No – Chris Manby Judges in the High Court ruled this morning that the government must consult Parliament before invoking Article 50 and triggering Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. Since a majority of MPs backed the Remain campaign during the referendum, Leave campaigners have good reason to smell a rat. The government have vowed […]
Sajid Javid is right to ignore the doubters and greenlight fracking. For one thing, he’s got all the right people working themselves up into a hysterical frenzy. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government overruled Lancashire Council’s rejection of a site, a decision which had been appealed by shale extraction firm Cuadrilla. Green Party leader […]
There was a lot to like in Phillip Hammond’s first conference speech as Chancellor of the Exchequer. But there was also a much less welcome shift towards further state intervention in the economy. In stark contrast to Theresa May’s take-no-prisoners approach and Boris Johnson’s optimistic vision, Mr Hammond sounded a much more dour note on […]
I’ve been catching up on last night’s US Presidential debate. My first impression is that both these candidates are dreadful failures of humanity. Neither should be allowed anywhere near the reins of power. My second impression is that Hilary Clinton seemed far better prepared, whilst Donald Trump appeared to be winging it. Trump repeatedly failed […]
Like many who campaigned to leave the European Union, I wasn’t expecting victory. Neither were the pollsters, the pundits, media commentators, and Nigel Farage. I’ve never been happier to be proven wrong. Against all predictions, against all odds, Great Britain is leaving the EU and rejoining the world. The British public have always had an […]
Four decades ago, Britain joined the European Community. The British people – those inconvenient voters whom politicians periodically have to win over in order to enact their grand schemes – were told this was merely a “Common Market” that would boost jobs and trade. What they were not told is that this was the cover […]
As any British person not living under a rock on Mars will no doubt be aware, Queen Elizabeth II turned 90 yesterday. As usual, a tiny minority of republicans poked their noses out of their holes and complained. The monarchy, they claim, is undemocratic and elitist and should be abolished. As usual the vast majority of […]
In my last article, I wrote that Britain needs a revolution in our relationship with government. The UK’s debt burden is unsustainable. Debt interest is forecast to eat up a bigger and bigger slice of public spending every year. At the same time an ageing population and mass immigration are pushing up the cost of […]
George Osborne is something of a political chameleon. Every so often he feels the need to change his ideological clothes. Once considered a tax-cutting deficit hawk, the chancellor has also proven to be an earnest believer in big government. You never know what you’re going to get with an Osborne budget, and yesterday was no […]
We’ve heard a lot from the Remain camp about the ‘perils’ a newly-independent Britain will face. Most of these are blatantly false statements designed to keep wavering voters clinging fearfully to the Brussels comfort blanket. We would be ‘punished‘ if we left, claim EU enthusiasts. The day after the referendum, so the argument goes, the […]
It was all meant to be so easy, wasn’t it? David Cameron’s strategy to keep Britain in the European Union rested on getting a deal – any deal – and selling it to the British people as a victory for us plucky Brits, batting above our weight in the counsels of Europe. Like Harold Wilson […]
Western civilisation has deep roots. The Greeks invented democracy and philosophy. The Romans spread civilisation across Western Europe. Medieval Christendom fostered a loose European identity that still persists to this day. The religious wars of the 1600s gave birth to the notion of religious tolerance and inviolable nation states. But as Daniel Hannan, the Conservative […]
