MAKING POLITICS PALATABLE
Politics as we know it is at something of a crossroads. Brexit has thoroughly eroded confidence in the UK’s two-party system, with no clear majorities being found for either Labour or the Conservatives at the last general election. Additionally, the local elections were a total disaster for both and the European elections are looking like…
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Look, I’m going to be honest. When I started Between the Lines, Brexit was all that anyone could talk about. Impending doom, Boris for PM, Britain as we know it being wiped off the map… All of this hyperbole was being passed around like a jazz cigarette at a commune campfire. After the Easter recess,…
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Well, the Easter choccy has run out, we’ve all put on half a stone and feel terrible about ourselves, but at least the country doesn’t seem to be quite as close to the apocalypse as it did a few weeks ago. After the Easter recess, it’s been something of a slow week, but let’s just…
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Well, I did say that with the extension to Article 50 the Brexit process would lose some immediacy, and boy oh boy has it done just that. It feels odd to be reporting on UK politics without mentioning a rebellion, a slagging match, a the government losing a vote by a huge margin or Parliament…
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Well, yesterday was a bit odd. It had the feeling of MPs being shipped off back to boarding school by their adoring parents (“Bye, darling, see you in 4 months! Good luck with your Brexit coursework!“), but the last time everyone was there the entire building was on fire. The extension to Article 50 has…
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Between the Lines was profoundly saddened by the horrific attacks in Sri Lanka over the Easter weekend. In times like these it can be hard to find humour, but find it we must. Our thoughts are with all those affected. So, who got sunburnt? Spending Easter day as I did, on a beach in Dorset,…
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I passionately believe in the concept of democracy. At its core, democracy means that power lies with the people, not their rulers. Alternatives like authoritarianism, communism or anarchism are, at their best, not too great at protecting the civil liberties of their citizens. At their worst, they end up as pretty major historical whoopsies that…
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As we wait for MPs to get back from their holibobs, with only the depressingly common stories of antisemitism within the Labour Party and far-right headbanging from within the Conservative Party to keep us company in the meantime, it’s worth thinking about what comes next. Yesterday, I explained why there is such a hoo-ha about…
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At the time of writing, it is almost inevitable that the UK is going to have to hold elections for the European Parliament. Three years after the 2016 referendum, we have so demonstrably failed to leave the EU that we are about to elect people to represent us in it. As a member-state of the…
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Having pumped out an article a day for the last few weeks, this writer took the weekend off. In all honesty, I didn’t think about Brexit once, and it reminded me of a simpler, happier time. Once MPs come back from their holidays next week, all that will change. For now though, Brexit is just…
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