Author Archives: bernardporter2013

‘What does he know of England who only England knows?’ That quotation (from Kipling) has long resonated with me. Of course in Kipling’s case it was meant to direct people’s attention to his beloved Empire, which he believed (erroneously in … Continue reading →

The British Empire, as well as being a site of conquest, exploitation, racism and atrocity, also harboured pockets of idealism, good intentions, and – just occasionally – good outcomes. The best of these (apart of course from cricket) was the … Continue reading →

Can anyone any longer doubt the Fascist proclivities of the Trump administration? It is now even targeting West Point Military Academy, in its aim to force an uncritical and über-‘patriotic’ mindset on Army cadets. And MAGA make themselves out to … Continue reading →

During the Corbyn era, the Labour Party’s alleged anti-semitism played a leading part in its electoral defeat in 2019. The accusation goes back a few years; although certainly not to the origins of the Labour Party, which was one of … Continue reading →

Around 1900 the ‘science’ of Eugenics was invented by Francis Galton. It was taken seriously in Germany and the southern States of America in the 1930s – as well as in Sweden, as it happens. Not so much in Britain, … Continue reading →

The elections last Thursday were for local councillors and mayors (except one: a Parliamentary bye-election due to an MP’s resignation. That one went to Reform too). I’m afraid I’ve never taken much interest in local politics, and so am not … Continue reading →

JD Vance clearly dislikes Europe generally; but he appears to harbour a particular animus against Britain. Recently he was reported to be insisting on her abandoning her ‘hate speech’ laws, as a condition for the US’s entering into a commercial … Continue reading →

Well, my city’s mayoralty – a newly created one – has fallen to an ex-professional Olympic boxer (he won gold in the bantamweight class in 2012), who was a bit of a hero here in Hull, but so far as … Continue reading →

Trump’s knowledge of his own country’s history is not very sound. If it were, he’d know that America tried to annex Canada once before, in 1812, and failed. This was because the Canadians resisted then, as they appear to be … Continue reading →

There’s very little more one can say about Trump. He must currently be the most famous person on the planet. (I imagine he revels in that.) Of course there may still be new Trumpian scandals to be revealed – kompromats, … Continue reading →