September 6th was, of course, the date on which Mr Johnson stood down as prime minister of the UK. On the other hand, the poem (in its two parts) might be described as a celebration of adolescence, a developmental stage in which the growing human being discovers and explores self, its wonders, its powers and its boundaries.
But human society… continue reading
Category honour in parliament
Unworthiness Amok at Number Ten
After a week-end of celebration in praise of an honourable Queen, we in the UK are now entering a week which might prove quite troublesome for a dishonourable Prime Minister. He, his allies and their works remind me of a sentence on the back of a novel called “The Possessed” by Fyodor Dostoevsky : “The author is everywhere concerned with… continue reading
Mr Johnson’s True Name
These days, a growing number of people are coming up with rude names for Mr Johnson, the UK Prime Minster. I too have a name for him which could be described as rude. But, in my case, I would argue that the reason I use this name is not just to vent my exasperation or express my contempt, although I… continue reading
I sent this poem and the one below to my own MP several days ago now. This MP is a Tory and belongs in the “2019 intake.” A member of the MP’s team contacted back just to check that I lived in her constituency and could thus expect her to “represent” me. I assured that person that I did and… continue reading
… Ethics in UK Politics
Here below is the copy of a letter I’ve sent this week to Lord Evans of Weardale, Chair of the UK’s independent committee on standards in public life. By coincidence, just before Mr Johnson’s extraordinary contortions in the House of Commons two days ago, Lord Evans’ committee produced a report recommending certain improvements in the way ethical standards are maintained… continue reading
