All commentaries

Italian Politics: Of Putin, porn, and, of course, Berlusconi

Since Mussolini the Italians have been terrified of anyone acquiring absolute power, so they devise it that no one has any power at all. Forming a government is throwing up all sorts of problems from Putin, through Berlusconi, oh, and that porn star who offered to sleep with Saddam Hussein to stop the Gulf War. Welcome to Italian politics
by Tim Hedges - 16 April 2018
Petulant BBC continues to struggle with Brexit

The BBC continues to show that it can't get its head around the idea Brexit is going to go smoothly. In the latest contrived piece of reporting they asked all the wrong questions in a segment on Germany. These people -- the BBC not the Germans -- will never learn
by John Redwood MP - 15 April 2018
Slippery Brussels seeking EU army by the back door

Seizing control of armed forces from the nation state is essential to the creation of a federal super-state. The delusional neo-imperialists in Brussels will lose badly on this when Britain quits the EU, but we should actively scupper its chances anyway because slippery Brussels is trying to get us in by the back door
by Peter Lyon - 12 April 2018
Telling it like it is to Lord Adonis on Brexit

As he gears up for a debate with Lord Adonis, one of the fiercest rejectionists regarding Britain's democratic decision to leave the EU, John Redwood MP reminds him that democracy can be disappointing when you're on the losing side, but true democrats get over it and respect the result
by John Redwood MP - 10 April 2018
Stop panicking about John Bolton

John Bolton is an accomplished, very smart person with principled, hawkish instincts on foreign and defense policy. He's wrong about the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but liberal hysteria against him is just that. Oh, and please leave out the comments about his mustache
by Taylor Dibbert - 8 April 2018
Migrating between political correctness and bigotry

Both Israel and the US are enormously attractive countries to would be migrants from places which offer relatively fewer opportunities to live in freedom and prosperity. Both have to create workable migration policies which are neither concessions to bigotry nor ruled by the aggressive insanity of political correctness
by Michael Curtis - 6 April 2018
Britain's civil service as an anti-Brexit fifth column?

Talk of fifth columns can often be hyperbolic. But there is a real concern about institutional bias against Brexit in Britain's civil service. The public has a right to expect its taxpayer funded servants observe strict neutrality, and do not thwart the will of the people by indulging in the fantasies of Project Fear
by John Redwood MP - 4 April 2018
EU's chaotic migrant policies wrecking Italian serenity

Serenity is a quality you rightly expect in small Italian towns. But the world is as it is, and Europe's migrant crisis is never far from affecting the day to day life of ordinary people, something Europe's insulated political classes seem strangely unaware of
by Tim Hedges - 3 April 2018
Britain already showing Brexit foreign policy benefits

The Skripal case showed that Britain could rally a gloabl coalition without EU help. The EU was initially reluctant, and support from member states remains patchy. This shows global Britain is the right way to go, more proof that Brexit was the right decision and that the EU is a sinking ship
by Robert Bates - 29 March 2018
EU frets as Italian democracy empowers Eurosceptics

Both parties in what appears to be Italy's emerging coalition government rightly believe the Euro has been good for Germany and bad for Italy. It won't be a supercharged Eurosceptic onslaught, but rather a chipping away at the EU edifice which one day is destined to fall
by Tim Hedges - 27 March 2018
The EU is itself a barrier to trade. We're better off out

The Remain camp is confused on so many issues, not least trade where the EU is a barrier to prosperity for Britain, and is the root cause of the growing friction with the US. Don't blame Brexit or Trump. Blame Brussels for its flagrant hypocrisy
by John Redwood MP - 26 March 2018
Stop this shameful capitulation to the EU on fisheries

The transition deal announced between Britain and the EU is very bad news for UK fishermen, as it means the EU could decimate our fishing industry during the transitional period. The government needs to understand that appeasement never works. We should urgently set down much tougher terms and be prepared to walk away without a deal
by Peter Lyon - 22 March 2018
Unity and hope are key to a Conservative victory

Clare Ambrosino, Founder of Project Hope discusses the importance of uniting the Conservative party, ahead of the launch of Project Hope tonight.
by Clare Ambrosino - 21 March 2018
Police need the latest cyber skills to keep Britain safe

In an exclusive opinion article, Patrick Sullivan, CEO of leading UK think tank Parliament Street argues that it’s time to give police forces extra cybercrime resources to tackle sophisticated attacks from Russia
by Patrick Sullivan - 19 March 2018
EU fiddles as Rome burns

As talks continue to form a eurosceptic government in Italy, delusional Eurocrats plan ever deeper integration in Brussels. Britons looking on, can be grateful they will soon no longer be party to this fiasco
by Tim Hedges - 19 March 2018