Category: International Affairs

Thoughts on the Richmond Park by-election result

The Labour party incomprehensibly decided to run a kamikaze Labour candidate in the Richmond Park by-election, thereby risking diverting enough votes from the LibDem challenger to let the discredited Zac Goldsmith (Tory but running...

The Trump disaster and its implications for Labour

“[A]t the moment I am in anguish, frightened for my country and for our unity. And for the first time, I feel homeless in America.”  Thomas J Friedman, New York Times, 9 Nov. After...

Labour must lead an all-party alliance committed to preventing an Article 50 notification of intention to leave the EU

Writing this in New York just before a US presidential election of global significance, it’s easy to overlook the importance and implications for Britain of the judgement of the High Court requiring the government...

The US election prospects: an outsider’s view on e-day minus 8

J and I have been here in New York for only a few days but we have been watching a lot of local television, ringing the changes on the news channels, including the dire Fox...

Brexit: Theresa May throws away her only card

Until last weekend, the prime minister had one asset that she could have used to motivate other EU leaders to enter into preliminary discussions of the broad framework of Britain’s future relationship with the...

Can UK exit from the EU still be avoided? More arguments for saying it can

In a comment on my earlier post, ‘ObiterJ’ has helpfully drawn attention to an article by the philosopher and commentator Professor A C Grayling in which he states forcefully the legal and constitutional case...

Is Brexit now inevitable? Not yet by a long chalk

In a recent post on Open Democracy UK, the formidable Sunder Katwala has advised us emotional Europeans to get through the mourning phases of grief and anger and at last embrace ‘acceptance’.  Being strongly...

Is Brexit now unavoidable? Just possibly not (2)

Events are moving so swiftly that it’s difficult to write anything that won’t be overtaken a few hours later.  The defenestration of Boris Johnson and the candidature to succeed Cameron of Michael Gove (who...

UK withdrawal from the EU may be avoidable after all. Here’s how

The result of the referendum on 23 June at first seemed conclusive. A clear majority of the UK electorate had voted for withdrawal from the EU.  Neither parliament nor any foreseeable UK government can...

First thoughts about Brexit: Quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat

Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes insane.  That might be Britain’s epitaph after yesterday’s referendum in which a majority of the Britons voting decided that our country is to expel itself...