So Labour lost and lost big, the greatest general election defeat since 1935. The question is why. I canvassed on the doorsteps and time and time again came across a visceral hatred of Jeremy Corbyn. None of the people I spoke to was willing (or able?) to explain why they hated this mild mannered lifelong… Read More Why we lost

It was my birthday yesterday, I’m 57. I started my school life with free milk which was taken away by Margaret Thatcher. I got a free education (well not exactly free, my parents paid for it with their taxes). Whilst I was studying A levels Margaret Thatcher made her speech about immigrants swamping Britain. It… Read More For the many and for you.

The last question the media billionaires want people asking is: should billionaires exist? And finally people are starting to ask it. There are lots of analogies showing how long it would actually take to spend a billion pounds or a billion dollars or a billion yen. The point is it would be very difficult to… Read More Should billionaires exist?

Our monarchs used to have absolute power, then they ruled with the consent of Parliament and finally after the scandalous King Georges a deal was made with Queen Victoria. In return for becoming a constitutional monarch (i.e. staying out of politics) and setting a good moral example for the nation; we’ll pay for a lavish… Read More Prince Charming

Back in the day in my home town of Bradford I occasionally went to a nightclub called ‘Time and Place’. They wanted enough black people to create a good atmosphere but not so many as to scare away the richer white punters. So they had a black bouncer to do the job. He was ruthless… Read More The Bouncer

They really are off their trolleys with this one. The proposed “Scare-bnb” scheme would involve paying homeowners to take care of hospital patients in their spare rooms. Great idea, what could possibly go wrong? If this planned-on-the-back-of-a-fag-packet scheme ever gets off the ground you can be sure there will be pressure piled on hospitals to… Read More Scare BnB

For years Labour candidates have on the whole been pale male and stale. There have been some great male politicians but equally many women with potential didn’t get the opportunity to show that they too could be great.  The recent announcement of Tessa Jowell’s brain tumour reminds us of her legacy and the fact that… Read More All women shortlists

Not all Brexiteers are anti-immigrant racists; just a third of them. Well a third actually admitted it, I suspect many more just didn’t want to be so blatant. 18% of Remainers also admitted to racial prejudice. But the problem is deeper than ‘just’ racism.  It is about the UK’s relationship with the rest of the… Read More National Schizophrenia

The “Lone Wolf” is and will always be a ridiculous concept. No man is an island no individual who chooses to shoot 59 people and maim more than 500 more did it all by himself with his own bare hands. The “lone-ness” of the “Wolf” is an attempt to circumscribe him, to remove him from the… Read More The Las Vegas Lone Wolf

In August I was selected to go on the Momentum “Train the Trainer” course. As an experienced trainer myself I was intrigued to see how they would do things. It turned out to be a brilliant day the training was delivered in an upbeat style no boring bits. I have delivered training in various forms… Read More  Persuasive Conversations