War or more jaw?
05/12/2024
This week Jo asks, does the political turmoil in France and instability in Germany mean Europe is facing its potentially gravest crisis since the Second World War?
Putin, Kate and the sleeve of truth
21/03/2024
This week Jo Phillips comments on the rise of disinformation and what the former head of MI5 thinks we we can do to stop it.
Resolving conflicts
13/04/2023
We have been celebrating 25 years of relative peace in Ulster this week, Jim asks how that, and other major conflicts are finally going to be resolved. He also has concerns over Labour’s personal attack on the Prime Minister.
Risk of World War Three
21/04/2022
This week, with great regret, but in all seriousness, Jim contemplates the real possibility of world war arising from the Ukraine crisis.
Time for the Government to pivot on net-zero
17/03/2022
The SPD/Green coalition in Germany have adopted a more pragmatic approach to energy policy. Labour mayor Andy Burnham is rethinking Greater Manchester’s Clean Air Zone. Surely its time for the Conservative government to review its net zero ambitions? Frank McKenna calls on the government to ‘pivot’ on energy policy in his latest Downtown blog.
You have to stand up to a bully – but will we?
24/02/2022
Do Brits – or indeed the West – have an appetite for a war with Putin? We can’t even have a mature debate about Fracking, and we love cuts in defence spending. Frank McKenna’s latest blog reflects on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The testing time
24/02/2022
As Russia attacks Ukraine, Jim assesses the appetite of people in the West for paying the cost of sanctions, leave alone fighting Putin’s forces. He also concludes that the Prime Minister is safe for now.