Politics UK

John Major Warns….

Boris about Scotland. Another entry in my John Major Warns series (a whopping four entries long now!), a grey Famous Five collection. Delaying a second vote on Scottish independence may be “unwise”, former UK prime minister John Major said – as he warned a “hardline” refusal to allow another vote on the matter for a […]

Politics UK

John Major Warns …

… that Brexit “may be more brutal than anyone expected“. Sir John Major said the government’s “negotiating failure” will cost the public dearly, as he blamed the UK’s “blustering”, “threats” and “inflexibility” that he said will make future trading “less profitable”. The pre-recorded speech at Middle Temple also included Sir John’s stark claim that Britain […]

Government Politics

How Democracy Ends?

Asks David Runciman in the LRB. Can the modern, democratic state survive the assent of someone like Trump? Some have said that the US needs someone who ‘tells it like it is’ (which is doublespeak for ‘tells it the way I think it is’), who’ll make changes, a ‘strong man’. A ‘disruptor’.  The heart of […]

Politics Technology

Legitimizing

Very good point here: When I could get no really substantive on-the-record statements from the tech leaders, I pinged investor Chris Sacca, because I knew he would not let me down. “It’s funny, in every tech deal I’ve ever done, the photo op comes after you’ve signed the papers,” he said. “If Trump publicly commits […]