Author Archives: bernardporter2013

Apparently Trump’s ‘tough advice’ to Theresa May, which she rejected, was to stop negotiating with the EU and ‘sue’ it instead: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/15/theresa-may-donald-trump-told-me-to-sue-the-eu. That’s the aggressive businessman speaking. But in any case, how does a nation ‘sue’ an alliance of which it is … Continue reading →

Yesterday’s disastrous visit of the American President must enormously weaken the hand – or at least the argument – of the Brexiteers among us. They were relying on a trade deal with the USA to compensate for our lost ‘free … Continue reading →

Well, that was quite a nail-biter, wasn’t it? (England’s penalty shoot-out against Colombia, for anyone who’s been off-planet for the past 24 hours.) I was surprised how thrilled I was, having told everyone that I’ve backed Sweden to win the … Continue reading →

But he assured us, faithfully, cross-his-heart-and-hope-to-die, that the British Secret Services had no part in or knowledge of American torture of prisoners during the Iraq War. Only ‘conspiracy theorists’ thought otherwise. ‘He’ was the Director-General of MI5, speaking at a meeting … Continue reading →

Nearly 23 years in this country and I still forget basic things about Swedish society. ‘Holidays’, for example. In Britain we regard holidays as times to relax, sit on the beach with a good book and a beer, do absolutely … Continue reading →

Just to be clear: ‘Concentration Camps’ is the exact right term to describe the cages into which Trump is herding ‘illegal’ immigrant children on the Texas-Mexican border, after separating them from their parents. They were invented by the British during … Continue reading →

So, Nigel is getting his retaliation in early! Finally admitting that Brexit is going to be a disaster, he’s blaming it on the way it’s being implemented by the government. Brexit was a brilliant idea originally, but is currently being … Continue reading →

If Trump is removed soon, as by rights he should be, he’ll earn eternal glory in some quarters as a martyr, and attract a regiment of followers even after his death. The same fate will probably befall Farage, Johnson and … Continue reading →

Of course ‘it’s the economy, stupid!’ – to echo Bill Clinton’s famous response in 1992 to the question of what mostly affects elections. Except it’s not ‘the economy’ in the sense of GNP, the Dow Jones or FTSE Indexes, prices, … Continue reading →

I’m watching the Commons debate on the EU Withdrawal Bill. It’s even rowdier than usual. Everybody is agreed that the government is in a mess with its Brexit negotiations. At one stage a couple of days ago Boris Johnson was … Continue reading →