Showing 1 - 10 of 14
Despite Brexit turmoil, I'm proud to be a Brit
News, John Lloyd, Published on 21/01/2019
» This is a fine time to be British. Indeed, to be proud to be British.
No, Brexit Britain doesn't want its empire back
News, John Lloyd, Published on 14/01/2019
» Britain is moving towards an exit from the European Union on March 29, possibly with no agreement, and thus courting – according to the Bank of England – an 8 percent drop in GDP and a 7.5% rise in unemployment. A drear prospect, attended by matching drear commentaries on the stupidity of the 52 percent of the British electorate who voted for Brexit in 2016.
The torture of Theresa May as Brexit drama unfolds
News, John Lloyd, Published on 17/12/2018
» Now is the time for all good citizens to put their elected politicians on the rack. Torture is what tyrants visited -- and, often, still visit -- upon real or presumed enemies among their own people. But subjecting their leaders to prolonged public humiliation has come to be a default position among democracies. None knows this better than the United Kingdom's Prime Minister, Theresa May.
Struggling with the prolonged torture that is Brexit
News, John Lloyd, Published on 19/11/2018
» BBC political correspondent Chris Mason stood outside of the mother of parliaments last Monday morning and said he didn't have the "foggiest idea" about where Brexit is going. Then he made what have been described as "exasperated noises" -- and promptly became an online viral sensation.
Midterms resonate across Atlantic
News, John Lloyd, Published on 12/11/2018
» One of the major political messages of the US midterm elections has been that rural voters dominate the cities. While the Democrats made enough gains in urban areas to take control of the House of Representatives, Republicans were able to expand their majority in the Senate, where each state gets two senators regardless of population size. In an election where neither side can claim a sweeping victory, President Donald Trump's party did as well as it did because the small towns and the more sparsely populated rural areas of the United States are still, in the main, Trump country. Meanwhile, Democrat votes pile up in the cities, uselessly, from an electoral point of view.
Is populism a disease? Or a cure?
News, John Lloyd, Published on 29/10/2018
» Populist nationalism is here to stay. Many still believe it a phase which, like surliness in adolescence, will pass and be succeeded by orderly, thoughtful maturity. But they will find that the political world, already changed, will disappoint them. Liberalism, however defined, is not politics' default position: mainstream politicians are in a fight ring facing young contenders buoyed by a string of victories.
No 'third way' in a polarised Britain
News, John Lloyd, Published on 01/10/2018
» The British prime minister and the leader of Her Majesty's opposition gave speeches on the same day last week, outlining their vision for their country's economy -- and by implication, its society. They had little in common.
Anti-Trump op-ed boosts democracy
News, John Lloyd, Published on 10/09/2018
» The good news was well disguised in the anonymous cry of warning against the "amorality" of Donald Trump. A senior administration official, writing as an unnamed columnist in The New York Times, described how he and like-minded colleagues "are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of (the US president's) agenda and his worst inclinations." The message is that democratic habits -- and, crucially, civic decency and responsibility -- can, in step with free journalism, win out over degraded administrations.
Can Jones and Johnson be the face of 'new politics'?
News, John Lloyd, Published on 13/08/2018
» Two men of influence -- the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and politician Boris Johnson -- now face media bans and ridicule for what they saw as speaking their minds. Both, though quite different in background, manner and actions, are pioneers in the new politics.
The case for the UK's Brexit chaos
News, John Lloyd, Published on 16/07/2018
» Compromise is the loveliest word in democratic politics and beyond -- in lasting relationships, labour disputes, international relations. British Prime Minister Theresa May has never more needed the deployment of this lovely and necessary word than now.