Jonathan Haidt in this 2008 talk explores the constraints and tensions in the moral psychology of left and right. He uses the context of the American political system and discusses primary moral principles, which for us in the UK, can be seen as a proxy equating to Labour and Conservative ideologies. Given the tensions within … Read moreThe Moral Matrix and 2017
Embed from Getty Images From Jarrow into the future, the never-ending march! Spending time and resources on re-location, post referendum, has been an interesting, if difficult, process over the summer. France has been a comfortable destination, both in terms of culture and prospective places to live. Now we have now widened our search, … Read moreFilm, art, reality and Ken Loach
In Europe recently looking at both projects and for places to live. When looking for information on business services, buildings and local opportunities, the distinctiveness of the Mairie and its conditioning power in small local communities, was a powerful example of how local democracy, decision making and regard for both history and civic presence can … Read moreAnd so to France…
If you are in business, this BHS Parliamentary Report makes for a very depressing read. It combines a narrative of weak governance and the exercise of singular personal influence that is breathtaking. The Committee make some sweeping assertions, however, about the nature of ‘business’ in the UK, which to this reader, do not perhaps reflect … Read moreBHS – the Parliamentary Report
I was driving to my office in Cambridge on Friday morning (24th June 2016), from Suffolk and across the land of a large estate owner. The early morning sun was shining through the trees and looking, I saw the deer and pheasants abroad in the verges, seeking their early breakfast. Having an historical sensibility I … Read moreVale Angliae
In the short video below Professor Michael Dougan of the University of Liverpool, the School of Law, offers insights from his professional research on the forthcoming referendum. This is twenty minutes of exposition truly worth listening to. In his film Michael Dougan explains how the current, complex and historical engagement with the EU has benefited … Read moreClarity in debate: The EU
Embed from Getty Images Heading towrds Europe? The European Union, the European experiment, emerged in the Twentieth Century from an unimaginable horror of war and destruction. The notion that England would withdraw from this partnership, and the largest single economic market in the world, is an idea that is fraught with socio-political tension, community … Read moreA long requiem for Europe?
The mainstream press and right wing political opinion would have us believe that Britain is a nation of millionaires, with a quest to hermetically seal our borders, to the detriment of our trading efficacy, and that individual choice from a menu of abundance is the default position for all ‘hard-working’ families and households in the … Read moreStruggle is the reality!
Embed from Getty Images Hammering the foundations of prosperity… The New Economics Foundation (nef) and The University of Greenwich have recently published a new economic case for trade unions. Entitled Working for The Economy, it is a detailed and numerate assessment in the decline of trade unions over the twentieth century and the policy impacts … Read moreThe Economic Case
for Strong Trade Unions
Embed from Getty Images The desolation of war… Rowan Williams, lately Archbishop of Canterbury, recently saw an edited version of his 2015 Orwell Lecture published in The Guardian newspaper. (What Orwell can teach us about the language of terror and war). The Orwell Prize is dedicated to ‘…making political writing an art’. This was beautifully … Read moreNarrative of war – diminishing debate