On July
The Kabul conference and David Cameron’s pilgrimage to Washington have generated plenty of articles and interviews agonising about Afghanistan. Ministers are asked what would happen in that country if “we” withdrew “our” forces next...
Author: Brian
End of the UK or a federal rebirth? (With 18 July update)
“Is this the end of the UK?” was the title of a characteristically provocative and elegant article in the London Review of Books [Vol. 32 No. 10 · 27 May 2010] by Dr David...
Nothing fair about a graduate tax, Ed and Vince (with update pm 15-7-10)
Ed Miliband, second favourite after his big brother for the Labour leadership, has written a piece on his campaign blog in which he argues for a graduate tax as a fairer alternative to tuition...
David Miliband: time for some policies?
The reception for David Miliband’s Keir Hardie lecture on 10 July 2010 has been rapturous in some quarters — e.g. John Rentoul in an Independent newspaper blog, and, more surprisingly, by Jon Cruddas, standard-bearer...
A comprehensive report on IPPs demands urgent reform
In a recent blog post (here) I recommended some daunting facts and figures on Indeterminate Sentences (IPPs) published earlier this month in a Prison Reform Trust ‘Bromley Briefing’. The text of the relevant section...
IPPs: some facts and figures to trouble us (with update 8 July ’10)
The other day in a blog post about Indederminate Sentences for Public Protection (IPPs) I described the cruelty and injustice of the IPP régime, under which repeat offenders who have served the punishment part...
Afghanistan: the dog that still doesn’t bark in the night
It’s extraordinary that the national political discourse isn’t dominated by the war in Afghanistan. We have been engulfed in it for nine years already and almost every bulletin brings news of yet more deaths...
Indeterminate Sentences for Public Protection (IPPs) once more (with update 25 June 2010)
In August 2007, nearly three years ago, I wrote (again) in this blog about the scandal of Indeterminate Sentences for Public Protection (IPPs), under which people sent to prison for, often, quite minor offences,...
BP, the oil spill, and the Congressional committee
I’m generally a fan of the American constitution, its Bill of Rights, and especially of the American commitment to due process. In the words of the Fifth Amendment, No person shall be held to...
Whither the Labour opposition? Part 2 of an open letter to The Leader
Dear Harriet, If the Labour Party is going to make a healthy recovery in time for the next election (which, despite the CameroClegg’s pronouncements about a fixed term, may turn out to be much...