Author Archives: bernardporter2013

I’m not surprised at this – https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/nov/15/six-uk-universities-break-advertising-rules-with-pitches-to-students. Ever since British universities became a ‘market’, they’ve adopted market ethics; especially – but not exclusively – the lower-status, and so more vulnerable, ones. I first noticed this when I was directing my … Continue reading →

Everyone now seems to agree with me (https://bernardjporter.com/2016/06/16/is-it-really-about-the-eu/ – though I’m sure they didn’t get it from me: it’s pretty bloody obvious, and scarcely anyone reads this blog) that the great EU Referendum last year wasn’t about Europe at all, … Continue reading →

….could it be a diplomatic ruse by Boris to lead the Iranians to think that he believes them, so making them more amenable to the idea of releasing her? Is Boris as clever as that? (I imagine his FO advisers … Continue reading →

Of course Corbyn is right about Boris Johnson: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/11/boris-johnson-jeremy-corbyn-iran. Everywhere you go abroad he’s regarded as a joke. If he remains much longer as Foreign Secretary he’s likely to be a disaster, for his compatriots as well as for him. … Continue reading →

Poppies are not patriotic. They are worn to remember the terrible slaughter of war, irrespective of the poor victims’ nationalities. For this reason it’s wrong for the International Football Association to ban players’ wearing them for international matches; but equally … Continue reading →

On my way to London to give moral support to my daughter-in-law at her ‘citizenship ceremony’ in Chelsea Old Town Hall tomorrow. She needs it, otherwise she might not be allowed back in after she’s spent this Christmas with her … Continue reading →

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‘Tyranny is probably established out of no other regime than democracy.’ So said Socrates, apparently. (It’s been decades since I read Plato’s Republic.) Here, one Andrew Sullivan explains how, with reference to Trump. I have to say this impressed me.

Analysis of the votes cast in the 2016 Europe Referendum and in this year’s General Election revealed, among other patterns, two quite striking ones: that both Remain and Labour voters tended to be (a) younger and (b) better educated than … Continue reading →

I can well believe David Lammy’s recent complaints about Oxbridge admissions, having witnessed exactly the same during my time at Cambridge (1960-68). (See https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/oct/19/oxbridge-becoming-less-diverse-as-richest-gain-80-of-offers#img-1.) My only surprises are that these abuses have lasted so long since I left, and – … Continue reading →