Government ministers are experts at saying dumb things. On 20 January, in a House of Commons debate about the oil industry, David Mundell MP stated boldly: “We can deal with the volatility of oil prices and continue to provide the stable regime that is so important to the industry”. Just 48 hours later the death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia provoked an immediate rise in oil prices and sent the …
The Terror Tax
21 November 1974 is a date etched in my memory. I was a university student, enjoying a drink with a couple of friends in Birmingham’s Mulberry Bush Pub. By the time I got home I saw the news on the TV. Less than an hour after we had left the pub, it had been blown up by an IRA bomb. The nearby …
Ebola Takeover
There are some startling facts about Ebola. One is that since March 2014, over 3,000 people have died from the rapid spread of the virus, throughout some West African countries. Another is that there has not been one full debate about the Ebola crisis, in either the House of Commons or House of Lords. I am not saying that electric …
War Hoarse
“We don’t need to escalate; you see war is not the answer”. These lyrics were written by soul legend Marvin Gaye, for his classic “What’s Going On” album in 1971. Sadly, we did not heed his warning. When Tony Blair became British Prime Minister in 1997 he had no previous ministerial experience. Yet by the time he left Downing Street in 2007, he had led Britain into 5 wars. Although …
Seek and Ye Shall Fund
“I started out with nothing. But after 15 years of working all hours and little sleep, I still have most of it left!” That was the rather sad comment made to me by a man who ran his own small business for years, but wonders whether it was worth the effort. The UK economy depends on small business, but too many are …
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