Some thoughts on the election disaster

Although the polls had been predicting it for weeks, the election result has come as a terrible shock and disappointment.  I am appalled at the prospect of losing my European citizenship, my right to live and work anywhere in the EU, and the prospect of another 4½ years of homeless rough sleepers, food banks, growing NHS waiting lists, failure to tackle the climate emergency - all presided over by a dishonest charlatan and his fan club of right wing populist ideologues, Britain’s answer to Donald Trump.  I feel ashamed of my fellow countrymen and women who voted for this.

How has this come about?  And who is to blame? 

Is it about the gas?

This is a little story that I should have written up more than two years ago, but I never got round to it.  However, as we may be approaching an election in the near future, it may still be of interest.

Constitution needed

Whatever the eventual outcome of the Brexit mess (at the time of writing it could still be May’s Deal, No Deal, or No Brexit) what it has conclusively demonstrated is that the British “Constitution” is not fit for purpose.

Will we revoke Article 50?

I have hitherto shied away from commenting on the Brexit farrago.  This is because things change so quickly and unpredictably that anything one writes is likely to be quickly overtaken by events.  However, having just watched John McDonnell on the Marr programme, I will venture an opinion.

The unmentionable issue: population

I hold out little hope that the world's leaders and governments will do enough soon enough to avert a global catastrophe of climate change, rising sea levels, desertification, pollution, exhaustion of resources, famine, uncontrolled mass migration and war.  So I am glad I shall not live long enough to see this disaster unfold.

Even so, I was dismayed and disappointed to find that the recent report of the IPCC panel made no mention of the underlying problem of overpopulation.

Why nationalism is evil

In correspondence with a friend I recently referred to the Scottish National Party (SNP) as “evil”.  While not disagreeing, my friend asked me why I had used that word.  This was my response:

How to reform English schools

It is pleasing that St Olave’s Grammar School in Orpington has backed down in the face of legal action and has allowed pupils threatened with exclusion to complete their A-level studies (see footnote 1). However, the incident is really a symptom of the terrible mess that successive Conservative, New Labour and Coalition governments have made of education since 1979.