The third Heathrow runway would be a mistake of gigantic proportions. I can categorically say that the building of another runway at Heathrow would be about the most stupid and unpleasant political act you could imagine in this day and age. There was a full Royal Commission in 1968 which completed the most comprehensive study of its kind and recommended a site for a new Third London Airport. The question of increasing the capacity of existing airports was raised at that time but rejected on both cost and operational grounds. Stansted was considered by the Commission but rejected early on for various environmental, technical and access reasons. [Continue reading]
Reforming the House of Lords: A 21st Century Proposal
Reforming the House of Lords will only really mean something by making serious, far reaching changes. This article provides my justification, and a proposal for such change. … [Continue reading]
The Meaning of Marriage: An Alternative Comment
The fashionable view of marriage is that it is declining, archaic and no longer necessary. This is wide of the mark. It is not just that weddings are on the increase - partly a result of more second marriages; it is that being old fashioned is no … [Continue reading]
Wanted! A Government Which Cares.
Following the June fiasco of a general election, we now find ourselves with effectively no government. A minority government, at the best of times, is difficult. I was part of such a government in the mid-1970s, but at least we knew what were the … [Continue reading]
They Don’t Care About Global Warming: A polemic already past
(Written in June 2010 updated and reinforced November 2017.) Almost everyone now accepts that global warming is a fact of life and the excess burning of carbon fuels will not only hasten the process, but those very fuels are themselves becoming … [Continue reading]
The Motorists Manifesto
Even though a majority of voters in the London area drive a vehicle, that part of their lives has been ignored by recent policies of London’s Mayors. In fact, London has experienced years of heavy prejudice against the means of transport used by … [Continue reading]
After The Vote
Has Britain really gone mad? It is now over a year since my last blog on the subject of brexit. I became seriously ill just after the referendum vote and so here is my response to what has happened in the succeeding year. In those weeks before … [Continue reading]
The Truth About Public Ownership and Nationalisation
It is time that the truth was told about public ownership and nationalisation. In 1975 the McIntosh Enquiry, on which I worked, found that out of 32 publicly owned corporations and companies just four were making significant losses. They were coal, … [Continue reading]
Back From Eternity
It is now over 12 months since my last blog posting. The reason for this hiatus is that I got cancer. And had to undergo some long and complicated surgery which at some stages was life threatening. There were crises and much surgery had to be done … [Continue reading]
The Brexit World
The Brexit world is Weimar Germany all over again. No democracy in sight. … [Continue reading]