The Mirror Crack'd

Sir Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No 1 was composed in 1901 and a year later, at the urging of King Edward VII, lyrics were added by A C Benson to form the patriotic song, Land of Hope and Glory. This song, still belted out by fervid 'Promenaders' attending The Last Night of the Proms - the grand finale of a series of concerts given in London's Albert Hall every summer and broadcast by the BBC - encapsulates the very quintessence of Britain's imperial might at the apogee of her Empire. Its jingoistic sentiments allegedly gave Elgar himself misgivings but the King-Emperor's command could not be ignored. How have the mighty fallen. Unfortunately, though, Britain's 'great imperial project' - now viewed with embarrassment, if not shame, by many Brits - still has the power to inspire some of the world's less enlightened leaders with dreams of territorial aggrandisement. One only has to look at China's grip on the natural resources of ...

The newly-elected Pope Leo XIV is being acclaimed as 'the first American Pope' - er, not exactly... If one considers North America in general, and the United States in particular, as constituting 'America' then maybe this makes sense. But I know it drives the Hispanidad loco and I understand why - it's a classically arrogant Anglo-Saxon conceit. Okay, so Robert Prevost was born in Chicago, Illinois - and you don't get much more 'American' than that - but he spent most of his adult life in Peru and has joint Peruvian-American citizenship. His predecessor, Pope Francis, was technically the first American pope, being Argentinian, but apparently Latin America doesn't count, despite being settled by Europeans long before those regions north of Darién on the Isthmus of Panama. Donald Trump, the 'American' President, gushed on his Truth Central (sic) platform: “It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and w...

Prince Harry's BBC interview aired last night and even by his usual standards it was jaw-dropping. As an active supporter of Republic, the organisation campaigning for the abolition of the British monarchy, I couldn't help thinking that Harry was doing our work for us - and possibly more effectively. I have some sympathy for Harry's plight and he spoke compellingly about it not being his fault that he was born into the royal family. His argument is that, having been so, the least the state could do would be to ensure his and his wife and children's security in the UK. After all, as he trenchantly pointed out, senior politicians, who chose to be elected to public office, enjoy lifelong security. He had no choice in the matter yet has been hung out to dry. His logic is impeccable and simply serves to amplify the point we anti-monarchists are making that the institution needs to be abolished. It is intrinsically unfair, not least to those born into it, and is frankly unref...

Both Canada's and Australia's incumbent Prime Ministers have benefited electorally from taking an anti-Trump stance so why has Nigel Farage's Reform UK bucked the trend in England? Farage promotes himself as a pal of Trump's and espouses many of his policies yet this does not appear to have dented his appeal in England, where he has pulled off an astonishing electoral coup. Prior to the Canadian and Australian elections it looked a certainty that the ruling centrist parties would be ousted from government in favour of conservative candidates. Thanks to the 'Trump effect' quite the reverse occurred. In Canada's case the newly-installed Liberal Party leader, Mark Carney, having recently called a snap election, won by a landslide, hugely boosted by Trump's punitive tariffs and talk of making Canada the 51st US state. In today's Australian federal election the Labor Party incumbent, Anthony Albanese, widely tipped to lose to opposition Liberal Party lead...

Reform UK have achieved a famous victory in the English local elections - now they have to make it work. The two leading mainstream political parties, Labour and Conservative, will be licking their wounds but no doubt thanking their lucky stars that this particular contest did not immediately precede a general election. Had that been the case it is very probable that Reform would have benefited from the local election bounce and ended up forming the government. They may yet do so but the four-plus years between now and the latest date the general must be called gives plenty of scope for them to screw up majorly. I know from my own four years as a local councillor the difficulty of running a local council, especially against the backdrop of central government funding cuts. It is highly unlikely that the current Labour government will be able to restore the 40% cut to local funding imposed over fourteen years of Tory government, much less increase support. Indeed, the Labour government m...