In all our sanctuaries we sit at risk

Category: abuse of free speech

  • The Parrot Keeps Asking

    Posted:

    On the day this piece was written the nation was waiting to find out which of the two rival (Tory) candidates was about to take control of our nation, Hunt or Johnson. Both were hollow men, diddy men. Johnson was widely expected to get it, so no great surprise was expressed when he did. In…

  • Parrot on the Labour Die-Hards

    Posted:

    Self-evidently, these are times of national crisis from which only the best of governments can rescue us. We do not have the best of governments and one still worse is coming. So it matters that Tom Watson cuts a rather lone figure in the Labour Party just now. What he stands for, I believe, is…

  • The Parrot Glimpses Mr Toad

    Posted:

    It continues to look certain that our new Prime Minister will be a toad. In saying that, I am thinking partly of Mr Toad of “Wind in the Willows.” I am also mindful that the UK ambassador in Washington, Mr Kim Darroch, has just resigned, due to being betrayed by some colleague, and to the…

  • The Parrot Returns to Talk of False Gods

    Posted:

    When I wrote this, Boris Johnson was entertaining the nation with the question of when a certain photograph was taken. It claimed to show that the nation’s prospective Prime Minister had now made up with his girl-friend after their row. It was therefore safe to vote for him. He was accused of lying (again). The…

  • Jez Holds the Bridge

    Posted:

    For days now, the Tories have been capturing the UK headlines with their exercise to find a new leader, who will also be the nation’s Prime Minister at this fraught and crucial time in our history. Today, mid-summer, with just Hunt and Johnson left in the competition, and with Johnson way ahead, we are moving…

  • The Parrot Falls off his Perch

    Posted:

    This stanza refers to the Tory leadership contest following Theresa May’s resignation as UK Prime Minister. At present, Boris Johnson is far ahead of his rivals. The stanza’s warning, that in his career he has been sacked twice for lying, is a matter of public record. So is much else that is disreputable. In a…

  • The Parrot Speaks of the Democratic Covenant

    Posted:

    A private prosecution has been taken out against Boris Johnson MP, for claims he made during the 2016 EU referendum. After 3 years of preparation, it had its first hearing in private a few days ago. For an example of the Press coverage, see https://www.theguardian.com/…/boris-johnson-could-be-challenged-in-court… Essentially, if the judge agrees that there is a case…

  • He Overhears some Afterthoughts

    Posted:

    In the UK, the local elections have just taken place, and the Tories did very badly and Labour just did badly. But that’s serious for Labour and for the rest of us. Labour should surely be a coming force by now, after month upon month of this worst of governments. Maybot and the Boy Jez…