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Month: August 2012

Does the UK still have a global role?

Does the UK still have a global role?

Guest slot by Financier. “For those immediate years of post-war austerity and exhaustion, still on rations as we watched our global empire unravel, birthed a national narrative that endured, with the odd interruption, for more than six decades. It is a story of decline, of Britain as a nation, once glorious, now reduced to a tired marginality, bobbing around in the Atlantic, stuck between Europe and a superpower United States.”  – Jonathan Freedland, The Guardian, 11th of August 2012. Recently, Defence…

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Will Ken Clarke still be Justice Secretary after the reshuffle?

Will Ken Clarke still be Justice Secretary after the reshuffle?

The Guardian is reporting that Kenneth Clarke is fighting to keep his cabinet post. This would appear to be a response to the a story in The Sunday Telegraph, which had a Tory MP on the right saying  “Ken must accept he has had his day and it is time to move on. We must send out to voters a coherent and tough message on law and order and we are not doing that at the moment. It is not for nothing Ken is…

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The Pursuit of Excellence

The Pursuit of Excellence

A guest slot by Financier The London Olympics has witnessed a magnificent competition by the global family of athletes (of many disciplines) who have strived for just three prizes in each event: gold, silver and bronze. There were no prizes for a plucky loser, no medals for a good effort and no award for “well-tried.”  If you lost, then you lost. For many, it was quite apparent that the privilege of representing their country at the Olympics was the biggest…

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Will these be successful strategies for The Tories in 2015?

Will these be successful strategies for The Tories in 2015?

The Times has an article discussing future Tory electoral strategies. It says key Tory ministers are pushing for a dramatic shift in the way the next Tory election campaign is run. One key Tory minister said “The next election shouldn’t be about love-bombing and seeking the vote we need to win to the Left. We can’t win votes by being cuddly Tory-Lib Dem lite. We actually need votes to the right of us,” said one minister who is holding meetings…

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PaddyPower’s White House Race betting preview

PaddyPower’s White House Race betting preview

A bookmaker guest slot The race to become the world’s most powerful man is well under way. The next United States presidential election will be held on Tuesday 6 November and two men – Barack Obama and Mitt Romney – will go head to head for the biggest prize in politics. Can Obama secure a second term for the Democrats? Or will Romney capitalise on the disappointing economy and become the 45th President of the United States? Obama the favourite…

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Will transport be a key battleground at the next election?

Will transport be a key battleground at the next election?

The Observer is reporting that George Osborne is being urged to make policy U-turn as parties fear ‘tax on commuting’ will destroy support in marginal seats. Several MPs have gone on the record to urge a change in policy. One Kent MP – Sir John Stanley, the member for Tonbridge and Malling – accused ministers of “exploiting commuters” and using rail fares as “a disguised form of taxation”. The Conservative MP for Harlow in Essex, Robert Halfon, said: “I have already…

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