In all our sanctuaries we sit at risk

Category: politics

  • Mental Health Witness – are UK services getting worse ?

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    I was at an event at the Poetry Society in London the other night, celebrating the 21st anniversary of a small charity concerned with mental health and creativity. The charity’s Chair stood up and suggested that mental health services are actually worse now than they were when the charity was founded, all those years ago.…

  • A Statement of Principle in time for Christmas

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    I suspect that many of us see “principle” as something we can just hive off and leave in airy-fairy land while we hurry out to do our Christmas shopping.  So I’ll say straightaway that, on the contrary,  true and meaningful principle may in the end be the only fact that counts, far more significant and…

  • Freedom of the Press does not mean Free Speech

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    With Leveson now published, and much debate on the subject being reported, I think it is worth pointing out  that the Internet is not the only elephant in the room in these discussions. So long as newspapers are owned by super-rich oligarchs, ex-pornographers and the like, and mirror or reflect in any way the views…

  • The Resignation of Denis MacShane

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    Denis MacShane was Minister for Europe under Tony Blair.  He brought a wider and more cultured vision and experience to that role than many politicians and activists  ever get near, at least in this country. For instance, he  translated into English a Brecht poem for “Poems on the Underground”.  He also responded positively to a…