Opinion

By Robert Seiler On the face of it, Theresa May’s Brexit strategy has been reduced to accepting unilateral concessions (otherwise known as “sufficient progress”) in Brussels along with political defeats (otherwise known as “parliamentary sovereignty”) to her own party in the Commons. Beyond the headlines, the Prime Minister is also presiding over the slow but steady decline of British influence within the halls of European institutions. In some instances, that loss of sway is swift and sudden: Britain’s failure to...

Putting the record straight – Emily Barley on why holding the Dan and Alexander Adamescu case up as an example of Tories being soft on white collar crime is foolish given the background. In an article published on this website on November 30th, Robert Seiler made a number of claims about Dan and Alexander Adamescu, holding the case up as an example of right wing, eurosceptic Tories tolerating and even encouraging corruption and white collar crime. But the truth is,...

By Rupert Read I’m in London, to be with the family at Christmas. Every year, the lights are bigger and brighter. Is this progress? Thinking about the meaning of ‘progress’ is not easy to do in our society. Because it’s hard-wired into the hegemony of capitalist economics and of liberal technocracy that any technological change, any increase in GDP, anything getting bigger and brighter IS progress. By definition. In fact, we’re often told, if we dare to try to question...

Loneliness is an epidemic. The launch of the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness report today marks a significant moment in our ambition to end this looming social crisis. Throughout 2017, the Commission has highlighted the impact that loneliness has on diverse groups. From older people to refugees, to young people to carers: it is clear that loneliness can no longer be ignored. The health impacts of loneliness - both physical and mental – are devastating. Loneliness is as bad for...

With the EU and UK making "sufficient progress" to move Brexit negotiations on to the next stage a clear picture of life outside the union is starting to emerge. So far Britain has conceded on the cost of the Brexit divorce bill, the Irish border, European Court of Justice rulings, a free trade deal, EU payments and many other terms of the break-up with little coming back in return. With the election pledges of the Leave campaign such as the NHS fallacy and...

A blog post about Tory Britain is going viral after it brutally exposed the hardships many have to endure on a day-to-day basis. The post, which signs off with "if you aren’t angry as hell, then there’s something very wrong with you", documents a chance meeting with a woman in Cambridge who has been forced into prostitution to cover her rent. It was documented a month after the same person passed a homeless girl in tears of rage and misery because someone...

The EU referendum and the question of whether we sever ties from union with our neighbouring countries has divided both politics and households. Nothing could persuade many die-hard Europhiles that remaining in the EU might be a better option for the UK. Britain Thinks found 37 per cent of Leave voters are 'Die-hards' who want out of the EU at any cost. However, this implies that 63 per cent of the 17.4m, like myself, who voted to leave the EU (16.1m voted...

I wanted to give politics a rest for a few days. It's mentally exhausting even keeping up with the news nowadays. But then, as usual, something else unthinkable or cataclysmic happens. This. This, this...THIS. I genuinely don't know whether to be pleased or not. On one hand, I'm glad the smokescreen is coming apart - that finally the leaders of Brexit are showing their true colours. Only days ago, Julia Hartley-Brewer mocked me on Twitter for suggesting Trump/Trump supporters and...

Your new care robot has a dilemma. You’re worried about the side effects your medication is having, and decide you can’t take the pills anymore. The robot knows that according to the drug instructions this is going to harm your health. It could a) respect your wishes and await developments; b) insist you take them and pressurise you by emphasising the dangers; c) find a way to get the medication into you without your knowledge, in food or drink, or...