The Mirror Crack'd

In an essay for the openDemocracy newsletter on the future of Ukraine, Aman Sethi discusses national.myths. As he puts it, "we are all shaped by our myths, but we needn’t be bound to them. We are all born into our respective national identities, but we can each choose to reinterpret what they mean to us". On the 50th anniversary of the death of the Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco, modern Spain is doing precisely that; re-examining its post-Franco settlement, with strong challenges emerging from the left to the prevailing narrative of a successful parliamentary democracy guaranteed by a constitutional monarchy - a myth if ever there was one. While the United Kingdom is clearly not experiencing the same kind of existential crisis facing Ukraine as a result of Russian aggression, or dealing with the troubled legacy of a forty-year fascist regime like Spain, it is nevertheless in the throes of a crisis of identity. It could be argued that this is merely the latest iteration of...

Tim Davie has resigned his post as Director-General (D-G) of the BBC following revelations of biased editing in a Panorama exposé of Donald Trump's alleged incitement to storm the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. Davie was appointed to the role in 2020 at a salary north of £500,000 per annum. A keen marathon-runner, he has proved to be not so fleet of foot in his handling of this scandal, merely the latest in a long line to hit the troubled public broadcasting Corporation, though possibly its biggest yet and conceivably an existential one. Now Trump has threatened a billion dollar lawsuit and, with nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide, the running man has wisely chosen this moment to hang up his running shoes - at least as far as running the BBC is concerned. For his part, the BBC Board Chair, Samir Shah, has admitted the edit of Trump’s speech was “an error of judgment”. No, Mr Shah, it was a crass, stupid and above all, inept act of vandalism. If you're going to doctor the truth f...

The Deputy Prime Minister, David Lammy, stood in for his boss at PMQs today, making Keir Starmer look like a polished performer by way of contrast - no mean feat. While his performance was deeply tragic, to describe the occasion as Hamlet without the prince would be to seriously over-egg the pudding. It was a thoroughly lacklustre affair throughout, the oxygen sucked out of it by the absence of the two main protagonists and the presence of their utterly inept understudies. I never thought I'd find myself wishing for Starmer and Badenoch to get back to their respective despatch boxes as soon as possible, but such is the state of contemporary Westminster politics. When Lammy first stood up he was wearing a sharp suit but one with startlingly naked lapels. He mentioned Remembrance Sunday in his opening remarks and yet where was his poppy? Later in the proceedings, during Daisy Cooper's two questions on behalf of the Lib Dems' also absent leader I think, Lammy was suddenly spor...

News of the shocking knife attack on passengers travelling yesterday on an LNER London-bound train had added resonance for me as it's a service I often use to visit family and friends in the North. I've always had a soft spot for LNER, which took over as 'Operator of Last Resort' in 2018 when Virgin Trains hit the buffers after three years of having started running the East Coast franchise in 2015 as part of the Tories' disastrous rail privatisation programme. Efficiency undoubtedly suffered under Virgin - and the fact that the company has just been granted permission to operate a rival service to Eurostar on HS1 certainly doesn't inspire confidence - but the staff now transferred to LNER, unfailingly friendly and efficient throughout these commercial upheavals, are now shown not only to be dedicated but also very brave. Having handled an appalling situation, calmly and professionally by all accounts, I would hope that, as well as public recognition, they also r...

The weekend is generally a quiet time for politics, with elected representatives being back in their constituencies, but this one is different. Firstly, we have just had the announcement of Lucy Powell's victory in the contest for the Deputy Leadership of the Labour Party. Secondly, in the election for the Presidency of Ireland, leftwing Independent candidate, Catherine Connolly, has been declared the winner. Finally, Thursday's shock victory of Plaid Cymru's candidate, Lindsay Whittle, in the Caerphilly by-election for the Senedd is being digested by Welsh Labour, who had been unchallenged there for a century. These three very different electoral outcomes tell an interesting story of the emergence of a potential shift in political momentum in the United Kingdom and Ireland, not perhaps seismic (yet) but significant nonetheless. Coupled with Zack Polanski's recent election as Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales and the announcement of the long-awaited launch ...

On 15 October 2021, Sir David Amess, MP for Southend West, was fatally stabbed at his constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea. The anniversary of this tragic event was marked yesterday at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons. Unaware of this, I happened to be walking past the Houses of Parliament and was appalled to see the new 3-metre high security fence being erected along the perimeter of the House of Lords' forecourt, extending up to the Soverereign's Entrance of the  Victoria Tower. This latest work adds to the railings, fences, gates and barriers already in place that began to be installed following the death of Airey Neave MP, whose car was blown up by an IRA bomb as he drove out of the Palace of Westminster underground car park in 1979.  Additional works were carried out following the 2017 terrorist attack, when a car was driven into the Victorian railings and the driver ran into New Palace Yard, fatally stabbing a police officer. The resulting works were...