[…] of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), told its annual conference that they had to ‘to take the gloves off and have a bare-knuckle fight’ with the Thatcher government.34 But no such fight ensued, Beckett resigned and in the following decade while the City boomed, British manufacturing shrank by about 20%. The focus these […]
[PDF file]: Contents Lobster 58 Laissez faire as religion Robert Henderson The enemy of rationality is ideology. By an ideology I mean a mental construct which consists of a menu of tenets which the adherent applies without regard to their utility or truth. The observance of the ideology becomes an end in itself. All ideologies are inadequate […]
[…] like to be transgender two generations ago. But most of all it is a stunning indictment of the lawless, literally murderous, unaccountable British secret state in the Thatcher years. Olivia’s experience shows that MI5 committed arson, falsely imprisoned people, manipulated the National Insurance system, the passport office, the prison service, the criminal justice system, […]
[PDF file]: […] in his concluding paragraphs headed ‘The struggle for values’, writes: The analysis of this book . . . forces us to reinterpret the historical significance of Margaret Thatcher, an ardent Atlanticist. While she is mostly credited with reducing the role of the state, cutting the power of trade unions and promoting private enterprise, her […]
[PDF file]: […] case. It’s Scotland’s biggest terrorist atrocity. These are serious questions raised by serious people, and the world is watching.’ But Mr Salmond, following the precedents of Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron, was adamant in his refusal: ‘They’re looking for an inquiry for the responsibility, ultimately, for Lockerbie. That […]
[PDF file]: Inside the Trump Administration Revolution: Trump, Washington and ‘We The People’ K T McFarland New York: Post Hill Press, 2020 In Trump Time: A Journal of America’s Plague Year Peter Navarro St Petersburg, Florida: All Seasons Press, 2021 The Chief’s Chief Mark Meadows St Petersburg, Florida: All Seasons Press, 2021 I’ll Take Your Questions Now: […]
[PDF file]: Disrupt and Deny Spies, Special Forces, and the Secret Pursuit of British Foreign Policy Rory Cormac Oxford University Press: 2018, £20.00, h/b Robin Ramsay First things first: this is very good and anyone interested in our secret services, post-WW2 British history, or British colonial history, let alone the actual subject matter implied by the title, […]
[PDF file]: A Difference of Opinion: My Political Journey Jim Sillars Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2021, £14.99 John Booth There aren’t many people still active in British politics who served in the Royal Navy when sailors were given 200 free cigarettes a month.1 But Jim Sillars is one of them and has lived to reflect thoughtfully on the 65 […]
[PDF file]: […] Outsourced state terrorism and the contras The link between British Special Forces and military privatisation partly entered the public domain in the IranContra Affair. In 1983, Margaret Thatcher was returned to office with an increased majority only because of the Falklands’ War. But victory in that war carried a price. Britain won the Falklands […]
[PDF file]: Hope & Despair: Lifting the lid on the murky world of Scottish politics Neil Findlay Edinburgh: Lulath Press, £14.99 But What Can I Do?: Why politics has gone so wrong, and how you can help fix it Alastair Campbell London: Hutchinson Heinemann, £22.00 John Booth Here we have two approaches to politics and public life […]
