Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Labour leadership contest is a dreadful mess. It would be comic if it weren’t so vital, and tragic for those of us ordinary voters who are crying out for an effective Opposition to take advantage of the Conservatives’ own … Continue reading →

Yesterday’s ‘art’ commemoration in Britain of the centenary of the first day of the battle of the Somme was intensely moving: men dressed in authentic World War battledress walking around cities, sitting at stations as if ready to embark for … Continue reading →

I hope that this will be my final post on the referendum – though not necessarily on its repercussions. Anyone bored by the subject, or by my droning on about it, can skip it. Make yourself a cup of tea, … Continue reading →

I’m obviously not one of Nigel Farage’s ‘ordinary, decent people’, because I voted to Remain. I don’t mind not being ‘ordinary’ – I don’t think anybody is, and regard Farage’s use of the word as patronising – but I resent … Continue reading →

I’m seriously thinking of emigrating to an EU country. I might even claim to be a political refugee (from Tory oppression in England). There are plenty of continental countries which will apparently welcome us Remainers in, with guarantees of ‘pubs, … Continue reading →

We’re going down the plug-hole. This is the end of ‘Great Britain’, literally (the ‘Great’ of course refers to the union of the four kingdoms, one of which might leave soon to re-join the EU), and of the sort of … Continue reading →

The referendum result has shown up huge and possibly fatal flaws in our political system and culture. This is not just a Remainer’s sour grapes; I’ve written about it before. (https://bernardjporter.wordpress.com/2016/02/29/first-past-the-post/; https://bernardjporter.wordpress.com/2016/06/19/the-demonization-of-politics/) The referendum is billed as uniquely democratic, and … Continue reading →

The British Empire had no definite beginning. It just sort of emerged out of the gloom. Nor did it have a definite end – until yesterday. Up until then, writing books about the history of the Empire (which is what … Continue reading →

I’ve replaced Saturday’s ‘Fuck, What have we done?’ post with a longer and better one. There’s also a shorter version, with a more polite heading, on the LRB Blog (http://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2016/06/27/bernard-porter/historic-failure/). The other thing I feared (https://bernardjporter.wordpress.com/2016/06/02/corbyns-fault/) is now happening. Corbyn … Continue reading →

I’ve not noticed much rejoicing on the winning side of the EU debate, such as you might expect on an ‘Independence Day’. Are they having second thoughts? Waking up thinking, ‘Fuck, what have we done?’ as the pound plummets, Cameron … Continue reading →