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Somewhere in Rousseau’s Social Contract is the idea that the whole electorate should vote on everything all the time. This would, of course, have been unworkable even in an eighteenth century city state. If the whole population were to spend every day governing the country, who would do any work? …

As you may have noticed, there’s been quite a lot of squabbling within the Conservative Party over the issue of the EU referendum recently. The party leader is all for remaining within the EU as he clings to the terms of his “renegotiation”, that is to say, his failure to …

I came of age in an era of unserious politics. In America, there was George W. Bush, a Republican who preached the platitudes of “compassionate conservatism” and global democracy and left the US poorer and the world more chaotic. In the UK, there was Tony Blair (along with Gordon Brown), …

We can never hope to properly understand the European project without understanding its origins. It’s “official” history is now widely accepted; it was an idea that emerged after WWII to prevent a third European war. Actually the core idea that is the genesis of the EU emerged from the Great …

Every nation on Earth has established traditions and customs. Great Britain has a great many also, although in the modern age, the traditions of this country are being increasingly challenged and removed from public life. Challenging and questioning traditions are not always a bad thing, but we must examine tradition …

The SNP’s failure to win an overall majority in Holyrood was a setback for them and their cause. It will be very hard indeed for Scottish nationalists to push for a second independence referendum in the next five years. Importantly, in the present context, this is the case even if …

In the recent past we have heard that Brexit will cause:  Sterling to crash by 20% (1),  Banks to move to EU (2),  Banks on both sides of Atlantic to be struck down by uncertainty (3), London to lose its status as financial capital (4) etc. These were all rumours …

What do you make of all the scare-mongering, AKA Project Fear,  that is coming out of the Remain camp, relating to the European Referendum? I ask because there seems to be something of a contradiction in the whole thing. On the one hand, we have David Cameron and his government …

One of the early claims in the referendum campaign, even before the campaign started in earnest, is that Britain is “safer IN”. Let’s have a look at these claims. There are three aspects to the claim. The first of these is militarily, the second is in terrorism, the third crime. …

The Treasury Select Committee (TSC) met on the afternoon of 11th May to question George Osborne and Treasury official, Mark Bowman over the EU Referendum campaign. The session can be seen here. For those who are unaware, select committees are broadly organised to reflect government departments. Naturally, the TSC reflects …

Don’t worry, this isn’t about circuses or zoos.  Though, before I move on, and given just as something that ‘tickled’ me. I came across a lovely Polish saying, on Twitter.  Not my circus, not my monkeys – so not my problem. Anyway, back to the European Union and Elephants.  Or …

The debate surrounding Britain’s referendum on the EU is well under way. After making some surprising statements at the end of February and start of March, Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, has been surprisingly quiet. Hammond’s reputation was once that of being something of a Euroscpetic. As recently as 2013, in …

The greatest certainty for most people all over the world is that they live in a place that is stable. Whatever else happens they can draw comfort from the security of knowing that their country will remain intact. This is their bedrock and their foundation. Whatever natural disaster happens, whatever …

David Cameron yielded to pressure to face the Parliamentary Liaison Committee on the afternoon of 4th May. The committee Chair had previously written to express disappointment that he did not intend to face the committee. Proceedings can be seen here. Following his earlier admonition of the Leader of the opposition about …

Principled politicians are often hard to come by. Luckily for the nation’s capitol city however, they have been blessed with a remarkable principled mayor for eight years in Boris Johnson, and have the opportunity to choose another principled man to be mayor, Zac Goldsmith. Zac Goldsmith is someone who does …

Gerry Adams, President of Sinn Féin and long time member of the IRA Army Council, revealed a little of his more sinister side tonight with a couple of unguarded tweets. The first, blatantly using racist language.  The second using a word which has long since been used as an offensive …

The European Union is not a democracy. In-fact, it is anti-democratic. It is founded upon an explicit intention to override popular democracy and neutralise the constraints imposed on government by the electorate. It has its roots in a utopian ideology that envisions a supranational government run by technocrats and officials …

What would happen if the UK voted to leave the EU? All sorts of claims and counter claims are made about this. But the answer in the end is that we just don’t know. The future is uncertain and undetermined, because it hasn’t happened yet. What we do know however, …

When dealing with international trade, it is said, it is much better for businesses to deal with one set of regulations that the 28 of each of the Members States of the EU. There lies much of the justification for participation in the EU’s Single Market but it is also …

It has been outlined before that the aim of this site is to explore arguments around the forthcoming EU referendum, helping people to make a decision based in complete information. So far, the campaign had been dominated by “official” information from the government’s position labelled as Project Fear. Exports will …