In recent weeks we have seen the power of the sovereign nation state deal with a crisis in a way that has not been seen since 1945. The British Government has been able to spend almost without limit to keep our people safe. It has taken other extraordinary measures to …

Can you remember when Theresa May was Prime Minister? It seems like another time and another place. Britain was humiliated in our negotiations with the EU. She kept trying to get the worst Treaty in British history through the Commons and she kept failing. The country was divided into Leavers …

I think I saw the Killing Fields (1984) when it came out, but I really don’t remember. I may have seen it on video afterwards. It’s a film about the Cambodian genocide that took place between 1975 and 1979. I don’t remember the details of the film, but I remember …

Twice now in the space of twelve years we have seen a British Chancellor do what it takes to save the British economy. In 2008 the Treasury bailed out the banks in 2020 it has just bailed out everyone else. Can any Chancellor prior to Rishi Sunak have had such …

We were promised that there would be an economic crisis if we voted to leave the EU. For three years our politicians argued with the EU and among themselves about little else. We were promised that leaving with “no deal” would cause economic chaos. Now we have a real crisis …

The problem with Scottish politics is that we have a devolved parliament that is uninterested in devolution. Scottish politicians of all political parties pretend to be interested in those areas of life that the Scottish Parliament actually controls, but campaign primarily on issues that we don’t control. The same goes …

I don’t think many people in Britain had heard of Wuhan or Hubei province before the present outbreak of Covid-19 (Coronavirus). The fifty largest Chinese cities each has a population greater than two million, yet few of us could name more than two or three. Chongqing, for example, was first …

Parents in Scotland may differ with regard to politics, but they almost always share a desire that their children grow up healthy, do well in school get married and have children of their own. I wonder how many Scottish parents of a five-year-old boy want him to return from school …

There is a view I like on the west coast of Scotland which takes in the islands of Raasay and Rona, behind them Skye with its Cuillins and in the far distance the Outer Hebrides.  It is perhaps the best view in Europe if you can find an evening in June …

There’s a long street in Aberdeen called Union Street, but the name has nothing to do with England and Scotland. It was named after the Act of Union between the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland in 1800. The Conservative Party is officially the Conservative and Unionist …

The purpose of history is not to explain the past. It matters little what the Romans did or did not do. The purpose is to explain the present. The key date in European history is 1870. The key place is Ems. If you understand this you understand everything not so …

I was a student during the troubles, and I came across a lot of people from Ireland. It always became clear after just a little bit of conversation where someone was from. Both communities from Northern Ireland frequently wanted to escape to Britain and this was often the case with …

In Moscow Lavrentiy Beria head of the NKVD used to cruise around in his limousine looking for cute girls. When he found what he was looking for he would point her out and have her brought to his dacha. There would be wine and food and afterwards he would sleep …

I was sleeping when we left the EU. It is a matter of complete indifference to me if a fifty pence coin turns up in my change marking the event. If something about being European trends on Twitter I feel slightly amused that some people might think that such things …

One of the main reasons that I oppose left-wing thinking is that I want people to be treated as individuals rather than as members of a group. I have the same duty to treat everyone I come across morally no matter what they look like, where they are from or …

The Conservative manifesto promised that there would not be a second Scottish independence referendum. The Conservatives won a large majority. That should be the end of the matter. But this being Scotland it isn’t. Independence is the bone Nicola Sturgeon is the dog.  Scottish nationalists will teach their toddlers that “No …

The UK is now going to leave the EU by the end of January, and it is likely that the transition period will last until no longer than the end of 2020. This will mean that the UK is unlikely to have a complete trade deal with the EU. It …

The history of Britain is that of a small island that began as a collection of territories ruled by chiefs and warlords and gradually evolved into a constitutional monarchy. Most of Europe evolved up until a certain point as we did, but then diverged. Collections of territories that tended to …

There is something odd about the present Conservative Government. On the one hand there has just been a decisive purge of Tory Remainer Wets, on the other Boris Johnson’s Government at least initially is liable to be one of the most left-wing in Conservative Party history. Early signs are that …

Will Northern Ireland remain a part of the UK or will it in the near future join a united Ireland. As with everything else I have a Pro UK perspective. I want Northern Ireland to stay a part of the UK for the same reason that I want Scotland to …