Blair and Brown: ends, means and loopholes
Anatole Kaletsky thinks Tony Blair has shed socialist confusions between ends and means but that Gordon Brown probably hasn’t. In which case the sooner Brown is in No 10, the better [More >>>]
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Why Blair went to war in Iraq: it wasn’t all irrational or dishonourable, but…
There were respectable and logical reasons for using force against Iraq, but they were vitiated by failures of nerve and judgement as to lawfulness and timing. [More …]
Control orders versus extended detention for investigation: which is worse?
The government’s proposal to extend the time allowed for detaining a terrorist suspect for investigation and eventual trial offers an opportunity to get rid of control orders, a much greater evil. [More>>>]
Proportional representation and the German elections: round three
Jarndyce in ‘The Sharpener’ blog rebuts (but does not refute) the arguments of those of us who see the German election results as confirming the case against PR for the UK, but only by conceding our main point. [More >>>>]
Kosovo: a myth on the road to Iraq
The NATO attack on Serbia over Kosovo was illegal, unnecessary, unsuccessful, and fraudulently justified. Belief in its success led on to Iraq. [More >>>]
Is Tony Blair losing his grip?
The transcript of Tony Blair’s radio interview after the UN summit suggests a prime minister unable to clarify government policies in reply to routine questioning. Has he begun to lose the plot? [More >>>]
G Galloway and C Hitchens in combat
The whole debate on Iraq between George Galloway and Christopher Hitchens can be seen on video on the internet [more >>>]
The Proportional Representation myth and the German elections
Sunday’s German elections demonstrate the defects and undemocratic features of Proportional Representation [more >>>>]
Interpreting the deportation laws: an Australian view
Tony Blair wants parliament to tell the British judges how to interpret the Human Rights Convention so that it can deport terrorist suspects even when they risk being tortured. The Australian lawyer John Greenwell comments. [More >>>]
Tony Blair on the criminal justice system
The prime minister says the criminal justice system aims primarily to protect the accused from the state or the police, and needs to be reversed. Can he really believe this? [More >>>]