The desire to rid the UK Parliament of the current Conservative majority is frequently accompanied by demands for PR — Proportional Representation. Certainly there can be little doubt that the way that MPs are elected at present, which frequently results in one party winning a majority of seats despite failing…

I am a Liberal. Always have been, always will be. I’m not talking neo-liberal, or any of the other distortions of liberal ideals that have gained currency in recent times. I’m talking radical, progressive and, yes, woke. In recent weeks various video clips have popped up in my Twitter feed…

My review of Absent Friend by John McKenna It begins with the author discovering Cohen’s music after a near fatal encounter with teenage meningitis. It ends with the production of a requiem mass on which he collaborated with the Canadian singer-songwriter. Part memoir — there are inevitably glimpses into the author’s own life — part biography — Cohen’s…

Is independence compatible with prosperity? I have fond memories of summer holidays with family friends in the early 1950s in a village near Swansea. A short way up the road from the family home was a small nursery where we would go to purchase tomatoes. We followed the elderly gentleman…

Could you do the same? — At the beginning of last year (2022) I decided to investigate the possibility of installing solar PV panels on my roof. I live in Ireland where the government offers a grant for home energy projects. …

Political revolution at the time of the industrial revolution. — Edward Despard was born just a few miles from my present home in my adopted county close to the centre of Ireland. On February 21st 1803 he was executed by hanging, followed by beheading, for his part in a conspiracy to assassinate King George III. Peter Linebaugh has examined Despard’s…

Neither are you — unless you are a parasite — Seeing a bird soaring in a clear blue sky, riding thermals, it is easy to see how the phrase ‘as free as a bird’ was born. But the reality is that the bird is not engaged in the pursuit of pleasure. …

My generation of Brits was educated to be racist. — I think I can understand Lady Susan Hussey’s repeated quizzing of a woman of colour at a Buckingham Palace reception. Understand, but not condone or excuse. Understand, because I am of the same generation. When I recall my days in primary school, over 70 years ago, I remember how our…

Psychological thrillers, 20th century history and a travel memoir — If she Wakes by Erik Therme — Psychological thriller https://www.amazon.com/If-She-Wakes-Harlow-Book-ebook/dp/B09J44N4WY Imagine a situation in which a woman tells you that her sister is mentally deranged and not to be trusted. Then the sister tells you that it is really the first woman whose mental health is questionable. Add to that…