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One which changes a government’s intended actions or leads it to do something it might not otherwise have done? A few guidelines:- Get the law-abiding on side. Enough of them to make government MPs worry about their majorities. The poll tax riots did not change government policy. But that so many Tory voters were incensed at the proposal did worry Tory MPs and played a big part in Thatcher losing their votes. Little wonder Major ditched an election-losing policy once…

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It’s time once again to talk about a key institution: one which politicians feel it necessary to praise and support, whatever their private views, one which many feel we cannot live without, a rather dysfunctional, arrogant one, repeatedly making the same mistakes, mistakes which have caused great harm to those directly affected, repeatedly refusing to learn the lessons and change its ways, hostile to outsiders, an organisation whose senior members rarely seem to bear the consequences of the problems they…

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Times change. And so does received wisdom. Fewer than 20 years ago, Boris Johnson saw no reason in principle to differentiate between gay marriage and consecrating a union between three men and a dog. This week, he clambered on the gay rights bandwagon, welcoming an MoD decision to return medals to military personnel dismissed for their sexuality (though actual financial compensation for their treatment seems to be beyond the current government). A virulently ambitious Conservative politician has found it necessary to perform a volte…

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The virus will continue to do its worst. It may well mutate further. There will be another outbreak (possibly even a serious one) in China but the Chinese government will say far less about it. Foreign journalists reporting on it will be expelled. Chinese journalists won’t report on it for fear of facing the same fate as Zhang Zhan. The government’s vaccination programme will not reach the level of daily vaccinations needed to stop its spread. By early summer the…

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Not so long ago we had Islamists spouting vile rhetoric inspiring the young to slaughter innocents. The Choudhury’s and Abu Qatada’s of this world were quick to say they weren’t responsible. They carefully positioned themselves – just – on the right side of the line dividing hateful words and incitement to violence. Those doing the attacks came to their own views and, anyway, were only reacting to the bad stuff they had seen done to their “brothers”. Decent people (including politicians) were…

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