Politics

Thomas More has a richly ambiguous place in our religious and political history. Like a brave hero of conscience, he defied the will of a tyrant, even unto death. A herald of modern liberty, then? Not quite. Before he found himself on the wrong end of the axe, as Lord Chancellor he calmly sent many dissidents to their death. His cause was not modern liberty, but the defence of the old version of authoritarian order. The Catholic Church calls him a saint. The English Reformation was a good thing. Thomas More was on the wrong side of history He is back in the news because a church in Canterbury has

Senior Tories are floating the idea of an electoral pact with Nigel Farage’s Scottish outfit It’s not a good time to be a Scottish Conservative. While the SNP has seen a bounce in the polls – despite the infighting that followed Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation and the Operation Branchform police probe – the Tories and Labour have both suffered from a surge in support for Reform UK north of the border. Scottish Labour is projected to lose Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) but ultimately it is the Tories who look to be hit the hardest. It is the fear of an electoral wipeout next year – and projections that suggest

Foreign relations are among the most political functions of a government. Ministers favour or disfavour other states based on calculations about which relationships might better serve the national interest. Human rights violations are condemned here, while a blind eye is turned there. Dictators are treated as democrats and democrats as dictators depending on the diplomatic needs of the day. It’s a dishonest, venal, hypocritical business conducted by people with almost no morally redeeming characteristics. Like I said, it’s politics.  Too many state actions are compelled – or claimed to be compelled – by law or judicial interpretation of the law. This bodes ill for parliamentary sovereignty, even if it is parliament that keeps passing