The Mirror Crack'd

Gasping for air A   fortnight spent fighting off a nasty bout of 'flu (possibly Covid but who tests for that anymore?) has given me plenty of time to muse on the parlous state of our planet. Most of the threats are anthropocene-linked, of course, so it was almost a relief to come across one not caused by humans and over which we have absolutely no control - the total depletion of oxygen on Earth. A study published in the journal, Nature Geoscience, reveals this existential threat. Researchers, led by environmental scientist Kazumi Ozaki, projected the evolution of the gases in our atmosphere and concluded that oxygen will eventually run out. No need for mass panic, though, this is unlikely to happen for another billion years. Well, that's one less thing to worry about, I guess. Frankly, I'd settle for scientists finding a cure for the common cold. Offset upset Just as COP(out)28 is about to kick off in the UAE petrostate comes news of a new company, Blue Carbon, quietly bu

Living in uncertain times has led to my thinking counterfactually - surely anything's better than the factual? Given that we Brits were involved in, if not actually responsible for, more than our fair share of the enduring conflicts troubling the world today, a reappraisal and re-evaluation of our colonial/imperial history is long-overdue. I suppose it just depends on how far we want to go back.  I would start by going back to 1066 to ponder what might have happened had King Harold won the Battle of Hastings. Had he won it decisively (ie by dispatching William of Normandy on that fateful day) and seen off any attempts by his son, William 'Rufus' (aged nine at the time of the battle), to assert his rights to the English throne, the continuance of an Anglo-Saxon England might have been more beneficial to the world. We shall never know, of course, but it's interesting to speculate. The kingdom of England, consolidated by Æthelstan in 927, became a wealthy and well-governed

Play with your dolls Welcome news from City Hall reported in today's Evening Standard: The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has said it is making progress in rooting out sexism, almost a year after a scathing report found the organisation to be “institutionally misogynist”. Meanwhile, in Madrid, a far right demonstration against the leftwing coalition government has paraded a group of blow-up sex dolls to represent female MPs of PSOE, the Socialist Workers' Party. Don't say: eso es politica. Do say: ¡tengan vergüenza! That's lucky David (Lord) Cameron, newly appointed to government as Foreign Secretary, has been facing some awkward questions about his business connections during his wilderness years. We all know about the questionable Greensill lobbying (although apparently no rules were broken) but now several other jobs have come to light which might be seen to compromise his ministerial independence. Well, a millionaire has to live and his Lordship severed all such ties, we

As I predicted yesterday, Suella Braverman's post-sacking letter has been delivered to Rishi Sunak and shared with the world, and it's a shocker. Every bit as vituperative as expected, she spreads her vicious and self-justificatory bile over three pages. But the killer paragraph reads: "You have manifestly and repeatedly failed to deliver on every single one of these key policies. Either your distinctive style of government means you are incapable of doing so. Or, as I must surely conclude now, you never had any intention of keeping your promises." I have no truck with Sunak and my opinion of him is probably no higher that Braverman's but my opinion of her is even lower, especially after this murderous missive. What a thoroughly nasty piece of work she is. She couldn't even find it in herself to go quietly and with dignity - a word she would have to look up in a dictionary.  I'm not aware that Sunak's response has yet been published but his best reveng

One thing you can say about the return of David Cameron to frontline politics as Foreign Secretary in Rishi Sunak's cabinet reshuffle after his sacking of Suella Braverman, it sucks the oxygen of commentary away from her - for now at least. Bringing back a Tory 'big beast' might bolster Sunak's position against the inevitable backlash that will follow Braverman's sacking but it is a potentially dangerous strategy. Sunak may be signalling a slightly more liberal, centrist direction of travel for his party in the runup to the general election but Cameron was a Remainer, albeit a lukewarm one, which may irritate ardent Brexiteers on the government backbenches and in the wider party. On the other hand he delivered the referendum that enabled Brexit so they may cut him some slack for that at least. What Cameron's return says about the talent pool amongst current Tory MPs is another matter. Was there really no other option than to create a peerage for a former Prime M

I went on the pro-Palestinian march through London today and it was an amazing experience. On a brilliantly sunny autumn day the vast assembly from all round the country marched peacefully from Hyde Park to the US embassy at Vauxhall Nine Elms, south of the river. Realistically, I think it was probably my swansong for marching. I can't imagine any future protest excelling this one, either in scale or impact, both of which were huge. But the 15 kilometers I walked were more than enough at my time of my life. Of course it's a hell of a lot worse for Gazans fleeing south on foot to escape IDF bombardment - and finding themselves under fire there too. Still, even if mere virtue-signalling, I hope my participation made a difference and no one could criticise my commitment, stamina and determination. I understood from the outset that participation on the march would be an equivocal experience. I knew some of the chanting, such as 'from the river to the sea' would be uncomfort

Could growing divisions in the Labour and Conservative Parties lead to a left-right split in both? Sir Keir Starmer's travails following his refusal to countenance a call for a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, including from his own front benchers, are well documented. Having enjoyed a triumphant party conference in Liverpool mere weeks ago, which appeared to present a united front and cement his control, he now risks a major rift over his stance on this issue. With emotions running high, both for and against, it looks as if he might be heading back to the divisive politics he thought he had put behind him when he effectively neutralised Jeremy Corbyn and the leftwing in his party. As so often, though, such divisions are like the Hydra - lop off one head and another springs up in its place. And this is not just a problem for Labour. Having faced its own existential divisions under Johnson and Truss it appeared the Tory Party had entered a period of relative calm under the premiershi

Cruella is on the dog whistle again, this time stigmatising homeless people living in tents. Yes, our caring Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, has excelled herself by directing her hateful bile at rough sleepers, claiming it's a "lifestyle choice". And it's not just a matter of vile rhetoric. What rational person could possibly maintain that anyone would actively choose to live in a tent in this country as we go into a long, cold, damp British winter? (You wouldn't voluntarily get me under canvas in this country under any circumstances at any time of year but I realise I've just answered my own question; she isn't rational, she's barking.) Yet there's method in her madness; she's obviously seeking to bolster her leadership aspirations by appealing to the lowest common denominator of the slavering right in her party and the country. And she has form. She has previously spoken of a "hurricane of migration" and called a pro-Palestinian

Well, it was a nice day for a bit of British ceremonial, if you happen like that sort of thing. Depending on your viewpoint, today's State Opening of Parliament and King's Speech (the first to be delivered for over seventy years), was either a key element of Britain's unwritten constitution and a dignified celebration of an ancient and time-honoured parliamentary system; or, as someone once described it, a sorry little summary of flummery and mummery (oh, that would be me!). Either way, this was the Charles and Camilla Show; their biggest state occasion since their coronation and the only other one on which they get the opportunity to wear the crowns and regalia. There they both were, weighed down in all the glittering swag of Empire, the British bling, like two thieving magpies displaying the loot as they participated in a parliamentary pantomime with a cast of characters looking like they'd escaped from a deck of playing cards. There was all the usual nonsense of stat

'Innocent civilians' is a phrase we hear being bandied about a lot these days by journalists and politicians in relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But it's lazy journalese and even lazier politics. In a democracy, even a nominal one like Palestine or Israel - or the UK for that matter - no-one old enough to vote can really be considered innocent of the actions of their government, even where they didn't vote for them. Voting isn't (or shouldn't be) a once-in-four-or-five-years activity it should be a permanent state of engagement, holding one's elected representatives to account at every stage. 'Not in my name' is no excuse. Okay, so back in the real world life for most is a daily struggle to put food on the table (another cliché beloved of overfed politicians and commentators), especially somewhere like the Gaza Strip. But is that enough to absolve the governed from seeking to influence and constrain the day-to-day actions of their govern

Nineteenth century American poet and editor, George Pope Morris, penned his famous poem in 1837 and it has been spoken of as possibly the earliest example of an environmental protest. In childhood I remember hearing a jokey version of the lyrics on the radio in a 1940s jazz version by Phil Harris and was reminded of it only the other day on seeing a poignant little note tied to a sapling in a nearby community garden by a concerned resident. It read: "please don't cut this cherry tree". That set me thinking about the legend of George Washington taking an axe to his father's cherry tree ( prunus avavium ) and his response on being challenged about it by a presumably irate parent, "I cannot tell a lie". The demise of beloved trees has been making the news recently, after several decades of recurrent shocks such as Dutch elm disease, sudden oak death and ash die-back. The shocking act of vandalism perpetrated in September on the famous Sycamore Gap tree on Hadri