Iain Macwhirter
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“Bread for All – the Origins of the Welfare State” by Chris Renwick.
When William Beveridge submitted his report to the wartime UK cabinet proposing the abolition of “want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness”, he was regarded with tolerant scepticism. Winston Churchill, didn’t believe a word of it, though he saw the usefulness of the notion of what he called “cradle to the grave” social provision as a … Continue reading
“The Retreat of Western Liberalism”, by Edward Luce.
Edward Luce was so excited by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 that he raced by car to the Brandenburg Gate to catch the debris from the fall of communism. It seemed that nothing could halt the march of Western liberal democracy. Thirty years later it all looks very different. Donald Trump has … Continue reading
“Grandpa” Corbyn and the anti-personality cult that makes him politician of the year.
The cult of Corbyn has now reached the glossy heights of GQ – the men’s magazine formerly known as Gentleman’s Quarterly. The editor, Dylan Jones, expressed frustration at Corbyn’s inept performance at the photoshoot for the Christmas edition. The Labour leader had to be “pushed around like a grandpa at a Christmas family photo”, … Continue reading
Iain Macwhirter 