Author Archives: bernardporter2013

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 →

Excellent piece by Simon Jenkins in today’s Guardian – https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/18/mi5-lost-plot-britain-safer-than-ever-andrew-parker-terror. It really is important to distinguish between politically-motivated crimes that ‘only’ hurt people, and politically-motivated crimes that genuinely threaten the state – or democracy, or the British way of life, or whatever. … Continue reading →

It’s becoming more apparent by the week – almost by the hour – that Brexit is a disaster, led by idiots, clowns and vagabonds, voted for by a misled population (misled, not stupid), enabled by a deeply flawed political system, … Continue reading →

Stella Rimington used to be head of MI5. I once participated in a TV documentary with her, and was unimpressed: narrow-minded, right-wing and paranoid, like most of the rest of her generation of spooks. Later I reviewed her Memoirs for the … Continue reading →