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Author: CycleFree

A Very English Vice

A Very English Vice

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Where would we be without hypocrisy? It may have been described (by a Frenchman, unsurprisingly) as “the tribute vice pays to virtue” but a life of complete virtue would be, frankly, intolerable. So let’s enjoy the various hypocrisies our leaders have served up to us in recent weeks:- Mrs May honouring her former press secretary, Robbie Gibb, with a knighthood having, rather nastily, attacked Cameron’s press secretary, Craig Oliver, for his own. However hard poor Sir Robbie worked, a good press…

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The Case of the Missing Documents

The Case of the Missing Documents

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One of the votes lost by the government shortly before Parliament was prorogued was in relation to a demand that it provide by Wednesday 11 September correspondence and communications (defined very widely) sent to or from 9 named people since 23 July “relating to the prorogation of Parliament”. There has been much fuss made about the demand for communications made on personal phones or via various message services as if this were an intolerable intrusion into people’s privacy and/or a breach…

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A Government of Laws

A Government of Laws

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A week is a long time in politics, as Harold Wilson reportedly said. This last week has been one such. On Sunday Michael Gove refused, explicitly, to say that the Government would abide by any law passed in Parliament to rule out a disorderly Brexit, describing such a law as “a pig in a poke”. During Tuesday’s debate when Gove’s pig in a poke – or the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 6) Bill – made an appearance, Johnson confirmed that he…

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The Elevator Pitch

The Elevator Pitch

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It’s all frightfully exciting, isn’t it?! Parliament being prorogued. People demonstrating against coups. Cabinet Ministers, the PM even, having to confirm that they will obey the law. Discussions about obscure precedents from the reign of Queen Anne about whether or not the Queen has to assent to legislation. Government defeats. The loss of its majority to zero as the PM was speaking, the later fall into a minority administration. Long-standing senior MPs being expelled from their party, some by text…

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The Tangled Web that has evolved

The Tangled Web that has evolved

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We should not have been surprised. Johnson has never had much desire to be held accountable. Not as London Mayor. Nor as Foreign Secretary. Even when he misspoke (to put it at its most charitable) over Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, his response was petulant and grudging. He went out of his way to avoid scrutiny at the start of his campaign to become Tory leader. This is not a politician who enjoys debate and argument, willing to test his ideas, face challenge….

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After an eventful day three Questions from CycleFree

After an eventful day three Questions from CycleFree

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Why is the current Tory government so unwilling to ask voters  – in a General Election (or via a referendum) or their representatives in Parliament – whether they want to leave the EU on the basis of no withdrawal agreement and with no transitional stage? How does the government think that such a decision (a No Deal exit) – and the means by which it is effected – will gain and maintain any consensus, and for how long? What arguments…

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How special is special? The US-UK relationship

How special is special? The US-UK relationship

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Be honest. How many G7 summits do you remember? How many are little more than talking shops with the same old photos of largely the same old characters? Last year’s summit, for instance, was mostly memorable for that photo of a defensive obstinate Trump surrounded by an exasperated Merkel and others. And this year? We have the sight of Trump showing off his latest pet, our very own Prime Minister, laughing a little too keenly  at the President’s bon mots (or…

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The Season of Myths

The Season of Myths

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As we approach witching hour, a handy cut-out and keep guide to some of the more common Brexit myths. Britain will be in good company outside the EU. There are lots and lots of countries outside the EU, mostly surviving, many thriving happily, say Leavers. What are we so afraid of? Well, yes, there are. The majority in fact. (Though not the majority of countries in Europe.) But it’s a false comparison. The number of countries who have been in…

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