Could an independent Scotland stay in the EU? Yes, no and maybe
18 February 2014Yesterday the EU Commission’s president Barroso said it would be ‘extremely difficult, if not impossible’. I say, ‘Yes and No.’
2014
Cultivating Character? Yes. Teaching Character? No, no, no!
Character has been the education talking point of the past week. An All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) published a report on it, Tristram Hunt delivered a speech about it, and various education-comment heavyweights have written about it. Character education has an intriguing genealogy. In the Victorian public school, the development of ‘character’ was a central preoccupation. The 1864 Clarendon… [Read More]
Cameron to seek help from EU fund for flood relief
14 February 2014Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed that money will not be an object in attempting to deal with the disastrous flooding that has left most of south-western England under water. But could EU politics be a potential stumbling block? There has been much infighting, finger pointing, and even name calling by some MPs, in the… [Read More]
Only Labour can convince Scotland to stay, but they’re not doing much about it
12 February 2014The complaint of the No campaign, currently led by old-reliable Alistair Darling, is that it appeals too much to the head and not at all to the heart. David Cameron in his speech to Scotland (from London) last week tried to rectify this, but it wasn’t hugely successful. Granted, as the Prime Minister he can… [Read More]
Swiss migration limit: gruyère or guillotine?
11 February 201450.3 per cent of Swiss voters, and a majority of the cantons, have voted in favour of new quotas on immigration. This includes EU immigration, so implies a serious shift in relations between landlocked Switzerland and all her neighbours.
Tough teachers, free schools and Berlin Walls
10 February 2014Michael Gove seemed omnipresent last week, making speeches, giving interviews, riling coalition partners, and whipping the commentariat into a flurry of opinion pieces. Much of this was kicked off by his speech last Monday at the London Academy of Excellence (LAE) in East London. The LAE has been heralded as early evidence for the success… [Read More]
New Geert Wilders report claims Dutch ‘NExit’ could save over €500 billion
7 February 2014Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch ‘Party For Freedom’ (PVV), presented a new document yesterday, which he argued shows the Netherlands should leave the EU and the Euro currency. ‘We must become boss of our own money, our own budget, our own borders, and our own future again,’ he announced at the Hague.
The economic meaning of inactive
6 February 2014Planning to attract people in retirement away from the south east offers a way to rebalance some prosperity between regions.
Income mobility is fair to middling
4 February 2014Research by John Jerrim finds Britain’s level of inter-generational income mobility is nothing exceptional but looks deeper to find what areas are different.
Theresa May’s flip-flops on European anti-Semitic bans
Two prominent, divisive Europeans tried to visit Britain this year: Gábor Vona and Dieudonné M’bala M’bala. Both aroused outrage and protest. Both were considered by the Home Office. Only one visitor, arguably the more dangerous, was allowed entry. Vona, leader of ‘Jobbik Magyarországért Mozgalom’, came to London on 26 January, the day before Holocaust Memorial… [Read More]