Brexit impasse: democracy can be messy – but the alternative is terrifying
'And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee' (1Sam 8:7). It might not end well, but never let…
Social contract
The Church of Englishness
Upon reading Archbishop Stephen Cotterell’s remarks on English identity in the Telegraph, I was reminded of the time I was reading the Law Society Gazette whilst waiting for a court case to be called. An interesting report caught my eye:…
Online hate: Twitter speaks what the heart is full of
Life is a lot of bitterness and hate: there are oppressors and victims; struggles, dilemmas and protests. There is suffering and pain, anxiety and change. There are cries for vengeance,…
BBC Newsnight provides a pulpit for the myth of secular neutrality
"The best guarantee of religious tolerance is a well-organised secular state... there is a higher authority; it's called the law," proclaimed author Ian McEwan on the BBC's 'Newsnight', in a…
Edward Fox urges Britons to leave the EU: "Sovereign power is absolute"
Edward Fox OBE is one of the UK's most distinguished actors, with a career spanning seven decades. In manner, character and disposition, he is the epitome of English decency,…
If the BBC is "our cultural NHS", it's another state religion
According to Shadow Culture Secretary Chris Bryant, the BBC is the nation’s "cultural NHS". He said it to the Royal Television Society, and wrote it for HuffPo UK. And…
"Thatcher Rest In Hell" – Durham Miners' Gala rejoice over Thatcher effigy in coffin
"The Durham Miners' Association has been shocked and saddened at the news last week of the death of three stalwarts of the socialist and labour movement," wrote the Friends…
Where is the Conservative Party's sense of intergenerational justice?
The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not…
What are 'fundamental British values'?
In a context of fractious social division and increasing religious tension, the Government is on a quest for national identity, and education is the means by which it will…
The flaw in the Fatwa on the so-called Islamic State
This really is quite magnificent. To those who insist Muslims cannot or will not integrate with or conform to British values, customs and traditions, this fatwa (= religious opinion; not…