The mood music emanating from the Brexit talks has turned cheerier. Let’s hope the tune continues to be upbeat in the few days remaining to clinch a deal. For No Deal won’t just have serious, negative consequences for Britain and the European Union. It would be a setback for the West and democracies everywhere. The … Read more
Grim Reaper Matt Hancock prefaced his Commons announcement of yet another ruinous lockdown in London, Hertfordshire and Essex with a blood-curdling warning about a new super strain of coronavirus which has just been identified by ‘the science’. Presumably, this ingenious variant only attacks people in pubs not gyms, and restaurants not shops. Even so, it’s … Read more
As the old proverb says, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Those words certainly apply to the Online Safety Bill, a sweeping measure that, in the name of public safety, could actually herald a new era of sinister state censorship. Freedom of speech is already under grave threat in this country, and … Read more
Matt Hancock’s tone conjured up images of a giant-fanged monster: HENRY DEEDES watches the Health Secretary announcing a new variant of coronavirus Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed on Monday that London would be moving into Tier 3 amid a rise in coronavirus infections The move comes less than a fortnight after the end of the … Read more
A group called the Campaign For Common Sense revealed the result of an analysis of BBC comedy shows yesterday: last month, out of 141 comedians across 364 slots on such programmes as Have I Got News For You and Mock The Week, ’74 per cent of the slots were occupied by comedians with publicly pronounced … Read more
What happened yesterday regarding the Brexit talks was reminiscent of the Battle of Waterloo – at least the version taught in my German school. The French had Britain on the brink of defeat, when Prussian troops stormed in and reprieved them. Chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier – a former foreign minister of France, don’t forget … Read more
Yesterday morning at ten o’clock, I was leaving my London home to walk across Hampstead Heath to the Royal Free Hospital. Oh joy. I felt so happy to have been chosen to have the vaccine. On the way, I met a posh woman of my age who lives in the next street. Showing off, I … Read more
Describing the current impasse in Brussels over Brexit the other day, the Prime Minister explained that ‘it was put to me that this was kind of a bit like twins and the UK is one twin, the EU is another, and if the EU decides to have a haircut then the UK is going to … Read more
Most of us have been in no doubt over who is to blame for the obstacles and burning barricades blocking our route to a viable trade deal. Emmanuel Macron, the sharp-suited, sharp-nosed President of France, has been in the vanguard of those wanting to punish Britain for daring to leave. Desperate to preserve the advantages … Read more
There’s a technical possibility we could extend talks for a day or two,’ the Downing Street official explained last week. ‘But the destination will finally be set this Sunday. One way or another we’ll know by then.’ Today is the day. Again. First, the deadline for the end of the Brexit trade negotiations was October 15. … Read more