Category: Opinion

Saving the NHS – one small step

One of the annual winter traditions in the UK is doom headlines about the NHS collapsing.  This winter has been particularly grim with high levels of COVID, flu and other illnesses. Add into the mix key worker strikes including by nurses and ambulance drivers and it sounds like a lot of hospital A&E departments are… Continue reading Saving the NHS – one small step

Covid, China, variants and travel restrictions

Wow, I’ve managed to get through a long period without writing anything about COVID.  Whilst some people are still wearing facemasks and posting their test results and whilst others contiine to refuse vaccination, generally the subject has quietened down. However, in the past few weeks, COVID debates seemed to have burst back into life again… Continue reading Covid, China, variants and travel restrictions

The census results – is Britain a Christian country?

According to recent census reports, Christianity is now a minority in the UK. Those identifying as Christian has fallen below 50%.  “Christians” are still the largest grouping at 46.2%  with 37.2% describing themselves as having no religion at all and the rest being split between other significant faiths such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.… Continue reading The census results – is Britain a Christian country?

No, the Supreme Court’s decision on a Scottish Independence referendum did not mark the death of democracy.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to call another referendum on independence. Obviously, the SNP and their supporters are upset and disappointed by this. They have every right to campaign for independence and wanted the opportunity for a new vote. I’m not sure that they’ve got reason… Continue reading No, the Supreme Court’s decision on a Scottish Independence referendum did not mark the death of democracy.

Why we fire fight … There’s little gratitude for prevented problems

Allegedly, Twitter is going to implode and collapse. Already, I’m seeing the predictable comments about how “this feels just like the Y2K bug all over again.” Similar comments were made during the pandemic The implication is that we are dealing with a hysterical, over inflated scare story or even a hoax. This is because back… Continue reading Why we fire fight … There’s little gratitude for prevented problems

Responding to the Prime Minister’s resignation

Well another Prime Minister has gone. I just popped upstairs for a few minutes to wrap Sarah’s Birthday present and came back downstairs again to find it was all change. Here are a couple of initial thoughts. First that response of anger and sadness at the utter mess is right. The people harmed most by… Continue reading Responding to the Prime Minister’s resignation

The Russian people need to know where the real existential threat is coming from

The great tension over whether or not Vladimir Putin will use nuclear weapons or not comes down to two factors.  The first is that he has two types of nuclear weapon.  When we talk about nuclear weapons we primarily think of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles – strategic nuclear weapons. The UK’s version of this is the… Continue reading The Russian people need to know where the real existential threat is coming from

Putin’s terror tactics

There’s been much talk, these past few weeks about Vladimir Putin being ready to escalate the war in Ukraine by use of chemical or even nuclear weapons. It is important to remember a couple of things here when discussing potential nuclear assault. In terms of response, I believe that NATO powers will prefer preventive to… Continue reading Putin’s terror tactics