT=B007A3OZ9C] In December 2010, former President Bill Clinton and current President Barack Obama held a joint press conference at the White House. The topic was a proposed framework agreement intended to extend tax cuts and unemployment benefits. After about 10 minutes, President Obama had to leave so as not to be late for an appointment […]

It didn’t get much notice, but this small news item caught my eye: on Thursday, the rather bloodless sounding International Swaps and Derivatives Association’s Determinations Committee met to decide whether Greece had actually defaulted or not. They judged that Greece hadn’t, because although private bond holders had taken a loss of 53.5% on the face […]

I intend this to be my last blog post for 2010; shortly, I will be going on an extended holiday, and hopefully I will feel reinvigorated afterwards. If so, I am likely to have a lot more about which I wish to comment. This year concludes with more than a tinge of sadness. On my […]

I am writing this a few hours after arriving home from the Demolition 2010 demonstration in London, which was organised to protest the tripling of student fees. So far as I can tell, the narrative about the event has been decidedly negative: pictures of students attacking the headquarters of the Conservative Party at Millbank Tower […]