I was asked a question in the comments to the previous post by an “anonymous fan“. (A fan? Wowser.) What do you make of the Lib Dems being in government and to what extent do you still support them? I thought the question would be of wider interest, so I have decided to respond in […]
Tentative thumbs-up for the Conservative—Lib Dem coalition
A few days ago I wrote optimistically about the prospect of a coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. Now that we have a coalition for real, I feel even more cheered. Part of my argument in my earlier post was that there needs to be cultural change in politics. When I listened to […]
Five disturbing things about democracy
Here it is: that post I’ve been sitting on for upwards of a year. Before I start, I am going to make a few introductory notes about what I do and don’t mean when I call democracy disturbing. I find that all too often debates about this subject are clouded by dogma, which leads to […]
David Davis: mad but right
It’s probably fair to say that David Davis’s announcement was the most surprising story of the day. I think his speech is bang on the money. I had never thought of David Davis as the sort of person I would agree with. But he is absolutely right. This government is funnelling our civil liberties one-by-one […]
BoJo might be a bozo… the concise edition
In the wake of the reaction to my previous post, I want to re-state and clarify what I wrote. I am well aware that the previous post was way too long and ranty, and when you blog like that it is easy to lose focus. Hopefully this will be short. Snapesbabe reckons that my post […]
BoJo might be a bozo, but Labour is the real danger
It is often said that the most despised people in the country are journalists and estate agents. And while these people sometimes are indeed prize toss pots, there are two other professions that I despise above all others. Actors and politicians. Thing is, acting and being a politician is essentially the same job. They’re not […]
Obama or Nobama?
It was my turn to write this week’s Scottish Roundup (nominations always welcome of course, even if it’s nothing to do with politics). I keep an eye on the Scottish blogs throughout the week in preparation, and towards the end of the week it became pretty clear that one particular wee stooshie had to be […]
Reasons to favour road tolls
You know, I really don’t mind the SNP all that much. I mean, in the sense that they are better than Labour then I am pleased they won the election. And I think that, on the whole, they have done a very competent job in charge. But what have they done since gaining power? ASwaS […]
The rights of the dead (an update)
Well I see that the debate about organ donation has reared its head again. My views have, if anything, hardened since I wrote on this subject last year. Please read that post before going on to read this update. I am a liberal. As such, I sympathise with the view that the state should not […]
Sleepwalked into a surveillance society
Here is something cheery to take you through to the new year. Look at this map. It ranks countries by how much privacy its citizens have. The UK is coloured in black. This means that it is among the “leading” surveillance societies. The only assessed countries to come out worse in the study are Thailand, […]