Augustus Carp sees early signs that the shifting of tectonic plates in national and international politics may be reflected in local government too. All the experts tell us that the political order is changing in ways previously thought to be inconceivable. Alliances are shifting, established relationships are faltering and old friends are becoming foes. But that's not just the case in international relations - the world of local government seems to be undergoing a heightened wave of upheavals as well. The rate of political defections in British local government has accelerated significantly in 2025. By way of comparison, there were ...
King Charles and Kier Starmer know how to greet a hero who is leading the fight for democracy on behalf of all good, democratic nations. So, let me first apologise for the hyperbolic nature of the headline. Of course, the USA does have friends but when you can count them on the fingers of one hand and they include Russia and Brazil it is clear that they are not friends worth having. Do you remember the bravado of the first couple of weeks of Trump's reign? Make Canada the 51st State, buy or invade Greenland, forcibly take over the Panama ...
It's great fun on our Trivia Desk, but you have to work weekends. Yesterday the team brought you news of the family relationship between Chelsea star Cole Palmer and a member of the Seventies British black soul band Sweet Sensation. Today they're all over a link between Donald Trump's cabinet and one of the great might-have-beens of Hollywood. In 1985 a three-part mini-series was made for US television under the title Robert Kennedy and his Times. There were family scenes, so you'll be wondering who played the third of Robert and Ethel Kennedy's count 'em) 11 children, Robert Jnr. He's ...
Sun 2nd
12:43
Starmer is living in a dreamworld. Britain must choose between Europe and Trump's America
What a difference a day makes. On Thursday, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer went to Washington DC to meet with President Donald Trump. There, in the White House, Starmer had a jovial and good-spirited meeting and press conference with the new US President. The press hailed the Prime Minister's visit as a triumph referring to it as a "love-in" and a "bromance". It appeared to vindicate Starmer's strategy of walking a delicate diplomatic tightrope between Europe and the new American administration. But then came Friday. President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's wartime leader, who is viewed by many to be a modern ...
In 2012 Miranda's Island listed the ingredients of the classic children's adventure story: I mean the kind of rural holiday location where children get to sleep in barns, camp out on islands and cycle, walk or even hitch-hike long miles through country lanes, relieved by picnics packed up by friendly adults who know when to back off and when to interfere. Optional but highly desirable elements are caves, horses, dogs (actually, I'm not sure the dog is optional, I think it's essential) and the frisson of danger provided by a treasure hunt or an odd character lurking around, clearly up ...
On Friday, the Starmer Government witnessed its first departure on principle as Anneliese Dodds, the Minister for International Development, resigned. With Keir Starmer having announced an increase in defence spending to 2.5% of Gross Domestic Product by 2027, Dodds criticised the corresponding cut in international development from 0.5% of GDP to 0.3%, saying that it would 'remove food and healthcare from desperate people - deeply harming the UK's reputation'. Starmer has said that there is 'no driver of migration and poverty like conflict' and Dodds gave him the benefit of the doubt by stating that he was not 'ideologically opposed' ...
This new generation of Beatles fans is entitled to its enthusiasms, but it does seem to lack a sense of history. Any music that came before the Fab Four was laughable, and any groups who were around at the same time as the Beatles were trying to copy them. So here's a rockabilly Cliff Richard from 1958 to prove there was life before Love Me Do, even if Cliff is rocking more than anyone else on this record. The Drifters was the original name for the Shadows, who were Cliff's backing band and then became one of the most successful ...
Germany Europe's largest economy and largest population has lurched to the right. Friedrich Merz is on the conservative wing of the right of centre Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The Social Democratic Party (SPD) has been relegated to the number three slot for the first in post-war German history. But, more importantly, the far-right Alternativ fur Deutschland (AFD) is now firmly entrenched in the number two position. Electoral success such as that enjoyed by the AfD in last weekend's federal elections would normally ensure a place in a coalition government. Not in Germany, the mainstream parties have agreed to a firewall ...
With thanks to SJ Bogue and Dundee Memories, inside the Phoenix Bar - July 1987 :
