Until we get some form of PR (yes, even if that means Reform gain a voice), we\u2019ll keep floundering along with no plan beyond the next electoral cycle.
Jean-Marc Le Feuvre<\/p>\n
Re: \u201cThe age of the disposable prime minister has to end\u201d by Patience Wheatcroft,\u00a0TNW\u00a0#490\u00a0<\/p>\n
I could not agree more. It is becoming farcical and soul-destroying all at the same time.<\/p>\n
Good governance is far more serious than simply imagining the public can align themselves with yet another leader. Life today is discombobulating enough without this political mayhem.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In this disposable time we exist in, we have this touching faith that it just needs another person at the helm to recapture the spirit and energy of a revitalised government.\u00a0
Judith A Daniels
Cobholm, Norfolk<\/p>\n
Re: Alastair Campbell\u2019s diary: Britain isn\u2019t America \u2013 and that\u2019s why\u00a0Farage had to fall,\u201d\u00a0TNW\u00a0#490<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think Farage is finished yet. It was surprising how many voters in Clacton hadn\u2019t heard about the \u00a35m, and even some of those who had heard were still going to vote for him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Honestly you could hang, draw and quarter Farage, cremate the remains, enclose his ashes in cement, load it in a rocket and fire it at the sun and he\u2019d still be on BBC\u2019s\u00a0Question Time\u00a0the next day.
Paul Shields<\/p>\n
Re: \u201cThe extent of Trump\u2019s humiliation is now clear,\u201d by Paul Mason,\u00a0TNW\u00a0#490<\/p>\n
Did anyone expect Trump or the idiots he placed in administration to be any good at negotiating? They have no understanding of other cultures and no grasp of geopolitics. The\u00a0so-called \u201cmaster\u201d of\u00a0the Art of the Deal can\u2019t negotiate his way out of a wet paper bag.
Adam Primhak<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve thought for a while that it takes a nation that has lost an empire a century before\u00a0 a majority of its population understand and accept the fact. Given that in terms of land area British influence peaked around 1925, that means reality is dawning around now, with Brexit being the last gasp of delusion. The US\u00a0economic empire is only a\u00a0few years into its decline.
Norman Burr<\/p>\n
But what happens when JD Vance takes over\u2026?
J Burgess<\/p>\n
Time for our \u201cspecial relationship\u201d to end in divorce.
Shane Sidlow<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump\u2019s foreign policy\u201d \u2013 policy? Donald Trump\u2019s only actual policy is to line his pockets. Everything else, from foreign, domestic, health affairs etc, is just his whim on a given day.
Simon Delaney<\/p>\n
Re: \u201cAnn Widdecombe changed politics \u2013 and I\u00a0should know,\u201d by Matthew\u00a0d\u2019Ancona,\u00a0TNW\u00a0#490<\/p>\n
Most of the tributes I have read describe her as warm, charming, a strong woman, Catholic, a conviction politician.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They all seem to omit that she was a far right Reform politician, devoted to spreading division and poorly disguised racism.
Andrew Ball<\/p>\n
A genuine Christian would build bridges rather than burn them \u2013 just ask the Pope.\u00a0Widdecombe, like Farage,\u00a0identified those left behind by globalisation\u00a0and neoliberal hegemony,\u00a0and capitalised on it.
Giselle Jones<\/p>\n
I interviewed her and found her charming, funny and sincere in her faith. But ageing turned eccentricities into bigotries; human sympathy into callous slogans as she became a ludicrous caricature and standard-bearer for the worst aspects of humanity.
Roland Howard<\/p>\n
Re: \u201cThe Democrats have screwed up \u2013 big time,\u201d by James Ball,\u00a0TNW\u00a0#490<\/p>\n
The Democrats are in a very difficult position, in that activists are leading them further to the left, but alienating most apolitical Americans in the process. History has shown time and again that if both parties vacate the centre, Americans will go to the right. One of the biggest reasons Kamala Harris lost was because she was tainted as a woke socialist.
Perry Hewitt<\/p>\n
Re: \u201cHow using a pen can rewire your brain,\u201d by Paola Totaro,\u00a0TNW\u00a0#490<\/p>\n
One of the many harmful effects of computers is the disappearance of handwritten letters and handwriting skills, as demonstrated in this excellent article. But Paola Totaro does not mention the fact that almost nobody now knows how to hold a pencil or pen.<\/p>\n
Children are evidently not taught this in school. Most people, including teachers, appear to hold a pen in their fist, which cannot give the necessary control that the traditional grip between thumb, middle finger and index finger does so well. The fist grip is not only inelegant but also impractical, and the clearest indication of the disappearance of the valuable skill of handwriting.
Valerie Organ<\/p>\n
I recently needed to return an item to Amazon. I logged into my account, ticked some boxes, a QR was sent to my phone. I took phone and item to the Post Office, no label required, showed my phone to the assistant, who took a scan of it and put the item into an envelope. He didn\u2019t print a label, just scanned it. As I left, I jokingly said, \u201cwe\u2019ll all lose the ability to write soon\u201d. Then I came home and read your article.
John Simpson<\/p>\n
The effect of handwriting on the brain is fascinating. After a lifetime of writing, I still do it every day; a list of things to do, names of books or programmes I\u2019d like to read, watch or listen to,\u00a0reflections on life,\u00a0even an occasional poem.<\/p>\n
However, I have sent this by email as the postal service would probably not deliver a handwritten missive in time for your next issue.
Lyn Farnworth<\/p>\n
BELOW THE LINE<\/p>\n
Re: \u201cWhy Britain still doesn\u2019t know how to treat George Michael\u201d by JP O\u2019Malley,\u00a0TNW\u00a0#490. George Michael is absolutely not a guilty pleasure. I\u2019m sorry his biographer Sathnam Sanghera feels that way. George had the most sublime voice and talent; unrecognised by many, but celebrated by others. The George Michael Legacy Project (GMLP) runs a whole weekend of events in late June based in Goring (where George had a home), where unashamed fans sing and dance to his music.\u00a0
Belinda Scott<\/p>\n
Re: \u201cHow a Liverpool fan fell in love with Cantona\u201d by John Bleasdale,\u00a0TNW\u00a0#490.<\/p>\n
I lost interest in club football aged 11 after witnessing the Heysel Stadium disaster live on TV. My love of it was reawakened a decade later by Cantona\u2019s kung-fu kick at Selhurst Park. It is ironic that the PL think the footage damages their \u201cbrand image\u201d, as it was one of the defining moments in the 1990s that made English football the juggernaut it is today.
Will Goble<\/p>\n
Re: \u201cGauguin: A warning from history\u201d by Simon Barnes,\u00a0TNW\u00a0#490.<\/p>\n
I want to see Gauguin, but I also want to read interpretive material contrasting the past with the present.
Stephen O\u2019Donnell<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Until we get some form of PR (yes, even if that means Reform gain a voice), we\u2019ll keep…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":87695,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[7786,13,31,3053,24906],"class_list":["post-87694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-britain","tag-andy-burnham","tag-britain","tag-labour-party","tag-media","tag-reader-letters"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116960707750047653","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}