Amidst discussions about Treasury bonds, corruption scandals and grooming gangs, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that Britain isn’t just in poor shape domestically – it’s also embarrassing itself on the world stage. Keir Starmer’s planned Chagos Islands handover was put on ice this week, with incoming US President Donald Trump set to […]
Socialist revolutionaries have always struck me as rather stereotypical. There is the enthusiasm for violence, which their devotees find rather thrilling. There is the rousing oratory. There is the preference for the simple life – prior to the revolution – followed by a taste for luxury once the revolution has taken place. But what of […]
The events of the past week have shown what non-state actors, supported by aggressive states, can do. The terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and a plethora of Turkish-backed militias shocked the world by taking over Syria’s largest cities in a matter of days and forcing its dictator, Bashar al-Assad, to flee. There is no love […]
The Islamist-led rebel offensive in Syria has been executed with devastating effect, ending Bashar al-Assad’s lengthy reign as president and five decades of dynastic rule by the Assad family. The downfall of Assad’s totalitarian regime is not to be mourned – but what do we know of the Syrian rebels? This anti-Assad offensive has been […]
Though few at Nato would admit it, in his first four years as US President, Donald Trump had more impact on the security alliance than his immediate predecessors, Obama and Bush, put together. To understand the future Trump-Nato relationship, one should look to the past. The most obvious Nato success of the first Trump administration […]
What a difference power makes. From the opposition benches, Labour were robust in their criticism of China’s authoritarian regime, pushing for stronger action against its human rights abuses and its influence operations on UK soil. Now they are in government, such concerns have been sidelined in favour of commercial opportunity. This is dangerously shortsighted. Chasing […]
The Commonwealth is an assembly of 56 countries, vastly different in wealth, values, objectives, size and location. Most, but not all, are former members of the British Empire, from which the Commonwealth originally formed. According to the most recent figures available, its poorest member, Malawi, has a GDP per capita of US$324 (vs the UK’s […]
What are we getting in return? That has been the question critics of the Government have been asking over surrendering the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. You can call it a ‘sell out’, as we are making a payment. In a way, though, that query misses the point. When some of us flick a globe and […]
Peter Mandelson’s intervention on China policy this week is profoundly wrong – and potentially very dangerous. During a visit to Hong Kong in which he met government officials, top businessmen and bankers, and gave a speech at the University of Hong Kong, Lord Mandelson claimed that the rule of law and the independence of the […]
When compared to any other point in history the world, we are astonishingly rich. Thanks to the interlinked miracles of expanding trade, free markets and improving technology, the world has a GDP per capita of over $13,000, a tenfold increase in real terms over the last 50 years. That said, far too many areas of […]
For the first time since the Cold War, Russian warships are attempting to intimidate the US and project an image of strength in the Caribbean. While this might feel like an eerie echo of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Russia’s military is a shadow of what it once was. Even before its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, […]
After the Second World War, the United States was pivotal in establishing international institutions like the United Nations. This leadership extended through the Cold War and culminated in the defeat of the Soviet Union. America’s superpower status allowed it to shape the international system according to its interests, promoting a liberal world order. With Trump’s […]
Unbeknownst to many of us, the UK has effectively funded human rights abuses for more than 40 years. Sounds unbelievable, doesn’t it? Yet it is still the truth. The UK taxpayer has funded the brutal, oppressive regime in Cuba. The Communist regime has more than 1,400 political prisoners currently imprisoned. Political opponents are regularly subject […]
Three issues come to the fore in the wake of today’s Budget. First is the fundamental challenge of Britain’s weak economic growth. Second is that while the 2p cut in National Insurance was welcome, it should not divert attention from the need for tax simplification and reform and that the UK’s tax take is high […]
We should congratulate the governments of many nations, both in Europe and beyond, for suspending aid to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in the Middle East. It follows the allegation that at least 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the appalling attacks of 7 October, leading to their dismissal by the agency. However, […]
South Africa says that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and has asked the International Court of Justice to intervene and stop Israeli military action in Gaza. Israel issued its initial defense to South Africa’s charges on Jan. 12, 2024, at the International Court of Justice – the United Nations’ highest human rights […]
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