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Author: CycleFree

Lamenting Dido*

Lamenting Dido*

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Since 2006 there have been, on and off, 7 anti-corruption champions, many of them well-known former Ministers in the twilight of their careers (Straw, Clarke, Pickles). It’s not clear what they have actually done or are meant to do, beyond fine words. Some clarity has since been provided here. The focus is on supporting the government’s international strategy – teaching others how to be as incorruptible as Britain – and reviewing what departments and agencies are doing here. It is…

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If You’re in a Glasshouse …..

If You’re in a Glasshouse …..

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During Corbyn’s leadership, Labour was relentlessly attacked by the Tories, their supporters and cheerleaders in the press for the many failings which, they said, made Labour unfit to run the  country. Worth dwelling on the accusations for what they tell us about today’s Tories. A sympathiser with IRA terrorism: well-worn, repeated on every possible occasion and, combined with his associations with various dubious Palestinian groups and past statements about the causes of Islamist terrorism, the Tories happily painted a picture of…

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Laundering Reputations: China and its Uighurs

Laundering Reputations: China and its Uighurs

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It’s time to talk about the Uighurs again. Despite a harrowing Panorama programme and this header, last December no-one was much bothered, beyond some token expressions of concern. What a difference 7 months, a Made in China pandemic, a security law obliterating HK’s freedoms and news of Huawei’s active involvement in the security apparatus used for Uighur persecution make. 25 years after the Srebrenica massacre by Serbs of 8,000 Muslim Bosnian men and boys – the inevitable murderous conclusion of…

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Spotting the Difference – what really matters to Johnson when deciding who is in or out

Spotting the Difference – what really matters to Johnson when deciding who is in or out

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The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland – has usually been seen as a hospital pass (any point during the Troubles), an internal exile for those having to earn their passage back to the mainstream (Mandelson) or somewhere to put rivals or nuisances (Francis Pym, Jim Prior). In some cases, PMs have trolled the residents of that benighted province (Shaun Woodward, Karen Bradley, for heaven’s sake!) Few have shone in the role. One who did was Julian Smith. In his…

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12 Good Men

12 Good Men

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On the decision to suspend jury trials I loved Latin at school. My award for Latin poetry recital is carefully preserved and I remain mildly hopeful that, one day, it might even prove useful. Poetry aside, it was then seen as necessary to become a lawyer. For the first few years of practice those Latin sayings encapsulating legal rules became firmly lodged in my head. Then they were no longer compulsory, plain clear English becoming the rule. Quite right. But…

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Rewards for Failure

Rewards for Failure

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John Bercow, Tom Watson and Karie Murphy should be feeling quite aggrieved, having apparently been blackballed from receiving peerages because of ongoing investigations into allegations about past behaviour. What is this novel concept of holding people accountable for their actions? It hasn’t been like this for ages – ever since lying, lustful Profumo went into the library with the metaphorical whisky and revolver. Soo unfair! Consider: Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner in charge when the Met made a fool…

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The Social Undistanceables: A Plan

The Social Undistanceables: A Plan

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Thinking through the problem of the moment What a mouthful. Like the name for a reality TV programme. Trying to match up the odd, the awkward, the peculiar. Or perhaps a play – if a theatre can be found. Almost unremarked, the RSC recently announced it would close until next January. Birmingham Hippodrome has started redundancy consultations, its reason being what Basil Fawlty might have termed the “bleedin’ obvious”: “We are unable to reopen until social distancing measures are relaxed”….

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Food, Glorious Food!

Food, Glorious Food!

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Covid-19 and a prolonged lockdown have bought us few good things. There are some, though:- A cleaner, less polluted environment. It may be temporary but what joy there is in having clear quiet skies, bird song you can hear, cleaner air. The importance of local food, strong resilient supply chains and food security. Empty shelves and foodstuffs unobtainable, whether for love or money, have been an unwelcome surprise. The importance and value of treating animals, especially those we farm and…

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