Britain needs future-facing leaders, not nostalgic dinosaurs like Rees-Mogg and Corbyn September 8, 2017 Jacob Rees-Mogg – committed Brexiteer, potential contender for the Conservative leadership, and devout Roman Catholic – is against abortion and same-sex marriage. Who would have guessed? Rees-Mogg’s comments on ITV on Wednesday, especially his assertion that a rape victim should be forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term, raised eyebrows among the commentariat. But [...]
Was Philip Hammond right to U-turn on his national insurance hike for the self-employed? March 15, 2017 Julian Jessop, chief economist at the Institute of Economic Affairs, says Yes. It is increasingly hard to justify why the self-employed should pay much lower national insurance contributions (NICs) than those who work for others. Nonetheless, this distortion should have been tackled as part of a fundamental rethink of the tax and benefit system, rather [...]
Should Ukip just dissolve itself? March 1, 2017 Rachel Cunliffe, deputy editor of Reaction, says Yes. Ukip had two things holding it together: a cast-iron raison d’être and Nigel Farage. Now both are gone. Demonise Farage all you want, but the sheer force of his personality got him not only on the political map but centre stage. His combination of controversy and charisma [...]
As his national security adviser resigns over ties to Russia, is Trump’s administration malevolent or just incompetent? February 15, 2017 Dr Joe Devanny, research fellow at the Policy Institute, King’s College London, says Incompetent. Donald Trump has been President of the United States for less than 30 days. We can already say that competence has been in short supply, even by the historical standards of transition processes, which are rarely glitch-free. We have just seen [...]
Is speaker John Bercow an embarrassment to the House of Commons for refusing to allow Trump to address parliamentarians? February 7, 2017 Alex Deane, a City of London common councilman, says Yes. In some ways this question is redundant as John Bercow has been a standing embarrassment to our Parliament since he became speaker, lavishing great chunks of cash on, well, his own comforts immediately after being elected – mostly by mischievous Labour MPs, but without the [...]
Is Donald Trump likely to be impeached in the next four years? January 24, 2017 Rachel Cunliffe, deputy editor of Reaction, says Yes. The new President begins his term facing a defamation lawsuit over his response to sexual misconduct allegations and an ongoing investigation into whether his team conspired with Russia to get him elected. And that’s not even the biggest sword dangling over Trump’s head ready to slash short [...]
As the Prime Minister vows to publish her plan for Brexit before invoking Article 50, will this affect the final deal? December 8, 2016 Rachel Cunliffe, deputy editor at Reaction, says Yes. There are two sides to any negotiation, and as you might have noticed, the EU is the larger and more powerful player in the Brexit battle. But the UK still has cards to play, most notably with its contributions to the EU budget, its position as the [...]
Following a year of major political change, will 2016 be regarded as a turning point in history? December 5, 2016 Ruth Lea, economic adviser at Arbuthnot Banking Group, says Yes. I have little doubt that 2016 will go down as a major turning point in British history, as indeed was 1973 when we joined the European Communities. Then Britain, racked by post-colonial self-doubt, chose to join Europe’s political project of “ever closer union”, with all [...]
Is the uncompromising stance of the other EU leaders pushing the UK towards a hard Brexit? November 28, 2016 Rachel Cunliffe, deputy editor of Reaction, says Yes. First the European President decided to lecture Britain that it was “hard Brexit” or “no Brexit". Then the Prime Minister of Malta (that European powerhouse) felt the need to reiterate that the EU is “not bluffing” about barring the UK from the Single Market. Such posturing only [...]
As “post-truth” is named word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries, have we really entered the era of post-truth politics? November 16, 2016 Rachel Cunliffe, deputy editor of Reaction, says Yes. Donald Trump was always against the Iraq War. The US has an $800bn trade deficit. Clinton started the birther movement. Three lies told by Trump during the second debate, with a dozen more examples from that 90 minutes alone. The moderators didn’t fact-check him, and even if [...]
