Jottings for January
The political and economic scenes in Britain are warming up nicely as the general election, due on 6 May, approaches. The leaders of both the main parties are working hard to establish the issue...
Author: Brian
Another hung parliament in May? Some myths and a remedy
The poll figures currently suggest that the general election in May will produce another hung parliament, with neither major party likely to win an overall majority of the seats. The commentariat continues to write...
Three new reviews of ‘What Diplomats Do’: read them here
With apologies for returning once more to the subject of my recent (first and last) book, What Diplomats Do, I want to let you know that three new reviews of the book have been...
A brilliant (free) book about a Victorian diplomatic whistle-blower
It’s not often that a fascinating and important new book — in this case about an accomplished diplomat, journalist, whistle-blower, novelist, dissembler and controversial celebrity of Victorian times — is made available, totally free...
Lloyd George in cartoons, by Alan Mumford
Alan Mumford, leading collector of and expert on political cartoons, has produced another in his brilliant series of political cartoon biographies, this time of that always fascinating character David Lloyd George, the Welsh wizard...
Scotland has saved the UK: now it’s time for self-government for England
We’ve barely stepped off the roller-coaster of the Scottish independence referendum, dizzy from the sudden swoops and dives but exhilarated to have survived as a country, before we’re plunged into another heated debate on...
Scotland’s independence referendum: some confusions in the commentariat
There seem to be some dubious assumptions behind much of the current speculation from the commentariat south of the border: (1) That there’ll be a in/out EU referendum in 2017 in the UK, whether...
You can buy ‘What Diplomats Do’ with a substantial discount
If you’re reading this, you’re entitled to a substantially discounted price if you order your copy of my new book, What Diplomats Do, using the order form on my website at https://barder.com/wp-content/uploads/Flyer-What-Diplomats-Do-June14.pdf (for buyers...
The dangerous decline of the FCO: Labour’s opportunity
Diplomacy is the art of giving all parties in a conflict what they need, if not what they want. Right now, the underpaid, mismanaged FCO staff are getting neither what they need nor what...
The coalition government should resign forthwith if Scotland votes for independence
As of now (6 August 2014) the best guess must be that Scotland will vote to reject independence in the referendum on the 18th of next month. But there are still many undecided voters...