This was the question asked at ‘A Permanent Revolution?’, an event organised by the Centre for British Politics and the Centre for Political Ideologies.
Most of those who have … Read the rest
Month: August 2011
One of the most striking features about the House of Commons after the 2010 election was the number of newly-elected MPs. A full 36% of the House was newly-elected, including … Read the rest
Most of our science and philosophy is ‘humanist’ and anthropocentric. It carves up the world into neat little distinctions between man and nature, human and animal, and human or non-human. … Read the rest
Conservative MPs are the most rebellious in the House of Commons, as the right kicks against Cameron’s leadership. Actually, that’s not true. Liberal Democrats MPs are in fact the most … Read the rest
The recent riots – which began in Tottenham on August 6th, but rapidly spread first across London and then across the country – have prompted innumerable instant responses … Read the rest
One way of understanding the recent spree of looting and rioting seen on the streets of England is in terms of a clash of two ‘cultures’ first identified by the … Read the rest
In 1953 the Labour MP Maurice Edelman wrote the political novel Who Goes Home in which a revered Parliamentary commentator states:
On the whole, British Prime Ministers have to be … Read the rest
One of my lifetime ambitions is to have a law named after me, like Godwin’s Law, or Parkinson’s Law.
An attempt during the 2010 election to establish Cowley’s … Read the rest
In 1899 the National Union of Teachers argued that ‘the danger to the British Empire lies within the homeland. The wastrel, the ne’er-do-well, the rickety and the criminal, these and … Read the rest
While doing some reading for my thesis, I came across this intriguing entry in Tony Benn’s diaries, from 8th July 1981:
… there have been riots in Southall, Toxteth, Manchester, … Read the rest