Rod Liddle has died at 66.

 The irascible journalist has died after a short illness in hospital in the north east of England, near Middlesborough. He was the editor of the Today programme for a number of years, but more recently has popped up on Times Radio and had a regular column in The Spectator magazine. He started off on the left, writing for The Guardian, but over time migrated towards the right of politics. Many commentators in the media have spoken warmly about him as a person with very strong opinions - which he was happy to broadcast to one and all. I wasn’t a fan and found him pompous and self regarding. 

The film Ish.

 If you want to try and understand the rite of passage from childhood to adulthood and it’s  vicissitudes, then this recently released film Ish is a good place to start. Set in a working class area of Luton, we follow how two close friends experience the various traumas of being black and exposed to racism. It will remind everyone, who sees it of how problematic this transition can be. Nevertheless it has some very good scenes, that encapsulate this dilemma. At one point we see all the boys of the gang on a local bus. Ish is sitting alone and his hitherto best friend, walks straight past him and sits with the other four gang members. It reminded me of the scene in Henry IV, part 1, Act 2 , Scene 4 where Hal rejects his old friend Falstaff - while playing the role of the King says “I do, I will”. It’s an iconic scene and foreshadowing the final denouement of their relationship. When I was a student at the London School of Economics in the early 1970’s one of my favourite topics was Criminology. I had been a policeman in Soho in the early 1960’s - so consequently I was drawn to this particular subject. Moreover the professor had a very high international reputation and I was keen to learn from him. He was Terence Morris. I wrote an essay for my tutor and it was entitled Towards a Typology of Sub-Cultural Vandalism. I got a good mark for it. 

And this film had so many of these stark underpinning sociological issues. The importance of peer group pressure, the bonding by rituals, the importance of bravado and masculinity and the role of delinquency and the racism of the police. In the background we have the important relationship between Ish and his grandmother, which offers him a good role model of love and stability. His father is also supportive and understanding of his transition to manhood. I highly recommend this film if you want to understand the interdependence of friends, family and sociological context. I give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 

Tim Shipman and an early general election in the autumn?

 In the current issue of The Spectator magazine there is a fascinating article by their veteran political correspondent Tim Shipman, about the possibility of an early election - if the opinion polls are favourable? Currently the Labour Party is witnessing a Burnham bounce as the polls suggest a Labour lead. If this was the continue as we enter the autumn, will Burnham, try to go for it? However at the back of his mind there might be the memory of how Gordon Brown, in 2007 - bottled it. The consequences were terrible for the new prime minister. David Cameron, the leader of the opposition - mocked him as the only prime minister, who cancelled a ‘general election because he might win’. Brown never recovered his reputation or authority after this catastrophic error of political judgment and in 2010 David Cameron, became prime minister of the coalition government. So will AB have the courage to try for an early election and get his own mandate? He could have his own manifesto and this could then - spell out the next 5 years of government. I think he might just go for it. 

Political Currency.

 There are so many podcasts to either watch or listen to that is quite overwhelming to try and make a - rational decision. However if I can recommend one particular podcast it’s without doubt Political Currency - with Ed Balls and George Osbourne, both highly knowledgeable about finance and economics. Despite the fact that they are from very different political backgrounds - the dynamic between them is extremely respectful and educational. What comes across, because of their different experiences - is a good in depth discussion about all things political, social and economic. Check it out. 

The domino theory of nuclear proliferation.

 There is a thoughtful article in the current issue of The New Statesman by the journalist Katie Stallard about the - growing threat of nuclear proliferation. She suggested that in the autumn of 2022 the United States - picked up information that Putin was contemplating a nuclear attack on Ukraine. The title of the article is The New Terror. Putin put his troops on high alert for possible attack. When confronted with this issue, he replied “you created the precedent in 1945 by attacking Japan”. There are increasing numbers of countries with nuclear weapons, apart from the five permanent members of the Security Council at the UN. They are: America, Russia, China, France and Britain. Other countries now include: India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. It’s possible that due to the fear of North Korea, South Korea will follow suit and acquire nuclear weapons. This could therefore have a - domino effect and thereby causing even more instability across the globe. The idiotic defence drill in classrooms across America and Europe - at the hight of the Cold War was referred to as”duck and cover”. We will need to - duck and cover a lot more if the dominoes start to fall 

Little solidarity from other EU members.

 There is a serious crisis in the European Union, over the vexed and combustible issue of - illegal migration into the EU. On Thursday some 60,00 illegal Moroccan young men decided to try their luck and get into the Spanish territory called Ceuta. They hoped they might be able to eventually transfer to other EU countries. Well there was little support from any other European countries to this crisis on the southern border. As a consequence the Spanish prime minister has been highly critical of this lack political solidarity. Countries like Italy, France and the Nordic countries were incandescent with rage, by the Spanish governments obvious incompetence. We in this country have a very similar problem with illegal migration across the English Channel from our neighbour France. This has been one of the causes for the rise of right wing parties in France, Germany and of course here with the Reform Party. It’s a political touchstone issue and will bedevil all political parties in all countries across the Eurozone. 

Manchester goes to the polls again.

 It was a considerable victory for the Labour Party candidate for the Majority of the city. Andy Burnham stood down and eventually ended up as the prime minister. So the new mayor is Bev Craig, a veteran politician for the Labour Party. Reform essentially came a poor second with only 21.0 per cent and 157,178 - on the second preference vote. Labour on the other hand managed 47.1 per cent with 167,84, second preference votes cast. Could this be the - high water mark for Reform? They’ve had a torrid few weeks of bad publicity dealing with irregular financial problems and have consequently been referred to the Electoral Commission for investigation. In recent weeks the leader of Reform has lost some of his - Tiggerish bounce. I do hope this is the beginning of the end of the Reform Party - they were a useful foil to the Conservatives and Labour, but perhaps the - shine has gone off? Is Nigel Farage a’busted flush’? I do hope so. This is a positive result for Labour and will help the prime minister, settle the nerves of the party as we approach the autumn and party conferences and the budget on the 28 October. The first one for the new chancellor John Healey.