Why I’m No Longer Clapping
- May 05, 2020
- by
- Matt
It seems a long time ago now, since the UK belatedly lurched into ‘lockdown’ on 23 March, and marked the occasion with a national call to ‘clap for our NHS heroes.’ At the time, this campaign caught the mood of a fearful population that was conscious of its vulnerability, because the government had finally told...
Turning the Corner
- May 01, 2020
- by
- Matt
Spring is here, and even in a nation in lockdown, it’s possible to detect a new confidence and optimism at the helm of the United Kingdom of Populist Brexit Republics (UKPBR), a sense that the darkest days are over and that we have turned the corner in the war against Covid-19. Asked by Cathy Newman on...
Coronavirus: Raise Your Voice and Point the Finger
- April 22, 2020
- by
- Matt
There are times when it’s necessary, and even obligatory, to establish a truce or even a temporary alliance with your political opponents in order to fight an enemy that is even dangerous and harmful than they are. Such truces might involve all kinds of unlikely compromises and political arrangements, from coalition or unity governments to...
You Clap for Me: A Celebration and a Warning
- April 16, 2020
- by
- Matt
It seems a long time ago, back in the days when ‘normal’ still existed, that we didn’t think much of immigrants in this country – especially the ‘unskilled’ kind. In those days we learned week in and week out from our newspapers and from many of our politicians, that immigrants were a burden on ‘our’...
Clap for Boris? You must be joking
- April 11, 2020
- by
- Matt
As most people in the UK will be aware, Boris Johnson has spent most of the last week in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Fortunately, he is now recovering. I say ‘fortunately’ because only ghouls wish to see their political enemies, no matter how contemptible they find them to be, exposed to physical suffering and...
Beware the Lies of March
- March 29, 2020
- by
- Matt
In difficult times, it’s comforting and perhaps essential to believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s also wise to bear in mind that there are always alternative possibilities. Historical tragedies are not like novels or theatrical tragedies. They don’t come with redemptive endings or instructive moral messages. They do...
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