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The Pandemic X Brexit: A World with Hard Borders?
As we see the imposition of hard borders within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the first time since the Acts of Union in 1707, the cosmopolitan dream of a world without borders appears to be slipping away. The European Union, once an organization eager to push for the dismantling of…
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Some Thoughts on the Crisis of National Identity
Even in a small national state like our own, it would be more accurate to talk about identities rather than posit the notion of a single all-encompassing identity. This multiplicity of identities is formed by an interaction of class, region and culture. George Orwell’s comment that one rarely hears an educated accent north of Watford…
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The Club of 5: Can former PMs really shape the debate?
In my favourite political sitcom, The Thick of It, defenestrated opposition leader Nicola Murray tells spin doctor Malcolm Tucker to take her seriously because she is now “a grandee”. “You’re not a grandee… you’re a blandee” he replies. Tucker doesn’t want to listen to any of her advice. She is, as far as he is…
