I think it takes a bit of temerity to make forecasts for the year ahead after the year we have just had. Looking back at my forecasts for 2020 there is a notable missing black swan from the list. However, and in the spirit of things: Covid: Although things will be better by the end of the year, at least in the developed world, the ravages of the virus will go on for longer than we hope with severe restrictions…
(This is the first of several posts this week in which prominent PBers give their predictions for the New Year – if you would like to join them please get in touch – MS) I think sometimes one needs to take a step back and make some reasonably wild predictions. Now, I doubt all, most, or perhaps any of these will come true. But that’s not necessarily the point. These are to stimulate debate, and hopefully I’ll get bragging rights…
The UK-EU trade agreement has now been put up on the government website, all 1,246 pages of it. That is 486,549 words. It is marginally longer than Lord of the Rings. Its prose is still more turgid and some of it might as well be written in Elvish. The government is giving the agreement one day’s debate on 30 December. That means that an MP who did nothing other than read the agreement from cover to cover would be able to give well…
The qualifying phrase that Johnson put in response to the PMQ question in the top Tweet might just be enough to deal with any difficulty in relation to a commitment made to the Commons over the Erasmus programme. But his wording and response was sloppy and ill thought out. You don’t say that something will continue, as in the first part of his response unless it will continue. This is just another reflection of his lack of attention to detail….
Deferring pay for the military, pausing emergency COVID help and a record number of pardons for criminal who helped him The final month of the beaten incumbent US President’s looks set to be how he’ll be remembered. With so many millions of Americans being affected this could have an impact if he does decide to run at WH2024. It could also undermine the Republicans in the the critical Georgia runoffs on January 5th. The fury of Cuomo is quite extraordinary…
Across 1 Scandal of former Labour minister caught eating a roll (10) 6 Cut government without delay (4) 9 An election is awfully near. Stick around (7) 10 Ban traffic light signals after relocating A+E (7) 12 Reportedly a US statesman’s political tactic (10) 13 Large government tender (3) 15 Ignoring revolution, Pinochet is respected? (6) 16 Rabble-rousing party excited by end of rally (8) 18 Important Russian note Kim Philby initially sent (8) 20 Vision of Labour grandee (6)…
Charles Hawtrey died an untimely death. The Carry On actor, famed for playing eccentric and effete characters, was in real life a cantankerous alcoholic so devoted to the pursuit of gay sex that he moved to a naval town to be close to the sailors. When he was advised by doctors that he needed to have both legs amputated if he was going to live, he refused, deciding that he would rather die with his boots on. The attitude of many Remainers…
But we mustn’t rule out a last minute hitch