Looking at the news and opinion out of London each day.
1-26-15
Greek election leaves the euro on perilous ground
Greece wakes up today after an election that has altered the political course of Europe. The supporters of the far-Left Syriza party are enjoying a comprehensive victory. But while they celebrate in Athens and Thessaloniki, the headache is already being felt in Brussels and Strasbourg.
How will the Greek elections change the political debate in the UK?
If you were looking for clues as to how the result of the Greek elections will affect our politics in the United Kingdom, here’s a handy hint. This is the statement Nigel Farage has released, before the official result has even been declared…
Greece is impaled on austerity by the Euro – elections don’t change that
I understand why Greeks voted in large numbers for an anti austerity party. They did so out of desperation with the misery inflicted on their lives and living standards over the last five years. A fall of one quarter in national income, massive job losses, and pay cuts for those still in work should drive any electorate to want radical change
Germans bearing gifts
Syriza’s breakthrough looks to ramp up the Great Euro Game of destitution and extremism. Here’s what Cameron should do post-May if still in office.
The Kurds’ cause is ours – let’s help them fight the barbarians
Meeting the refugees from Isil terror makes one wish that Britain could do more for them
1-25-15
Climategate, the sequel: How we are STILL being tricked with flawed data on global warming
Something very odd has been going on with the temperature data relied on by the world’s scientists
Labour has forgotten all the lessons it learnt under Blair
The Old Left has returned, with Miliband and Balls plunging their party back into the well of class vengeance
1-24-15
Where is the Churchill in this superficial age?
To an astonishing degree, it was Winston Churchill whose single-minded sense of purpose inspired the nation with hope in 1940, when Britain and her empire stood alone against Hitler and all seemed lost.
The Spectator Remembers Churchill 50 years ago today.
“We live as free men, speak as free men, walk as free men because a man called Winston Churchill lived”
Letters: Ambitious election plans by the Tories must include health and education
Ministers’ roles in the upcoming general election; making a mess of Libya; Churchill remembered; and casting a different light on historical drama
Will printing money save the Euro?
The Euro is a political project. It may masquerade as a high design created by independent and talented experts, but in the end it will be judged by unruly electorates by whether it helps make them more prosperous or not.
Ka-ching! The British consumer boom continues
Everything seems to be falling into place ahead of the election for the Tories. Today’s data shows high street spending rising at the fastest rate for more than 13 years – and this is not a freak. In fact, it’s part of a broader picture which is more impressive (and promising) than George Osborne seems to realise.
1-23-15
The breakup of the Coalition is coming. But when? And how?
Could it last until the election campaign? Or will it shatter on Budget Day? We look for answers.
Here’s why nobody has been able to verify the ‘Green Surge’ membership numbers
‘The Green Surge’ has already become a fixed feature of the election campaign, but are we just reliving the giant damp squib of ‘Cleggmania’? According to Green Party officials, their membership stands at 45,558. Since Cameron declared they should be in the TV debates, thousands have supposedly signed on the dotted line.
Why printing money won’t work for Europe
The sums involved are only a fraction of those spent elsewhere – and it’s all too late, anyway
English votes for English issues
This week there was a final round of consultations of Conservative MPs by William Hague in order to make decisions on the implementation of the recent White Paper on English votes for English issues.
1-22-15
Welcome to the completely bonkers world of the Green Party manifesto
I was about to shut down my computer last night when I made the mistake of clicking on an article about the Green Party’s manifesto, possibility the scariest thing since Victor from The Returned.
The BBC dilutes democracy in its debate for Democracy Day
On Monday at lunch time I joined an invited audience in the Speaker’s House in the Commons to debate democracy for the BBC. They filmed and recorded 90 minutes of debate.
Downing Street mulls involving party members in any Coalition endorsement
It tells this site that “the wider party would have to be involved”.
The English and Welsh NHS comparisons
In today’s debate on the NHS in Parliament I asked Labour why they only wish to talk about England’s NHS when we are in the run up to a UK election, and why they do not explain the poorer performance of the Welsh NHS over waiting times and A and E.
1-21-15
George Osborne’s tainted love for Boris Johnson
In the Conservative Party’s latest parlour game, James Kirkup says that George Osborne’s support for Boris Johnson is seen as a hostile act
Will the “Shy Tories” clinch another General Election?
The polls last year understated the Conservative vote for the actual elections that took place.
Let’s be proud of wealth creation, not ashamed
Britain can do better than Labour’s crude politics of envy
Will Germany pay the Euro’s bills after all?
There is a big battle going on over the future of the Euro. If the easy money people win, the issue is will Germany stand behind all those bonds the ECB buys up? Will German taxpayers after all be expected to stand behind Greek and Spanish banks if they get into trouble? Will the Euro architects find a way of allowing newly created Euros to find their way, if indirectly – into financing the deficits of less fiscally prudent countries within the zone?
1-20-14
Low pay is about more than just pay
A living wage is a well-meaning idea, but it’s also deeply problematic. Far better to sort out the tax and benefits system first.
Poverty has been redefined to the point of meaninglessness
The end of hardship, like full employment, is a laudable aim. But what does it mean?
Democracy day
Should we be worried about an alleged ‘purge’ of Tory candidates? In a way.
The treatment of would-be candidates and non-40/40 PPCs threatens to drive out all but the very rich and the very ambitious.
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Across The Pond is edited daily by Steve Parkhurst. Steve is a political consultant, a writer at his blog as well as a Senior Editor here at US Daily Review. Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveParkhurst
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