A Suggestion on Political Reform

A Suggestion on Political Reform

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1) An elected executive based on defined positions such as Education, Health, Police, Immigration etc. where each position is directly elected after: Candidates are winnowed down to three runners. Each has their specific proposals costed by the Civil Service. Each proposal has to have a statement of the improvement it is expected to bring and a tangible way of measuring progress along with expected timescales. Measurement to be done by the Civil Service. The advantage of this approach is that…

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This Ridge interview with Johnson just three days before GE2019 looks problematical for the PM

This Ridge interview with Johnson just three days before GE2019 looks problematical for the PM

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The status of Northern Ireland in Johnson’s 2019 Brexit deal always had the potential to be problematical for ministers and as we have seen in the last couple of days things are coming to a head. There are those who take the view that the details of the Good Friday Agreement which brought the troubles to an end made any exit by the UK from the EU difficult to achieve. For how could the GFA’s commitment to what was effectively…

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Lest we forget – the sheer scale of the UK COVID toll

Lest we forget – the sheer scale of the UK COVID toll

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For four years, the town of Wootton Bassett bore the sad duty of receiving the repatriated war dead from Afghanistan and Iraq.  It did so with dignified compassion.  For 345 men and women, the town’s people lined the streets reverently.  They comforted the bereaved.  They remembered the soldiers’ service.  The oak of the coffins and the brass of the fittings were polished to a mirror sheen and wrapped with union flags on their final journeys.  When the town’s duty was…

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With just three months to go before the Scottish elections a ratings boost for Sturgeon and the SNP

With just three months to go before the Scottish elections a ratings boost for Sturgeon and the SNP

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And dreadful figures for Salmond We don’t often see Scotland specific YouGov favourability ratings but these have just been published by YouGov. It is striking how much better Sturgeon is doing than her party. The numbers are broadly in line with what you would expect with Johnson and the Tories doing very badly. The only consolation for the PM is that the former Scottish First Minister, Salmond is doing even worse. Labour and Starmer are faring better but still no…

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The longer the EU row goes on the better it is for Hancock and Johnson

The longer the EU row goes on the better it is for Hancock and Johnson

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It just reminds the world that they were first The latest research on the effectiveness of the AZC/Oxford vaccine reinforces the kudos for Hancock in getting early supplies and being a media savvy politician it was he who was the minister doing the round of morning media appearance. For until this data came out this jab had been had been perceived as something second second-rate compared with the others that were available. You could see on Twitter and other social…

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Contagion – the 2011 Matt Damon movie that’s said to be driving Hancock’s COVID strategy

Contagion – the 2011 Matt Damon movie that’s said to be driving Hancock’s COVID strategy

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There’s a great piece in the Guardian on the influence that the 2011 Matt Damon movie, Contagion, has had on the government’s approach to COVID – a story that was first covered by SkyNews. Under the heading “How Matt Hancock’s obsession with Matt Damon film drove UK’s vaccine strategy” Archie Bland writes that a surprising factor in the UK approach has been the HealthSec’s interest in the Matt Damon movie featuring a virus-ridden pig. He writes: .. In particular, Hancock wanted…

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Next week’s Trump impeachment vote: Which way will McConnell vote?

Next week’s Trump impeachment vote: Which way will McConnell vote?

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The above clip of Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, speaking to the Senate on the last day of the Trump presidency is a possible good pointer to a new market that Smarkets have up on what he specifically is going to do in the vote next week. Currently the chances of McConnell voting for impeachment are rated by the markets as a 21% chance which I think might be a good bet. There’s no doubt about his view of Trump’s…

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Home or Abroad?

Home or Abroad?

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The desire (expressed by some – the WHO, for instance) for Britain to give away vaccines to other countries before we have vaccinated our own population is politically insane and, frankly, immoral. There: I’ve said it. Call me selfish, if you will. But let me explain why I say this. Let’s take the young: they may not have the same risks of dying as older people but they do face the risks of catching Covid which, as my 22 year…

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