Through its system of select committees, the House of Commons is currently undertaking a review of citizenship education in schools. This element of the national curriculum aims to turn out pupils who are civil, politically literate, and active in public affairs. Given newspaper accounts of daily proceedings in the Commons, there is some reason to… [Read More]
Next year marks the bicentenary of Britain’s abolition of the slave trade. In many ways, this anniversary would form a fitting occasion for a national day of celebration, a rallying point to foster social cohesion as well appreciation of this country’s glorious role in the past as a harbinger of liberty around the globe. In… [Read More]
Tomorrow is the official 80th birthday of the Queen. Yesterday, to mark the occasion a special morning service was held at St Paul’s, followed by a slap-up lunch at Manson House. There over three hundred guests, ranging from the likes of Eric Clapton to Margaret Thatcher, turned up to pay homage to the remarkable lady… [Read More]
At last the People couldn’t bear it any longer, so they said to the Barons (who were now Noble English Gentlemen): “We really can’t stand this misery any more. Won’t you do something?” “Well,” said the Barons, “we can’t put up with him any longer either, so we’ll see what we can do for you.”… [Read More]
Three excellent articles have recently appeared on the internet about the problems Europe is facing as a result of disastrous policies that various European governments have adopted, including the ever-growing supra-national one in Brussels, in response to the huge influx of Muslim immigrants to this region in recent years. The first is by Flemming Rose… [Read More]
It has recently been announced that Sir Iqbal Sacranie is to step down as head of the Muslim Council of Britain in favour of his deputy, Dr Muhammed Abdul Bari. A BBC news profile of Dr Bari informs us that he is chairman of the East London Mosque, as well as a specialist teacher in… [Read More]
According to The Times, the Lake District national park authority is to scrap guided walks by volunteer rangers because too high a proportion of participants are white. Mick Casey, a media officer for the authority, said that ‘only 35,000’ per year took part: “The majority who do the walks are white, middle-class, middle-aged people,” he… [Read More]
The first reponse from the Home Office to Cultures and Crimes was that the risk of being a victim of crime is at its lowest since records began. No! Records began in 1857. If no notice had been taken of the book, that utterly reckless statement would have done the job nicely. But notice is… [Read More]
On New Year’s Eve I posted an essay in which I predicted what the academic reaction to Cultures and Crimes would be. Right on cue, Professor Mike Hough, the Director of Criminal Policy Research at King’s College, London, is quoted in the Observer this morning as saying that “This is nonsense. Academics mostly [sic]agree that… [Read More]
Ron Bramwell speaks of his gut feeling as a police officer that crime surged after 1955 because there were more things to steal. In the second half of the nineteenth century, England was still reaping the benefits of having a head start on all other countries in the industrial revolution, and there were many more… [Read More]