The problem with the British constitution is sovereignty. We let those words “the sovereignty of parliament” trip off our tongues all too easily. We were taught in our constitutional law classes that, in Britain, the Sovereign rules through Parliament; that we are all subject to the rule of law exercised by a sovereign parliament which includes […]
The On-Board Airline Sales Charade
Ever since people paid to travel in aircraft, the airlines have worried about how to feed them while they fly. For the first eighty years of air travel the answer was ‘on board catering’; basic for economy, and superior for the first class, and later, business class. On long haul it was always recognised that […]
Cruel Government Obstructs Benefits For Its Disabled & Poor.
My son is 54 years old and has been disabled with a learning disability since he was born. He has been supported through state provided disability benefits throughout his life because there is no possibility of him being able to undertake a wage-earning job.
Heathrow Third Runway: A Horrible Mistake
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 […]
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.
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 bad thing, if the institution is tried and […]
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 priorities and managed over the next few years to carry out […]
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 scarce.
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 almost everyone. Since 1974, 25% of the streets of London have been […]
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 the vote, most like me thought that it […]