Tag Archives: Politics

Northamptonshire may no longer be bankrupt. But splitting the county in two does nothing to solve its identity crisis

Posted on July 22, 2019 by Alex Grant

Brexit, and the ongoing Conservative leadership contest, dominate. Other stories rarely get a hearing. The fact that despite her imminent resignation as Prime Minister, Theresa May remains ahead of Jeremy Corbyn in the personal approval ratings. The ongoing political crisis … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Critics who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones about anti-semitism. Chaos arrived at Labour HQ before Corbyn did

Posted on July 11, 2019 by Alex Grant

Holocaust denial at Labour party meetings. Jewish members being called “dirty Zionists”, or worse. Party staffers being made to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements to stop them speaking out against the lack of action against the culprits. Interventions by Jeremy Corbyn’s office, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

People Get Ready: can Labour ever get to implement its economic vision?

Posted on June 28, 2019 by Alex Grant

Away from the noise of Brexit, Labour – and the British Left in general – is buzzing with new economic ideas more loudly than it has for decades. Moving the privatised utilities to a new form of mutual nationalisation is … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Rory Stewart I knew: why it was inevitable he’d be knocked out of the Tory leadership contest

Posted on June 21, 2019 by Alex Grant

I’ve been following the Conservative leadership race with uncommon interest: I knew Rory Stewart quite well about 25 years ago. We were students a year apart at Balliol College, Oxford, in the mid-1990s, and though we moved in different circles … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Don’t believe what Donald Trump says about Sweden. Immigration works well there

Posted on July 21, 2018 by Alex Grant

In the third and final part of a series of posts about modern Sweden (parts one and two can be read here and here), I look at immigration, and the crime problems that many neo-cons claim it has caused. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sweden, a land where consumer has never been king

Posted on July 15, 2018 by Alex Grant

In the second part of a three-part series of posts about modern Sweden (the first part can be read here), I look at Sweden’s weather, its inhabitants’ supposed shyness, and how Swedish consumers fare when it comes to buying alcohol … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Sweden: how a ‘dull country’ is still worth living in

Posted on July 14, 2018 by Alex Grant

In the first of a three-part series about modern Sweden, I look at what twentieth and twenty-first century writers have to say, and how the reality of life in Sweden compares to the euphoria or opprobrium that it often provokes. “I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

To win next time, Labour must overcome its Midland problem

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Alex Grant

Theresa May is utterly humiliated, forced to rely on the Democratic Unionists for a majority. Jeremy Corbyn has exceeded all expectations. Far from losing ground, Labour made a net gain of 30 seats – not just in the north and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The big surprise of this election campaign? Not how badly Theresa May has fared, but how well

Posted on June 7, 2017 by Alex Grant

A screeching U-turn on long-term care bills. Uninspiring, robotic TV appearances – and several non-appearances at leadership debates and Today programme interviews. An inability to think on her feet, answer unscripted questions from the public, show herself as a team … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

If Macron wins it proves that despite five years of terror, France can resist the siren calls of fascism. I’m not sure Britain could

Posted on May 6, 2017 by Alex Grant

Imagine that a terrorist had shot dead four police officers, in two daylight attacks on the streets of Winchester and Southampton, a few months before the 2012 Olympics. After a few days at large he attacks the playground of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment